Light Pollution filters for DSLR imaging in Singapore?

[cloud_cover]

I was wondering if either narrowband (Lumicon UHC, Astronomik UHC) or line fiters (OIII) will be useful when imaging in Singapore with my DSLR. I don't think the broadband filters will do very much as far as imaging DSOs and defeating the light pollution is concerned - I have a Lumicon Deep Sky and an Orion Skyglow and visually I must say they don't make much difference here!
What do you guys think?
I'm not about to spend on CCDs at the moment so Ha and SII are definitely out of the question for me at the moment (unless you guys have experience to the contrary?)
Come to think of it: while filters are expensive, one 2" filter costs 'only' 5 trips to Punggai, so if it works well, it "buys" me more nights to image with
Thanks!

[orly_andico]

problem with the DSLR is the piss-poor sensitivity to Ha, unless you remove the IR blocking filter.

I think the killer app for defeating light pollution is a narrow-band Ha filter, plus a modded DSLR.

[cloud_cover]

Hahaha! I guessed yo'd be the first to answer
Yeah, unfortunately I don't dare to mod my D700 since I use it so much for regular photography.
I've seen some really nice pics with Ha + OIII combined in a modded camera. Ah well. Of course I could just expose about 50x longer or bump the ISO up 6 stops and deal witht he noise...

[kochu]

I think the biggest hinderence to AP in Singapore is not LP. It is the clouds. So frankly we just donot get enough nights for AP.

So any investment in filters for AP in Singapore is money down the drain.

My 2 C.

Kochu/22-11-10

[qinjuehang2]

You could get the x-nite CC-1 filter after modification. You'd have to be adventurous though, and you will need to recalibrate your autofocus or something along the lines of that.

[cloud_cover]

kochu --> Agrree wholeheartedly! Havign said that, having SOME nights in Singapore is better than taking a chance in Punggai on monthly trips!
Speaking of which, does anyone have an Astronmik CLS or Lumicon UHC or IDAS LPS that I might be able to borrow to evaluate?

[kochu]

Hi c-c,

I have 2 inch IDAS LPS filter. You can try it out. (Who knows, You may even like it. !!!!!)

Kochu/22-11-10

[weixing]

Hi,
IDAS is very effective, but there will be colour shift if you use it on a normal camera... I had one before, but my camera was not mod, so the colour went crazy... very difficult to adjust it back in PP as the colour shift was non-linear.

Anyway, IMHO, it's possible to get decent result in Singapore without LPS filter... you need to know your imaging site and know your camera well.

By the way, you can buy a used Canon xxxD body and mod it for astro use lor... I'm plan to mod my Canon 450D once I got my replacement DSLR.

Have a nice day.

[cloud_cover]

Hmm.... I wonder if a custom white balance with the IDAS on a white wall in sunlight will allow for the color difference...

[wucheeyiun]

Hi,
IDAS is very effective, but there will be colour shift if you use it on a normal camera... I had one before, but my camera was not mod, so the colour went crazy... very difficult to adjust it back in PP as the colour shift was non-linear.

Anyway, IMHO, it's possible to get decent result in Singapore without LPS filter... you need to know your imaging site and know your camera well.

By the way, you can buy a used Canon xxxD body and mod it for astro use lor... I'm plan to mod my Canon 450D once I got my replacement DSLR.

Have a nice day.

I am thinking to mod my d70 too ... to remove the built - in IR cut filter ... but very costly to get hydrogen-alpha filter in order to work properly.

http://www.astrosurf.com/~buil/d70/ircut.htm

http://www.astronomik.com/en/astronomik ... ilter.html

i think the stand-alone mod DSLR is the best option for portable astrophotography ...