Great review and analysis! Showing the differences between the filters and none is the most instructive and really helpful. Also great video production and edit - keeping everything really tight and no fluff! Thanks!
Wow. This was a very, very informative and helpful review. Answered a lot of questions I didn't know I even had. I shoot OSC and I switch between the L-Pro and the L-Extreme depending on moon phase. I've been looking at the L-Quad to replace the L-Pro.
Interesting. And most importantly you selected good (useful) targets for comparison. I made the mistake to buy an O. L-eXtreme filter a couple of years ago. Not happy with it at all.Thanks for sharing.
I really like your reviews, you usually give me a perspective that I hadn't considered before. In this case, it's the effect of the L-Para on the Flame Nebula. In hindsight, it should've been obvious to me, but it wasn't, and I think back to those occasions with other filters when I frowned at the colours I was seeing and thinking it was my lack of processing skills. Thank you for another insightful review.
the bright star halo was bit distinct on horsehead one-but it can be made diffused in post processing. really nice Ha details popping out though in calif nebula-amazing.
Great balanced review. Thank you! I have the L-eXtreme, which works well. Curious to know about the L-Ultimate and how it compares to the filters you tested here.
The l-ultimate is much narrower. I have had great results with it. However it’s less flexible on f-ratios you can use it with. For f/5< I would def use that one
@ BTW, I am a physicist and optical designer… also living in Switzerland… in the fog right now ;-). If you ever need support for your channel, we could discuss.
Another excellent review, Luca, and thanks for sharing your balcony view. You appear to be located high up in a mountain range. I continue to look for that perfect nebulae filter for my Bortle 8 location here in suburban Texas to use with my 60mm Petzval/ASI533MC combination. Currently, I'm using a Svbony SV220 dual band that works OK. Svbony claims their new SV240 works for everything, including galaxies. Antlia claims their Tri band RGB Ultra works for everything, plus it reduces star halos with additional coatings. Any guidance towards that "do-all" best light pollution filter? Thanks, Michael
You need as narrow as possible for your location! IMO the L-Para is not enough. From the Optolong range L-Ultimate is probably your best bet, I’ve had a good experience with that one and no halos.
great review! thanks for the comparison side by side. for rookies like me it gives much more idea of what to expect the diffrences on each option and so on, for future investments and using the right gear for each target. imho, it would be great if would be possible to download the stacked results jpgs or whatever of your reviews, maybe with watermarks just in case :)
Thank you, Luca, for your excellent review of this soon-to-be-released filter. The QEF vs. PARA results are stunning, with such a noticeable difference in contrast, saturation, and tighter stars-an impressive dual narrowband filter for astrophotography! Even without RGB stars, the halo is very minimal. Outstanding! Do you have any thoughts on possible directions Optolong might take to grow as a company, perhaps with a focus on increased product quality control for their customers?
Thank you for the kind words. I have no information on the future plans of Optolong. Even the parallels I drew in this video (i.e. newer filters from the past 2 years vs. older versions) were just entirely my theories and thoughts, they have communicated no such things to me! I can only hope they will keep coming out with more great filters - the more choice we have the better :)
Thanks for the presentation. I would be interested if the L-Para was superior to the L-extreme and the Antlia ALPT and is worth to buy (I own both filters since years and was quite satisfied of their results). Greetings Herbert
I have never tried the Antlia one and I only have the f/2 version of the l-extreme. The l-extreme is narrower so I would expect it gives better contrast. If you're satisfied with it, I wouldn't think the L-Para makes a difference for the better
I too am very impressed with my ALP filter, but I had to switch to a different filter with my fast Hyperstar system, as the blue shift would result in too much loss.
yes you could and it would work. But it is an expensive game. I mean the nicer filters start at $300 and the sky's the limit. Mounting it externally means exposing it to the elements, I wouldn't want that for one of my nicemfilters.
@the_space_koala have you ever stacked filters? I was looking at extreme and covering it with the uv/ir 400-700 as protection and unfortunately a through away if/when it got messed up. I have physical limitations so that's why I'm stuck with S50. My original HW list was 9.25 edge plus all the goodies, couldn't do it. Will stacking even work?
@@johndaley9188 I've never done that but theoretically it would work. Of course anything you add into the optical train will compromise your data so it's a trade-off. The Vespera smart scope uses externally mounted filters
Unfortunately I don't understand your explanations regarding f ratio for this filter. As a simple user do you know which f ratio is refered to the slow version of the l-extreme filter? Does l-extreme have more contrast beside larger halos compared to the 10nm filter?
yes it would have better contrast as it is a narrower bandpass. However, there's a reason it comes in 2 versions (standard and f/2) - because when you have a fast system, what changes is the angle of the incoming light. At that angle, the filter needs to have the central transmission band shifted ever so slightly to ensure it lets through the correct rays
Interesting comparison. Can you also check and confirm that the R channel signal is the same with L-enhance and L-Para filters? In theory it should be.
Hello! I am guessing this filter is very new, because I don't see it on the market anywhere yet. I googled Optolong L- Para and the closest thing I found was the Optolong L-Quad filter. Is that the same thing with a different name or is it a different filter?
Two things. I've looked around, including the Optolong site. I'm find no reference to an L-Para filter. Are you calling it by a different name? And second... L-Quad Enhance Filter (L-QEF) is a quad broadband bandpass filter.
G'day beautiful soul, You are an absolute gem! I am new to astronomy and have heavily invested in a $6400 Sky Rover 130mm Super APO. Can I deploy this Optolong L-Para filter to a one shot colour camera like ZWO ASI2600MC Duo? Is it also suitable for MY new Canon 90D DSLR? Thanks and many blessings from Newcastle in Australia! 🌍💫🔮🍹🔭
Thank you for the kind words. Yes you absolutely can use it with your 2600MC Duo - that's the same sensor I used in this test. You can also use it with your DSLR, however unless you have that one astro-modified, you will see only a fraction of the H alpha signal.
My biggest complaint with these filter companies is they don't want to make filters for Nikon or even Sony cameras. Not all of us want to waste our money on astro cameras.
I don’t believe it’s a waste of money, but everyone has different preferences. Optolong also makes clip-in filters by the way - at least the l-enhance is available. Hopefully they will add more options to the lineup
A huge advantage to dedicated astro cameras is the cooling mechanism that allows the sensor to operate more efficiently during extended exposures.@the_space_koala
Great review and analysis! Showing the differences between the filters and none is the most instructive and really helpful. Also great video production and edit - keeping everything really tight and no fluff! Thanks!
thank you so much for the kind words. Happy you find it helpful :)
Thank you for the clear review , 1st step buying it.
Great review, very informative, thank you. Can't wait for it to come out.
I think it’s coming soon - I see more and more people testing and posting it!
Wow. This was a very, very informative and helpful review. Answered a lot of questions I didn't know I even had.
I shoot OSC and I switch between the L-Pro and the L-Extreme depending on moon phase. I've been looking at the L-Quad to replace the L-Pro.
that sounds like a very good strategy! I never had the L-Pro so I can't really compare them but I had great experiences with the L-Quad.
Informative and clear as always. Thank you
a video about black friday for astrophotography was great do see !
Interesting. And most importantly you selected good (useful) targets for comparison. I made the mistake to buy an O. L-eXtreme filter a couple of years ago. Not happy with it at all.Thanks for sharing.
Outstanding review!
I really like your reviews, you usually give me a perspective that I hadn't considered before. In this case, it's the effect of the L-Para on the Flame Nebula. In hindsight, it should've been obvious to me, but it wasn't, and I think back to those occasions with other filters when I frowned at the colours I was seeing and thinking it was my lack of processing skills. Thank you for another insightful review.
thanks so much for saying that! It is a very common thing I see so I figured I'd take the opportunity to point this out in my review :)
the bright star halo was bit distinct on horsehead one-but it can be made diffused in post processing. really nice Ha details popping out though in calif nebula-amazing.
I have the 2” version of the L-Extreme filter and it works great. ❤
Will you be doing the video about taking flats with the seestar so we're able to stack mosaics with better results? Love your videos btw
yes I will! but there are just so many new things nowadays I'm having a hard time keeping up with the videos haha
@the_space_koala hahaha yes, I hear ya :)
Excellent review lady, thanks.
thank you for saying that
Great balanced review. Thank you! I have the L-eXtreme, which works well. Curious to know about the L-Ultimate and how it compares to the filters you tested here.
The l-ultimate is much narrower. I have had great results with it. However it’s less flexible on f-ratios you can use it with. For f/5< I would def use that one
@ Thank you. Yes, it’s 3nm bandwidth compared to the 7nm of the l-eXtreme. Good to know, that you are happy with it!
@ BTW, I am a physicist and optical designer… also living in Switzerland… in the fog right now ;-). If you ever need support for your channel, we could discuss.
Email me I’ll be happy to chat! info at thespacekoala dot com
I love the L-eNhance filter. I was tempted to buy other dual NB filters but have always been happy with my results.
No need to change as long as you're happy! My favorite Optolong duoband filter is probably the L-Ultimate
Quality content as always Luca! ✨🤗
Thank you 🙌
I actually have the L-Quad. But for narrowband use the Askar Colour Magic D1 and D2, Ha/OIII and SII/OIII. 6nm bandpass and the pair are only $550.
I have those as well but I never actually tried them yet! How do you find them for SHO?
Just a small correction. L-Enhance is triband filter since the 24nm in OIII allows also to pass HBeta signal. Ha, OIII and HBeta to be specific
that's a very good point, thank you!
Must be a very new filter as it is not even on the Optolong website :)
Thx for the review.
indeed, they haven't announced it yet! It should come out soon.
@ privileged reviewer ;)
Saw a giveaway and this was a prize. Knew it was coming out but could t find any info. That was about a month ago
Another excellent review, Luca, and thanks for sharing your balcony view. You appear to be located high up in a mountain range.
I continue to look for that perfect nebulae filter for my Bortle 8 location here in suburban Texas to use with my 60mm Petzval/ASI533MC combination. Currently, I'm using a Svbony SV220 dual band that works OK. Svbony claims their new SV240 works for everything, including galaxies. Antlia claims their Tri band RGB Ultra works for everything, plus it reduces star halos with additional coatings. Any guidance towards that "do-all" best light pollution filter? Thanks, Michael
You need as narrow as possible for your location! IMO the L-Para is not enough. From the Optolong range L-Ultimate is probably your best bet, I’ve had a good experience with that one and no halos.
great review! thanks for the comparison side by side. for rookies like me it gives much more idea of what to expect the diffrences on each option and so on, for future investments and using the right gear for each target.
imho, it would be great if would be possible to download the stacked results jpgs or whatever of your reviews, maybe with watermarks just in case :)
That was exactly the goal - hopefully it will help you pick the right filter!
Fantastica come sempre :)
Great review are you using a mac ? If so any tips to share for post processing using mac im new to mac and astro also
Yes I use a Mac. I do all my Astro processing in PixInsight - it’s very powerful!
Very nice review, but I would have liked to have seen shots made with the older filters (L-Pro and L-Enhance) as a comparison.
That would be awesome I agree, however I do not have those at my disposal
@@the_space_koala Ok no problem. I would´not replace my current Optolong filters (L-Pro, L-Enhance and L-Utimate).
Thank you, Luca, for your excellent review of this soon-to-be-released filter. The QEF vs. PARA results are stunning, with such a noticeable difference in contrast, saturation, and tighter stars-an impressive dual narrowband filter for astrophotography! Even without RGB stars, the halo is very minimal. Outstanding!
Do you have any thoughts on possible directions Optolong might take to grow as a company, perhaps with a focus on increased product quality control for their customers?
Thank you for the kind words. I have no information on the future plans of Optolong. Even the parallels I drew in this video (i.e. newer filters from the past 2 years vs. older versions) were just entirely my theories and thoughts, they have communicated no such things to me! I can only hope they will keep coming out with more great filters - the more choice we have the better :)
@ Oh rats, I was hoping you had some inside info-haha! So true, though, the more variety we have in equipment choices, the better!
Thanks for the presentation. I would be interested if the L-Para was superior to the L-extreme and the Antlia ALPT and is worth to buy (I own both filters since years and was quite satisfied of their results). Greetings Herbert
I have never tried the Antlia one and I only have the f/2 version of the l-extreme. The l-extreme is narrower so I would expect it gives better contrast. If you're satisfied with it, I wouldn't think the L-Para makes a difference for the better
I too am very impressed with my ALP filter, but I had to switch to a different filter with my fast Hyperstar system, as the blue shift would result in too much loss.
If you are using a RASA, presumably you couldn't use the L-Para with that because of the blue shift?
No you could. I think I mentioned this too. One benefit of such a wide-ish filter that it will work on any f-ratio
Seestar's internal filters are not the best. Wondering if better external filters would help improve the captured image. Any thoughts?
yes you could and it would work. But it is an expensive game. I mean the nicer filters start at $300 and the sky's the limit. Mounting it externally means exposing it to the elements, I wouldn't want that for one of my nicemfilters.
@the_space_koala have you ever stacked filters? I was looking at extreme and covering it with the uv/ir 400-700 as protection and unfortunately a through away if/when it got messed up. I have physical limitations so that's why I'm stuck with S50. My original HW list was 9.25 edge plus all the goodies, couldn't do it. Will stacking even work?
@@johndaley9188 I've never done that but theoretically it would work. Of course anything you add into the optical train will compromise your data so it's a trade-off. The Vespera smart scope uses externally mounted filters
@@the_space_koala I think I'll try it. Definitely need to do some compares. I'll let you know how it went. Shopping time.
Unfortunately I don't understand your explanations regarding f ratio for this filter. As a simple user do you know which f ratio is refered to the slow version of the l-extreme filter? Does l-extreme have more contrast beside larger halos compared to the 10nm filter?
yes it would have better contrast as it is a narrower bandpass. However, there's a reason it comes in 2 versions (standard and f/2) - because when you have a fast system, what changes is the angle of the incoming light. At that angle, the filter needs to have the central transmission band shifted ever so slightly to ensure it lets through the correct rays
@the_space_koala wow - thanks - I guess learning optics is a challenge.
Great review. If the L- Para is abetter version of the LenHance why didn't you include the LenHance? Cheers
that's because I don't have one! I didn't want to buy one just for the test
@@the_space_koala Thankyou. It would be interesting but totally understand. Cheers
I heard another telescope reference, I think it's time for a "these are my telescopes"-video 😇.
that would actually be so cool!
Interesting comparison. Can you also check and confirm that the R channel signal is the same with L-enhance and L-Para filters? In theory it should be.
I don't have an L-enhance at my disposal but I agree the red channel should be completely identical!
Hello! I am guessing this filter is very new, because I don't see it on the market anywhere yet. I googled Optolong L- Para and the closest thing I found was the Optolong L-Quad filter. Is that the same thing with a different name or is it a different filter?
No it is different! L-Quad is the L-QEF I’m using in this video to compare it against. The L-Para is not out yet - but it should be soon
Two things. I've looked around, including the Optolong site. I'm find no reference to an L-Para filter. Are you calling it by a different name? And second... L-Quad Enhance Filter (L-QEF) is a quad broadband bandpass filter.
No, L-Para is the correct name, it is a filter that will be released in the near future.
the filter is only for camera or can be used for visual too ?
It is for photographic purposes. You can't really see H alpha and oxygen is usually faint
G'day beautiful soul,
You are an absolute gem!
I am new to astronomy and have heavily invested in a $6400 Sky Rover 130mm Super APO.
Can I deploy this Optolong L-Para filter to a one shot colour camera like ZWO ASI2600MC Duo?
Is it also suitable for MY new Canon 90D DSLR?
Thanks and many blessings from Newcastle in Australia!
🌍💫🔮🍹🔭
Thank you for the kind words. Yes you absolutely can use it with your 2600MC Duo - that's the same sensor I used in this test. You can also use it with your DSLR, however unless you have that one astro-modified, you will see only a fraction of the H alpha signal.
@the_space_koala
Woweee . . . . . Thank you kindly dear friend.
Eternal light and much love from Australia.
Annika
I don't see the L-Para on the Optolong website, Are you just Beta testing for Optolong?
Yes - it should be out soon!
My biggest complaint with these filter companies is they don't want to make filters for Nikon or even Sony cameras. Not all of us want to waste our money on astro cameras.
I don’t believe it’s a waste of money, but everyone has different preferences. Optolong also makes clip-in filters by the way - at least the l-enhance is available. Hopefully they will add more options to the lineup
A huge advantage to dedicated astro cameras is the cooling mechanism that allows the sensor to operate more efficiently during extended exposures.@the_space_koala
speaks like a 🐸 😂😂😂
how is that
Long adds, so quiet I can't hear. But free stuff right.
Seestar's internal filters are not the best. Wondering if better external filters would help improve the captured image. Any thoughts?