Hi Luke, given the limited clear nights in the UK this last couple of months you've done well to get any comparison done. As always unbiased and thorough enough for anyone to make a decision. I've not imaged at all this last month cos I've got the builders in ( 2 more weeks to go ) but don't feel I've really missed out the clouds have been that bad. 5.30am finish Luke is brutal !!
Thank you Paul!! :-) This year has been really something when it comes to clouds, unreal! Hopefully things clear up properly soon and we can both start enjoying some good quality nights mate! Hope your building work finishes up smooth & quick my friend!
And optolong will sell the same quality filter to the community than the one they sent to a popular youtuber....? Not doubting you mate, doubting optolong based on their filter lottery history. Great video!! In my book you're a trusted reviewer.
Thanks very much indeed my friend, I totally appreciate what you're saying 👍👍 I can share a little info here, optolong have been in touch since this video, they aren't totally happy with the performance and they're going to make improvements then send a revised version out for further testing! That's some good news at least! 👍 Thanks for watching and clear skies!!
Hey Luke! Once again, great review and comparison video. I really like that you have no bias towards any particular brand! Keep up the great work and Clear Skies!
Thanks so much Dave mate!! :-) I really hope the next generation of filters irons out these last few issues, it's such a drag that we're still facing halos in 2023! Clear skies man!
I was asking about nebula filters on your live stream the other day. So this was just what I need. Think it's the optalong l extreme f2 for me. Thanks again 4 your work buddy.
Thanks so much Simon!! Agreed mate 👍👍 I can see the argument that someone who may have all optolong filters already may wish to stay with the brand though to keep the same glass thickness too! Thank you for your support my friend, as always it's truly appreciated!!
Interesting results and thanks for doing the test. About 3 months ago I replaced my mono camera filter wheel with Antlia 3nm NB and their Broadband filter set. I've been impressed with their results on my 100 & 150 mm Esprit OTAs. From your tests it looks like the Antlia ALP-T filter may be the way to go when I take the OSC plunge.
Timely video Luke!! In the end I sold my RASA 8 but I still have my Edge HD11 along with a Hyperstar (with filter drawer) that I have never used :) (yet). I used to have the I AS NBZ UHS for the RASA and it worked perfectly along with an Optolong L-Pro for non nebula targets. So do you recommend (at the moment) the Antila ALP-T high speed filter??
Thanks for watching mate!! - It sounds like you've got an extremely capable rig there, and so versatile too! :-) RE: the filter to pick these days, probably the Antlia at this point but I wouldn't have said that if I still owned the RASA8! it's a minefield haha
Ahh haha, well - it does work on F2 but isn't perfect! I think the bandpass shift is perhaps too great at lower f-ratios leading to a loss in transmission! Clear skies :-)
I was thinking more about this - it feels like a light leek or internal reflection, common to all 3 filters in the light train. Are you able to take the IDAS again and double check the setup for any possible unwanted happiness making it's way in? I've tried to replicate this in my hyperstar edge 8 setup and cannot - still puzzled@@lukomatico
Hey there! I'm always happy to help wherever I can 👍 Re: the 135mm f2 - it belonged to my partner Chloe, she later bought a redcat51 and we just found the lens wasn't getting use anymore! Clear skies!
Hey Scott! - I wish I had a super cool story about how we went adventuring to Canada, but alas, it's as Chloe says really! we've got a good few Tim Horton's around the country! :-D
Nice review mate I've been looking forward to this one, very strange the NBZ was getting some sort of reflections though I use the standard NBZ filter on my RASA 11 & I've never seen anything like that even when I used the Baader drawer system thingie on it so a bit of a strange one that. The Optolong performed well though so very tempted as you say all depends on price or maybe hold off till Antlia sort out the reflection/halo issues as the NBZ I have still performs quite well. Talking of the RASA when I were out imaging M101 I found out the collimation is off & the stars look awful aaargh so gonna have fun collimating it as I've never had to do it before.
Oh mate, you've had some serious work to do on that RASA hey! Good on ya for sticking it out and powering through! RE: the NBZ, it's good to hear the non-UHS version works good! 🙂 Hope you get some clear skies soon mate and are able to sort that collimation - Good luck!
Im thinking those halo's looking like out focused stars. So could they be from a none focused obstruction / reflection. (ie camera) Or are they simply just halo's. Maybe try the filters in your Dob (if you still have it) or a refractor just for curiosity purpose, Halo or obstruction !!! Im not experienced in this, so i might be talking c..p. interesting comparison. Like the video. Clear sky's to you.
Thanks for the suggestion Mel! - I could perhaps test it at f4 one day, but other than that I don't have any suitable scopes now for the filter - only the RASA is fast enough to be in-line with the product spec! Thanks for watching mate!
Luke my friend the L Extreme is old news. The L Ultimate is the latest and greatest offering from Optolong. Several reviews (comparisons) are out and L Ultimate is by far the better performer. The Ultimate doesn't put the halos around the same stars the Extreme did. I've used both and find this to be true.
Hey Mike! This one is a brand new filter, not yet released to the public 👍 Re: the l-ultimate, I'm glad it's working for you but for many others they do indeed cause halos still unfortunately! All the best mate 🙏
I've imaged three objects using a WO GT81 triplet and an AT130EDT triplet both with flatteners and one with a reducer. Camera is an ASI294MC Pro. None of the bright stars, including Alnitak show halos. Maybe because these two scopes are slower than a RASA? I know what I see. There are numerous images and reviews online with no halos. I watched a review on the L-Ultimate on UA-cam last night. NO HALOS.
I'm not doubting you Mike! I believe you 100% when you say that you personally are not getting halos - that said, it's also true that you're a sample size of 1 and other individuals out there definitely are experiencing halos with that filter. Cheers! 👍👍
I haven't asked directly about that Nik, I would assume it's close to completion but hopefully this video helps Optolong pause for a moment and reassess! I'd love to see it get revised and fixed, rather than it go out for sale only to be replaced in a year by some kind of "l-ultimate f2" Thanks for watching mate!
@@lukomatico Well ive done it for you.. the one i had was not up to scratch producing some halos and needed more time imaging to get the same data as the nbz... but ive borrowed one now and its totally a different filter.. A GOOD ONE and keeping it ;)
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #30 ДВА В ОДНОМ [Один человек]• Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/nrXy15orKhY/mqdefault.jpg)
Amazing. Thanks for sharing Luke. You consistently make some of the best astro review videos on UA-cam. Keep up the good work.
Aw mate thank you so much!! :-D I'm really glad you like my work, -Clear skies!
Hi Luke, given the limited clear nights in the UK this last couple of months you've done well to get any comparison done. As always unbiased and thorough enough for anyone to make a decision. I've not imaged at all this last month cos I've got the builders in ( 2 more weeks to go ) but don't feel I've really missed out the clouds have been that bad. 5.30am finish Luke is brutal !!
Thank you Paul!! :-) This year has been really something when it comes to clouds, unreal! Hopefully things clear up properly soon and we can both start enjoying some good quality nights mate! Hope your building work finishes up smooth & quick my friend!
Very helpful, Luke - thank you!
My pleasure mate! - Thanks for watching :-)
And optolong will sell the same quality filter to the community than the one they sent to a popular youtuber....? Not doubting you mate, doubting optolong based on their filter lottery history. Great video!! In my book you're a trusted reviewer.
Thanks very much indeed my friend, I totally appreciate what you're saying 👍👍
I can share a little info here, optolong have been in touch since this video, they aren't totally happy with the performance and they're going to make improvements then send a revised version out for further testing! That's some good news at least! 👍
Thanks for watching and clear skies!!
Hey Luke! Once again, great review and comparison video. I really like that you have no bias towards any particular brand! Keep up the great work and Clear Skies!
Thanks so much Dave mate!! :-) I really hope the next generation of filters irons out these last few issues, it's such a drag that we're still facing halos in 2023!
Clear skies man!
Nice review Luke
I appreciate that Tony! Thank you mate :-)
I was asking about nebula filters on your live stream the other day. So this was just what I need. Think it's the optalong l extreme f2 for me. Thanks again 4 your work buddy.
Thanks so much mate!! :-) I appreciate you coming by on the streams too! All the best :-)
Nice honest review Luke👍 As you say, it will depend on price point if this will be a worth while getting filter! CS
Thanks so much Simon!! Agreed mate 👍👍
I can see the argument that someone who may have all optolong filters already may wish to stay with the brand though to keep the same glass thickness too!
Thank you for your support my friend, as always it's truly appreciated!!
This hobby truly is a bottomless pit 😕😂
1000% agreed mate, it's never ending lol!
It is a slippery slope indeed!
Interesting results and thanks for doing the test. About 3 months ago I replaced my mono camera filter wheel with Antlia 3nm NB and their Broadband filter set. I've been impressed with their results on my 100 & 150 mm Esprit OTAs. From your tests it looks like the Antlia ALP-T filter may be the way to go when I take the OSC plunge.
Thanks mate! - It could indeed be the way to go unless something truly halo-free releases in the mean-time! :-) Thanks for watching!
Good effort Luke I dont know how you do it. I set it off imaging and go to bed 😂 5:45 no chance!
Haha! :-D Cheers Simon mate!! It can be a bit of a zap for the whole day afterwards, but it's worth it!
Clear skies mate!
Nice review.
Thank you! Cheers!
Timely video Luke!! In the end I sold my RASA 8 but I still have my Edge HD11 along with a Hyperstar (with filter drawer) that I have never used :) (yet). I used to have the I AS NBZ UHS for the RASA and it worked perfectly along with an Optolong L-Pro for non nebula targets. So do you recommend (at the moment) the Antila ALP-T high speed filter??
Thanks for watching mate!! - It sounds like you've got an extremely capable rig there, and so versatile too! :-) RE: the filter to pick these days, probably the Antlia at this point but I wouldn't have said that if I still owned the RASA8! it's a minefield haha
Thanks for the video. Do you get any of those strange reflections without the filters?
None mate! That's a great question 👍
Timely video, as I'm about ready to pull the trigger on a HyperStar v4 for my 8" EdgeHD.
Nice!! Congratulations on the HyperStar if you decide to go for it :-) Clear skies!
I asked Antlia staff before, they told me Alp-t is only suitable for slower than f2.5. Because it is 4.5nm. F2 needs 7nm or more. 😂
Ahh haha, well - it does work on F2 but isn't perfect! I think the bandpass shift is perhaps too great at lower f-ratios leading to a loss in transmission!
Clear skies :-)
be keen to here an update on further inspection of your NBZ UHS, I've never seen anything like that occurring with my NBZ UHS
Cheers Mark! - Aye mate, it's a bit of a puzzle so far, hopefully I'll be able to test it again soon!
I was thinking more about this - it feels like a light leek or internal reflection, common to all 3 filters in the light train. Are you able to take the IDAS again and double check the setup for any possible unwanted happiness making it's way in? I've tried to replicate this in my hyperstar edge 8 setup and cannot - still puzzled@@lukomatico
Luke, what happened to your rokinin 135 lens? Why did you stop using it? Thanks for sharing and answering my questions. Thumbs up.
Hey there! I'm always happy to help wherever I can 👍
Re: the 135mm f2 - it belonged to my partner Chloe, she later bought a redcat51 and we just found the lens wasn't getting use anymore!
Clear skies!
You caught the Death Star using the uhs filter!!!
Hahah :-D I did think 'wait, what?' for a moment or two when that first sub came in!!
A Tim Horton’s mug ??? Where did you get that Canadian souvenir ? Cheers .
We have a few Tim Horton's here in the UK! I got him the mug when I was last there a while ago :)
Hey Scott! - I wish I had a super cool story about how we went adventuring to Canada, but alas, it's as Chloe says really! we've got a good few Tim Horton's around the country! :-D
Hi Luke, I'm wondering if the NBZ is getting a slight separation in layers if indeed it is made in layers.
Potentially Peter! I couldn't say for sure, it does look fine under visual inspection however 👍
Thanks for watching and giving your support!!
Nice review mate I've been looking forward to this one, very strange the NBZ was getting some sort of reflections though I use the standard NBZ filter on my RASA 11 & I've never seen anything like that even when I used the Baader drawer system thingie on it so a bit of a strange one that. The Optolong performed well though so very tempted as you say all depends on price or maybe hold off till Antlia sort out the reflection/halo issues as the NBZ I have still performs quite well.
Talking of the RASA when I were out imaging M101 I found out the collimation is off & the stars look awful aaargh so gonna have fun collimating it as I've never had to do it before.
Oh mate, you've had some serious work to do on that RASA hey! Good on ya for sticking it out and powering through!
RE: the NBZ, it's good to hear the non-UHS version works good! 🙂
Hope you get some clear skies soon mate and are able to sort that collimation - Good luck!
Im thinking those halo's looking like out focused stars. So could they be from a none focused obstruction / reflection. (ie camera) Or are they simply just halo's. Maybe try the filters in your Dob (if you still have it) or a refractor just for curiosity purpose, Halo or obstruction !!! Im not experienced in this, so i might be talking c..p. interesting comparison. Like the video. Clear sky's to you.
Thanks for the suggestion Mel! - I could perhaps test it at f4 one day, but other than that I don't have any suitable scopes now for the filter - only the RASA is fast enough to be in-line with the product spec!
Thanks for watching mate!
Think there's a new IDAS NBZex on agena astro with extra low halos according to IDAS themselves.
Interesting! I'll have to check it out mate, thank you for that! :-)
Interesting, not seen something like that nbz artifact on my 11, strange 🤔, need to do some test when I get home.
That's weird mate!! I'd be interested in hearing how your nbz (uhs?) performs on Vega etc for sure bud! Thanks for watching :-)
Luke my friend the L Extreme is old news. The L Ultimate is the latest and greatest offering from Optolong. Several reviews (comparisons) are out and L Ultimate is by far the better performer. The Ultimate doesn't put the halos around the same stars the Extreme did. I've used both and find this to be true.
Hey Mike! This one is a brand new filter, not yet released to the public 👍
Re: the l-ultimate, I'm glad it's working for you but for many others they do indeed cause halos still unfortunately!
All the best mate 🙏
The Ultimate still does have halos around bright stars though they aren’t nearly as prominent. This is a high speed filter, not a regular L-eXtreme.
I've imaged three objects using a WO GT81 triplet and an AT130EDT triplet both with flatteners and one with a reducer. Camera is an ASI294MC Pro. None of the bright stars, including Alnitak show halos. Maybe because these two scopes are slower than a RASA? I know what I see. There are numerous images and reviews online with no halos. I watched a review on the L-Ultimate on UA-cam last night. NO HALOS.
I'm not doubting you Mike! I believe you 100% when you say that you personally are not getting halos - that said, it's also true that you're a sample size of 1 and other individuals out there definitely are experiencing halos with that filter.
Cheers! 👍👍
Is that optolong version still in the final development stage?
I haven't asked directly about that Nik, I would assume it's close to completion but hopefully this video helps Optolong pause for a moment and reassess! I'd love to see it get revised and fixed, rather than it go out for sale only to be replaced in a year by some kind of "l-ultimate f2"
Thanks for watching mate!
next stop may be the Optolong L-Ultimate...
Oh mate, that would suck if this was gonna get released then shortly superseded by an "l-ultimate f2 version" :-(
Maybe the Rasa 8 may be different.. would like to see
Cheers Chris!! - I'll have to try it on the rasa8 too.... oh wait xD
@@lukomatico Well ive done it for you.. the one i had was not up to scratch producing some halos and needed more time imaging to get the same data as the nbz... but ive borrowed one now and its totally a different filter.. A GOOD ONE and keeping it ;)