2000D - NB Filter, Full Spectrum Mod, Or both? Canon EOS 2000D · JRB · ... · 9 · 266 · 0

JRB 0.00
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Evening guys! 


So I was channel hopping between AstroBackyard and Nebula Photos, watching their thoughts on the L eXtreme, and came away a little confused.

AB said using the filter with an astromodded camera was a must

NP showed the difference between the modded and unmodded, where the filter still made a considerable difference to his raw images on a stock T7. 


What I was wondering was,  is it worth me  sending my camera and getting it full spectrum modded, before I think about investing in filters, or whether I just get a filter and use it with my stock DSLR, on the premise that it’ll still be relevant kit when I eventually upgrade to a dedicated Full Spectrum mono? 


Or is it pointless putting the L eXtreme on my stock DSLR? 

I also don’t want to mod the DSLR myself as I’m not confident in the processes and don’t want to risk damaging anything. 

If it helps my rig is as follows 


Cannon 2000D
Zenithstar 73
 EQ5 pro mount.
Zenithstar adjustable flattener.

Guide:
ZWO120 mini
zenithstar 50mm 


(processing all done atm in CS6 with the AP extended package


Thanks in advance!
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barnold84 10.79
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I don’t think it’s pointless. Although not a narrowband filter per se but bandwidth limiting, I used a UHC filter, leading to very good results:
https://www.astrobin.com/olx8hu/

CS, Björn
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JRB 0.00
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I don’t think it’s pointless. Although not a narrowband filter per se but bandwidth limiting, I used a UHC filter, leading to very good results:
https://www.astrobin.com/olx8hu/

CS, Björn

Hey man!

thanks again sorry for the newbie Qs:p 

So spending the extra 100GBP on the L Extreme and not risking posting or harming the resell-ability of my DSLR that could happen with AstroModding, might be a good idea? 


Im only really interested in big bright Nebulae imaging atm so the drawbacks of NB filters on other objects wouldn’t be too much of a problem at this stage


or has there ever been points where you’d wished you’d modded and used a filter? / found any drawbacks?
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WhooptieDo 9.63
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It's definitely not pointless to mod a dslr.  By default, they tend to block most of the Ha emission band.   Opening them up to full spectrum is what allows them to be more sensitive to Ha.  

You will always need some sort of filter in place, even if it's just a standard UV/IR filter.   

That being said, the noise in DSLRs are inherently higher.   If it were me, given how much it tends to cost to send a dslr out for mod, I'd save up for an astrocam for money better spent.   You could still do galaxy stuff with an unmodded camera, but emission nebula will be where you'll fall short.
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JRB 0.00
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That’s awesome thank you! 


I think the lack of a filter is my pitfall at the moment, 

as I’m currently using a stock DSLR with no filter, and although after hours of editing I can get resembling images, they always seem underwhelming and washed given how much money I put into my rig!

Not to mention unpredictable British weather and overwhelming light pollution is a pain to work around. 

Would you say the L eXtreme is still a good filter in todays standards (those vids are about a year old now) or has the market got better on offer in that 150-250GBP price range?
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WhooptieDo 9.63
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That’s awesome thank you! 


I think the lack of a filter is my pitfall at the moment, 

as I’m currently using a stock DSLR with no filter, and although after hours of editing I can get resembling images, they always seem underwhelming and washed given how much money I put into my rig!

Not to mention unpredictable British weather and overwhelming light pollution is a pain to work around. 

Would you say the L eXtreme is still a good filter in todays standards (those vids are about a year old now) or has the market got better on offer in that 150-250GBP price range?



I presume you're wanting to mod it THEN get a dual NB filter?   Because an l-extreme will probably not work well until you're modded.  


Personally, I despise the L-extreme.  It leaves nasty halos on bright stars.  I had one and promptly sold it a month later when I started this hobby.  I've heard good things and seen great results from folks that use the Antlia ALP-T.   I'd suggest that one over the L-extreme.
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andreatax 8.66
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That’s awesome thank you! 


I think the lack of a filter is my pitfall at the moment, 

as I’m currently using a stock DSLR with no filter, and although after hours of editing I can get resembling images, they always seem underwhelming and washed given how much money I put into my rig!

Not to mention unpredictable British weather and overwhelming light pollution is a pain to work around. 

Would you say the L eXtreme is still a good filter in todays standards (those vids are about a year old now) or has the market got better on offer in that 150-250GBP price range?

The L-eXtreme is perfectly fine with f/4 and slower systems and it is still the best bang for the buck here in the UK. But to get the most out of it you really need to mod the camera (Astronomizer in the UK does it on the cheap and is reputable), more so if you have to fight light pollution, as you need all the help you can get, if you get my meaning...
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EnricoPallazzo 0.90
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Hi!

First off, I use the L-eXtreme on both a modded Canon 2000D and an ASI533MC and I can confirm the aforementioned halos. If I could go back in time, I'd buy an IDAS NBZ for emission nebulae.

That being said, a narrowband filter will of course not increase the H-alpha sensitivity on an unmodded camera, but it will cut everything else, so the contrast on your nebulae would still improve over filterless images. But if I had 300 bucks and had to choose between modding or filter, I would go for modding, as this actually does increase the Ha sensitivity. Then you can still combine with whatever filter you like, be it a more affordable broadband (like IDAS LPS D1 or Optolong L-Pro) or eventually narrowband.

Also, I think your plans of buying an astrocam don't need to affect this decision. In my experience both my cams have very dedicated uses. I use my ASI at home with laptop and everything, my 2000D I use in the field and then I'm really glad it's modded. Also if you actually plan on getting a mono, then the cameras are even less redundant and you might find it a nice thing to also have a modded color camera.

Cheers,
Ben
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JRB 0.00
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Thank you so much Ben, and again to everyone else, 

Gonna mod first and then get a filter.
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Bibabutzemann 1.51
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Hi, i too advise for a mod, it will increase the Ha sensitivity by a factor of 3-4!
I think the l extreme is totally worth it, because 7nm is already excellent at reducing most of the LP gradients and you always find them 2nd hand for a good price because its so popular.

CS Patrick
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