A cheap filter trick that saved my nebula shots

Honestly, I was getting so much light pollution from my backyard in Tucson that my Orion shots looked washed out. I tried stacking more frames, but it didn't help. Ngl, I got desperate and taped a cheap #8 yellow Wratten gel filter, the kind for old film cameras, in front of my DSLR lens. It cost maybe 12 bucks online. The difference was crazy, it cut the orange glow and the nebula's structure just popped. Has anyone else tried weird vintage filters for this, or is there a better way?

3 comments

3 Comments

skylerp3111d ago

That's a brilliant hack, using what you have on hand. I've heard of people cutting up old floppy disks or even using welder's glass as a DIY filter for solar stuff. Your success with the yellow gel makes me wonder if those old colored film filters could be a budget alternative to specific light pollution filters, at least for certain targets. Might have to raid my grandpa's camera bag and give it a shot myself.

alicecooper11d ago

Love that idea of raiding old camera bags. I once used a piece of amber stage lighting gel to cut through some haze and it worked shockingly well for the moon. Those old film filters are absolutely worth a try.

the_adam11d agoTop Commenter

My buddy found a dusty red filter in his dad's old kit and tried it on Jupiter last fall. He said it didn't do much for the bands, but it made the moons pop like crazy against the sky. He was shocked something that old and simple actually worked. It really makes you want to dig through every old box in the attic.