Shooting at a bortle 2 at almost full moon, should I use a filter? - Forums

Topic starter

Jan 7, 2023

Hi!
I have a little dilemma right now, I have the chance to shoot tonight at a Bortle 2, but I don't have the necessary things to power up my regular rig, so I am thinking of just taking my Canon T7, a tripod (and maybe my star adventurer) I plan on shooting the Orion region at about 35mm, but the moon is almost full and really close by, should I use a CLS filter I have from astronomik? Don't know if it will do more harm than good, but I'm scared that barely any signal will show up. What should I do? Also any suggestions on things I should bring just in case?

Engaging

John Rush

Jan 7, 2023

I would use what ever filters you have. It's not really a Bortle 2 sky if you have full moon.

Piers Palmer

Jan 7, 2023 · Edited: Jan 7, 2023

I’m under Bortle 3 skies and I tried to shoot the Tadpoles nebula on Tuesday night and used my NBZ filter with my Redcat51. This is what I got.

Can you tell where the Moon was?

At least I got an image!

andrea tasselli

Frequent contributor

Jan 7, 2023

Greisy Valdes:
Hi!
I have a little dilemma right now, I have the chance to shoot tonight at a Bortle 2, but I don't have the necessary things to power up my regular rig, so I am thinking of just taking my Canon T7, a tripod (and maybe my star adventurer) I plan on shooting the Orion region at about 35mm, but the moon is almost full and really close by, should I use a CLS filter I have from astronomik? Don't know if it will do more harm than good, but I'm scared that barely any signal will show up. What should I do? Also any suggestions on things I should bring just in case?

Simple answer: don't waste your time. If you have a Ha filter with passband < 7nm you can use that. In front of the lens', obviously.

Emanuele La Barbera

Jan 7, 2023

If there is almost full moon then you are not under a Bortle 2 sky anymore, that's because the sky brightness is increased by the moon's shining. I usually do astrophoto under a Bortle 3 sky and, when there is the moon very bright (phase > 60-70%) I always use filters.

Helpful Concise

Greisy Valdes

Topic starter

Jan 7, 2023

Piers Palmer:
I’m under Bortle 3 skies and I tried to shoot the Tadpoles nebula on Tuesday night and used my NBZ filter with my Redcat51. This is what I got.

Can you tell where the Moon was?

At least I got an image!

This image is amazing though!! Maybe DBE or GradientXterminator in PS could help?

Piers Palmer

Jan 7, 2023

Thanks! I’d applied a DBE to it but hadn’t gone beyond that. It’s tucked away for a cloudy night….like yesterday, or tonight…or tomorrow etc.

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