Kolari Magnetic Clip-In Filter

[Aurorae (Sara)]

Has anyone used the Kolari magnetic filter for their DLSR for astro? I do nightscape widefield astro with a h-alpha modded Nikon Z6ii and want to get a filter to enhance the images I take. While everyone certainly boasts the quality of the Astronomik H-alpha 12nm CCD-Filter, I am not a fan of the fiddly nature of the whole clip-in side of things, especially since I suffer from a disorder called perpetually clumsy. I also don't want a front of lens filter either, because the intensity of the vignetting is a pain.

This brand offers magnetic filters, making it easy to go in and out, but wondered whether anyone has used them?

The second question is around how they offer a UV/IR Cut H-Alpha Pass, which apparently does the Ha+RGB technique in a single image.

You can read about it here: https://kolarivision.com/narrowband-...ro-landscapes/

Any thoughts?

[Geochron (Jon)]

that looks like an interesting filter Sara but it is slightly alarming to see the qualifying text

'Wide Angle Color Shift: You will experience a purple color shift in the left and right portions of your images when using this filter with a full-spectrum camera and wide-angle lenses. The colour shift is most prominent at focal ranges 24mm and under'

That sounds rather hard to process away if it occurs selectively in parts of the image, rather than across the whole image. Of course wide angle lenses are most often used for Milky Way shots so I would guess that many people will encounter this problem?

Alternatively STC do a 'duo narrowband' clip in filter....

BTW the Kolari clip in filters are a nice product in terms of day-to-day use - I use an IR version on a modified camera for terrestrial photography - I just don't know anything about the astro filter.

[Aurorae (Sara)]

Originally Posted by Geochron

that looks like an interesting filter Sara but it is slightly alarming to see the qualifying text

'Wide Angle Color Shift: You will experience a purple color shift in the left and right portions of your images when using this filter with a full-spectrum camera and wide-angle lenses. The colour shift is most prominent at focal ranges 24mm and under'

I was alarmed by that too given I mostly use a 20mm lens, and while I agree that post-processing would be a pain, there may be some work arounds if this also happens to occur with a HA modded DLSR. I decided to purchase it, even though no one that I know has ever used it for nightscapes or with an astromodded camera, but the article I attached above made me really wonder the possibilities. The additional and more practical value is the magnetic clip-in; the Nikon Z6ii camera makes something like the atronomix clip-in really frightening given how close the mirror is, and I feel like I am going to break something or that its too fiddly to remove, especially at night Having the magnetic attachment makes it really easy to remove.

I like the STC clip-in actually, as it is quite specific vis-a-vis what I am wanting the filter to do, but have you or anyone you know used it? It seems too good to be true.

[Geochron (Jon)]

I actually have the STC filter but have not yet had the opportunity to try it out in the field. I tested it at home when it first arrived but quickly determined - not unexpectedly - that exposures have to be quite long, even with a full spectrum modified camera. As I didn't have a star tracker to hand at that point the brief experiment ended...

I can say that it does seem to do exactly what you would expect but, unfortunately, the STC solution to 'clip in' involves sticking the filter onto the camera body with some small, semi-sticky pads. These are supposedly multi-use but difficult to position precisely and IMHO are nowhere near as elegant as the Kolari magnetic solution. They seem rather low-tech by comparison - even though this is actually quite an expensive filter.