Hoya 77mm Starscape Light Pollution Filter (Intensifier)

Starscape | Light Pollution

The Hoya Starscape, previously Intensifier, filter is designed to block light pollution from city lights, giving final night time images a more natural look. Astrophotographers, meteor chasers, star gazers, and night shooters will all benefit from owning this filter. 

The Starscape has many names for one main job; Starscapes, Intensifiers, Red Intensifiers, Ra54s, Light Pollution filters, and/or "didymium" filters essentially reduce the yellow-orange glow caused by city lights.

Key Features:

• For Astro and Milky Way photographers
• Blocks yellow-orange colour cast from city lights
• Improves contrast between stars and sky
• Enhances fall colours without affecting green or blue colours

The filter targets specific wavelengths of light emitted by common sodium and mercury vapor street lamps and blocks a portion of that orange/yellow glow as it passes through the filter. The effect can be dramatic or subtle depending on how strong the light source is and how much atmospheric haze is in the air.

The filter is not adding blue or changing the colour of the scene. It is stopping specific areas of the colour spectrum from passing through the filter. The camera never sees that light or colour.

The end result is a RAW file without the yellow-orange glow polluting your image. It allows you to colour correct and enhance colours without needing to compensate for light pollution.

The filter can also be used during the daylight hours to enhance red, orange and yellow colours. It was originally created for film photographers to "intensify" warm fall colours on overcast and cloudy days. The filter is still used today by digital and film photographers to target those specific colours for enhanced saturation while leaving the blue and green colours alone. Add a circular polarizer to this and you will have an excellent filter combination to capture fall colours.

*The Starscape filter has a base filter factor (light loss) of 1/2 stop, but you may see a 1-2 stop difference in exposure depending on how much of your scene is lit by sodium or mercury vapor lights.

*The Hoya Starscape and Hoya Intensifier Filters use the same glass and filter frame. The only difference is the name and packaging.