Wasted $60 on a light pollution filter I didn't need

I bought a cheap light pollution filter off Amazon thinking it'd fix my city shots of the Milky Way. Then a guy at my local astronomy club let me borrow his and showed me how the color balance goes all weird unless conditions are perfect. I lost $60 on a filter that sat in my drawer after two tries. Anyone else buy gear that looked good online but totally flopped in real use?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_oscar1mo ago

I ended up using mine as a cheap lens cap for a wide angle I never use. Turned out stacking multiple shorter exposures in software did way more for the light pollution than that filter ever did.

patriciacarr1mo ago

Learn to recognize when the online hype is just marketing dressed up as expertise. It's the same reason I stopped buying expensive kitchen gadgets that looked amazing in videos but couldn't chop an onion properly.

angela431mo ago

Actually, Patricia, the real test is whether that gadget can peel a potato without taking half the flesh with it.