What is in the Altair LRGB set?

Four 2 inch filters: luminance, red, green and blue. Mine are the ColourPRO red, green and blue, each box marked R1 and Certified, with Altair's 2 inch UV/IR block luminance filter.

Are the Altair LRGB filters parfocal?

Altair makes all four 1.85 mm thick and states that they are parfocal.

What did I capture with them?

M 81 and M 82, the Leo Triplet and the Iris Nebula, each an hour through the set on the Askar SQA130 with the ZWO ASI6200MM Pro.

Do I need a mono camera?

Yes. An LRGB set shoots each colour channel through its own filter on a monochrome sensor, then the four are combined; a one-shot colour camera already has its colour filters on the sensor.

Altair LRGB or ZWO LRGB?

Both are 2 inch sets with 1.85 mm glass. The Altair is £240 against £332 for ZWO's 2 inch set at First Light Optics, and it comes with a test report per filter; ZWO also sells its set in 1.25 inch and 36 mm.

Is there a 1.25 inch version?

Not of the ColourPRO LRGB set: Altair lists it in 2 inch only.

What have I not tested on the Altair LRGB?

I have not measured the transmission or the passbands of these filters myself, and I have not shot them side by side with another LRGB set on the same target.

Altair LRGB review: the ColourPRO 2 inch LRGB filter set

Where does it rank on our leaderboard

Nine of the 13 filters on my board, against price
Rank	Filter	Stars for Your Buck	Recorded UK price
1	Scorpio HSO 3nm	100 out of 100	£448
2	Laida HSO 5nm 1.25″	94 out of 100	£154
4	Altair LRGB	79 out of 100	£240
5	Altair HSO 6.5nm/7nm Narrowband	76 out of 100	£475
6	QuarkStar Chromosphere	76 out of 100	£1,149
8	Altair Ha OIII 4nm	74 out of 100	£399
10	ZWO LRGB	70 out of 100	£332
12	Optolong L-Ultimate Dual-Bandpass 3nm	43 out of 100	£216
13	ZWO HSO 7nm Narrowband	32 out of 100	£734

Contents

01 Where does it rank on our leaderboard
02 Specifications and features
03 In use
04 How good is it? Here's what I captured
05 Raw against finished
06 In my words
07 Watch it in my videos
08 Should you buy it?
09 Questions and more about this review

In 30 seconds

Stars for Your Buck 79/100

Reviewed 23 Jul 2025 Updated 25 Sep 2026

Rank: #4 of 13 filters
Verdict: Damon recommends

Written by Damon Scotting 4 min read

Buy it if

You image galaxies in colour with a monochrome camera and a 2 inch filter wheel.
You want a published test report with every filter you buy.
You want a 2 inch LRGB set for less than ZWO's 2 inch set.

Skip it if

You image nebulae under light pollution: a narrowband set does more there.
You use a one-shot colour camera: LRGB filters are for mono cameras.
You run a 1.25 inch wheel: the ColourPRO LRGB set is 2 inch only.

“Individual test reports for each filter. Bingo. Finally, a trustworthy filter brand.”

Specifications and features

Against the LRGB filter sets I have reviewed

Compare with

Altair LRGB reviewed #4 of 13	ZWO LRGB #10 of 13
Recorded UK price	£240	£332
Stars for Your Buck	79/100	70/100
Type	LRGB broadband filter set	LRGB broadband filter set
Bandpass	Approximate half-height passbands: L 410 to 710 nm; R 600 to 705 nm; G 480 to 600 nm; B 415 to 515 nm	Approximate half-height passbands: L 385 to 700 nm; R 585 to 700 nm; G 490 to 570 nm; B 385 to 495 nm
Lines passed	Luminance, red, green and blue (broadband)	Luminance, red, green and blue (broadband)
Peak transmission	About 96.5 to 98.5%	More than 92%
Sizes	2 inch	1.25 inch (M28.5 x 0.6), 36 mm and 2 inch (M48 x 0.75)
Thickness	1.85 mm, parfocal	1.85 mm (2 inch), 1.9 mm (1.25 inch)
Coating	Dichroic dielectric, anti-reflection, UV/IR block, black resin edge	Multi-layer anti-reflection, infrared cut from 700 to 1,100 nm
In the box	L, R, G and B filters, each with a test report	L, R, G and B filters

In use

Beside the Altair 60EDF

Red, green and blue, R1

The luminance filter

Into the 2 inch wheel

Seven filters loaded

With the Altair 585MM and wheel

How good is it? Here's what I captured

Three targets

Bode's and Cigar Galaxies, ZWO ASI6200MM Pro, Altair LRGB

Integration: 1 h
Field: 3.2 x 2.1 degrees
Telescope: Askar SQA130
Camera: ZWO ASI6200MM Pro
Mount: ZWO AM7
Target: Bode's and Cigar Galaxies (M 81 and M 82)
Type: Galaxies
Location: Bortle 6.8 (in my garden)

Leo Triplet, ZWO ASI6200MM Pro, Altair LRGB

Integration: 1 h
Field: 3.2 x 2.2 degrees
Telescope: Askar SQA130
Camera: ZWO ASI6200MM Pro
Mount: ZWO AM7
Target: Leo Triplet (M 65, M 66 and NGC 3628)
Type: Galaxy group
Location: Bortle 6.8 (in my garden)

Iris Nebula, ZWO ASI6200MM Pro, Altair LRGB

Integration: 1 h
Field: 3.2 x 2.1 degrees
Telescope: Askar SQA130
Camera: ZWO ASI6200MM Pro
Mount: ZWO AM7
Target: Iris Nebula (NGC 7023)
Type: Reflection nebula
Location: Bortle 6.8 (in my garden)

Raw against finished

In my words

The 3 targets, the raw combined stack against my finished image, each with its integration, the camera and the palette:

Bode's and Cigar Galaxies (M 81 and M 82): 1 h of light, ASI6200MM Pro, Altair LRGB, the raw combined stack with one automatic stretch
Leo Triplet (M 65, M 66 and NGC 3628): 1 h of light, ASI6200MM Pro, Altair LRGB, the raw combined stack with one automatic stretch
Iris Nebula (NGC 7023): 1 h of light, ASI6200MM Pro, Altair LRGB, the raw combined stack with one automatic stretch

“They designed them themselves and have been widely noted as the original variation of the particular filters, with competing brands attempting to replicate their filters and cut corners in the process to save money.”

From one of my videos

“From speaking with those in charge, it's clear that they take a lot of pride in their work. Their customer service is second to none.”

From one of my videos

Watch it in my videos

What YOU can SEE with a £3000 Telescope setup?! · published 23 July 2025 · 6:03 · Watch on YouTube · 6,440 views, 373 likes on 2 Oct 2026

Jump to

1:29 The seven-slot 2 inch filter wheel
2:02 Luminance, red, green, blue and narrowband
2:26 Why Altair filters
3:06 A test report for every filter
3:25 The price of the filters
3:37 The total cost
4:14 The images

Transcript of the video 247 words · 3 chapters · searchable

Press a time stamp to play from there.

2:29 Why Altair filters

2:31 So, why Altair Astro? 2:31 Well, it boils down to three reasons. 2:31 Number one, they designed them themselves and have been widely noted as the original variation of the particular filters with competing brands attempting to replicate their filters and cut corners in the process to save money. 2:42 They are, as you say, the OGs. 2:45 These companies trying to replicate their new filters often leads to lower quality filters on the market. 2:49 And what the astrophotography community has come to refer to as the filter lottery. 2:56 Will it be good? 2:56 Will it be bad is anyone's guess. 2:58 You'd expect as creators to be sent the most pristine lab tested filters in order to review, making it hard to trust even our own judgment.

3:06 A test report for every filter

3:07 Which leads me on to reason number two. 3:09 Individual test reports for each filter. 3:12 Bingo. 3:12 Finally, a trustworthy filter brand. 3:14 Altair Astro putting their money where their mouth is and providing empirical evidence for your very own reassurance. 3:19 From speaking with those in charge, it's clear that they take a lot of pride in their work. 3:22 Their customer service is second to none. 3:24 Then lastly, reason three, which to many will be the most important factor, and that is money.

3:25 The price of the filters

3:30 Despite being very new to the market, these premium filters are once again amongst the very cheapest. 3:34 You can even save a little bit more by getting them as a set like I've done here, which brings our total spend for this setup to £3,079.50.

Check out more videos on the Altair LRGB

The $5,000 Telescope That's Closing the Gap With Hubble!?

30 Apr 2026

Should you buy it?

79/100 Stars for Your Buck

Pros

“The LRGB filters are undoubtedly going to improve the quality of our images and make the colours themselves much more excellent and vibrant.”
Peak transmission of about 96.5 to 98.5%, with UV/IR blocking and anti-reflection coatings on every filter.
All four filters are 1.85 mm thick and parfocal, by Altair's specification.
£240 at First Light Optics, £92 less than ZWO's 2 inch LRGB set there.
On the Askar SQA130 with the full-frame ZWO ASI6200MM Pro it gave me M 81 and M 82, the Leo Triplet and the Iris Nebula in an hour each.

Cons

“It's the narrowband filters that isolate the most pristine wavelengths of light, which allow you to take mind-blowingly professional images from your back garden.”
The ColourPRO LRGB set is sold in 2 inch only, so it needs a 2 inch wheel or drawer.
Altair publishes no passband figures for the four filters, only a spectrum graph.
A mono camera and a filter wheel are needed, and four channels to capture and combine for every picture.

Despite being very new to the market, these premium filters are once again amongst the very cheapest.

Who the Altair LRGB is for

Mono imager with a 2 inch wheel

Buy

Four parfocal 2 inch filters with a test report for each, at £240.

Galaxy imager

Buy

Broadband LRGB is the route for galaxies; M 81 and M 82 and the Leo Triplet took me an hour each on a full-frame mono camera.

Buyer who wants proof of quality

Buy

Each filter comes with its own spectrographic test report.

Nebula imager under light pollution

Skip

My recommendation is a narrowband set such as the Scorpio 3 nm HSO.

One-shot colour camera owner

Skip

A colour camera already has its colour filters on the sensor; an LRGB set is for mono cameras only.

1.25 inch wheel owner

Skip

The ColourPRO LRGB set is 2 inch only; ZWO sells its LRGB set in 1.25 inch.

Three alternatives I have reviewed

Questions and more about this review

Reviewed by

Damon Scotting

The Telescope Man Verified

BSc (Hons) Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology, Loughborough University PGCE / QTS, University of Nottingham

About Damon About Damon Damon Scotting is The Telescope Man. He holds a BSc (Hons) in Physics with Astrophysics and Cosmology from Loughborough University and a PGCE with QTS from the University of Nottingham, and taught physics in secondary schools before becoming an astronomy creator. He is a contributing writer for BBC Sky at Night Magazine and the author of 42 Wonders of Our Night Sky, and his photograph of the galaxy M100 with the dwarf planet Ceres was Highly Commended in the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2024 competition run by Royal Observatory Greenwich. He has appeared on the BBC's Blue Peter. More than 750,000 people follow his astronomy channels on YouTube, Instagram and TikTok, and he has reviewed more than 140 telescopes, mounts, cameras, filters and accessories hands-on for this site. More about Damon · How I test · Damon's book

I review all kinds of gear: most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way. How this site is funded

Seven questions, answered

Questions about the Altair LRGB

Reviewed 23 July 2025 ·Updated 25 September 2026

I review all kinds of gear. Most of it I buy, some is gifted and some is loaned, and all of it is reviewed the same way: no company sees or approves a review before it is published. Shop links marked Ad are affiliate links: I earn a commission when you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. How this site is funded

What is in the Altair LRGB set? Four 2 inch filters: luminance, red, green and blue. Mine are the ColourPRO red, green and blue, each box marked R1 and Certified, with Altair's 2 inch UV/IR block luminance filter. In use ↓
Are the Altair LRGB filters parfocal? Altair makes all four 1.85 mm thick and states that they are parfocal. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
What did I capture with them? M 81 and M 82, the Leo Triplet and the Iris Nebula, each an hour through the set on the Askar SQA130 with the ZWO ASI6200MM Pro. What I captured ↓
Do I need a mono camera? Yes. An LRGB set shoots each colour channel through its own filter on a monochrome sensor, then the four are combined; a one-shot colour camera already has its colour filters on the sensor. What I captured ↓
Altair LRGB or ZWO LRGB? Both are 2 inch sets with 1.85 mm glass. The Altair is £240 against £332 for ZWO's 2 inch set at First Light Optics, and it comes with a test report per filter; ZWO also sells its set in 1.25 inch and 36 mm. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
Is there a 1.25 inch version? Not of the ColourPRO LRGB set: Altair lists it in 2 inch only. The specifications and the comparison table ↓
What have I not tested on the Altair LRGB? I have not measured the transmission or the passbands of these filters myself, and I have not shot them side by side with another LRGB set on the same target.