Hunting mushrooms w/ the aid of certain filters???

Morel season will be here in a few months. Search feature didn't find any useful information about this so I guess I'll cast a line and see who bites. Is anyone aware of certain light filters that work better for trying to spot morels? I have no filters of anykind so I've never tried. Didn't know if they might react to UV light or some other color. Thanks for any suggestions you can offer.

I have no idea as far as colored filters or using UV, but at the very least, I'd use and incandescent over an LED for it's color rendering ability. In my experience, it's much easier to find things in the outdoors with incans.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.

-Robert

i've tried both but it doesn't really seem to favor one tint over another or an LED over an incan because their coloration is so perfectly matched. i'm hoping there is some narrow wavelength of light that i can exploit and will ID them against the leaf litter.

i started hunting them at night simply cause the shadow they cast will move as you move and it makes them jump out a little better.

Good to hear there's other morel hunters on here! I have no idea about the filters though, I've never hunted them at night as I've just gotten into flashlights seriously this year. I will try it in the spring though and let you know what I find is best. They can be very tricky to spot at times, I've always had more luck later in the day for some reason.

I'm glad to see this question. Too often, we just discuss technology here and ignore the morel questions.

If they fluoresced under UV light, that would be really great, but I have no idea whether they do.

I suspect that experimentation is the only way to find out. Try a couple of different light sources.

Do you find mushrooms by recognizing the shape, or is there a color to them that distinguishes them from the background? If you have a light that you can hold out an an angle to generate shadows, it will allow you to see shapes and textures better. i.e. a small light you can hold out, or even some sort of "light on a stick."

It's possible that a monochromatic light source like a red LED would make them stand out against the background, if they reflect differently at that wavelength. Try taking a high power tunable dye laser with you and sweep the spectrum.

I suspect that unless they fluoresce, you won't find anything that's a lot better than other light sources.

I go out hunting mushrooms in season and I tend to use the same theory as you do, at night and watch for the shadows...
It's about the only time I use an incan, purely as was said before for the colour rendering ability... I'm looking forward to taking out my Sundrop XR-U when they're in season again, and seeing how that performs...

shape...no question thats what works best for me. as it gets later in the year you can observe color differences better as grass and weeds start to push through the leaf litter, but by then you don't have many good days left. otherwise the morels, whether yellows or blacks, match color perfect. even the sheen at which they reflect sunlight is perfect. it'll be nice now that i have a couple XP-G's...i think those might be about the best emitter for this type of thing.

not sure i understand why there's a preference for incan. i get that the glare off your surroundings is much more natural and pleasing to the eye, but do you really think that it highlights morels relative to the background better than LEDs??? i just don't see it when i've tried it.

Apollo Cree said:

It's possible that a monochromatic light source like a red LED would make them stand out against the background, if they reflect differently at that wavelength. Try taking a high power tunable dye laser with you and sweep the spectrum.

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and just where on earth would i find this laser that can cover the visible spectrum (& beyond if possible)??? does it have a lens, diffuser or some other means by which to scatter light over an area?

Apollo Cree said:

I'm glad to see this question. Too often, we just discuss technology here and ignore the morel questions.

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:sick2:

stallion2 said:

and just where on earth would i find this laser that can cover the visible spectrum (& beyond if possible)??? does it have a lens, diffuser or some other means by which to scatter light over an area?

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That was mostly a joke. I haven't heard of a portable tunable dye laser.

Apollo Cree said:

That was mostly a joke. I haven't heard of a portable tunable dye laser.

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i caught the morel pun, but i just saw one of Data's latest flashlight prototypes yesterday and after looking at that...well...it seems as though anything is possible.

I suspect you are better off locating suitable habitats, and checking online to find out when other people in your state are finding them. Morchella esculenta (the one with the round cream coloured cap) is said to favour burnt ground such as the site of a forest fire in the previous year, and also Ash trees, and alkaline soil. Sadly they are rather rare in most of the UK, where I live, but one of the few wild mushrooms that really are excellent to eat, in my opinion.

Apollo Cree said:

Too often, we just discuss technology here and ignore the morel questions.

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stallion2 said:

shape...no question thats what works best for me. as it gets later in the year you can observe color differences better as grass and weeds start to push through the leaf litter, but by then you don't have many good days left. otherwise the morels, whether yellows or blacks, match color perfect. even the sheen at which they reflect sunlight is perfect. it'll be nice now that i have a couple XP-G's...i think those might be about the best emitter for this type of thing.

not sure i understand why there's a preference for incan. i get that the glare off your surroundings is much more natural and pleasing to the eye, but do you really think that it highlights morels relative to the background better than LEDs??? i just don't see it when i've tried it.


and just where on earth would i find this laser that can cover the visible spectrum (& beyond if possible)??? does it have a lens, diffuser or some other means by which to scatter light over an area?

Click to expand...

I would recommend an incan based on your use of filters. Other than blue filters, incans work much better when a filter is placed in front of the lens. Put a red filter on most white LED's and your output is puny compared to an incan with red filter. Try using a UV filter and the LED will have zero output, while the incan will have some (not much I'd imagine, but it should work). It's my understanding that you don't want to mess around with shroom ID either, so a high CRI/incan light source may be a smart idea to stay safe.

I'll be checking back to this thread...I love Morels, we always call them Dry Land Fish though.

Maybe Bass Pro sells a Dry Land Fish Finder? lol

Yoda4561 said:

I would recommend an incan based on your use of filters. Other than blue filters, incans work much better when a filter is placed in front of the lens. Put a red filter on most white LED's and your output is puny compared to an incan with red filter. Try using a UV filter and the LED will have zero output, while the incan will have some (not much I'd imagine, but it should work). It's my understanding that you don't want to mess around with shroom ID either, so a high CRI/incan light source may be a smart idea to stay safe.

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good point, hadn't really given consideration to how an LED's output would suffer more at the hands of a filter than an incan typically would. i don't really have any experience w/ filters outside of underwater photography, don't even own any for my lights. what do you mean by "shroom ID"?

Now that I own a Quark RGB I am more inclined to test how things look under different colors...

I admire people with that sort of patience to find mushrooms at night....

I suppose it would depend on what sort of mushrooms your looking for

lol, I guess technically you would hunt them at night. I prefer getting up around 4-6am and looking before the dew falls (and before the slugs get them).

stallion2 said:

good point, hadn't really given consideration to how an LED's output would suffer more at the hands of a filter than an incan typically would. i don't really have any experience w/ filters outside of underwater photography, don't even own any for my lights. what do you mean by "shroom ID"?

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"mushroom identification"

I dont know anything about using flashlights to find mushrooms, but here is my 2 cents.

This is a FALSE morel some call it a beef steak, but it was large so I still took a pic.
VS Ultrafire C2 P7

Illum said:

I suppose it would depend on what sort of mushrooms your looking for

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Good Lord, that is amazing, where did you find such a small man?