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Old 25-11-2020, 01:09 PM
Todo43 (Lachlan)
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Astro Modifying a Canon Camera

Hi all,

3 Questions

1. How safe is Astro modifying and could I do it myself at home?

2. If I am trying to let more Ha through, do I need to buy a specific piece of glass to put over the sensor after removing the IR and UV filter? How expensive are these pieces of glass?

3. While doing normal photography, would I need a filter for it, or can the color balance change it back to normal?

Thanks in advance!
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Old 25-11-2020, 01:31 PM
sunslayr (David)
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Generally it's pretty safe if you have experience disassembling electronics before however it must be done precisely if you intend to do terrestrial photography with the original lenses and preventing dust contamination is pretty difficult without a clean room/box. To use the original lenses you will need a clear filter which costs about $120 otherwise it will not focus and if you want the original colour balance you will need to use an external uv/ir filter on the outside of the lens which may degrade the image quality or a more expensive clip in filter. It is not really possible to rebalance the colours in post. I would probably only do it myself if it was an inexpensive canon. It's about $500-600 to get it done professionally.
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Old 25-11-2020, 02:52 PM
JA
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Hi L,

Which Canon model do you have? There are some online disassembly guides (youtube videos and/or photos) that might be useful in giving you a good idea of the complexity involved. Think plenty of small screws or varying length, potentially fragile plastics, delicate ribbon cables and sometimes critical sensor mount requirements. Not to mention loss of AF function (if that's important to you) without reinstalling some glass to correct for the optical path length change resulting from removal of the original filter and any other correcting glass.

If you don't already own the camera there may be other possible alternatives worthy of consideration.

Best
JA
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Old 25-11-2020, 02:57 PM
glend (Glen)
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It very much depends on your particular camera model. I have modified several Canon 450Ds, including installing cold finger cooling. Have a look at Gary Honis' website on DIY DSLR modification,

dslrmodifications.com

He has very detailed instructions for some models, here:


http://dslrmodifications.com/rebelmod450d1.html
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Old 25-11-2020, 03:06 PM
bluesilver (Peter)
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i have done a Canon EOS 600D
It is a very easy thing to do if you have the patience and go slowly.
You need to cut one of the UV filter out and replace it with glass, this turns a few people away for it right there.
But if happy to give it a go, you need the glass which can be purchased through Astronomik
https://www.astronomik.com/en/photog...ification.html

The instructions on how to go about the whole procedure can also be found here:
http://dslrmodifications.com/rebelmod450d1.html

But generally once it has been modified it is really only to be any good for Asrto work.
You can use it for normal work, but you have the cost of adding flitters and the you still won't be back to how it was before the modification.
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Old 25-11-2020, 05:10 PM
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ChrisV (Chris)
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I've done a 550D and a 450D I bought from Glen ages ago. As other have said, Gary Honis is your friend. I wouldn't be game to do it on a newish expensive camera.

I've still got the 450D - I tried to debayer it. That was a disaster. So I bought a replacement sensor on aliexpress and stuck to the filter removal mod. I didn't replace the filter with glass as I only use it on scopes, so have a 2" UV/IR filter further up the imaging train.
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Old 03-12-2020, 07:36 PM
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The thing I found that gave me trouble on the first time I did one was the ribbon cable connectors.

They don't just plug in. There is a little latch at the end of them that needs to be opened first and then they pull out easily and you can plug them back in easily then close the locking latch (a hinged piece of plastic the width of the receiving part). I tried to pull the cable out on my first try and it damaged the
ribbon cable and the connector unit. The locking latch flips up easily once you pry it up with a thin slot head screwdriver.

There is usually also a delicate pair of wires or a single wire that takes power to the LCD and its easily broken off the board its soldered to. So have a soldering iron available if you need to resolder a wire.

Also a good idea to take photos of each step so you can see what it looked like before you dismantle it in case you get lost on the reassembly.

If you use some silicone be careful as silicone and other sealants easily form little strings when you have finished doing a small bead and you can drag them back onto the sensor and stain the sensor glass. Acetone will remove it easily. Not sure what that does to antireflection coatings though.
Best test it on something unimportant.


Greg.
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Old 06-12-2020, 05:00 PM
kon1966 (Kon)
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Modification camera

I have a eos 1100d and is full spectrum so all the glass and filters removed. Its dedicated to astrophotography.
I went to http://www.whiltoncamera.com.au and cost $200 a few years ago.
I use clip filter and ir cut filter to reduce star bloating

Regards
Kon
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