Samsung SCC-A2333 & SCB-4000 IR Filter Removal

[ballaratdragons]

With the growing popularity of the Samsung SCC-A2333 and SCB-4000 cameras for 'Live' astrovideo and Broadcasting I have made a Video Tutorial of how to remove the factory fitted Infrared Filter from these cameras.

The Samsung SDC-435 Camera's IR Filter comes out easily by undoing a few screws, but the SCC-A2333 and the SCB-4000 have a very complicated mechanically driven worm-drive/Filter Frame setup.

Here is the Video: HERE (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3Hh7JN3E-k)

For Astro work you will need to add a high quality Imaging UV+IR filter to the nosepiece when using a Refractor, or an IR filter when using a Reflector.
I use one of these on my Refractors: Astronomiks (http://www.astronomik.com/en/astronomik_l-uv-ir_filter.html)

If you need further help, please ask here.
Good Luck.

[Exfso]

Loved your video Ken, you are a character mate...

[Astroman]

Great video Ken, very educational and not a screw left out :D


You could add a disclaimer to it to prevent some people blaming you for stuffing up their cameras :) unlikely but may happen.

[ballaratdragons]

Thanks Andrew, good idea.
I'll add the disclaimer in the text under the video.
It's too much work to add it into the video them re-upload it all again :thumbsup:

EDIT: Done :thumbsup:

[joe_smith]

Good video Ken watched it twice :) how did you fit the remote to it?? the more I watch NSN the more i like these cameras, saving up for one now, and will follow your video. These are pretty powerful observing aids, and I cant believe the detail you can get. Plus using the camera you will a lot more objects you wouldn't otherwise see, especially in the bright suburbs. btw who's playing the Floyd style guitar at the end ??

[ballaratdragons]

Here Joe, here is my tutorial on making the remote control for it.
http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/4117126/page/8/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/1

The music is a backing track that I play along to :lol:

[Astroman]

Nice work Ken, it's people like you, who share this information that makes this hobby better. Also allows others to get your ideas and make new ones for themselves, making the hobby even better for those in the future. Well done Ken, great projects. My hats off to ya....

[DavidU]

Good work Ken !

[robz]

Marvellous video Ken.....thank you.

Just a quick question, I have a Honeywell dome CCTV unit that I got for nix and it too has a motor driven filter that slides in to place on certain settings.
It looks greenish like the one in your video, is this the IR filter or the Bayer colour combination?

Cheers,
Rob.

[ballaratdragons]

Hi Rob, it is the IR filter :thumbsup:
A Bayer Matrix is on the face of the chip and you really can't see it properly.

The problem with these factory fitted IR filters (that greeny bluish filter) is that they have the wrong cut-off points for astrophotography.
They are fine for security cameras at the entrance to buildings and such, but they also cut off some of the light we want to collect from deep space objects, making them very faint.
A good 'astrophotography' IR filter (for a Reflector) or IR/UV filter (for a Refractor) allows the right amount of light through while blocking only the infrared or the infrared and ultraviolet :)

Get that built-in filter out Rob :thumbsup:

[robz]

Great news Ken!:)

If I wanted to do just video astronomy viewing on a tv/computer, do I still need to purchase an upmarket IR filter?

The camera does colour and black and white very well(even in extremely low lighting).It also has 128X sense up which helps even though it's not state of the art like the new cams these days(very easy to cool should I decide to do so).:thumbsup:

I was hoping to get it on to my 12 inch SCT for some fun and possibly pick up some of the brighter nebulas, globs and maybe a galaxy or two in COLOUR?:question:

Cheers,
Rob.

[ballaratdragons]

Rob,
There are different quality IR and IR/UV filters, and it shows.
I bought a cheap one and it shows everything blue!
Blue stars, bluish Moon, faint blue nebulae :lol:
Even the original filter didn't do that!
To answer your question, yes, you need a pretty good one, or it defeats the purpose of taking the original filter out.

There are a few different makes. I use Astronomiks (aprox $70).
For these cameras avoid the Bintel IR Filter.

128x will still allow you to see some pretty faint stuff.

A Tip: What will make a big difference is using a CRT monitor/TV.
CRT's will show things that won't show up on an LCD screen or laptop. :)

If you want to see good colour, or even faint objects, use a Focal Reducer. CRT's are too slow. The faster the scope the better. :thumbsup:

To give an example of what people are capturing live with different cameras go here (page 30 onwards) and have a look.
Most are Screen Grabs from live shows: http://www.cloudynights.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php/Cat/0/Number/2050552/page/1/view/collapsed/sb/5/o/all/fpart/30/vc/1

[robz]

Many thanks again Ken!
These tips will be of great benefit...........trust me.:thumbsup:

I will look for a good filter as recommended and already have a CRT monitor, so It's just a matter of reassembling the guts of the original camera into a small box etc., and we'll see how it goes from there.

Regards,
Rob.

[robz]

Connected the camera with it's original lens still on, filter not yet removed (dome housing off of course) and connected it to a 14 inch LG CRT TV last night in the study.

With ''SENSE UP ON'', the results are truly amazing in an almost dark room! Could easily see detail(in colour!!) of items stacked in the corners of the room(pitch black) that my eyes couldn't make out.
It was like the room lights were on..........very sensitive:thumbsup:

There were of course some noticeable hot pixels,which may be able to be reduced with active cooling, but the built in noise reduction worked extremely well. :D

Promising enough to go ahead with a rebuild and new IR filter............but which one?.........Baeder?:question:

[ballaratdragons]

Well done Rob.

If you use a Refractor you will need a UV+IR Blocking filter.
If you use a Reflector you will only need an IR Blocking filter.

I use Astronomiks (I think I got it from Bintel).
http://www.astronomik.com/en/astronomik_l-uv-ir_filter.html

[robz]

Thanks again Ken.
I'll see what Bintel has in the better quality filters.

[ballaratdragons]

Here it is at Bintel: https://www.bintelshop.com.au/Product.aspx?ID=6542

[robz]

Ripper!...............thanks everyone!:thumbsup: