Carina before/after Canon Mods.

[FOOTPRINT]

Hi All,
Thought this may be of interest, The First picture taken with my Canon EOS300D Modified + its original Filter (inserted in the light path) ,and without any filter, showing the increased Ha sensitivity, no DF removed, no processing except to reduce to 20% original size, Ill post the processsed results soon.
Pictures taken last night, both were a single 6 Min. Exp. at ISO-800 with an ED80 + MOGG Focal reducer, guided.
The difference in size is due to the change in position of the Focal Reducer with/without the filter.
regards........Jim

[[1ponders]]

Wow what a difference. Almost too much. As I'm considering getting the mod done on my camera I'm interested to see the result after processing, accepting of course that these are single shots.

[FOOTPRINT]

Hi All,
This is what I get from 1 x 6 Min. Exp.-DF + UV/IR original Canon Filter, and from 6 x 6 Min. Exp. - DF added, aligned, combined, "Thinking".

regards........Jim

[ving]

goddamn theres alot of stars there!!!

thats a good shot :)

[Robby]

Yes very nice... I have come somewhat attached to the blue bias of the non-modified 300d. And having just modified it I too am getting used to the difference. You certainly capture more detail in less exposure time with the mod.
Did you use an dedicated IR-cut filter in the mod'ed shots? My first impressions are that it is absolutely necessary to avid over-exposure in Red. I have attached a before and after shot of the Tarantula I did. The before shot was taken awhile back so it's not really a direct "on-the-night" comparison. I also used an IR-cut filter in the after shot. Withou it it was a mass of Red.. Way OTT.
Cheers

[tornado33]

The damage is done, all these great results have spurred me to bite the bullet and order a modded 350D from Hutech (one with glass filter to allow IR imaging too)
Scott

[[1ponders]]

Jim and Robby, how much are the various filters and where would be a good place to get them from?

[Robby]

IR cut filter... Probably US$100 for a 2" Baader UV/IR cut. That's all you really need to start with a modified 300D.
But then if you use a UHCS filter like Tornado33 then you won't need the IR one.
Cheers

[FOOTPRINT]

Hi All,
Thanks for all the comments, and ROBBY I havent found that the BAADER IR/UV Cut Filter does lessen the Overall Red effect (I wish it did) but the BAADER "Fringe Killer" almost makes an Acromat into an Apo Scope (pictures posted elesewhere this forum) Im going to try CWB + Filters this might help, bugs me the Red overkill, like ngc1977 should be blue but it comes out red no matter what, you really removed the Red from the Tarantula, but shouldent it be quite red anyway, howver point taken, Did you use CWB.

cheers.....Jim

[PhotonCollector]

I'm about to self-modify my camera, especially after seeing the increased Ha in your Eta C images - wow!

Could I ask, what did you replace the original Canon sensor filter with ? Or did you just leave the sensor filterless?
I intended on using a 2" baader Ir-Uv cut filter in the 2" focuser but do I need a clear filter in front of the sensor ? For normal photography I was going to purchase a screw-on lens X-NITE CC1 filter.

Oops maybe this should be a discussion for another forum...

Paul Mayo

[Robby]

All you need to know is here http://ghonis2.ho8.com/rebelmod.html
I used the glass mentioned here from Edmund Scientific. Don't also forget the shims that are added to preserve autofocus.
Cheers

[tornado33]

It looks like a LOT of Ice in space ppl will be using modified cameras soon :)
Scott

[tornado33]

Paul, yes you need a glass of some sort of same thickness as the original, failing that, use the shims as Robby mentions, with the edmund glass. that way Autofocus and manual viewfinder focus will still be accurate.

[tornado33]

Hi
[IMG]http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=9156&stc=1
Hope u dont mind, but I used curves Set Grey Point to neutralise colour balance and Gradient Xterminator (which can also neutralise colour bacance of sky background) to process the Eta Carina without the IR cut filter, what do u think :)

[PhotonCollector]

Thanks Scott,

Paul

[FOOTPRINT]

Hi Paul,
If you modifiy your EOS300D, as suggested get the instructions from Gary Honis they are excellant (I used them to do my modificaton), suggest you get a tray with partitions, mark the partitions with each step, put the bits from the Camera in each bin as you remove them (makes it much easier if you get called away for a day or two, comes replacing them), The Filter is a cow of a thing to get out of its holder (best glue in the world holds it in) also be careful not to break the tabs off the Holder when you cut out the Filter, its easy to do, Be Very Careful replacing the Ribbon connectors (its easy to get them in the wrong position) and one of the clips that holds the (Blue one I think) ribbon connector from the CCD to body is very difficult to get back, yes use the Edmunds Scientific Glass, I dident bother with the spacers (too fiddley) and find the Autofocus works fine BUT DO FOLLOW GARY HONIS INSTRUCTIONS, I use the X-Nite filter on the Canon Lens for normal photography, It also works well, Testing various Uv/Ir Filers for Astrophotography, hope this helps.

cheers.........Jim

[tornado33]

Is this the edmunds glass? http://www.edmundoptics.com/onlinecatalog/displayproduct.cfm?productID=1328

[FOOTPRINT]

Hi Paul,
No thats not it, ill find the I.D. and let you know, A friend of mine is Brisbane got a sheet of the required glass, and has (I think) had it cut to size which comes out to 6 or so Canon size bits, Ill contact him see if he still has some for sale, ill let you know.

cheers....Jim

[2020BC]

Just wondering, everything is red in shots taken with a modified DSLR. Is this a problem having to color balance everything so the stars are white again, etc..?

[PhotonCollector]

Geeday Jim,

Yes all that certainly does help , thank you.

cheers Paul Mayo

[PhotonCollector]

Hi Jim,

I understand this is the glass Edmunds Scientific Optics.
Its at this link http://www.edmundoptics.com/onlinecatalog/displayproduct.cfm?productID=2402 and the Part Number is 32741.

I'd appreciate that ! re: your friend with required glass.

Paul Mayo

[PhotonCollector]

Geeday Scott,

yeah I believe the glass is Its at this link http://www.edmundoptics.com/onlinec...?productID=2402 (http://www.edmundoptics.com/onlinecatalog/displayproduct.cfm?productID=2402) and the Part Number is 32741.

regards
Paul Mayo

[Itchy]

ALthough I don't use a modded camera, I have processed a few images from them. Without any other filter in place, everything is very red indeed. It is fairly easy to colour balance them though. usually through a levels adjustment. Also ImagePlus allow you to do pixel maths, and most recommend multiplying the red channel by 0.6 to restore the colour balance. Here is the modded image with a simple levels adjustment to balance the colours

Cheers

[FOOTPRINT]

Hi All,
And 2020BC you can get different results from the Modded Canon should you desire, if you dont like the Red bit, just do a CWB/daylight and you will get about what an unmodded Canon does but with the added sensitivity to Ha still available (No Filter), ive found also that if you do a CWB using a quartz-Halogen reading lamp, you can get a very blue Hue, just mucking about, well processing can of course get you the colours you want in any case, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

M42- ED80 No Filters, CWB- ISO800-1 x 5 Min. Exp. DF removed, guided.

cheers.....Jim

[[1ponders]]

What I want to know Jim is, you only live about an hour and a half from me. How come you're getting so many clear nights!!!!!!

Another fine shot again, BTW :thumbsup:

[FOOTPRINT]

Hi Paul,
Dont worry im NOT, I just get a few minutes clear, I set-up and put the Camera on multi-exposure (use DSLR Focus for this) and hope for the best, hope the guiding will hold, of all the Pix I took last night (12) only two were useful, The weather is annoying, it was clear as a bell all day yesterday, then by 7 PM all the cloud from Fraser Isl. moved over here, broken but lots of it, and now the moon is waxing which puts an end to nebula photography for a couple of weeks.

cheers....Jim

[FOOTPRINT]

Hi Tony,
Yes that does something for the picture, im still learning how to use IP (a long hard road) I havent tried the Pixel-Maths bit as yet (because i dont know how) but would appreciate any hints on how to do so, I feel that just the right CWB setting would strike a happy medium in colour balance, any ideas on this subject???.

cheers....Jim

[2020BC]

I like the idea of capturing the correct color balance. The idea of being there, so that if you were close enough that it was bright enough for the color sensors in your eyes to begin working then this is how it would look.

Question is: what camera captures a more realistic look, an unmod'd or mod'd one?:confuse3:

Is there any info/data on this somewhere ? Say spectrographs of different parts of M42 or Eta Carina ?

[Itchy]

Jim,

To perform pixel maths on the red channel in IP:

Point --> Pixel Maths

Click on the Red square in the tool bar (this selects the red channel only).
select the multiply operator and adjust the slider to the factor you desire. Done

These days, I don't think about white balance at all. I convert my RAWs to Pre-Bayer, no white balance. Once calibration is finished, I then run the bayer interpolation.

cheers

[FOOTPRINT]

Thanks Tony, ill have a go at that
2020BC- Without additional processing the Un-Modified Camera would be best, but is less sensitive to Ha light (the main emission from say M42 Etc.) the modifed camera with no filter and no CWB is all red, Gary Honis has some info. on this pages re comparisons.

cheers.....Jim

[Vermin]

One thing that worries me about this full spectrum modification is shown in every daytime "after" photo on that site. They all appear very soft, and the colour saturation seems to have suffered too.

I really wanted a Ha sensitive Canon 350D for astronomical imaging but I also wanted to be able to use it for it's excellent daylight photos too (not IR photography though).

Is a Hutech Ha back filter with a daylight front filter the solution?

Or is this a case of not being able to have my cake and eat it too?

[tornado33]

Yes the Hutech back filter with daylight front should allow normal daylight imaging, then just remove the front filter for the astro imaging :)
Scott