Canon 600d modification

[acarleton (Aidan)]

Hi all

I have an unmodified canon 600d and would like to have it modified. Just wanted to see how people went about this. Do you generally do it yourself? Or do you get it done by a "trained professional" ? If so, is there anyone in Sydney that someone can recommend and about how much am I expecting to fork out for the mod?

Thanks

[acarleton (Aidan)]

Never mind, i made the modification myself (very scary) and it came out well.

[mbaddah (Mo)]

Hi mate ive been thinking about doing the same thing to my 600D. Could you explain how you went about doing it? Did you follow any particular guide?

Btw well done

[acarleton (Aidan)]

Gary Honis has a Web site http://dslrmodifications.com which explains it quite well, step by step. If you are going to do it you have to be very careful. I have not had a chance to shoot through my telescope, I will let you know how the results turn out.

Originally Posted by mbaddah

Hi mate ive been thinking about doing the same thing to my 600D. Could you explain how you went about doing it? Did you follow any particular guide?

Btw well done

[acarleton (Aidan)]

I had a quick shoot through my modded camera last night and i have to say the difference was quite incredible. I took some shots of the Carina Nebula and it brought out a lot more of the nebula than i had seen before, really happy with the results. The only downside is that as I continued shooting the noise from the heat of the camera became more and more noticeable. i didn't have many issues with camera heat before but it looks like my next project is to build a cooler box.

Originally Posted by acarleton

Gary Honis has a Web site http://dslrmodifications.com which explains it quite well, step by step. If you are going to do it you have to be very careful. I have not had a chance to shoot through my telescope, I will let you know how the results turn out.

[mbaddah (Mo)]

Originally Posted by acarleton

I had a quick shoot through my modded camera last night and i have to say the difference was quite incredible. I took some shots of the Carina Nebula and it brought out a lot more of the nebula than i had seen before, really happy with the results. The only downside is that as I continued shooting the noise from the heat of the camera became more and more noticeable. i didn't have many issues with camera heat before but it looks like my next project is to build a cooler box.

Interesting observation. Is it normal for noise to increase after removing the filter? If so I may just wait and purchase a OSC CCD instead.

[acarleton (Aidan)]

I am sure someone on this forum will have a better answer for you, but my assumption is that the sensor is now more sensitive to the red spectrum and infra red, therefore it will pick up more of the heat as the camera heats up. it wasn't horrible but i will be making a cooler box for it, probably this weekend. that way i will be getting the most out of my camera.

]

Originally Posted by mbaddah

Interesting observation. Is it normal for noise to increase after removing the filter? If so I may just wait and purchase a OSC CCD instead.

[traveller (Bo)]

My understanding is that noise is related to temperature. Higher temperatures will cause electrons to "jump"and register as a false signal (hot pixel).
That's why people cool their modified DSLRs to get less noise in their long exposure shots.
Bo

[pdalek (Patrick)]

The noise should not be increased by filter removal.

Noise can be increased by
- poor connection of sensor frame grounding clip
- incorrect placement of display shield ground straps when fitting back
- poorly seated or unlocked connector
- damaged printed cable
- screw left untightened
Also odd image effects, which can look like sensor noise, from
- light leakage - the body of these cameras leaks lots of light but most is blocked by plastic sensor frame if properly fitted and undamaged.
- light leakage through viewfinder window
There are other causes but less likely.

Try shots with and without the display enabled and compare noise.
Also with and without cable to computer.
These will often show up poor connections.

[acarleton (Aidan)]

Thanks for that, i will have a look into it, but i am not getting increased noise for the first half hour of shooting, it is only starting to increase as the night went on and i assume the sensor heated up. the first images were fine.

Originally Posted by pdalek

The noise should not be increased by filter removal.

Noise can be increased by
- poor connection of sensor frame grounding clip
- incorrect placement of display shield ground straps when fitting back
- poorly seated or unlocked connector
- damaged printed cable
- screw left untightened
Also odd image effects, which can look like sensor noise, from
- light leakage - the body of these cameras leaks lots of light but most is blocked by plastic sensor frame if properly fitted and undamaged.
- light leakage through viewfinder window
There are other causes but less likely.

Try shots with and without the display enabled and compare noise.
Also with and without cable to computer.
These will often show up poor connections.

[acarleton (Aidan)]

I just tried all the combinations and the noise is fine. i really think it is just the sensor heating up.

[StarCravingMad (Kevin)]

Hi there,
New to the forum, and also new to being interested in Astronomy/Astrophotography. Getting my scope setup in a month or two and I also have a Canon 600D.

A question I had about modding the camera, is how will the mod affect the camera when I wanna use it for things other than astrophotography? Are you able to switch it on and off?

[acarleton (Aidan)]

unfortunately it is a fairly permanent modification. you are physically removing one of the filters in front of the CMOS sensor so there is no way of turning it off and on again (electronically). The camera still works but it now picks up more of the red spectrum than what is visible to your naked eye so some objects look unnatural. you may be able to buy a filter to snap onto the lens of the camera to correct for this but i have not looked into it. I made the modification because i wanted to use the camera mainly for astro work and my phone camera was sufficient for other shots (i am not a landscape photographer). the results are fantastic (the one night i took shots before the perpetual clouds rolled in) but it is definitely something that needs to be considered carefully.

Originally Posted by StarCravingMad

Hi there,
New to the forum, and also new to being interested in Astronomy/Astrophotography. Getting my scope setup in a month or two and I also have a Canon 600D.

A question I had about modding the camera, is how will the mod affect the camera when I wanna use it for things other than astrophotography? Are you able to switch it on and off?

[StarCravingMad (Kevin)]

Originally Posted by acarleton

unfortunately it is a fairly permanent modification. you are physically removing one of the filters in front of the CMOS sensor so there is no way of turning it off and on again (electronically). The camera still works but it now picks up more of the red spectrum than what is visible to your naked eye so some objects look unnatural. you may be able to buy a filter to snap onto the lens of the camera to correct for this but i have not looked into it. I made the modification because i wanted to use the camera mainly for astro work and my phone camera was sufficient for other shots (i am not a landscape photographer). the results are fantastic (the one night i took shots before the perpetual clouds rolled in) but it is definitely something that needs to be considered carefully.

I had read somewhere, that a modded camera can be used for normal photography later by adjusting the white balance. Does anyone know what I mean? I cannot find where I read it, but I'm sure I did

[MrB (Simon)]

The white balance can be adjusted to make the image appear normal, but you will still occasionally see unusual effects.
For example, my 60Da which is factory modified will shoot normal daylight photo's most of the time but sometimes something that is supposedly black will appear red in the photograph. I have seen this in peoples clothing in particular.
Skin tones are sometimes a little whacky too.

[StarCravingMad (Kevin)]

I take alot of wildlife and landscape shots with my camera so based on these replies i will not mod my DSLR. I will just get a dedicated ccd camera instead. Thanks Everyone

[MrB (Simon)]

Originally Posted by StarCravingMad

I take alot of wildlife and landscape shots with my camera so based on these replies i will not mod my DSLR. I will just get a dedicated ccd camera instead. Thanks Everyone

Or, pick up another body to play with.
The 1100D has turned out to be a very capable astro DSLR and very popular to mod. Best of all is the price for the body only.

[StarCravingMad (Kevin)]

Now there is an idea. If I decided to go that way, does anyone know of any reputable places that can mod the DSLR for me? And cost?

Cheers
Kev

[acarleton (Aidan)]

This thread has officially gone full circle