10D modification for astronomical photography - scary !

[Olegis]

How many of you would dare to actually perform such a modification ? :cool:
It's nice to see how the camera is built on the inside, though ...

http://members.nextra.at/mschwarz/astronomie/Equipment/10D/10Dmodify.htm

[kb244]

Hrm you get to step 12... now get it put back together :D

[chris maddock]

Reassembly is the reverse of disassembly - in the words of the good old Haynes Manuals, written for most cars in the UK ;-)

[RTMiller]

Quote from the first page of instructions:
"There are many different screws on the camera. The best way is to seperate the screws in different boxes and make notes about the position."

Pay particular attention to the screws that fell out of your head for attempting such a lame-brained idea!

[pierrot]

The more you read, the more the auhor uses "very", then "very very", then "very very very" before the word "careful(ly)".
I wonder why? :mrgreen:

[C.S.I.]

No harder than those Revell "for ages 5 and up" models growing up. :p

[kb244]

wouldnt wana stab that CCD sensor. You know removing that hot mirror also makes the 10D very good for IR photography using an R72 filter.

[boone]

Somebody did something similar with the Rebel:

http://ghonis2.ho8.com/rebelmod.html

[steven]

Was at a conference last weekend and the Canon sales rep was asked about IR photography and I don't know if he was joking or not but he said to send the camera to Canan service and they would happily remove the IR filter from the sensor, but the you would have a camera that was only good for IR.

[DocFrankenstein]

I'll probably do it in 3-4 years to my rebel when I have a new camera.

[mvonditter]

Uh, why disassemble your camera when Mead makes adapters for virtually all of their telescopes that you would want to use for this purpose anyway? If I remember right, I paid about $70 for mine. Works just fine. :-)

[PhotoManMike]

Uh, why disassemble your camera when Mead makes adapters for virtually all of their telescopes that you would want to use for this purpose anyway? If I remember right, I paid about $70 for mine. Works just fine. :-)


As I understand it, the reason people do this modification for astrophotography is because removing the filter allows the Hydrogen-alpha and other far-red wavelengths to reach the image sensor, which allows for more of the subtle, wispy detail in some nebulosity.

Here's a company that actually sells brand new DRebels modified for this purpose:

http://www.sciencecenter.net/hutech/canon/index.htm

Even with this modification, you still need the T-thread adapters to couple the camera to the telescope. Oh, and the person who took the picture in the link from the first message in this thread really should have wiped the finger prints off of the LCD screen!

Mike

[perfectpixel]

I agree that this is nuts, but it's no joke for serious astrophotographers
couple of comments:
1. why not call Canon service to do this for you? may be worth a few $$
2. for astrophotography you would not need autofocus or AWB, so the filter need not be replaced with "another 2.8mm filter"
3. wait another year or so, youcan pickup a 10D on ebay for <$500, then you could do this with a lot less stress.

[Jon]

I agree that this is nuts, but it's no joke for serious astrophotographers
couple of comments:
1. why not call Canon service to do this for you? may be worth a few $$
2. for astrophotography you would not need autofocus or AWB, so the filter need not be replaced with "another 2.8mm filter"
3. wait another year or so, youcan pickup a 10D on ebay for <$500, then you could do this with a lot less stress.

There are 3rd parties that will do this too.
The replacement filter is necessary, not for auto-focus or white balancing, but so the sensor and the focussing screen have the same focussing point. If you change the light path to the sensor, you'll be out of focus when you use the screen as a focussing aid.
Or pick up a D30 or D60 now. My local camera shop had a D30 at $375 - looked pristine. I thought about it (briefly), but the guy behind the counter agreed that when the inevitable DR replacement comes along there'd be plenty of them on the market, and soon. He also thought that when people pulled their 10Ds out after the winter they'd start deciding to upgrade to the 20D and there'd be a lot of them coming on the market.

[Huckaback Photo]

what I think is just brilliant about this forum, is the way all these different post come in with imput from all directions then suddenly someone comes on like. Photo Man Mike puts up a post with an absolutely spot on bit of info that even lists where you can buy a brand new d rebel converted and ready for use in this field. well done Mike.

Now next question
I have taken my 1 d mk 2 apart and you know the 3 small screws on the right hand side of the shutter mechanism nearest the base plate, are they the long threaded ones or?????????????

Hey Guys i'm only joking !! but it is pos someone may know.
enjoy these wonderful bits of kit for what they are designed for, anything else leave to the experts.
Cheers
Martin (Huckaback Photo)

[Jesper]

If you do this with your 1D Mark II you can make astrophotography photos real fast! See those stars move at 8 fps! :p

[Eric DeCastro]

i got to step 10 already. I'm sure I can do this.

[Longwatcher]

Was at a conference last weekend and the Canon sales rep was asked about IR photography and I don't know if he was joking or not but he said to send the camera to Canan service and they would happily remove the IR filter from the sensor, but the you would have a camera that was only good for IR.

Hmmm...
I still have my D60, which is on loan to my girlfriend. Wonder if I can get it back. Since it is otherwise useless at IR, it would be cool to turn that into an IR only camera. If I can pry it from my girlfriend's fingers long enough that is.

It might be worth it. maybe I will ask them if the really can do this for me before they forget what a D60 is completely.

[S230]

Did anyone notice the LCD screen? Does it read "SONY"?
Canon should make screens of their own instead of buying others. They have the technology.

[Windup]

Olegis,

Thanks for the post. I might try this soon.

Someone said this is needed for IR photography. Not true.
Some of these were taken without this mod, just a good # 093 filter (B&W).
http://silentharmonies.com/Infrared.htm
Others were with a mod'ed Nikon.

I understand the reason for astrophotography, though.
I need to move to the desert for dark nights for good deep sky shots.
City lights stink!

I did not hesitate to try this on my Nikon but. that was for IR...what the heck...it's only a Nikon...LOL
http://photo.aicardi.net/990/990Mod.html

Marty

[Eric DeCastro]

Did anyone notice the LCD screen? Does it read "SONY"?
Canon should make screens of their own instead of buying others. They have the technology.

it might be cheaper for them to outsource. the "sony" LCD is very very old news. open any piece of electronics there are dozen's of different brands of componants there. if canon makes thier own, LCD, then it will make the cost of the camera that much more. so you want to pay more for your camera, go right ahead.

[steven]

Someone said this is needed for IR photography. Not true.
Some of these were taken without this mod, just a good # 093 filter (B&W).
http://silentharmonies.com/Infrared.htm
Others were with a mod'ed Nikon.
Marty

While this mod is not a must for IR photography there should be no disagreement that removing a filter that screens out much of the IR spectrum would make for a better IR camera:)

[mdude85]

Scary ..... cool Sony screen though.

[defordphoto]

Seeing this answers the question: Why do dSLRs cost so much?

Yeah...love the Sony LCD. Also interesting the constant reference to the "CCD."

[S230]

Seeing this answers the question: Why do dSLRs cost so much?

Yeah...love the Sony LCD. Also interesting the constant reference to the "CCD."
You're right. I thought the 10D was using a CMOS...

Also, didn't Sony or Nikon move into CMOS technology also? Guess CCD had hit it's limit.

[Windup]

While this mod is not a must for IR photography there should be no disagreement that removing a filter that screens out much of the IR spectrum would make for a better IR camera:)

Better but not worth the risk when high quality IR photos can still be taken with the filter in place. Beneficial results in astrophotography, with this mod can be exponential due to extended exposure times. There, it's worth the risk. That was my point. No offense / hostility intended Steven.

Marty