Sending the 50D in for Mod

It is shipping tomorrow to Hap Griffin.

Having the stock IR Filter Replaced with a Baader UV/IR block filter.

It should open up many more possibilities.

We will find out in about 10 days.

I will have to setup custom white balance values for terrestrial photography use but I almost always manually setting my WB so it should not be all that different for me.

I also have a 50D - it'll be interesting to see what the mod does...

G'day Mark,

I don't want to scare you, but I recently had my 30D modded with the Baader UV/IR filter and was very disappointed. I haven't done extensive astro testing yet due to weather, but I use mine a fair bit for "normal"/terrestrial photography, and I've noticed what I thought were dust spots on my shots. At first I thought they were only going to be a problem on higher magnification macro shots, which
always do show up dust spots worse than normal photography. But I have also done some quick testing at typical apertures around f/8 to f/11. Spots. When I get a chance I'll do more significant testing and post images.

I contacted the guy who modded my camera (Eric) to ask him about how careful he was about dust etc. I have no reason not to trust him, I know many from our forum who have used him before. He reckons that he's contacted Baader about this, and they reckon the spots are actually in the filter as part of the fabrication process. Can't get rid of them. Here's an extract of their email to him:

Hi Eric,

thank you for your care.

Indeed every coating will exhibit such tiny specs which at not noticeable with fast optics .

At F22 the beam will become almost parallel and exhibit EVERYTHING - not just specs in the coating but every single grain of dust as well.

We are sorry but it is absolutely impossible to produce coatings without any of theses "specs".

We try to keep our coatings as immaculate as possible - we are sure you have seen "other" types of coatings from competitors of ours...

Best regards,
Johannes Baader
BAADER PLANETARIUM GMBH

My thinking is that if I was only using the camera for astro, I probably wouldn't care as much because the backgrounds are always dark which hides spots or makes them less noticeable, plus if you do flats they can be removed as well. But because I use it a lot for normal photography, I simply can't accept so many spots.

I've just bought (from Bobby/Strgzr27) a used modded 40D with the standard filter removed and clear glass only in front. He reckons no such spec/spot problems. I'll report back when I've received and done some testing.

Just letting you know my recent experiences.

Hmmmm.

Asking questions about this for sure.

Maybe I will opt for a clear filter instead. Problem is, Hap doesn't offer the clear filter for the 50D.

Might have to visit Hutech's site.

Sorry to throw a spanner in the works. I'd contact Hap and see what he says about it all. I'd just hate to see you with a bitter taste left in your mouth considering you've got a beaut new 50D.

markjpcs wrote in post #8237203
Hmmmm.

Asking questions about this for sure.

Maybe I will opt for a clear filter instead. Problem is, Hap doesn't offer the clear filter for the 50D.

Might have to visit Hutech's site.

I sent an email to Hap and quoted your post. (hope you don't mind.) I didn't mention your name or anything.

I also posed the question about these spots over at Cloudy Nights in the DSLR forum.

No need to apologize. I appreciate you alerting me to this issue.

Have you ever done flats for macro or other terrestrial work? I have not and do not know anyone who has. I'm assuming it would work.

I have never done flats for macro or terrestrial photography, and probably never will. I had never even heard of them until I started reading up and learning astrophotography I've always preferred to keep sensor free of dust and if the odd one or 2 sneak on, heal them out PP. Normal photography doesn't have the long exposure noise or vignetting issues that astro seems to have.

You might want to try a flat on your spotty photos and see if it helps.

Can you post a sample or two of these spots?

I sent it in for modification.

If it doesn't work well for terrestrial I will just buy another one down the road.

Maybe the next generation or possibly a full frame.

Well looking forward to seeing some awesome results

Hap said he can generally get the stock filter out without damage so he is going to send it along for me to put in storage.

If it looks like I am not happy I can more than likely have the original filter re-installed.

From everything I have seen in regard to this mod for both Astro and Terrestrial use I think I will be happy.

I will of course be posting images here.

I have got loads of spots on my baad modded 350D. Very noticeable on 5+ mins exposures.

Just done a ccd clean, so lets see if that clears it.

It should be back from Hap tomorrow!

And the clear sky clock is looking good!

markjpcs wrote in post #8279567
It should be back from Hap tomorrow!

And the clear sky clock is looking good!

good luck and post a report mate

Hope you have a backup camera for all your other photography work ?? Lot of $$ for that 50D to modify it unless your financially set .