buying full spectrum dslr what should I do for imaging

[mayur007]

with fullspectrum I want to do astrophotography

what things I need to do for it... to take pictures of dso, planets etc...

What exactly I need to do ?..

is H-alpha conversion is better or fullspectrum?

[mayur007]

as this is will be my frst modified dslr before I have takedn pic with phone only so I need to know is what should I have to after buying a full spectrum dslr for astrophotography

[michael8554]

Hi Mayur007  (can I call you Bond, James Bond.......?)

The Ha only mod limits the IR, which can cause "star bloat".

Then the minimum would be a sturdy tripod and a "fast " lens.

The focal length would determine the sort of Ha-rich object you want to image - small planetary nebulae, or large emission nebulae.

Without tracking you'd have to experiment with the length of exposure before the stars become noticeable not round,

Then take lots of images and stack with DeepSkyStacker or similar.

But maybe you have a telescope and tracking mount, you didn't say....

Michael

[mayur007]

Lol...

Right now

I am heading for dslr astrophotography

Till I get a DA MD and a telescope

I have a dob right now..

I have checked online some say for astrophotography you just need a UV/IR

I read some where you need HA filter for nebula

I am getting

700d

60d

600d

1200d

Fullspectrum modified

The things it different post made me confused.

So

What you suggest?

Sent from my SM-G900H using Tapatalk

[Astrosurf]

Hi, you will need a mount that can autoguide for long-exposure DSOs, and at least good tracking. Please have a look through this thread:

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/257267-what-telescope-to-go-for/

Also, please read this book. It's the imagers' bible. I assume FLO will ship to India??

http://www.firstlightoptics.com/books/making-every-photon-count-steve-richards.html

Or try Amazon.

Good luck!

Alexxx

[D4N]

A full spectrum modded camera will need a UV/IR cut filter or you will get bloated stars, this is especially the case if you use a lens or a refractor as the UV and IR light will be out of focus.

I would not recommend that you start out with a Ha filter.

/Dan

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Mick J]

A Full Spectrum mod takes out the IR filter,  you may get more from Gary Honis,  Removal of IR Cut Filter for Astrophotography & Infrared Imaging

This mod may effect focus using a camera lens.

The H-Alpha mod replaces the IR filter with one with a higher pass allowing a higher wavelength to pass,  this will allow more red light.

If you use a H-Alpha filter or any narrowband filter with either mod then only a very small amount of light will pass, much longer exposure will be needed, a good tracking mount will be needed. All this starts to get expensive, the cost of your modded camera may be one of the least expensive items.

I hope this is helpful, the above links may help you make a decision, I have no idea what equipment you can find in India (camera's/scopes/mounts/filters etc).

Good luck with it all,  have you thought of using a modified web cam with your dob ?

[mayur007]

thq everyone

So if I want to buy an H-alpha camera where should look

I cant send my camera to life pixel as they are only having this facility

but I am also getting fullspectrum dslr for low prices...

[Mick J]

Well in the UK we have for starters - cheap astrophotography  and  astronomiser  and there must be others.

We did our own 450d a few years ago and was very pleased it worked first time, (an afternoon) see Gary Honis link above.

But surely if you were to add an IR filter into the full spectrum camera you would have the equivalent of the H-alpha, filter can go outside the camera (nosepiece/lens) or possibly 'clip in'.

[Davesellars]

Full spectrum means taking out the front filter (general UV/IR cut) as well as the back filter (which blocks the Ha but curtting the red wavelength part of the spectrum at a rate to give the good colour balance for normal photography).  Unless you're into some specialist photography taking out the front filter is not necessary - all it will means is that you have use another filter as a UV/IR block like the astronomik L UV/IR - so that's more expense.

[D4N]

I think you need to understand what the different mods actually do to the camera.

A full spectrum mod removes the cameras IR/UV cut filter making it far more sensitive to IR light including Ha.

This does not remove the bayer matrix which is a colour filter array bonded directly to the sensor. The bayer matrix on a DSLR is a pattern of red, green and blue filters so if you were to look at them in a microscope you would see GRGB or similar.

This filter array means that colour cameras are very inefficient at collecting Ha even if they have had their IR filter removed.

If you place a Ha filter in front of a colour camera only the red pixels will see any light, you will only be using 25% of the pixels. This is therefore not recommended unless you suffer from really bad light pollution.

A mono camera on the other hand will use 100% of its pixels even when filtered.

Mono cameras are expensive though, it is possible to remove the bayer matrix from a DSLR but it is risky for the camera as many break in the process.

/Dan

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[mayur007]

thanx everyone

[mayur007]

I think you need to understand what the different mods actually do to the camera.

A full spectrum mod removes the cameras IR/UV cut filter making it far more sensitive to IR light including Ha.

This does not remove the bayer matrix which is a colour filter array bonded directly to the sensor. The bayer matrix on a DSLR is a pattern of red, green and blue filters so if you were to look at them in a microscope you would see GRGB or similar.

This filter array means that colour cameras are very inefficient at collecting Ha even if they have had their IR filter removed.

If you place a Ha filter in front of a colour camera only the red pixels will see any light, you will only be using 25% of the pixels. This is therefore not recommended unless you suffer from really bad light pollution.

A mono camera on the other hand will use 100% of its pixels even when filtered.

seems like the option I have is buying 200$ camera and send to life pixel for H-a conversion

..

I think H-a conversion is all it need for every astrophotography

I already have a DSLR, soI am looking for a pure astrophotography dslr

Yes I have Moderate Light Pollution..

I or monochrome is abetter option then?

[D4N]

Ah the life-pixel Ha conversion isn't just Ha as such, it is simply replacing the UV/IR cut filter in the camera with one that allows through the Ha light.

You won't be imaging in Ha, you will be imaging in colour and the Ha will be added to the red.

A monochrome camera with a Ha filter is a different thing entirely and will cut through even really bad light pollution to reveal faint Nebulosity but is an expensive outlay.

If you have a DSLR and suffer moderate light pollution from sodium lamps then a UHC filter will help a lot.

/Dan

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Mick J]

Ah the life-pixel Ha conversion isn't just Ha as such, it is simply replacing the UV/IR cut filter in the camera with one that allows through the Ha light.

You won't be imaging in Ha, you will be imaging in colour and the Ha will be added to the red.

A monochrome camera with a Ha filter is a different thing entirely and will cut through even really bad light pollution to reveal faint Nebulosity but is an expensive outlay.

If you have a DSLR and suffer moderate light pollution from sodium lamps then a UHC filter will help a lot.

/Dan

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

That's my impression, the Life-Pixel Ha conversion as above,  the full spectrum conversion seems to replace the IR filter with a 'full spectrum' filter - is that a clear glass filter that helps maintain focus ?

Don't even think about monochrome dslr's,   

[D4N]

Full spectrum could refer to no glass at all as well. However if the camera is intended to be used with a lens then it does need either a piece of glass or the sensor spacing has to be adjusted or it will no longer achieve infinity focus.

/Dan

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Big-Uzi]

Just bought a  new canon 700d with a full spectrum modification. But taking shots in daylight or night  the shots are always red.  I have tried to use different settings, but all I get is red photos. Can anyone help me with this problem.

[Mick J]

Hi Big-Uzi,  perhaps you need to speak to whoever supplied you with the full spectrum 700d,  it may be as simple as setting a custom white balance, there may be filters you can add when taking shots in daylight or night.

I would have thought a least an IR pass filter for daylight & most night shots before we start to consider IR blocking filters for IR photography and perhaps narrowband filters for astrophotography.  An IR pass will not limit the red but we have used a custom white balance with our modded 450d, this is not full spectrum, just more red than normal.

Where are you expecting to use the camera most ?  You may also be able to adjust in software of course.

[Big-Uzi]

I bought the camera from cheap astrophotography about 3 weeks ago . But I have only just used it  for the first time yesterday. I have checked the suggestions you have posted. But to no avail . I have used the canon software which came with the camera, and using it just washes away any real colour, no greens or blue at all. but thanks for the info.

[Mick J]

Cheap Astrophotography get good comments from users on this forum, I have not used them myself but I had an idea in my head that they had a modified filmware that overcame the white balance thing on the astro modded cameras they supply (not the full spectrum).

Looking quickly at Cheap Astrophotography web page are they suggesting using clip in filters in different modes with the full spectrum cameras ?

Here's a link to the clip in filter page at Astronomik   may be other makes I don't know, I do know that some lens may foul on the clip in filter, I have seen references to hacksaw's...............

Looks a great camera with lots of interesting options, I am sure you will be able to sort this out quickly. 

With regard to software I was thinking of some sort of photo editing program possibly like Photoshop, or for free maybe irfanview or Faststone.

[D4N]

Sounds like the software isn't working on individual channels.

You can adjust colour balance quite effectively in post processing.

Sometimes it can be quite difficult but so long as there is data in the other channels it should be possible to bring it out.

What you can't adjust for is either overexposed areas due to too much IR/UV or out of focus areas caused by the incoming light being a broader spectrum than what the optics are designed for.

Another point to consider is that the auto focus may not work after the full spectrum mod. View finder focusing may not work so well either.

Live view focusing should work fine though.

/Dan

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Big-Uzi]

Juan suggested an OWB filter from Mod astronomy. So I bought one, It fitted the camera ok, but the lens would not fit back in the body of the camera. I tried several times. It was only after taking the OWB filter out would the lens fit back in the camera body as normal.