zfedoran

If you have the dexterity to successfully debayer a sensor, then maybe take a look at building the Cam86 (which has a 16 bit ADC with a real CCD sensor). You don't even need to sacrifice a camera to get the sensor, you can buy old new stock (about $10-20 per sensor).

I did do a few tests, all looks good but I don't have an enclosure to put this in yet. I'll get back to you once I can take a proper flat frame. Also, I tried something new for closing the sensor back up. I went with black hot glue, just in case I ever want to open it up again. It seems to have had a desirable secondary effect, I think it formed a slight vacuum. I carefully put down shavings of the glue around the glass (not on top or under). Then I carefully hit the glass with heat from a heat gun. This obviously melted the glue in place, but then also sucked it under the glass, indicating that there is a pressure differential. It will be interesting to see if it lasts and if moisture will be an issue.

I imagine it would work since it is older. If you do try it out, the trick is to get started with a small scrape, just enough to lift a few CFA pixels. Then apply the tape, pressing firmly, then peal back slowly. You'll need to take a lot of care to ensure the static cling of the tape doesn't make it jump somewhere you didn't intend (like the gold wires). Take a look here: https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/486810-thinking-about-removing-the-cfa-from-my-20d-thoughts/ Just a side note though, I've done this on two canon 20d's and honestly, it isn't worth the effort. The camera is quite dated and really annoying to work with software wise. Other than that, it also suffers from an outdated ADC process that introduces noise.

I managed to debayer a Sony ICX453AQ sensor (Cam86, QHY 8 pro, Nikon D40/D50/D70/D70s). I've heard that the glass on this sensor is quite hard to get off in one peace, so went super slow with it. I did eventually get it off without breaking it (used a blade to work around the edges, then heat gun to free the glass). I was hoping that the sensor would be old enough to work with the scotch tape method (I've done a Canon 20D, which was super easy thanks to the CFA coming off with tape), however, this sensor does not release the CFA without scraping. I'm not sure if there are solvents out there that can do this sensor, but acetone didn't really work (except for help with cleaning). Anyways, I've sealed it up, plugged it in, still works

I ended up using black hot glue to secure the edges of the peltier cooler to the edges of the enclosure. Its easy to work with, melts at a slightly higher temperature than the normal stuff but is still easy enough to remove if needed. I didn't want to use epoxy as it is way less forgiving. What isn't shown is that there is a square 40x40mm hole for the heatsink to go through the enclosure. The peltier module fits nicely into a ~1mm recess where the enclosure is actually slightly higher than the back of the heatsink. The glue is primarily used to ensure no light leaks through but isn't really necessary as it is a tight fit. Also, I did have concerns that the glue might melt, but it turns out the gap is just large enough that the hot side of the peiltier does not even sit high enough to touch the glue. The Noctua NH-L9i heatsink/fan was a good choice as it is super easy to mount to the enclosure. It is overkill but works well. The cold finger itself is stuck on pretty well from just the thermal paste, i did secure it very slightly before closing things up with 2 small dabs of glue on two corners (to be clear, no glue sits between the heatsink/peltier/sensor, only thermal paste). If I were to redo this, I'd 3d print something to hold the finger in place. However, id still use the black hot glue around the edges of the peltier as it seals pretty tight and does not let light through. Just a few more things, I did need to move some of the through hole components underneath the board as the enclosure got a bit too tight with the external ports where I wanted them. Also, the tiny connector that leads to the USB port is super fragile, be careful with it. Also, it might be a good idea to either move the entire power management system outside the camera body (with a full redesign), it adds a bit of heat to something you're trying to cool down. If redesigning the PCB is not your thing, I'd simply move DD12 and DD13 through hole components off the board and attach them to the enclosure, then connect them to the board using wires.

No issues with condensation yet. I do live in a humid environment too so not sure how I haven't had issues with it. I have verified the sensor does get cold using a laser temperature gauge. I think it might have something to do with the cold finger being a large plate, I'm assuming the humidity gets sucked up in the form of ice crystals on the plate. I haven't even put any descant material in the camera. One thing that might help is that i did put in an IR filter to help seal things off. Obviously it isn't air tight but should keep new moisture out once it forms on the cold finger. The filter wasn't hard to add, again, just straight up ZWO products. In case anyone is curious: https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/product/zwo-2-inch-ir-cut-filter https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/product/new-eos-t2-adapter https://astronomy-imaging-camera.com/product/t2-tilter (big thanks to Jonathan E. for providing images of his build that ended up inspiring mine)

Bit of a late reply to this post, but I did eventually build two of these cameras. One of which might get debayered one of these days but still needs an enclosure. Anyways, I feel that perhaps these images might help inspire someone else to try this out as well. Honestly, I did not know much about soldering SMD components before this, so if I can do it you'll be fine too. Also, I used a number of ZWO accessory parts to help me adapt the aluminum enclosure to the threads on my telescope. No lathe needed, you only really need a soldering iron and a decent drill. Cheers.

What is your plan for ensuring that your sensor is not tilted? I've heard that you might be able to use a laser pointer to bounce a beam off the sensor onto a wall while rotating the body of the camera.

@abhoriel Great solder work on that PCB. Looks like a fun project! I'm curious, with the sensor being over a decade old, does it make practical sense to build something like this today, beyond for the fun of building your own camera? Certainly, that is a great shot of M42, but I'd argue that similar results can be had from a modified Nikon D5300. Has anyone actually done a comparison to more modern CMOS sensors? (having said all that, i've ordered a PCB from elecrow)

Has anyone tried using liquid nitrogen to remove the sensor glass? Just ran across this video, it would be interesting to see if this or dry ice can be used to remove the protective glass over the sensor.

@Marf1 I just tried running dcraw with "-v -r 1 1 1 1 -d -6 -T" and it seems to be processing my CR2 files in an odd way. It is possible that these flags work for you but not for me. I have a few images that are exposed to the right of the histogram, when I open the CR2 files directly in photoshop, I am able to see all data without clipping. However, after running dcraw with your settings, it seems like the highlights are clipped quite a bit. I'm not sure if this will work for you, but after reviewing the source code for dcraw, I found an unlisted flag, "-E", when used with the following flags, it seems to do the right thing (that is, give me the data without applying a bayer transform, AND don't do any weird scaling on the data). I could be wrong though > dcraw -E -4 -T *.CR2 Here is a sample (zoomed in 1200% on a small chunk of remaining CFA, note how the hot-pixel is not there on the color version): Let me know if you see improved results running with "-E -4 -T" instead.

Yeah I noticed that too. it could be a result of imaging a monitor, the pattern could be from pixels on the screen. I wonder if it could be a moiré pattern. Regardless, I was very careful to focus both. Also, I'm not sure if this is worth mentioning, but these are two separate cameras not a before and after. The mono image was processed using dcraw.

The following is a comparison between a stock 20D and a debayered canon 20D using the same lens, both at the same distance and same settings. The color image has been desaturated, but the levels/curves have not been changed. It looks like there is a minor loss in QE and a gain in resolution sensitivity. This would make sense because the micro lenses have been removed.

Thought I should share my results, managed to remove the bayer matrix off my Canon 20D with scotch tape It didn't come off without a fight though. I could not get the tape to work at all and began using a wooden tool like many others. After some frustration, I decided to use some tape to clean the dust from the sensor. It seems once the CFA surface has been broken the tape works a lot better. I'd recommend the tape method over other methods for older sensors.

I decided I'd give this a go and join the group of individuals who strive to do the exact opposite of what your brain tells you not to do. That is... touch the sensor of this Canon 20D. The sensor glass has been removed in one piece, all gold connectors are firmly attached, and no heat was needed. Just lots of time and care with a sharp blade. It will be a while until I attempt to debayer this sensor though. I want to make sure I have the time to do it properly. I'm not sure what to do about the glass either. I have read that there are better options out there than returning the original glass.

I'd like to try putting one of these together. As others have stated, a gaze in the direction of my mount would likely cause it to shake. Having an ascom driven focuser would likely help me to achieve better focus than I can manually. The only problem, I don't know where to purchase the gears and belt. Does anyone have any recommendations for a Canadian source?