AndyUK

Not me, that's for sure. I can't spell DIY and it looked way to complicated for me, especially as It's my only dslr. Still, I know that some do / have done this mod themselves, so if you're confident at taking it on, then you'll save yourself 150.00!

Cheers Merlin (that was quick!)

I just re-read Andy's statement on Autofocus:

A majority of people who have their cameras modified for astronomy only use them for this purpose, so retaining the autofocus is not important as focussing is done manually either through a lens or telescope, so removing the rear filter is generally the better option for these people when modifying a dual filter camera. As it is, the filter that is removed is only 0.8mm thick so the difference in the focus point when considering the refractive index of glass vs the refractive index of air is very slight. In practice, this means that the difference is practically unnoticeable when taking everyday snaps. When using very 'fast' lenses or ones with a very short focal length, i.e., for macros and fish-eye shots, this slight mis-focus becomes more noticeable.

I guess it depends on how much you're willing to accept "practically unnoticeable" ... It would indeed be interesting to hear from someone who's had a dual filter camera modded with a filter removal to see what they say about using it for "terrestrial" use...

Hi Merlin - But what about if wishing to maintain autofocus on the camera? The Astronomiser website states that if you wish to retain this, you really need to have a filter replacement...(?)

(If not, I spent £50 I needn't have!)

No problem Samir - I always shoot mine in RAW too...

I would have added this to the long list of grateful customers in the other thread, but I see that one's now been closed, so I guess it's my turn to start a new one!

I've contacted and ordered a few items from FLO over the last year or so and received a very good service... but nothing like I've received over the last 2-3 weeks which is truly exemplary.

I bought an Atik 314L+ which arrived very promptly, but then came across a number of difficulties... First I was a bit paranoid about hot pixels - I emailed FLO and Martin got back to me and dealt with my query with Atik direct (it was only my paranoia ).

The next issue was inability to achieve focus with my MN190 - I emailed Martin for suggestions and he got back to me again within a few hours - I ordered a 2" extension tube which again arrived very quickly. Unfortunately it was too long, so I sent another email to Martin, and he agreed to loan me a 1.5" extension tube on a try/buy basis... (I haven't had the chance to try it out yet though)

In the meantime, I used another scope to test the Atik, and discovered some "anomalies" - I started a thread on here (in case it was me or an easily resolved light leak), but when it started to become apparent that there may be a fault, I emailed Martin again... (he must have been getting fed up of me by now!). Again, he took it up with Atik on my behalf, but he / Steve agreed that, regardless of Atik's response, they would swap out my camera for another... and as soon as they came back in stock (a matter of 2-3 days), Martin emailed me to arrange delivery of a new one and pick up of my "old" one.

Although it was a very frustrating and trying experience for me personally, I'd like thank both Martin and Steve for making this experience as painless as possible and for their great support.

Even though I haven't taken the new one out of the box yet (don't laugh - I'm actually afraid to test it at the moment ), but thanks guys!

Hi Samir - For further info on camera modding, have a look on the Astronomiser website. I chose to pay the extra £50 to have my filter replaced primarily to retain autofocus...

Hi Samir - I'm not sure that this is such a good test, but it gives a comparison between a Custom WB (left) and an Auto WB (right) with my 40D (filter replaced). (If you can suggest a better test, please let me know and I'll have another go...)

Hi Samir - Yes... Well, I couldn't see any difference - There were certainly no apparent IR "artefacts" in the shadows that I could see. Obviously I can't take a "before / after" shot now, but I can try and take a pic of something with a "hot" shadow in it if you like (with CWB)?

@MjrTom - From my experience the modded 40D works very well - As I noted in my post above, the only real issue I've found is that when using longer exposures (ie 10mins) at higher ambient temps, the noise becomes evident... All my images to date have been taken with the 40D and EOS clip filter (gallery) - Mainly prime focus but I've also used it with a 180m/f3.5...

Hi Chouet,

I was in the same position as you (I think) last December - a 40D, only DSLR in the house, lots of lenses kit to go with it etc. It was a VERY tough decision to have it modded, but I did eventually send it off to astronomiser to have the filter replaced at the cost of c. £200. I was really keen to get the red end of the spectrum...!

I have since used it for "terrestrial" use (using custom white balance to remove the now-pink colour cast on normal photos) and you really wouldn't know the difference. So it can be used very well for both [NOTE: If you didn't want to use CWB, then I see that Astronomik also sell an EOS clip filter to "revert" it back...]

I certainly agree with you about the performance of the 40D - it does indeed perform really well on long exposures with no amp glow, but when the weather started improving I found the exif temps had risen to 20C(+) on 10 minute exposures, and the noise / banding that started creeping in got really quite frustrating, even though I was using bias / dark frames etc. I know there's potentially ways around it (take more subs, dithering etc), but I finally took the plunge to save up for (and have since bought, but not got to grips with) a setpoint cooled CCD.

As the one I chose has a 285 chip, I still anticipate possibly using the DSLR for larger DSO's and certainly for widefield (lens only) shots. As Brantuk has said though, this is a bit of a subjective / personal decision and cash probably comes into it somewhere - I know I wouldn't have got "permission" to buy another DSLR for astro use only and then permission later on to buy a CCD, so that really made my mind up. Although I've had great fun with the DSLR (and learnt a lot!), I wanted (want) to get into narrow band imaging, and for that I deemed that I'd need a setpoint cooled CCD, not another DSLR...

(I'm not sure that helps...?)

Hiya - PM sent

BA2

Wow... This is just what I needed too... . Thanks VERY much! If it's not a sticky yet, then hopefully it soon will be...!

Hi John - I really wish I'd read this before I attempted my last attempt! Weather permitting, I'll have another go later this month... and I'll have to see if I can get to grips with registax a bit more (especially wavelets) - I must admit, I've always imagined using elements for sharpening...