Finally bit the Bullet, 600D (Rebel T3i/Kiss X5) Baader Astro Modified

[oldpink]

I've been pitting it off but I decided that I can wait no longer

I have been looking for a camera that I can use for daytime (Justify the price to the Mrs)

but also good for Astro work

when I was searching on here I found a link to a site that sells modded camera's

and they had exactly what I was looking for

BRAND NEW Canon EOS 600D (Rebel T3i/Kiss X5) Baader Astro Modified. Suitable for both astronomical and daylight photography 18MP CMOS 14-bit ADCsensor and DIGIC 4 Image Processor.

Articulated Screen, high resolution, flip-out Vari-angle 3.0" Clear View LCD monitor for shooting at a variety of angles. Records full HD video at 1920 x 1080/30p/24p. Video Digital Zoom for planetary, lunar and solar imaging

which captures the center of the imaging chip, in a cropped zoom mode that is adjustable from 3X to 10X magnification with capture rate of 30 frames per second

no doubt it will arrive with the obligatory cloud cover

but for now I'm off to read up on using it and looking at the software I'll need to learn how to use
I know a few on here have this model so any input / advice appreciated

[Guest]

Hi,

Nice buy

I swear buy APT for DSLR imaging, superb piece of software and full of features, and very very cheap, about €18, and the support you get with it is second to none, if you have a problem email the author and he will reply straight away and sort out all your issues.

Can say enough good things about it

www.astroplace.net

Olly

[oldpink]

yeah I'm looking at that and Backyard EOS both seem very good at what they do
only issue I seen with APT is the 32 bit as I run Win7 Ultimate
though I can run in in 32bit mode

[Guest]

yeah I'm looking at that and Backyard EOS both seem very good at what they do

only issue I seen with APT is the 32 bit as I run Win7 Ultimate

though I can run in in 32bit mode

I run APT on a 64 bit PC, with no problems

Olly

[Crebles]

Hi OldPink -  I urge you to double check - I don't think you can have a camera that is properly modded to work for both daylight AND astro. I have the 600D (unmodded) and its great for both, but I think if you modify one by physically removing the IR filter inside it to make it even better for astro, it becomes usless for general daytime photography. I'm only a very very amateur imager so I'm happy to be corrected on this - but please do double check the sales pitch.

[Chris]

Hi OldPink -  I urge you to double check - I don't think you can have a camera that is properly modded to work for both daylight AND astro. I have the 600D (unmodded) and its great for both, but I think if you modify one by physically removing the IR filter inside it to make it even better for astro, it becomes usless for general daytime photography. I'm only a very very amateur imager so I'm happy to be corrected on this - but please do double check the sales pitch.

If you remove the IR filter for a full spectrum mod then the camera wont autofocus for daytime use, However I think these cameras have been re-shimmed and or Baader filter modified to keep the autofocus, and the custom white balance is used to correct the pink cast for daytime use. So in short yes they can be used for daytime pics which as the OP states is handy for persuading the other half

Chris

[oldpink]

AFAIK the Baader filter is added to replace the standard one to allow standard daytime use
the cheaper version without this option is not listed as a daytime camera so I went the extra £60 for that option
but the wife thinks I got the cheaper model so I'm good only problem is I still need to buy a lens for daytime stuff
thats another £60 min for a second hand 18 - 35 bog standard lens, I'd love to add a telephoto x400 for lunar without the scope
but thats another couple of hundred even second hand

[oldpink]

I run APT on a 64 bit PC, with no problems

Olly

thats good to know

when I was reading up on their site it mentioned running in in 32 bit mode in Win 7 x64

doing this chops off a lot of the performance I have on my systems

[Yoddha]

thats good to know

when I was reading up on their site it mentioned running in in 32 bit mode in Win 7 x64

doing this chops off a lot of the performance I have on my systems

It runs fine on 32 and 64 bits, from XP to 8.1

The note you are mentioning is referring how to use 350D/400D with newer PCs

[iksose7]

I ordered the 600Da last weekend, sounds like it may be from the same site. I'm still waiting although i do live in the South of France so may take a bit longer to get here from the UK. Fingers crossed it arrives tomorrow!

[maxheadroom]

I've found what must be the site. I took a couple of a focal moon shots last night and now I'm looking at modified dslr cameras. Oh no here we go lol

[Luke]

Congrats on taking the plunge! Have fun

+1 for Backyard EOS (which I use, wish I'd got it right away!) or APT (which lots of others love as well).

[maxheadroom]

You took a couple of what!?!?

I have no idea haha

I thought that made no sense at the time of writing \o/

[maxheadroom]

Woah! I didn't even realise I'd done THAT lol. I thought I'd got the 'a focal' bit wrong!

Sorry it's my fat fingers and this little phone.

Hahahaha

MOD PLEASE EDIT AND ACCEPT MY APOLOGIES

I'll report it to a mod now in fact lol!

[Helen]

Now sorted (and a couple of posts which quoted the post just hidden)

Helen 

[malc-c]

Just modded my 400D uisng the Baader filter.  If you simply replace the stock filter with the Baader one the camera will still work with AF lenses,  You need to correct the white balance given that the new filter lets a lot of red wavelength through, but otherwise it's still possible to use a moddifed camera for daily use

Not really an good example, but here's an image straight from the modded camera and then after a simple bit of processing in photoshop.  I dare say you could also set a custom white balance on the camera to save post processing images in PS.

[Xlracer]

If you use an astronomik OWB clip filter, it corrects the white balance completely, apart from cost, the only drawback is you cannot use EF-S lenses. Use one on a baader modified 550 d and saved the day on a NZ holiday

[malc-c]

First test list night and not a happy bunny... whilst the red is now very prominent each sub had several dust bunnies on it

Time to strip the camera down again and clean the optics a further time...ARRRR !!

[malc-c]

OK quick question.  I've stripped the camera down again, cleaned and re-cleaned the filters and CCD but on re-assembly I still have these slight circular marks (all be it in different places).  I also ctracked the anti-aliaising filter when putting it back together - no big deal as the canon is puerly for astro use.

My question is, what effect would removing all filters including the Baader filter  have, so that I'm just using the CCD - I assum this would still work  and produce an image as it is in effect the same as using a web cam / astro CCD ?

[Rommel]

Anyone here wish to share a RAW-file with the -baader modification shot at daytime? I have sent a camera for this mod and I really really need to know how much work I have to put in for WB to get ok. Im going to use it for weddings as well