What Mod....

[Shelster1973]

Not to be too presumptious, but am current highest bidder on a Canon 450D on teh bay at present.  Has been up for 4 days now and am only bidder, so things are looking good.  Is coming from teh US and is sold as parts only as saying that the rear LCD is kaput, but as I am only planning on using it for astro work, controlled via BYEOS, then am not too worried about this.

The question is ....... if I do win this, what mod should I go for on this?  Scope in use will be the one in my signature below.  Am planning on keeping the MPCC in use, so am also looking at getting some more adaptors to be able to mount body to that

[barkis]

Good luck with your bid for the 450D.
You can modify the camera to enhance the Ha response,
and there is tutorials available as to how.
If you won't be using it for normal photography, the you simply have to
remove the IR filter. Otherwise, you have to replace it with
A Baader replacement.Look here.

Best Wishes

http://dslrmodifications.com/rebelmod450d9.html

[Shelster1973]

Cool...was thinking full spectrum mod and not replacing any glass.

Am tempted to give it go myself, butmay change that idea depending on how scared I feel.  Worse case is I have just wasted £40.

Was tempted to go and see if there is nayone who would be willing to strip it of the bayer matrix too..but one step at a time

[Shelster1973]

Just reading that link (cheers for that, very handy) and it says that doing a full spectrum mod, you should put the Astronimix clear glass in.

Is thsi really necessary as I will not be using the camera for anything other than astro work, so have no need to for any autofocus or anything else

[barkis]

This Optical quality Glass is used  to compensate the optical path after  removed of the original filter.
It also doubles as a protective barrier against dust getting to the sensor.
What you don't want to see, are Dust Bunnies all over your nice Image.
These can be processed out, but you can save yourself a load of work.
 

 

[Shelster1973]

All a moot point now.....someone has decided to start getting silly on the prices.  Was outbid and my rebids were getting automatically beaten even when I got to $75 which was max for what I was willing to fork out.

Guess that has gone and will keep an eye open for some more....

Have a feeling he has bid on it himself to get the price up.....sneeky swine

[michael8554]

I haven't got BYEOS, but I would download the 450D handbook, go through every menu available on the LCD, and ensure that BYEOS offers every menu item you might need.

Removing the IR Cut filter leaves the Low-pass filter in place, which also protects the sensor.

Replacing the IR Cut filter with optical glass restores correct autofocus.

If dust gets in you will get bunnies on the closest surface, the Low-pass filter in one case, optical glass in the other case.

Michael

[Shelster1973]

Looks like I a back on with this project...well sort of.

The orignal 450D went for silly money, so not that fussed on it.

But on a positive I did win a 400D that was sold as not sorking as it does not store images.....that is of no worry to me as will be saving straight to laptop.  Won for the grand total of £36 inc postage.  SHould be with me at some point next week so can then set too ripping it to bits.

First step will be to prove functionality and the fact that I can control it through BYE.  Will be getting the demo version of that for now just to prove functionality and if all is good, move on and get the Pro version.  Have the Pro version of BYN and have no worries in paying for it as it is a great piece of software and feel that Guy deserves some monies for all his efforts.

Will be going full spectrum on this one too and won't be replacing the IR filter with glass too.  Want this to be as low cost as possible and as the camera will only be used on teh scope there is no need to restore the autofocus functionality.

Fingers crossed all works ok....will post updates as and when they happen

[michael8554]

That's a good price.

You might miss not having the LiveView that the 450D has, and shutter operation through the USB - you'll need to buy a serial shutter cable .

Michael

[Shelster1973]

I knew there would be a catch.....live view can do without really but the shutter through usb not working is a pita. Guess these cables are fairly easy to come by?

[Shelster1973]

Well camera turned up yesterday and looks fine. Have not been able to test it yet as it came with no battery. Have ordered a pair and charger and they should be here Tuesday. Can then test and see how it is

Next purchases will be usb cable for it and also the serial cable to control it....

[Shelster1973]

Battery turned up and camera turns on and operates fine in hand.  Also had the T-ring adaptor turn up to, which fits like a glove and accepts my MPCC and filter fine.

Just now need to test it out using BYE.

Am I right in thinking that you can control the camera via USB for captures up to 30s?  After that (ie bulb) you need to use the Serial>3.5mm jack cable?

[Shelster1973]

Quick update....the 400d was toast. Powered up ok but would not transfer images to the pc either in bye or eos utilities

But in the ever persevering way have just won a 400d for £46. This one is reported not to save the card too but am hoping it will be better than the 400. Plus I won't need a seal cable for bulb and have live view too

 

[michael8554]

Guess you mean 450D not 400D, you won't regret the upgrade.

I've had a series of EOS's with faulty card slots - 300D, 1000D, 450D, they all worked with Canon EOS Utilities, so you've been very unlucky.

There's a"Shoot Without Card" menu item on the camera that's worth checking.

Michael

[Shelster1973]

Aye...Did mean a 450d. Was auto corrected to the 400...

I did check the shoot without setting and that was already active. Was going to get a cf card and try and update the firmware as it was at 1.0.0.0 but thought that was mostly a waste of money

Think I may put it in the classifieds and see if anyone wants it so they can use the sensor for some mono mod action

[Shelster1973]

 

Well...mod done and all look sok so far.

Have yet to try it out on BYE but could fuly control camera manually and image was showing on LCD in preview.  Don't have any lenses here to test it out fully, so will be clagging it onto the OTA at next opportunity to see how it goes.

[michael8554]

Congrats on the successful filter mod, let us all know how it goes when attached to the scope.

Michael