Moded dslr or filter...?

[paul mc c]

Hello,just looking opinions here,would you go for a moded canon or get a clip in filter.I use my 1100d for a bit of astro and also for day use so wouldnt want to get it moded.

My sky has a fair bit of light polution and am still not sure if AP on dso's is still for me,should i get a cheap moded canon or a filter for the camera i have,and if the latter what would be recomended.

Thanks in advance.

[PeterCPC]

Even if you use a clip filter an unmodded camera will still not pick up the IR sufficiently. If you get a modded DSLR you may still need a LP filter so it's not an either or issue.

Peter

[paul mc c]

Right,see i dont really understand  the way it works,so one way or the other i will need to get more than one item.

[PeterCPC]

Well you can use an unmodded DSLR but I don't think that you will be satisfied with the results. Modding makes a huge difference.

Peter

[paul mc c]

12 minutes ago, PeterCPC said:

Well you can use an unmodded DSLR but I don't think that you will be satisfied with the results. Modding makes a huge difference.

Peter

Yea i know,i have an unmoded one,but wasnt sure if a filter would basicaly make it into a moded one ,so to speak.

[PeterCPC]

No, a filter can reduce light pollution but it can't "add" IR so to speak. For that you need the camera IR filter removed.

Peter

[paul mc c]

Right....so sounds like a modded  and a filter to go along with it.....what filter?

[PeterCPC]

That depends on what sort of light pollution you have and how severe it is. If you have the orange sodium lights then you want something like a CLS filter. If you have LED lights then an IDAS D2 should help. Why not try it without a filter first to see how intrusive the LP is. LP can be processed out to an extent.

Peter

[jjosefsen]

Your unmodified camera will be fine for galaxies, reflection nebulae and star clusters. It's is only really the emission nebulae which are rich in h-alpha that warrants a modification, to let in more light.

If you get a modified camera you will probably need a filter of the ccd variety anyway, to cut down on unwanted uv/ir which can cause star bloat.

Light Polution is another matter, and can be alleviated with various filters. The harsher they are the more it will message with color balance. So it is worth looking into how much lp you have and what kind..

[Adam J]

8 hours ago, paul mc c said:

Hello,just looking opinions here,would you go for a moded canon or get a clip in filter.I use my 1100d for a bit of astro and also for day use so wouldnt want to get it moded.

My sky has a fair bit of light polution and am still not sure if AP on dso's is still for me,should i get a cheap moded canon or a filter for the camera i have,and if the latter what would be recomended.

Thanks in advance.

I don't think you will like the result of using a CLS without modification. Colour balance and effectiveness of the filter really rely on the camera being modified. 

 

 

[smr]

I thought the idea of a LP filter was to reduce light pollution, and that it isn't relevant as to whether your DSLR is astro modified or not?

Regarding Ha, you can definitely pick it up with unmodded DSLRs, it just takes longer than with a modified DSLR which is more sensitive to the lightwaves being emitted in that range of the spectrum.

From what I understand you need to expose for longer and gather more data. I think that the latest iteration of Canon's sensors are more sensitve to Ha signal than older Canon sensors (pre 2008) etc. as well? 

This is 90 minutes of unmodified Canon 7D mk 2 DSLR'ness. The processing might be over done, over saturated and not to everyone's tastes. I'd personally have toned it down a bit and been a bit more subtle. But to me it shows plenty of Hydrogen Alpha has been picked up by the sensor in these 90 minutes of light frames.