Cheapastrophotography

[michaelmorris]

Over the last 18 months I’ve been upgrading my deep sky imaging capability. At the beginning of the process I was imaging with an unmodified Canon 1000D through my Orion 80ED. Whilst I’ve been pleased with some of the pictures, I’ve always struggled with the noise inherent in the 1000D and gave up trying to image nebulae due to the poor Ha response on the unmodified 1000D. I’ve since added a Skywatcher focal reducer and a Hutech MFA in-camera IDAS filter, both of which have yielded noticeable improvements.

Last week I took the plunge and ordered an astro-modified Canon 1100D from Juan Fierros at Cheapastrophotography (Does exactly what is say on the tin!). http://cheapastrophotography.vpweb.co.uk/

Firstly, customer service – superb. Juan was very helpful with advice on the merits of various options. I looked at three different sources of pre-modified DSLRs and plumbed for Juan because his cameras are very competitively priced and he shims the imaging chip after removing the filter so the camera is still 100% compatible with focussing on infinity and using autofocus on all Canon lenses. He also tweaks the onboard default white balance so you don’t have to use a custom white balance option on the camera. The only downside is that he doesn’t honour the manufacture’s one year guarantee. However, at only £269 for an astro-modified factory-refurbished camera with just 900 activations one can’t complain.

The camera was delivered quickly and at every stage Juan kept me very well informed. The camera was well-packed in the original manufacturers packaging with all the normal retail bits (charger, strap, leads, disc written manual etc.) with a free SD card in thrown in.

As far as I can see, the shimmed chip is orthogonal with the lens mount and is free of dust. So far, I’m really pleased with the camera. It autofocuses fine on the four Canon lens I possess and I’m getting nice crisp images of star fields htough the 80ED. The only thing left to test is to image an Ha target (tonight hopefully).

[SniffTheGlove]

Took just over a week from placing the order with Juan to receiving it yesterday via Royal Mail Special Delivery.

I Ordered the brand new 1100D Body with the 18-55 EFS Lens Kit. Juan then ordered in the camera and the Baader BCF corrector, modified the camera to also have daytime usage and Magic Lantern and the tested it.

Unpacking the camera you can not tell it has been taken apart, a very nest job.

Autofocus is sweet, now I can use all my other lenses at infinity.

The auto colour correction on AUTO WB is great so great daytime use as well. (Will now buy a cheap busted 50mm M42 lens of ebay to make a tilt-shift lens for some daytime photos)

Out of 10 I give Juan 10....

Oh, and his prices are at least two hundered pounds cheaper than other people who do a camera modification business. I went with the brand new but his second hand or canon refurbished cameras are good value also.

[CGolder]

I have had my 100pd modified by Juan, the service was great the whole way through. I had the camera back within a few days of him receiving it and it looks very well done. Juan sent me images from the camera after the mod before returning it to show its condition. Great service and I look forward to using it under the stars!

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk 2

[Imd]

I had my Canon 1100D upgraded by Juan at Cheapastrophotography. http://cheapastrophotography.vpweb.co.uk/

I explained to Juan that I hoped to have the work completed before I went to Kelling for the star party in just 3 weeks’ time. Juan was able to accommodate me.

I had the IR/UV filter removed and replaced by a Baader filter. I also had the anti-aliasing filter removed.

The camera was returned with Magic Lantern installed on the SD card. Magic Lantern can be removed by replacing or reformatting the SD card, it can also be temporarily disabled by pressing “set” during power up. Magic Lantern is able to correct the white balance and the camera was configured to do so by Juan before being sent to me. The instructions for Magic Lantern were supplied by Juan. I can no longer use the auto function on the camera without having the pinkish colour balance. I now use "P" mode for daytime. I believe that this is quite common for modified cameras and I was informed of this before I sent the camera.

It was several days before I heard from Juan after making the initial request for information but once the I received the first response following emails were responded to quickly.

I have not been involved in astrophotography for long and I was a bit nervous about having my camera sent to someone I don’t know to do some modifications I didn't fully understand. However, Juan reassured my throughout the entire process by updating me as each event occurred:

·         Payment received

·         Camera arrived

·         Baader filter arrived

·         Parts removed and replacement parts fitted and tested. I was sent an email with attachments demonstrating the quality of the photos               taken after the modification.

·         Camera sent out for delivery

Juan also assisted me with a number of questions before, during and after the purchase.

Based upon my good experience, I would recommend Juan’s service.

Ian

[Billy- the -Badger]

Finally made the jump from Nikon.

Decided on a used Canon1100D from Cheap Astrophotography.

8 days later and sitting on the table was an absolute beauty.

55 Actions in my book that's as good as brand new.

Excellent camera

Excellent Service

And all at a cracking price.

Couldn't be happier.

Thanks

[datman]

After some very frustrating experiences with an OpticStar DS-335C ICE which I have now thrown away. I decided to try something else. A friend recommended the Canon 1000D with AStro modification. So after some searhing I found Cheapastrophotography. Being from the North I do not associate "cheap" with rubbish as seems to be the case in the South. Cheap is low cost, cheap and nasty is rubbish.

After looking at the options I decided to go for a 2nd hand 1000d @ £199 fully Astro modified and described as being in good condition.. Cost (as in lower) was one reason for this choice, the other that a brand new camera would not have a manufacturer's guarantee once the internal filter was removed. The same level of risk for less money. Also after my experience with the DS335, I was reluctant to spend a larger amount just in case it didn't work out.

I placed my order and waited. I was informed of the status by regular emails. When the camera arrived I was very pleasantly suprised, it's physical apperance was to my eyes excellent and everything worked as expected. The shutter count was about 9300 which seems reasonable.

Included with the camera was an 8Gb SD card, battery and charger.  I had also recived an email saying that checking after modification showed the sensor was orthogonal. I didn't/don't know what that means but it sounds like something worth having!

The camera had been shimmed so that regular lenses can still focus to infinity. I still have some Pentax lenses from years back so I can use these for very wide view imaging.

I spent some time learning how to use the new camera/APT software (it also works with Nebulosity 2) and waited for a clear night. The first night I did not try to get good images (no guiding), I just tested the operation of the camera and I was happy with the outcome. The 2nd night I had a go at M42 and was delighted with the result (see my Signature).

So I'd like to thank Juan for an excellent job at a very reasonable price.

[Tinker1947]

I ordered a Canon 600D Astro Modified from Cheap Astrophotography last Sunday 16th, next day received a E-mail on Monday morning confirming the order, further e-mails as the work progressed, the Camera arrived this morning with all the normal bits in the box charger, usb lead, shoulder strap ect, in the Camera a 8 gig SD card, in one of the E-mails a full list of what setting ect to use including a setting for normal day light photography, very please with the service and can only recommend this Company to anybody requiring a modded Canon....

[AndyM]

I ordered a 600d from Juan a week ago. Confirmation of the order soon followed. Yesterday I had an email to say it was ready and on its way. Juan also included instructions as to how best use the new modified camera.......very helpful!  

It arrived this morning, well packaged with all the usual accessories you'd expect from Canon. You wouldn't know that it had been taken apart and modified, it looks factory fresh.

Everything works as expected and I'm looking forward to some cloud-free (Ha-ha!) nights to try it properly.

I was very impressed with the service I received from Juan. Recommended.   

[Fordos Moon]

What a fantastic service from start to finish by Juan. I wanted to get my 1100D astro-modified, I sent it to Juan on the Friday, and it arrived back with me the following Wednesday and that was over a Bank Holiday weekend!

An extremely fair price, brilliant communication and a well-done job.

I would thoroughly recommend "cheapastrophotography" to anyone, after my experience.

Astronomy Suppliers I have dealt with are full of good characters making an honest living and Juan is up there with the best of them!

[PorkyB]

I sent my Canon 1100D to Juan for removal of the IR filter.  It was back with me in less than a week.  It works a treat and Juan has done a very neat job.  At a total cost of £93.50 (that's £84.75 to Juan plus £8.75 for my outbound postage), this is a real bargain.

Top class service.  When I have the cash to upgrade my camera I will be back for a nice new 600D.

[Marky1973]

Just wanted to post a quick note about my experiences with Juan at Cheap Astrophotography. I've been wanting to get a better camera for a while and decided I would go with a modified DSLR as I am still learning the ropes, especially with processing, and would likely put myself off completely if I tried jumping up to full-blown CCD imaging. I spent several days looking at Juan's site, trying to decide between a secondhand 1000D, or the secondhand 450D...although there were also refurbished and new 100D/600D models that I could have pushed myself to. Essentially, I couldn't decide.

I emailed Juan to ask about the differences between the 100D and 600D and received some great advice and suggestions on what to buy. BUT, Juan also offered me a 100D that he had been using at an even greater bargain price than the ones on his site. It was fully modded but, as I was intending to use for purely astro, he kindly offered to restore the camera to normal astro modding and included that in the price.

Juan even did all this while he was away in Spain and even offered to post from Spain if I wasn't able to wait... but I was able and it arrived today. Complete with battery,charger (plus UK adapter), strap, USB lead, instructions and software - he even chucked in an 8gb Sandisk Memory Card.

The shutter count was very low at just under 250 and the condition of the camera was as new. I have to say I was shocked at how pristine it was.

I am probably harping on, but I really can't fault Juan's service and would have absolutely no qualms about using him again if I felt the need to upgrade - nor to recommend him to others looking for an astro camera. Emails/communication throughout the transaction was fantastic - great stuff!

[lardy]

Dispatched my camera on Tuesday and received it today Friday ... A 3 day turnaround,  a truly excellent service by Juan. 

[Cozzy]

I would just to share my positive experience with Cheap Astrophotography.

In the middle of last year I purchased a Canon 1000D astromodified camera from Cheap Astrophotography but sadly never got to use it till February this year due to work commitments and the horrendous weather we have had up here in North Lancashire. On using the camera I found that there was an issue with some of the images, I contacted Juan (via email) at Cheap Astrophotography, the email communications from  Juan were polite friendly and courteous . 

Juan replaced my camera  with a Canon 450D  which arrived well packaged and in excellent condition, again due to poor weather I am still waiting to try this one out. All of this took  just over a week to resolve thanks to Juan and his outstanding customer service.  I would and will recommend Cheap Astrophotography to anyone  wishing to purchase an astromodified DSLR camera.

A big thumbs up for  Cheap Astrophotography. 

[Stridor]

For anyone who may be interested in getting their Canon DSLR Astro modded, I have just had mine done very quickly and efficiently by Juan Fierros at http://cheapastrophotography.vpweb.co.uk/Available-Cameras.html. £75 for the conversion and received back 5 days after posting. 

[Marky1973]

Just wanted to note some great service from Juan at Cheapastrophotography. I bought a modded EOS 100D from him a while back and recently sold it on via SGL. There were a few issues with the camera that were explained in the advert, but which the buyer needed some help with. We contacted Juan for some information regarding the faults and he helped identify the potentials issues and offered solutions that went above and beyond the call of usual customer services. If I am ever in the market for a modded DSLR in the future, Juan will be first choice without at doubt.

[almcl]

Almost five years ago I purchased one of Juan Fierros' astro modified Canon cameras.  It has been an excellent performer both as an Astro and daytime camera.

Recently I had a bit of an issue with a patch of dust or some other contamination on the Canon 700d's sensor.

Neither Gamma Optical Fluid nor Baader Wonder Fluid applied with swabs were able to shift it.  It didn't calibrate out particularly well, either and was quite close to centre of the frame.  Worse, it started showing up on my daytime photos ( astromodded but  it is still quite usable for daytime photos). I was convinced that I had scratched or chipped the outer filter.

Fearing the worst, I contacted Juan at Cheapastrophotgraphy and asked if he would quote for replacing the outer filter.  He agreed to have a look and asked me to send the camera to him, even though it has a shutter count of more than 36,000 since I bought the camera from him.  After examination Juan didn't think getting rid of the dust/chip would be a problem, which was encouraging.

Somewhat to my surprise the camera arrived back this morning and the sensor is now as clean as a whistle!

But the bigger surprise came when I contacted Juan to ask how much I owed him, he refused payment!  

What a guy!  What service!

Here's to next 36,000 exposures!

 

Here's the dust I couldn't shift: 

 

Here's how it came back:

[Merlin66]

Excellent result!

I had similar motes on my ASI 1600 chip and it seemed to take forever to clean them up.

 

[mackiedlm]

I decided to have one of my Canon EOS 1100d's modified so contacted Juan at Cheapastrophotography.

He was extremely responsive and helpful and the camera was gone barely a week - including shipping from and back to the West of Ireland.

Excellent job, at a very reasonable price.

Highly recommended.