IR Filters and future planning :)

[BeneathTheStars]

Hello, 

Bit of a newbie musing. I have a Canon 1200D and was wondering about the IR filter. My understanding is that the filter blocks much of the light at the deep red end of the spectrum. What I don't understand is why long exposures would be recommended to gather this data if the light is blocked. Is it that the filter doesn't fully block this light? My thinking is that if some of this light does get through the IR filter and you exposed for long enough to gather it then there would be an adverse impact on the other pixels becoming overly saturated. It made me wonder whether in general people get the results they want long term with unmodified DSLRs or is it the dream to either have the camera modified or buy a dedicated aatro camera? 

Thanks Claire ☺️ 

[endless-sky]

Hello,

the filter that you want removed is not the IR filter, but the stock filter that comes with most DSLRs. This filter blocks most of one of the most important wavelengths when it comes to a lot of nebulae: the H-alpha. The stock cameras would block anywhere from 75 to 85% of the light, in this particular wavelength.

When people astromodify their cameras, they actually put an IR cut filter back in, otherwise - if they left the camera full spectrum (without any filter at all) - the stars would be bloated / have halos around them. This is because lenses/refractors are not able to focus all wavelengths in the same focal plane and IR light would not be focused as well as the rest of the - useful for astrophotography - wavelengths.

Modifying my Nikon D5300 was one of the first thing I did. After I "wasted" four hours on the Chrismas Tree Nebula without gathering any satisfactory amount of signal, I knew that if I wanted the results I was after, I needed to modify the camera. The difference is night and day and - if you use the camera only for astrophotography - it's entirely worth it.

The next step would be to buy a dedicated astrocamera, but the price range for these is a lot higher than buying a used DSLR and modifying it yourself / having it modified by some store that offers the service.

[BeneathTheStars]

Wow I can see why people are keen to mod or save for an astro cam. My DSLR is my only camera and I want to be able to use it in daytime too so think it'll be something else to save for 🤣 thanks for your insight 😁