Easy to cool DSLRs?

[Leeps]

Hey all, 

I'm looking to upgrade my D5100 to something with some cooling. I was hoping to keep costs down and make a project of cooling a DSLR sensor, but I can't find a good target camera. It seems to me to be a much better bang-for-buck to cool a DSLR than to shell out for anything with an APS-C sized sensor in a cooled astrocam.

Looking at cooling the 5100, I'd have to do a cold finger mod to try to get on the back of the sensor, but at least the back of the sensor is coolable and has no cables attached. The main thing that puts me off trying this is that there's a board directly behind it, so I can't go in from the back, and this puts me off a bit. Canons on the other hand are often accessible from the back, but they put a ribbon cable connector right on the back, which makes me think I'll just get uneven cooling:

 

I noticed that people on here are variously using cooled DSLRs, does anyone have any issues with the cable here blocking the coolth and forming a pattern? Anyone have long dark frames to show? I really want to play with cooled gear, but I can't justify £1000 on a cooled astrocam. 

 

Thanks for any help

[Carbon Brush]

I haven't tried cooling. I do though remember seeing on here someone who I think chose to cool the entire camera.
It was a few years ago so I can't say my memory is accurate.

There was a peltier assembly inside a big box with a lot of insulation.
This avoids dissecting the camera. But uses more cooling power.
It also avoids uneven sensor cooling.

Maybe someone will remember it?

HTH, David.

[Adam J]

15 minutes ago, Carbon Brush said:

I haven't tried cooling. I do though remember seeing on here someone who I think chose to cool the entire camera.
It was a few years ago so I can't say my memory is accurate.

There was a peltier assembly inside a big box with a lot of insulation.
This avoids dissecting the camera. But uses more cooling power.
It also avoids uneven sensor cooling.

Maybe someone will remember it?

HTH, David.

maybe my thread. 

Adam

[Carbon Brush]

Thanks Adam. That is the thread I remember.
If asked about dates, I would have said more than 5 years ago.
Just shows you shouldn't accept anything I say without checking😂
David.

[Leeps]

Awesome, thanks to both of you for that thread  One thing missing from it - what was the performance like? I've seen some before and after darks on other threads - what kind of impact do you think it had? 

I think the best idea in these builds is to have a box around it anyway, otherwise you're trying to cool the planet down with a lack of insulation. I guess once you're in that position, a simple alu heatsink on the back will aid the thermal transfer from the box to the sensor, so I may go for that as a starting point I'll also looking to water cool - I have a cheap AIO loop ready to do it. I'd also thought of the internal fan to move things about, so we're really on the same lines here I was thinking of putting a load of silica gel in the box too - try to lower the impact of wetness. 

 

If I do this I'll also still be looking for a DSLR to do it to, as you state in the thread the Nikon I have is too boxed in by boards etc. 

[almcl]

I cooled my Canon 700.  Not being brave enough to cut into the case for a cold finger, I applied a Peltier Cooler, heatsink and fan to the back of the camera in the space where the fold out screen sits.  

Although the results were not spectacular in terms of absolute cooling - it reduced the reported EXIF temp by 10 - 12°C, it did produce stable temperatures.  Unlike the uncooled sessions, all the lights were within a degree of each other and, possibly more importantly, it was possible to take darks at the same temperature, something I had long given up on before clamping the arrangement to the back of the camera.

[Adam J]

2 hours ago, Leeps said:

Awesome, thanks to both of you for that thread  One thing missing from it - what was the performance like? I've seen some before and after darks on other threads - what kind of impact do you think it had? 

I think the best idea in these builds is to have a box around it anyway, otherwise you're trying to cool the planet down with a lack of insulation. I guess once you're in that position, a simple alu heatsink on the back will aid the thermal transfer from the box to the sensor, so I may go for that as a starting point I'll also looking to water cool - I have a cheap AIO loop ready to do it. I'd also thought of the internal fan to move things about, so we're really on the same lines here I was thinking of putting a load of silica gel in the box too - try to lower the impact of wetness. 

 

If I do this I'll also still be looking for a DSLR to do it to, as you state in the thread the Nikon I have is too boxed in by boards etc. 

Performance was greatly improved for long exposures. You could see a very big difference in the dark's. I dont think that i could show you any data at this point though, all on an older PC.

Temperature drop was easily 20 - 25c below ambient once I got a TEC from RS as opposed to the rubbish amazon / ebay chinese ones. 

Adam

Edited February 16, 2022 by Adam J

[Leeps]

5 hours ago, Adam J said:

Performance was greatly improved for long exposures. You could see a very big difference in the dark's. I dont think that i could show you any data at this point though, all on an older PC.

Temperature drop was easily 20 - 25c below ambient once I got a TEC from RS as opposed to the rubbish amazon / ebay chinese ones. 

Adam

That seems like a great improvement, and well worth doing! That'll be my plan then I think. First step will be a reasonable Canon DSLR, and a way to mount a heatsink to the back of the sensor, I guess with a thermal glue. After that, a lightweight cooling box with plenty of insulation, and a fan to move the air from the cold plate to the sensor sink. I'll start gathering materials  

[Daf1983]

8 minutes ago, Leeps said:

That seems like a great improvement, and well worth doing! That'll be my plan then I think. First step will be a reasonable Canon DSLR, and a way to mount a heatsink to the back of the sensor, I guess with a thermal glue. After that, a lightweight cooling box with plenty of insulation, and a fan to move the air from the cold plate to the sensor sink. I'll start gathering materials  

I'll be putting my Canon 600d up for sale in the next few days if that's of interest

[Leeps]

14 minutes ago, Daf1983 said:

I'll be putting my Canon 600d up for sale in the next few days if that's of interest

Certainly, if it's a good price   I may have to wait till payday though, lol. I'm just weighing up the idea of the 18mp vs the 24mp sensor they do - I'm assuming it's the same sensor across all the 18mp cams... 

I got burned recently by buying a D5200 - didn't realise it was a baaaaad sensor for astro!  

[Daf1983]

19 minutes ago, Leeps said:

Certainly, if it's a good price   I may have to wait till payday though, lol. I'm just weighing up the idea of the 18mp vs the 24mp sensor they do - I'm assuming it's the same sensor across all the 18mp cams... 

I got burned recently by buying a D5200 - didn't realise it was a baaaaad sensor for astro!  

I think the 600d sensor is pretty good, although I'm no expert. I'll be selling it as a bundle. I have an ac adapter, an m48 adapter to connect to telescope, 2 sd cards, usb cable etc. It has a low shutter count of about 6000 (I get get the exact number if needed), and it was modified my Juan at cheap astrophotography last year. DM me if you're interested so that I don't take over your thread.