Modified DSLR - Taking the Plunge
After much consideration I’ve decided to get my Canon T2i modified with a Baader UV/IR replacement filter.
Here’s a little background on what a modified DSLR entails.
Camera manufactures (Canon, Nikon, Olympus, etc) internally put a filter directly in front on the camera’s sensor to block any non-visible light that might affect an image.
Here’s a depiction of the visible light spectrum in relation to the rest of the wavelengths:
But what if I wanted to see the InfraRed (IR) to the right of the red? or UltraViolet (UV) to the left of the violet? You would have to modify the internal workings of your camera to remove the built in IR/UV filter.
Why would one want to do this you ask? There are many reasons. One is that InfraRed terrestrial photography is a whole other bread on it’s own. While it’s definitely fascinating, I don’t think it’s for me. For some examples have a look at http://www.lifepixel.com/
Which brings us to another reason why would want to modify the DSLR, the 656.28 nanometer wavelength known as H-Alpha. Here’s a quote from Wikipedia "It is difficult for humans to see H-alpha at night, but due to the abundance of hydrogen in space, H-alpha is often the brightest wavelength of visible light in stellar astronomy.” Modifying the camera will allow for more H-Alpha light to be photographed.
I’m not an expert in this but from what I can there seems to be two types of modifications that are popular:
Full Spectrum
A more mild filter (Baader or Astrodon)
There are advantages and disadvantages to both. To sum it up, the Full Spectrum will give you the ultimate control but requires additional filters and know-how. A more mild filter seems easier to use, does not require additional filters, but does not give you the full spectrum.
Looking at the below graph it has been measure that the original Canon filter allows 20% of the HA light through as opposed to the Baader filter which is closer to 95%.
I’ve been reading more and more about this process, and it seems that if you want to do the modification right, you’re better off getting someone else to do it.
After loads of research and lots of searching, I’ve decided to get my T2i modified by Gary Honis (http://dslrmodifications.com/). Gary’s modifications are well respected.
The T2i has an interesting feature that no other Canon Rebel before (and most after it), it records video at a 640X480 crop mode at 60 frames per second. The Rebel’s following the T2i lowered the frame rate down to 30 fps.
My modification isn’t scheduled to happen for some time, so I’m not trying to get too excited but once I get it back I will definitely take it out for a test drive and let you know how it goes.