What Are Astro Modified Cameras? 

Quick update as I've just received an email from Mark at JTW Astronomy that's worth sharing: "I forgot to mention something in my explanation of the mod, the question of autofocus and sensor repositioning. Sensor spacing (between the lens flange and the sensor surface) used to be fixed and set at the factory. If you modify an older camera without adjusting this spacing the autofocus will stop working correctly. However, just because modern autofocus and compensate for this there will still be some negative effects - 1) The distance reading won't be correct on the lens anymore, it may read 2 meters but you're 5 meters away. 2) Lens that don't have any leeway beyond infinity may not be able to reach infinity at all. Infinity will be 100 meters or so. Not a problem in daytime use but you won't get sharp stars. 3) The worst - The optical design of the lens is optimised for a certain BFD. Back focal distance. While a smart camera and some luck with the lens may still allow you to reach focus at infinity the optical performance will not be per the design. You will get a loss of image quality off the optical axis. More noticeable with full frame sensors and fast lenses. "

Impressive that you are never reading any of this info from anywhere...a true fountain of knowledge!

You & Trevor are Truly The Astro Kings ! Great Job Keep Them Coming !

Best layman’s explanation I have seen on Spectrum of Astrophotography. Thanks @Alyn Wallace.

Alyn, excellent job explaining very technical material in an organized manner. Love your videos/vlogs. Keep up the inspiring work!

Great insight on this subject matter for someone just starting AP like myself. To modify or not to modify that is the question resolved 🖖

Absolutely fascinating. Great teacher Alyn 👍🏻

Thank you for the explanation, learned a lot. Your vlog photos are stunning mate. Clear skies.

Stunning guide as usual, thanks Alyn 👍🏼

Omg 2:50 ... explained like a professor.. Thnks for this video ..

Hi Alyn, I am totally new to astronomy and the way that you relayed the information meant that I understood everything. Thank you so much.

Thanks for the great explanation! Definitly worth it to look in to!

Nice call out to @astrobackyard. You two are my first & favorite goto channels!

I have been watching a couple of other astrophotography channels, namely Nico and Delta, but I am glad I found yours. Great channel, I am new subscriber!

Thank you for all the information you’ve given you very helpful and all that information for getting the shots with your cameras

So many questions answered! Thanks ever so much!

Thanks for the explanation and congrats on 20k subs!

I'm glad it all worked out for you. The important thing is that you're enjoying it. I bought an already modified full spectrum camera many years ago. I haven't produced anything worthy of being thought if as art, but I did learn a few techy things. You can buy "minus IR" filters (they look slightly blue-green) to screw onto the filter threads of your lenses to basically put a UV/IR filter back into the system if you want a more normal color balance. Most modern lenses absorb most UV anyway but if that concerns you, you can stack a standard UV filter on top of the other one. You would of course have to do a custom while balance. On my particular camera, I find that stacking a UV and IR filter on a lens is better than nothing, but I still get the most accurate color balance with an unmodified camera so I will also carry an unmodified body with me. I've read and have tried out what I think is a good technique for getting a custom white balance for IR and especially UV work which is to use a suitably sized piece of white Teflon instead of a gray/white card. Teflon apparently reflects IR, and especially UV very well. I hope these few ideas can help.

Thanks Alyn! I just got a used astro-modified Canon 700D, wondered about the pink color of the images and you explained it perfectly! And glad I just ordered a light pollution filter ...

Insane astrophotography 🤯 plus great informative content 👍🏽

Very impressive explanation of photoelectric emission done very simply

Very nicely done, thanks.

Excellent and informative thank you very much :)

I’m definitely going to look into this for my 6d bud! I bought that camera for the sole intention of shooting astro and seems like the mod has far more reasons for than against! Awesome video and explanation! Cheers mate :)

Great job on the production.ill subscribe👌🇺🇸

Very interesting video, well explained!

Excellent Thank you Mr Wallace.

Quality content right here

Just stumbled across your channel. you've covered a lot of bases here with modding, very well explained, and your images are superb. I can't believe how nice that Geminids pic is from La Palma! I love that one in particular! I used to full spectrum mod the older canon cameras using the Gary Honis guide. Really worth checking out if you ever fancy doing a Canon camera :) Subbed, looking forward to exploring your channel :)

Excellent Clear concise Brill

Just modded my D7100... NOT for the amateur lol, but its nice in so far as the sensor position doesn't move in relation to its focal distance so its a simple removal of the filter. Auto focus still works great. Definitely worth doing for serious astro work. Great video!

amazing photos!!!

I love the detail you've gone into in this video. Yeah I love trevor's channel too been watching his progress for some years. I had previously modified an old Canon 30D for astro and it did make a big difference especially on Orion although my 7Dmk2 is better even unmodified it has a much better sensor. It was an old camera so not worth much and I thought I would risk removing the bayer CFA filter to make it a totally mono camera. for doing narrow band photography as I live in light polluted Watford. It was going well until I accidently touched one of the gold wires so that was that. I also have an old 5D classic I want to try CFA removal again. I probably end up buying a dedicated cooled mono astro cam in the end. Great channel keep at it love your photo's.

Interesting information 👏🏻👏🏻thanks

Amazing Work 👍

Nice one 👍 thanks for the time u putvin

Great explanation Alyn. I have a Canon 60Da. It comes modified by Canon. It still has the IR cut filter and is molded like yours is. I am thinking of getting a snap in filter with Oiii and ha, and a cls filter. This summer I will take it to Mt Rainier, Washington state to get pictures of the North American nebula and the Lagoon nebula. I think your Sony a7sii being full frame is much better at low light and less noise but I can still get some great pictures. Thanks for your inspiration. Bill.

Thanks for the information.

Fascinating love it .

hoooly sheeet, this was educational... bravo, got my subscription :D

Hi Alyn. Thank you for taking the time to put this tutorial together. You've explained lots of detail in a very easy to understand way - even a divvy like me can take it in !! Hugely enjoyable and educational - how often do you hear that? Many thanks for sharing.

I am fairly new to this hobby and have been following your superb videos for a few months. I currently have a Canon eos rp full frame mirrorless camera and was contemplating getting it astro modified. It's such a scary step though as, if anything goes wrong, I won't be able to afford a replacement.

Great explanation of theoretical physics before better learning of what we really doing.

Hey Alyn thanks for this and all of your videos they are really informative and very well done! Quick question, did you every get your A7III modded? I ask because I have a modded A7s as well which works great but I miss the added resolution of the A7III. Thoughts?

I was going to get a "Special," astro-camera. Opted for the Fuji X-T3, instead. And the Nikon D5300, and even the Fuji XT, series, take awesome night sky images.

Thanks for all the videos. What white balance do you use in your astro-Mod camera?

Last Friday I decided to remove ir filter from my Eos 550d - easy 30min job . Now joust need clear dark sky to try it out . All the best mate

THANKYOU...

OUTSTANDING Video ... Just subscribed to your Channel mate ... I have a Question for You ... in between the Sony A7S and the A7S II which one would you recommend me to Convert to Full Spectrum ? Please ... Thank You ... Awaiting a swift reply from You ... cheers

Have been doing prime focus astrophotography and thought about modifying my Canon T3i. Your videos are a wealth of information on photography as well as processing. Love it!

Alyn thank you so much for all your videos. What white balance do you use on your astro modified camera when you are shooting the sky?

Great tutorial on why cameras are modified to pick up the hydrogen alpha wavelength for photographing nebula

Very interesting explanation of what you have done to your camera Alyn. As a complete novice to astro, having now modified your camera, will you need to change your astro presets for your own personal images?

Hi Alyn , that camera think12 mp is there any advantage to using high megapixel cameras or is it not so important for Astrophotography, cheers

Hello. Which type of astromod did you do with your camera? Is it the full spectrum? Or just the increasing Ha ? Thanks

With the Sony a7sII have you encountered issues with the star eater problem? Did the last firmware correct the issue somewhat or altogether? Is a full spectrum modification similar to the Astro mod?

I modded my A7RIII by having the IR/UV cut filter removed and now can use (Astromik) clip filters, for IR with fast shutter speeds and low ISO on any lens and can see everything through the EVF and they also make a IR/UV clip filter to return the camera back to "normal" in a few seconds I don't use any clip filters when taking Astrophotography and get absolutely amazing results in dark skies the focusing is not affected in any way

Alyn, Trevor and Rudy should go on a trip together 😁

A question about light pollution filters: given the rollout of full spectrum "daylight" LED street lighting now under way, how useful will light pollution filters be in the future, given that they are designed to filter out specific wavelengths (such as the yellow wavelengths of low pressure sodium, or the additional wavelengths of orange high pressure sodium)?

Alyn so can you still use the a7s II for filming in regular lighting conditions (like a studio) after doing the mod?

alyn im thinking of getting a eos-r so that means I could get my 6D modded just for astro, where can I get it done and do you do it to your 6D back in the day?

So even with this modified camera, do you still need more than one images for creating more detail or just one shot?

Hi Alyn, very interesting video! I'm about TO buy a star tracker, what can you gel me about your MSM ? is it a waste of money or is it ok? Which lens i can use? Is The delivery fast?? Thank you so much Clem

Hi Alyn. Thanks for your inspiring and highly informative videos. I in herited a7r2, ,( bad battery, huge files, one card!) should i swap for an a111 ? Or maybe the beast for Astro they say is the Pentax K1. It’s so frustrating not to know which way to go…i guess best glass is more important too?!

Hi Alyn! Where can I find filters for my Nikon D610? I saw a picture in this video where was a Nikon camera with filter. Thank you!

Hey, I was just wondering what is a good camera to get for a beginning? For about a year now I've been getting into astronomy, and recently have been taking photos threw my telescope. I am just a normal line cook, and this is a hobby of mine. I would like a decent camera that is not to expensive. Thanks for the help.

Hi Alyn, I'm living in a Bortle 4 area...will having my camera modified worth it? you mentioned that we need to be in a really dark place in order to see the effects of the modifications? I'm thinking of having my Canon 1300D modified, will this be enough to do the job? Thanks and looking forward to many more informative videos!

I have this on my a7iii and for some reason videos looks much better also . Color are amazing, looks like 10bit

If you had gone down the full mod route, presumably you would need a filter for shooting the foreground even under dark skies?

Very helpful! Thank you Is it still possible to shoot during the day with an astro mod camera? Or does the photo gets the colour totally wrong?

Great explanation of how and why. Instead of modifying my camera I’ll use that money to just purchase one of Alyn’s prints and own something beautiful and photoshop in the pink hydrogen in my own images! Lol

What company do you recommend for Astro alpha modification?

Can I use the pollution filter on a normal non modified camera (a7riii)?

Amazing info ! Learned a lot. I just have a few questions. I have a t3i and a7sii which I am planning to astro mod one of them. I am leaning towards the a7sii transformation since it's better in low light.. From my knowledge the difference would be a Ha mod (t3i) vs full spectrum (a7sii). However, I've learned from others , yourself as well that if I add a Ha filter on the a7sii (full spectrum modified) it would behave it as a "regular" astro mod Ha cam (instead of full spectrum) , and also if I add a UV/IR threaded filter I could still use it as a regular camera during the day. Let me know if I am wrong and would extremely appreciate an opinion if it's still worth modifying the a7sii in 2023. Thanks and again , I've watched many videos of yours and they helped me a lot in better understanding how astrophoto works.

Hello, I'm really struggling finding a place that I can buy an astro modified dlsr camera. Any advice you can give me? Thanks 👍

Hey mate, great video again. How much does this cost? And is it worth the money for someone who does it as a hobby?

Whats is an astro modded camera like to aurora filming and pictures?

Thanks for the great explanation. If I'm shooting about 40% nighsky and 60% daytime is it worth astromodifying a Sony a7iii?

crazy modifications,i being seen people using magnets to mod cameras to full spectrum frame,you need to put the magnet close the sensor in the outside camera case

Should I mod my camera for landscape astrophotography?

I have one issue with the "infrared photography". Full-on infrared radiation does not pass through glass. Take an infrared camera, and try to look through a window.

So if you get an external filter that goes on your lens which is the same one you got removed inside of the camera (IR/UV cut filter), can you take pictures and videos at day and night as the same as before you got the full spectrum modification? Because thats what scares me, spending all this money then potentially breaking your camera.

Hi Alyn, I have a Ha clip filter, do you think I can have similar results in a stock camera by blending a normal exposure with a ha exposure (red channel) in post production?

you're hooked on pink ;)

Hi Alyn, I heard Sony a7s cameras are great for modification, what about a7lll? Any information on that topic? Because some say that after modification “ H alpha “ on a7lll it gets light leaks doing long exposures which I really like on the tracker. I’m planning on modifying mine but a bit hesitant because of misinformation. What is your experience if any? Would appreciate any info you can provide! Thanks in advance!

I went this weekend in Kranjska gora in Slovenia to chase milkyway. The conditions were perfect but I just could locate it or I dont have experience :D

Great video Alyn. The first camera I saw that was Astro modified was an a7s and now your a7sii. Does something about the a7s make it preferable for Astro? In the video you mentioned that you were considering doing this to your a7iii, have you done it now?

Hi Alyn, My light pollution filter from Astronomik, just adds a strong blue tint. Everything will be blue. Am I missing something?

👍👍

I'm hearing too much negative feedback from camera modifiers about the Sony alphas. They say the shutter technology with the Mark 2 and on has a sensor that turns on an IR light that effects exposures longer than 1 second or so. I'd love to mod my a7s2 or a7r2, but if I can't get long exposures... what's the point?

I have an astro modified Canon T3i and when taking deep sky images it makes the entire image red. How do you remove the unwanted red in the image? I think I'm missing something... Thank you

in the UK infraredcameraconversions.com does conversions as well with the IR led modification included. Got my A7II modded by Andy and made an excellent job, I can confidently recommend him.

Are you still releasing a Astro filter this year?

i don't get why those in built filters need to be physical xD can't the camera software just not render those out of spectrum colors in the final raw? shouldn't this be just a software setting?

I've 2 mates that has sent their cameras off to JTW with poor end results... are you absolutely sure that JTW issues a guarantee for leakage? They are unable to go over 20-30s all together due to the leakage. It's an A7SII and an A7RIII... So using a tracker for quality is out the window... Would love an answer on this as I have a strong desire to get a modified A7III or A7RIII and not have to dip into a second system just for this...

In terms of astro-modifying a camera yourself, if we're just talking about a cheap camera you have lying about that you're looking to put to good use - OK, this could be worth considering if you're someone who is confident in the disassembly (and, crucially, reassembly) of small electronic devices. But as soon as you're talking about a professional level camera like the A7S series I think I would categorically advise against any attempt to home-brew the modification. For context, I am an electronics engineer with a degree in this field and my first job out of school - which I had for 8 years - was actually in consumer electronics repair so I am _very_ familiar with the diassembly of complex and small electronic kit. But even with this experience, I elected to get my own A7S II modified by an experienced person and I spent a grand total of zero time considering to do it myself. The reason is, with all the experience and confidence in the world, a lot of things can go wrong when you disassemble a complex device like this - particularly when you are doing it for the first time. And it's simply not worth the risk. Better to employ the skills of someone who has done this work tens or potentially even hundreds of times on your exact model of camera. They will have perfected their disassembly process, they'll know about all the gotchas, and you're much less likely to have something go wrong. Now, I am not saying that someone _can't_ do it themeselves and I am sure there are people out there who have done it successfully. Probably, I would have been one of them if I'd done mine myself. But even so, it's a _risk_, and one that in my view is definitely not worth taking on an expensive camera like the A7S II. For me - if I were to lose my A7S II - I would not be in a position to simply go and buy another one. I would be facing being without that camera for quite a long time, and eventually spending saved money on a new one which I could otherwise have put to use on upgrades in other areas. So if you're in the position described in the above paragraph my advice to you is do not attempt yourself, get someone experienced to do it like Alyn did and I did.

Instead of modifying customer cameras they should offer modified camera bodies for sale as well.

Can anyone recommend some incredible light pollution filters? That really help to cut the light from the cities. Thanks in advance

Saw your response to another commenter below re: potential internal IR light leak with astro mod of A7Sii, but a leading US company doing mods specifically recommends modifying only a7S and not A7Sii due to this issues (see www.spencerscamera.com/recommended-cameras-astro.cfm) - can you confirm that you have had no problem with several minute exposures on your modded A7Sii by JTW? Thx

Can you add a sensor cooling systems to an a7sii?