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Thursday, September 10, 2009

Canon T1i mod gone bad...

Well, attempted to mod the T1i by removing the IR cut filter. Got into the point of removing the sensor plate, only to discover some special torque screws (for which I have nothing to get them out). Put it back together, apparently a little too quickly, only to discover that it will no longer take a picture - "temperature too high." Great. Something is shorted...could be one of a hundred contacts that were involved in various ribbon cables or even the aluminum shield plate.

When I have more time, and patience, I'll look into trying to bring it back. For now, I've decided to continue the DSLR path and when convenient, pay someone to do the mod. A new Rebel XSi has arrived, a couple hundred cheaper than the T1i, lighter and less noise (see previous post).

Cheers!

2 comments:

Krish Mandal said...

Andy,

I love your work. I've just started reading your blog from back at day 1. I'm a newbie to Astronomy, though with 2 college classes 20 years ago, and I'm a professional photographer. I found your site following links from Cloudy Nights and Andy's Shot Glass. I aspire to your level of craftsmanship, but I have still yet to choose any equipment.

Just wanted to drop you a line and tell you I've mentioned your blog on my newly started blog (nightskylog.blogspot.com). BTW, I also love your taste in music, and I'm in front-end web dev myself. We seem to run in the same circles.

I'll be reading your blog very enthusiastically. Keep up the good work.

Andy said...

Wow, thank you, Krish!

I read your blog and am frankly a little speechless at the praise. Just doing what I enjoy. I would be interested to hear what equipment you finally end up acquiring. If anything, choose an equatorial mount with "GoTo" capability. No matter the scope or the kind of viewing, you won't need to reinvest in that until you find need for a second mount. It also allows you to pursue computer-driven astrophotography later.

Based on what is available, the Orion Atlas mount is still the best value. Vixen appears to have some nice mounts with graphical GoTo controllers, but cost a bit more.

My next shot is for you....the pressure is on.