Canon 450D is my first DSLR. But after I got my 70D, this was left idle. I always want to remove its IR filter astronomy purpose, but I never got the time and courage to do that.
As the price of 2nd hand 450D is dropping, the initiative is getting bigger and bigger. In order to unleash its residue value, the modification is the only way to go. Earlier this morning, I took the plunge to carry on the modification according to the information on the web.
However, those pages were updated as newer DSLR comes into the market, and thus some photographs along with the instruction might not be very helpful. Some guess work required.
The most difficult trouble to me was those screws. I simply couldn't remove a few of those screws, they literally screwed up! I had to use a drill to remove them completely in an irreversible manner. I met maybe four such nasty screws.
Here are some snapshots, the first milestone as below with bottom and back cover removed:
Next, when the daughter board was removed:
And then the metalic cover on top of the CMOS assembly:
And then the CMOS assembly:
The shutter could be seen above, and the CMOS board below. A cutter has to be used to remove the first filter. The first filter serves as the dust removal system and this was to be kept. The second filter was the one to be removed. And below that was the CMOS.
I did removed the filter, but I didn't take any photograph of it. I placed it downward to prevent dust from falling onto it.
Re-assembly is easier but still quite difficult. I managed to leave a few screws unused, but then the camera works without problem, no loose parts.
This is the first shot taken after the modification! The pinkish hue is so lovely!
Finally, I had set the internal parameter for astronomy purpose. Turn on RAW mode, remove any built-in noise reduction, turned off the flash by default and so forth. Wish to use it in the field soon! Together with the DIY external power supply, this is going to be my work horse under starry sky!
