Canon 60Da - Good for IR?

[cmoody]

I've only just stumbled across this SLR body, a 60Da, apparently with a modified filter letting 3x as much IR through as the normal 60D:

 

http://www.canon.co....l_SLR/EOS_60Da/

 

Not sure if it's "new" news or if everyone else knew about it already.

 

Now all we need is for the SLR manufacturers to recognise hobbyists that want to shoot at the other end of the spectrum!

[nfoto]

It is well know Canon does a "byline" run of their DSLRs for astro usage. My perception this is a way of emptying stock about to be obsolete. Unfortunately, this maker never considered the need for UV-enabled cameras. Perhaps because there isn't a native UV lens for Canon?

 

Fuji have pulled similar stunts several times to get rid of surplus stock, but as they provide F-mount and thus cameras potentially can mount a UV-Nikkor, Fuji opted for "full spectrum" solutions. Well, sort of, as the Fuji sensors are a little limited at the UV end. They quoted 350 nm as a lower limit for the S3 Pro UV/IR Limited Edition model and I have confirmed this to be pretty accurate. The later IS (based on S5 if memory serves) only does down 380 nm per maker specification.

[nfoto]

To return to the original question: this 'astro' model has a dedicated H-alpha filter. Thus I believe it won't do much better than any other model, modified or not, for general IR shooting. Perhaps even the opposite.

 

One probably eschews the costs of a special model by getting a cheap second-hand camera and replace its internal filter pack by a proper IR long-pass filter, or WG280 glass of suitable size and thickness.

[colinbm]

What about the other end of the spectrum ;)

The market is too small....

You can get what you want, converted, it just costs some money, there are plenty of choices.

Col

[Andrea B.]

As a general note, one can adapt Nikon lenses to Canons easily enough and obtain focus to infinity.

So the Rayfact UV-Nikkor and Coastal 60 are useable on converted Canon bodies given that Canon lacks its own UV lens in its lens lineup.

 

Canon EF-mount FFD: 44.00mm

Nikon FFD: 46.50mm

Only 2.5mm to play with, but that's enough it seems.