Rebel XT Infrared Mod - by Maxmax

AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
edited March 14, 2006 in Cameras
So my original plan for the Sony R-1 didn't work out as expected, and I went back to the Canon Rebel for a modified DSLR. This time I bought a new Rebel XT, and had it modified by Maxmax.

The XT is a very nice, but very tiny camera :lol3 Nevertheless, it delivers superb image quality. I love the low-noise IR that I can get. I've only done a few test shots, as here in the Northeast it's not really IR season yet (very few leaves!) but I'm really looking forward to using this setup!

I shot with my 24-105L, 35L, 17-85 EF-S, and my CZ21. The CZ21 mades crazy sharp images in IR, that was a pleasing result.

59921664-M.jpg

(unsharpened 100% crop, extreme upper left)
59921511-L.jpg

There are some test shots and a few crops in this gallery:

http://www.moonriverphotography.com/gallery/1273651

Pretty much everything you need to know about the conversion is said here in my review of the 300D IR Mod:
http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/1077118

I'll update here as things progress.
Andy

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Comments

  • Bob BellBob Bell Registered Users Posts: 598 Major grins
    edited March 14, 2006
    Thats pretty cool. If you use a UV on your lenses, does the body act like it still has its UV filter?
    Bob
    Phoenix, AZ
    Canon Bodies
    Canon and Zeiss Lenses
  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited March 14, 2006
    ne_nau.gif I don't use a uv filter ever...
    Andy

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  • David_S85David_S85 Administrators Posts: 13,245 moderator
    edited March 14, 2006
    I want one! I find these fascinating, after fooling around with the R72 filter route a few years back.

    Sorry the R-1 didn't work as planned, but the Rebels make a great special use cam just the same + gives lens options. I had never held a Rebel until a few months ago, and was surprised how compact it was compared to the 20D. My hands are small, but wow was it cramped.

    When funds allow, and the 20D becomes a distinguished senior citizen, then I'm in.
    My Smugmug
    "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
  • wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited March 14, 2006
    David_S85 wrote:

    When funds allow, and the 20D becomes a distinguished senior citizen, then I'm in.
    That's where my brain is drifting, too. I'm hoping the 30D propels some affordable 20D's into the used market.
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
  • David_S85David_S85 Administrators Posts: 13,245 moderator
    edited March 14, 2006
    wxwax wrote:
    That's where my brain is drifting, too. I'm hoping the 30D propels some affordable 20D's into the used market.

    I was actually hoping the 30D was going to be so much more that it have expedited my conversion plans. However, either way, I would have made no sense to do that 8 just months following the 20D purchase.

    When I have a new shiney 40D in my hands though.....
    My Smugmug
    "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited March 14, 2006
    wxwax wrote:
    That's where my brain is drifting, too. I'm hoping the 30D propels some affordable 20D's into the used market.

    Strangely - I tried a 20D mod last summer - and it wasn't as good as the 300D or the 350D. No reason not to buy a used 300D or 350D and have at it, IMO deal.gif
    Andy

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  • wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited March 14, 2006
    David_S85 wrote:
    I was actually hoping the 30D was going to be so much more that it have expedited my conversion plans. However, either way, I would have made no sense to do that 8 just months following the 20D purchase.

    When I have a new shiney 40D in my hands though.....
    lol3.gif
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
  • wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited March 14, 2006
    Andy wrote:
    Strangely - I tried a 20D mod last summer - and it wasn't as good as the 300D or the 350D. No reason not to buy a used 300D or 350D and have at it, IMO deal.gif
    How interesting. Did you have to do a lot of PS surgery to make the shots look good?
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited March 14, 2006
    wxwax wrote:
    How interesting. Did you have to do a lot of PS surgery to make the shots look good?

    Just the way the skies came out in the 20D. I'm a nut for sky noise in IR shots, that's where the rubber meets the road. The Rebs deliver really, really low noise IR skies. Funny though, there oughtn't be much difference between the 20D and the 350 Rebel XT, so maybe I just got a bad sausage...
    Andy

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  • David_S85David_S85 Administrators Posts: 13,245 moderator
    edited March 14, 2006
    Andy wrote:
    ... so maybe I just got a bad sausage...

    I hate when that happens! lol3.gif

    Good to know about the (possible) 20D conversion issue. Perhaps someone with another converted 20D will chime in with pictures and you two can compare.
    My Smugmug
    "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take" - Wayne Gretzky
  • CalKiddCalKidd Registered Users Posts: 37 Big grins
    edited March 14, 2006
    Ummm...errrr......new guy here.

    What is the IR mod?ne_nau.gif
  • wxwaxwxwax Registered Users Posts: 15,471 Major grins
    edited March 14, 2006
    CalKidd wrote:
    Ummm...errrr......new guy here.

    What is the IR mod?ne_nau.gif
    Your digital camera has a filter built-in which cuts down on the infra-red spectrum. You can get cameras modified to change that filter. Here's a good article on it.
    Sid.
    Catapultam habeo. Nisi pecuniam omnem mihi dabis, ad caput tuum saxum immane mittam
    http://www.mcneel.com/users/jb/foghorn/ill_shut_up.au
  • AndyAndy Registered Users Posts: 50,016 Major grins
    edited March 14, 2006
    CalKidd wrote:
    Ummm...errrr......new guy here.

    What is the IR mod?ne_nau.gif

    Follow the linky in my first post :D
    Andy

    Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
  • ian408ian408 Administrators Posts: 21,938 moderator
    edited March 14, 2006
    Very interesting. Maybe I will send the 20d off...
    Moderator Journeys/Sports/Big Picture :: Need some help with dgrin?
  • ziggy53ziggy53 Super Moderators Posts: 24,129 moderator
    edited March 14, 2006
    Andy,

    It appears, from your Rebel 300 thread, and some extra/interpolation, that you have the dedicated IR conversion, the XNiteCanon350DIR (B).

    What do you see when you look through the viewfinder? Is it distorted color?

    Can you manually and auto-focus reliably? (Some lenses have an IR focus scale, for instance. Is that impacted by the conversion? Do infinity and close-focus points change?)

    Do any lenses work particularly well or particularly poorly? (Besides the CZ that you mention that works sooo well.) "L" versus "non-L"?

    Can you really cook sausage on it??? (It's getting late.)

    Thanks,

    ziggy53
    ziggy53
    Moderator of the Cameras and Accessories forums
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