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I am thinking of converting one of my Nikon DSLRs for astrophotography. 
Would it be better to pick up a D810A or convert my older 810 or 850?
Is there a reliable place to convert the camera?
Thanks for any help

I haven't done that conversion but Maxmax does this conversion and I can highly recommend that company based on other conversions I've had done there. Go to maxmax.com and select their H-Alpha conversion.

https://maxmax.com/maincamerapage

E.J.,

They don't list Nikon cameras as being able to be converted to H-Alpha. Is this one of those call and ask questions times?

I recently sold my D810A as I've been having more luck with the D850 at night overall than the older camera. This is especially true of the live view screen and the relative noise on that display along with the noise quality of the image after being taken. I'd love to get a little more D-Alpha response with the D850 as I did with the D810A but I still wouldn't go back at this point. I'd wonder whether a D850 can have that conversion done by Maxmax.

These guys do some Nikons, but with a focus warning on some:

https://kolarivision.com/product/nikon- ... n-service/

This company may do them, but it’s not the easiest site to find info on. They do have some tutorials:

https://www.lifepixel.com/?s=Astrophotography

These guys sound interesting, but I never had heard of them before:

http://www.spencerscamera.com/astro-conversions.cfm

http://www.spencerscamera.com/store/store_product_detail.cfm?Product_ID=19&Category_ID=1

Joe

Anthony Medici wrote:E.J.,

They don't list Nikon cameras as being able to be converted to H-Alpha. Is this one of those call and ask questions times?

I recently sold my D810A as I've been having more luck with the D850 at night overall than the older camera. This is especially true of the live view screen and the relative noise on that display along with the noise quality of the image after being taken. I'd love to get a little more D-Alpha response with the D850 as I did with the D810A but I still wouldn't go back at this point. I'd wonder whether a D850 can have that conversion done by Maxmax.

Hmm, never even bothered to look at that.  They have done Nikon IR conversions for me!

SantaFeJoe wrote:
These guys sound interesting, but I never had heard of them before:

http://www.spencerscamera.com/astro-conversions.cfm

http://www.spencerscamera.com/store/store_product_detail.cfm?Product_ID=19&Category_ID=1

Joe

Spencers Camera is located in Utah and has an excellent reputation for both technical knowledge and service.

Scott B wrote:
Spencers Camera is located in Utah and has an excellent reputation for both technical knowledge and service.

I had to presume that, since they did work for NASA, they had to be pretty good. Thanks for posting that.

http://www.spencerscamera.com/nasa-conversion.cfm

Their heat reduction system for long exposures is fascinating, as well.

http://www.spencerscamera.com/heat-reduction-system.cfm

Joe

Thanks everyone
I emailed Maxmax regarding a conversion but have not heard back. I read a number of reviews about Spencer's that weren't good - so not sure about them. I emailed lifepixel and got a reply right away -- they do the conversion on the d850 with a turn around time of 2 weeks or so.
I guess my question is if anyone has any experience with them ?
Thanks again

In my experience Lifepixel tends to take twice as long as they say but they do a good job.

One more question - one other option ?
Are Astronomiks h-alpha clip-in filters (they have others as well) an option and are they difficult to use?
They are now available for the Nikon d850 …
Thanks again

https://www.astronomik.com/en/clip-filt ... __store=en

That’s an interesting filter, since it says here under the note that says important, that if your camera is modified, you will need to use the filter with the built-in IR blocker. I know nothing about this filter and it must be pretty new, since there is only one review that I saw.

Joe

Filters remove light. That is why they are called filters. If you remove light, you change the exposure. So adding a filter to help in a low light situation is counter productive at best. At worst it is harmful.

The replacement filters in this topic thus far have talked about replacing one filter for a different one. In theory, one that lets in more light for the wave lengths you care about rather than less light. That last filter doesn't seem to replace the original filter, it adds on to it reducing light.

Anthony Medici wrote:Filters remove light. That is why they are called filters. If you remove light, you change the exposure. So adding a filter to help in a low light situation is counter productive at best. At worst it is harmful.

The replacement filters in this topic thus far have talked about replacing one filter for a different one. In theory, one that lets in more light for the wave lengths you care about rather than less light.

Not exactly. If you read about the H-alpha filter here , you will see that it makes the camera 4 times more sensitive to the H-aplha line and 6 times more sensitive to sulfer ll lines. This, of course, replaces the original. They do not cut all spectrums. Filter is somewhat of a misnomer, but some of them are designed to filter out sodium vapor and other city lights. Or maybe I am just misunderstanding the gist of what you are saying.

Joe

Joe,

If you don't replace one filter with another, you lose light. In the example you site, there is a removal of one filter replacing it with another. In this case it would only lose light if the new filter was more restrictive than the old filter. And, in this case, it is not. However, the clip filters are added onto what ever filter you originally have. Therefore, when you add that filter, you reduce light hitting the sensor.

Anthony Medici wrote:Joe,

..........However, the clip filters are added onto what ever filter you originally have. Therefore, when you add that filter, you reduce light hitting the sensor.

Yes, with that I do agree. Thanks for clarifying.

Joe