Capture the Night Sky Better with This Actively Cooled Camera!
Cernescu Andrei / 8 years ago
Those of you who know a thing or two about snapping a great pic are well-aware of the advantages of long exposure, but even though this technique can result in some truly breathtaking shots, there’s always the risk of getting some digital noise on your work, and it all has to do with heat. Indeed, excess heat can cause digital noise, which is particularly annoying when you’re trying to get a good shot of the night sky. A solution to this would be to actively cool the camera, and fortunately, a company named PrimaLuceLab decided to strap a rather large cooling system to a modified Nikon D5500a in order to regulate the sensor’s temperature accordingly.
The results are quite amazing, to be honest, as a sample image provided by the company clearly shows a big difference between keeping the camera cooled to 28.4 degrees Fahrenheit and leaving it at 68 degrees, which is room temperature.
Impressive as it may be, there are a few downsides to PrimaLuceLab’s solution, including the added bulk and the extra energy consumption, as the cooling unit requires its own 12V power supply. The increased price tag should also be considered, as the cooled Nikon D5500a retails for about $2,422, while the standard version of the camera doesn’t cost more than $650.