cool D5500

[Thomas Stellwag]

http://petapixel.com/2016/10/11/cooled-nikon-d5500a-chills-sensor-clearer-star-photos/

[Akira]

That looks nice (no, I never say "cool"!).  And it's more affordable than D810A.  I wonder if the cooling fan would cause the camera shake?

Thanks for sharing anyway!

[Macro_Cosmos]

That looks nice (no, I never say "cool"!).  And it's more affordable than D810A.  I wonder if the cooling fan would cause the camera shake?

Thanks for sharing anyway!

D810a $3796 (BH)
D5500a $2381 (Google EU to USD)

Quite significantly cheaper indeed.
The D5500a would be great for deep sky objects I think, taking advantage of the smaller sensor thus larger equivalent field of view.

[Hugh_3170]

The write up in the link implies that the standard D5500 CMOS sensor has been replaced by a CCD sensor, along with the filter.  The cooler is a Peltier effect device.

[Bjørn Rørslett]

The D5500 camera is built around a given sensor, 24 MPix CMOS in this case. I find it highly unlikely a third-party maker could replace this with a bespoke CCD device of the same dimensions and capable of using the internal electronics in the identical manner.

The reduction in noise is well known to those shooting in cold winters. The Peltier add-on takes this an extra mile further.

[Hugh_3170]

Maybe they used the term CCD instead of just using the word 'sensor'.   A sensor change is indeed a big step, even if the manufacturer of this modified camera has the capability to do so.