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Pixel Peeping- NEX-5N sensor

V

Vivek

Guest
Got a broken (shutter broken from a fall) 5N that presumably has a good sensor.

The sensor with its epoxied cover glass (the UV/IR cut/dust shaker is the blue-green glass). The drops are alcohol used for cleaning.


Untitled by Vivek Iyer, on Flickr

Cover glass removed (not at all trivial).


Untitled by Vivek Iyer, on Flickr

Pixels


Untitled by Vivek Iyer, on Flickr

I am not sure if any/all of the Bayer dyes are gone yet.

If anyone has an used (working) 5N for cheap, please let me know. Only when I put this hacked sensor in a 5N I will know if it has the Bayer or not. I really can't figure out if the dyes are there or not.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
Well, it looks like I have not scratched even the surface yet (literally). Many layers to go before I can see the bare Silicon.
 

thrice

Active member
UV/IR/AA (what you removed) are in front of CFA, CFA is UNDER microlenses which are attached to the sensor package. You will need to be one hell of a surgeon to get under either of those.
 
V

Vivek

Guest
I know. The 5N sensor is different (not surprising) than the ones I had used for my earlier experiments.

Here, even the microlens array appears to have a protection layer.

I am one hell of a "surgeon". ;)

The sensor package is already exposed. The clear protection glass with sharp UV cut is taken out without damage to the sensor (picture #2).
 
V

Vivek

Guest
It takes a while Daniel. The last sensor (dead sensor) I got rid of the microlenses and the CFA took a few months. But, what I learned there would certainly help speed up the current project. The goal is to get rid of the CFA without damaging the sensor.
 

JimBuchanan

New member
Trying to make a 5N Monochrom?

I'd be interested in any improvements the removed UV/IR/AA part makes.

Good Luck.
 

mazor

New member
would the jpg images come out funny without the bayer color filter in place? Also would the raw images convert nicely to black and white jpg ?
 

scho

Well-known member
Trying to make a 5N Monochrom?

I'd be interested in any improvements the removed UV/IR/AA part makes.

Good Luck.
The company that converted my 5N for IR use also does a conversion for full spectrum use by just removing the UV/IR/AA package and replacing with clear optical glass. However, the sensor still has the bayer filter. Here is a sample from my 5N that has no AA, but does have an internal 720nm filter for IR.

 
V

Vivek

Guest
Trying to make a 5N Monochrom?

I'd be interested in any improvements the removed UV/IR/AA part makes.

Good Luck.
Thanks, Jim. :)

I am not looking for any improvements in IQ (It is a miracle that with flimsy arrangements the 5N works at all!).

There isn't much AA (ie., the blur component) there to see. The total thickness of that filter (dust shaker) assembly is very little (<1mm).

What could be changed- a hardware upgrade- a real heatsink (there isn't much material inside the 5N to transfer heat) and a swivel LCD (would help leave the hot area- the back of the camera to dissipate heat), and that awful shutter mechanism (the same appears in the 7 also), as well as bringing the sensor closer to the shutter blades. Now, it is ~7 to 10mm away from the shutter.
 
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