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Astro Modified Canon 350D vs 1000D/1100D

craigg

By craigg
in Discussions - Cameras

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craigg

craigg

Posted
Posted

Hi,

I've been using a Canon EOS 350D which has a Baader full spectrum sensor filter replacement.  I've very happy with the camera, but it's quite noisy by more modern standards, and the lack of live view makes focussing slow going.  Now, I've seen a few modified 1000D/1100D cameras for the <£200 price, so I'm starting to think about whether it's worth the effort.  I do have an EOS 600D, but this is my main (non-astro) camera so I don't really want to modify it.  Anyway, it'll cost almost as much as one of these second hand ones.

Has anyone any experience of both cameras in terms of image quality for AP?

Many thanks,

Craig

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MarsG76

MarsG76

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Mate the difference between Live view and no live view is something that words can't explain... I have a 300D modded with no live view and the 40D that has live view, the 300D is just a backup camera now that hasn't seen light for over a year... Live view is something that once used to, one can't live comfortably without... so go for the 1000/1100D.

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sharkmelley

sharkmelley

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In terms of image quality with long exposure astro-imaging you won't see any difference between the Canon 350D and the 1000D or 1100D because there is very little difference in Quantum Efficiency:

Oh dear, I accidently left the Canon 7D Mkii in that link ;)
Mark
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craigg

craigg

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Thanks for the comments.  Regarding live view, I've put my 600D on the the focuser a few times (more for galaxy imaging rather than emission nebulae) and focused using live view with a Bahtinov mask, cranking the ISO up to max for the purpose of focusing.  Also use the 10x zoom for this.  So I know what I'm missing with the 350D - it's not an insignificant feature, even if the difference in image quality is comparable.

happy-kat - I didn't realise the 1000D didn't have video capability.  That said, that's only going to come into play for planetary/solar/lunar, in which case I can make use of the QHY5L-II which i normally use as a guide cam, or the 600D which does 60 fps.

michael8554 - interested to know more about the 12 vs 14-bit raw capability, will have the read up on that.  Does that help with stretching also?

perfrej - I have the skywatcher motor focuser (assume that's something similar to the focusmax?), and yes that helps massively with the focus fine tuning, but I still have to take an image, view it on the rear screen, adjust focus, repeat until it's just right.  It can take ages if you don't get lucky with it.

Thanks for all the replies, this helps greatly.

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Lonestar70

Lonestar70

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Focusmax is auto-focus made easy. It is a free software solution. You do not have to watch any images at all, and it doesn't use live view. Typical focus time is 60-180 seconds.

/per

Hi Per,

Interesting...

Does focusmax work with DSLR cameras? I was under the impression that it was specifically for CCD astro cameras.

The blurb states it first takes a 3x3 binned image to work with... how does it do that with a colour DSLR sensor... the Bayer matrix would prevent that I would have thought.

Or perhaps I am missing something... which would not be unusual :laugh:

Best regards.

Sandy. :grin:

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phil125

phil125

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I have a 1000d and 1100d, and the 1100d is better for noise, seems to give darker frames. But having also had DSLRs with and without liveview, I can't imagine life with out liveview for focusing. Both the 1000d and 1100d have liveview as I'm sure you know.

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Lonestar70

Lonestar70

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Any links to the "free" version of focusmax? Or is it a different piece of software sold for around $149 by CCDWare? or do they give away the older versions FOC ... Quite a few software houses do this...?

Peter...

You can download version 3 Focusmax from here: -

http://www.astronomylog.co.uk/focusmax-downloads/

CCDWare is the official download location for the latest V4.

You can register it as a trial version but after the trial period you will need to pay for the package in order to continue using it.

I have not tried any version as yet since I am not sure it works with DSLR cameras.

Hope this helps.

Sandy. :grin:

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