Which Canon?

[Jonners1981]

Hi All,

Having worked out what equipment to use (i have started a previous topic before and received great response by all), i have now decided to change camera and really want a Canon.

Which one do i go for?

I understand that there are other brands out there who people will give their opinon to say that they are just as good (or even better) than this Canon model or that Canon model but this i what i'd like to get.

Therefore, what do people suggest?

Looking around £250-400 mark and will happily hunt on Fleabay, Amazon etc to find that bargain

[lukebl]

The Canon 450d is probably your best bet. I picked mine up for £290 on the dreaded fleabay.

[Jonners1981]

I have been looking and leaning towards the 450d actually.

I might just buy the body only and buy a lens seperately

[milkyjoe]

A lot of people would suggest the 1000d, which is an entry-level, but superb slr for beginners; it is very light and therefore won't be too heavy for your mount.

[JulianO]

I think the important things to consider are

- Live view, focusing through the viewfinder is just painful!

- weight - don't want to overbalance the scope

- batteries - how long they last.

I've been looking at the 550D for a while, but I think anything after 450 or 1000 should work. The 550 has high def video capture as an option, which may or may not be useful.

[swag72]

I am in the Canon system, my daytime cams being a 7D and 5D2. For astro I decided to go for a 1000D for a couple of reasons. The weight was a factor, and having hung my 7D off the end of the scope for a while, I really wanted light. I also wanted live view, there was no way I was going to focus any other way. I read a lot on here and the concensus was that the 1000D was a good astro cam. So I got that one and had it modded. Happy that I got the right camera for the job. Had I been looking for a camera that I was also going to use in daylight, I would have avoided the 1000D, it's very basic and gone for a 550D.

[dark star]

I bought the Canon 20D second hand and like it a lot, but as this is my first DSLR I am no expert!

[dark star]

Although, just to add, without Live View focusing is hard.

[Dougie]

I agree with Sara and go for the 1000D.

It's light with live view.

[perfrej]

1000D

I found an extensive test of cameras for astro use and the 5D is best suited, closely followed by the 1000D. Low noise, and in the case of the 1000D, not too large pixels. A full-frame is difficult to illuminate with many scopes.

1000D is light, cheap, easily modified and really does the job.

[swag72]

Add to that that the full frame will tend you give you some major vignetting on a scope. The APS sensor is definately better in that respect.

[Jonners1981]

Thank you for the advice.

I am no swinging between 450d and the 1000d

[Merlin66]

I have both!

Either would be a good choice for astro (my 1000D is full spectrum modded for spectroscopy)

BTW don't get too hung up on the LiveView...I never use it...It only seems to work on really bright stars.

[brantuk]

Andy Ellis gives a great synopsis of the strengths and weaknesses of the entire Canon range here. Worth a good read for anyone considering getting a Canon camera:

Astronomiser - Automated Astronomy and AstroImaging Solutions

[davew]

BTW don't get too hung up on the LiveView...I never use it...It only seems to work on really bright stars.

Very good point.

How do people focus with cooled CCDs ? ( Rhetorical )

Dave.

[Psychobilly]

Im not a big fan of liveview for focusing either.. I prefer shortish exposures at high ISO with a Bahtinov mask... I do occasionally use it with Camera lenses if I havent got the netbook with me...

[saturn5]

I recently bought a modded 1000D and being used to a 5DMKII it feels like a little toy but it delivers the goods.I used to have a 450D and theres very little to choose between them,imho.Like Merlin66 I never use the liveview for focusing either,infact i never use liveview on my 5D either.Do everything through the viewfinder including focusing.

[Steve 1962]

Another vote here for a 1000d focussed with live view turned off (in my experience it heats up the chip and introduces additional noise). I tend to use fast exposures with a Bahtinov mask on a bright star

Steve

[Earl]

Im not a big fan of liveview for focusing either.. I prefer shortish exposures at high ISO with a Bahtinov mask... I do occasionally use it with Camera lenses if I havent got the netbook with me...

I agree live view is not the best choice for focusing, it is great for bright star alignment though.

For focusing I take an image and view it, tweak and take another until im happy.

[guyroch]

I have a 20D, 40D, and 1000D. Both the 40D and the 1000D are modified.

The 1000D is a good astro-performer, good bang for the buck, and noise is well kept under control. I'm one of the lucky one with my 40D as it does not suffer from the horizontal banding some have experience with this camera... but the 40D is a bigger unit and is heavier than the 1000D.

Can't go wrong with the 1000D given its price tag.

As for live view for focusing... there are 2 school of thoughts here. I for one would not want to go back to focusing without live view; but this is a personal preference.

Guylain