Canon 300D

[Nova]

I possibly have the chance of getting one of these 2nd hand at a bargain price but before I dive in is it a good camera to use for AP? Im not really planning on getting into AP just yet but this might be too good a chance to miss. It will be handy as I dont actually own a decent camera anyway. If I decide to ever get it modded will it still be usable as a normal camera for taking pics a the kids birthdays etc? Or once its modded is it then only useable for AP?

Cheers

[chemtom24]

from the little i know, the canon 300/350d are quite common for ap, as in they are good for it yes. it seems msot people use canons for ap.

cant commont on modding - i think you woul dneed to use a filter if you wanted to use it normally, an ir filter i beleive, tho i dont think this is *too* much hassle either.

thirdly, it depends what price i guess, cos you could pick up a newer model second hand quite cheap. but if it really is cheap, then go for it - certainly alot of other users here have used a 300d and have gained some great pics with it.

[obscura]

At this time, if its a really good deal then fine. Canon 300D, 350D, 1000D etc. Make sure you get the software, charger, manual with the camera. Ignore modding until you have imaged as it is piggy backed with a standard lens, prime lens preferred. If you then get hooked then guiding, a guide scope, a CCD, batteries, a bigger mount ..... and so on .... £££££

Having said that, I've never ever regretted getting involved with astro imaging and SGL have played a big part in that.

[obscura]

Oh! Buy "Making Every Photon Count" from FLO. £20ish - everything you need to know.

Highly recommended by many here on SGL

[swag72]

If you get it modded the you can continue to use it for daylight photography if you do the following.

1) Filter removal and a clear glass filter fitted - Without this (just removing the filter) you will be unable to achieve focus using auto focus. Of course you can focus manually without this.

2) Take a custom white balance on a piece of white card and this will help eliminate the red hue you will get, or you could remove it all in PP if you take your pics in raw.

Hope that helps.

[Psychobilly]

Older cams had thicker filter glass and you will loose the ability to focus at longer distances - certianly loose infinity focus If you go for filter removal - OK you can stop the lenses right down to get the distant objects into focus by virtue of the increased DOF but if your planning to use it for daytime use then I would go for filter repalcement and custom white balance on the 300/350D's

Plus with filter removal your going to have to take care of UV/IR cut using external filters...

I use a filter removed (full spectrum) 350D for Daytime IR photography and and now rarely for astro use....

I also have a filter replaced 1000D which is my main astro cam - no hassles with infinity focus with camera lenses although you can do partial removal these days...

Peter...

[Nova]

Im thinking that I may let the camera slip me by this time. I know that if I get it im going to want to use it for AP straight away but I also know its a huge learning curve and if im not ready it will only lead to frustration and dissapointment. I think I may go down the webcam route first just to get a feel for some lunar and planetery photography and see where things go from there. Cheers for the advice guys

[sgazer]

I started off with a 300d a couple of years ago. Great camera for the price at the time. But they do suffer from quite a bit of amp glow at longer exposures (ie above 1min) which improved with the 350d and is almost gone with the 1000d. I remove the filter myself, which was a bit tricky and took several attempts before the camera would start up again, as it was difficult to get all the ribbon cables seated correctly. Then it wouldn't focus to infinity with most lenses, so I bought and fitted the Baader filter. After a while I moved on to a 350d then a 1000d which I have now and it's great. The biggest difficulty imo with the 300d is the lack of live view which makes focusing a pain and the lack of full USB control, although you can get a cheap plug in timer for long exposures. If you can get a 1000d for a bit extra, I would go for that instead.

[obscura]

That's a very good plan.