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What should I look for in a DLSR?

Manok101

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milkyjoe

milkyjoe

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Hi 'manok101'

As many other members on here have stated previously, and would agree, a good introductory dslr to go for is the Canon 1000d because it has something called 'Live View,' which enables you to see what you're looking at before you take a picture (useful to get your object in focus first.) There are loads of them on fleabay, but be careful not to overpay for one; you are looking at £200 min just for the body (the kit lens isn't great ;))

I am also aware that there is a predecessor to the 1000d, that being the 1100d, but the only main differences I can see is a 12.2mp sensor and 720p video recording (I'm sure there are more :p) - might be useful. :rolleyes:

Canon dslr's are the most common and have the most accessories available for them. :hello2:

Hope that helps. :hello2:

Richard.

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milkyjoe

milkyjoe

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I heard live view is an important feature. Allows you to use the screen instead of the viewfinder

You are correct - you can look at the object 'live' before you take your shot, this allows you to get the focus spot on.

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milkyjoe

milkyjoe

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a camera with the facility to attach a remote release is critical to avoid camera wobble especially when photographing planets.

It depends really, if you have a decent tracking mount then you can also use the timer function. ;-)

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Crunchard

Crunchard

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If you had a lens then you would be able to use the DSLR as a normal camera as well plus you would be able to piggy back the camera and lens to get some wide-field shots.

I've not had my DSLR long (Canon 1000D refurb model) and it is a joy to shoot with. It might only be 10mp but it knocks spots off anything I have owned before.

I might be wrong but I don't think the 1100D has liveview.

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milkyjoe

milkyjoe

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If you had a lens then you would be able to use the DSLR as a normal camera as well plus you would be able to piggy back the camera and lens to get some wide-field shots.

I've not had my DSLR long (Canon 1000D refurb model) and it is a joy to shoot with. It might only be 10mp but it knocks spots off anything I have owned before.

I might be wrong but I don't think the 1100D has liveview.

I had a 1000d, which I purchased last year and like you, found it a joy to use even during the winter months - although on one particular night, I think the cold got to it as it started acting weird! ;)

Regarding the 1100d it does indeed have Live View. :rolleyes:

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Starlight 1

Starlight 1

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If you had a lens then you would be able to use the DSLR as a normal camera as well plus you would be able to piggy back the camera and lens to get some wide-field shots.

I've not had my DSLR long (Canon 1000D refurb model) and it is a joy to shoot with. It might only be 10mp but it knocks spots off anything I have owned before.

I might be wrong but I don't think the 1100D has liveview.

I got the 1100d and it do have liveview. My one is one that was send back to canon to be look at and it was ok only taking 200 photo from a shop for £240

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rocketandroll

rocketandroll

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One thing to consider (in addition to liveview , which is very useful) is pixel size.

A lot of the popular canons have a pixel size around 6 or 7 microns. If you pay a hundred quid or so extra you can get a 500d or for a bit more still a 550d which have 4.6 and 4.3 micron pixels respectively IIRC.

May not sound like much but, if imaging small galaxies or planets, that effectively gives you 50% more resolution. In other words, a galaxy imaged with a 350d that is 500 pixels across... when imaged with a 550d will be 750+ pixels across, allowing you to enlarge it and crop it a lot more .

I'm just about to upgrade from a 350d to a 500d myself.

Ben

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

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swag72

swag72

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Personally I think that the 1000D is a good little camera for astro use. It's lighter than the other camera ranges, which is a bonus if you are going to connect it to your scope as you want to keep the weight on the focuser to a minimum really. Canon seems to have many more accessories for astro than Nikon and seems better supported all round for astro use.

If you don't want to attach it to your scope then you will indeed need a lens. The kit lens that it comes with is OK, but personally I'd buy a 50/1.8 at about £70 to get you going. While that is not a zoom lens, you will get better image quality from it, being a prime lens.

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wuthton

wuthton

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I have a 550d and like it very much but I would only recommend it if you have a good laptop. The images it produces are immense and take a lot of processing power.

If you have a lower end/older computer go for the 1000d you will not be disappointed and it will save you pulling your hair out when trying to process your images.

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swag72

swag72

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That's good advice there Sara, and your pics on flkr are amazing! ;-)

Thank you!

I would also echo the point made about the file size of images. I sometimes use my 7D / 5D2 and with file sizes of about 24mb. These take an absolute age to download, transfer and generally work with in comparison to the 1000D files, which are less than half the size.

Keep it all simple I reckon.

Also, with the 1000D you can use the EOSutilities software in order to get longer exposures. You can use the cable supplied to connect to a PC instead of using a timer remote. Does depend of course whether you want to use a lappy outside, as you can also use it to assist in focussing.

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