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Dont like my canon 350D

Quatermass

By Quatermass
in Imaging - Discussion

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Quatermass

Quatermass

Posted
Posted

MMM... well I went out with my new second hand canon 350D this evening and found it most frustrating indeed. The puny little screen and tiny view finder are horrible compared to my Lumix live view screen and view finder and its very noisy when taking a shot with a big clunk not what I am used to. I took several shots of m13 and they all had star trails because I didn't suss out how to zoom in on the screen to see if they were blurring or not. I thought my first experience with this would be better I must admit to feeling rather peeved off by this camera. But I know its a good camera and takes good pictures I'm just not used to its little ways. For instance when you set it to manual and the light to see the display setting just stays on for about 6 seconds then goes off again for crying out loud. And the exposure compensation button just seems to be stuck at the other end and wont move?? However looking on the positive side I took a closer look at the 30 second shots of M13 and I did see more detail in the dust lanes then before so when I get a timer for the bulb mode and can do longer exposures I hope I will get what Im after. The battery died out pretty quick must need a new one I guess as it was fully charged..sigh... some one help me to like this camera please :D

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Veracocha

Veracocha

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Any camera is going to give star trails unless you have some form of tracking going on. Are you intending to attach a PC/Laptop because you can control the camera in EOS utilities where you can take screen shots to bring it into focus.

As for the clunky noise try mirror lock up.

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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I can't help with DSLRs for astro use but I'm sure you'll get advice here.

I'd have thought that doing the viewing on a PC screen, not the camera, would be far better. For focus use a Bahtinov mask or a Y mask. Maybe a remote power supply and a remote exposure release, too?

Focus has nothing to do with trailing. You will trail just the same if not tracking accurately, ideally with an autoguider.

Olly

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malc-c

malc-c

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Is your mount driven ? If not that's your problem with the trailing, especially if connecting the camera to take images through the scope. When using a camera for astronomy work it should be set to manual, and due to the high contrast I doubt if ant compensation would work.

Most of us with Canon gear tend to control them from a computer. Some models like the 350 and my 400 require a serial shutter release, whilst newer models can do it all through one usb lead. Having said that, you would still be able to expose for up to 30 seconds via USB. Do a search on the net for APT (Astro Photography Tool) - the demo is free, and it's only a few euro to get the full version which is well worth it.

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Psychobilly

Psychobilly

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The limit of the EC on the 350D is only +/- 2 stops and the meter only displays +/-3 stops. For astro work the cameras meter might thing your underxposed by more than this so you might not notice the "meter" moving if you use the EC button...

The 350D can be a very capable astro cam .. once exposure time start getting longer well matched darks are pretty much essential or you can crop out the ampglow depending on the target and it's location in the frame...

I have a "full spectrum" modified 350D (filter removed) on that can also be used for

Ir pass work...

Peter...

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steppenwolf

steppenwolf

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The 350D is an excellent DSLR for astronomy work so you have chosen well even though it may not feel like that right now!

If you are prepared to control the 350d using a PC, you will find the whole experience much more intuitive and enjoyable and focusing will be soooo much easier, especially if you use a Bahtinov mask.

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Psychobilly

Psychobilly

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Once you hook the camera to a computer/netbbok life becoems a lot easier.. even the Eos Remote shooting utils that come with the camera will allow you to capture images and review them on a larger screen.. for focusing pick a bright star and take shortish exposures samll jpegs at max ISO and compare them on the monitor - a bahtinov or simple y mask will help a lot... make small adjustments and go back and fore through "focus" to make sure you know what the optimum focus looks like...

Don't forget to reduce the ISO , and shoot raws before taking your actual subs.. oh and if your using a focus mask.. remeber to remove it... I guess everyones honest they have wasted a few hours by forgettting to do it...

With the 350D For exposures longer than 30s you are going to need a shutter release cable as well as the usb connection...

If your handy with a soldering iron these are cheap and easy to make...

Cable Release and Serial Port Cable for the EOS Digital Rebel

There's some of my older 350D stuff here mainly the ones with the grey frame...

Peter...

p.s. It was Steve's pics with the 350D that got me into this Marlarky in the first place .. he has a lot to answer for... :D:icon_salut:;)

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Quatermass

Quatermass

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Thank you for the reinsurance chaps I needed it..

Well I went back out again after I had ditched 100 -30 second subs and several blurred shots of the moon and reread the manual sigh. Second attempt was better having sussed out the zoom feature so I could check for trailing and adjust the balance and tracking. Tested out on a few stars and this time no trailing and sharper picture. I understand why most people use a laptop as the picture display is dire and the view finder is tiny when I compare it to what I am used to using with the Lumix G1. Also the old software is pretty clunky and I dont see canon keeping faithful to updating it for older cameras hence the need for 3rd party software that costs more money.

However, I was pleased when after several shots of the moon were taken carefully using the tiny view finder to get some nice crisp images of the moon that were on a par with my Lumix G1 shots. Using my laptop will make sense to me when its colder and I want to be inside but right now that means more money for leads and software and a new timer and Im going to see what I can do with what Ive got. I use a bahtinov mask and single axis tracking but it has to be said with out a laptop the displays on the canon 350 D are dire compared to my Lumix G1 :-( Sorry but they really are.

I wonder if there much better on the newer models or if laptops are still needed? Any way I can work my way around these issues Im sure. My bedroom is about 12 meters away will a cable reach that far to my laptop?

This morning after a long cold night without much success Im looking at the camera with the feeling that... OK we didnt hit it off last night, my old camera was nicer to be with, and yes you were a moody cow :D but mybe I should have been more understanding as I haven't been out with an older camera before.. WHAT! no I dont want to buy you another battery do you think I am made of money or something...

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Psychobilly

Psychobilly

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Have a word with Any Ellis at Astronomiser on how long a shutter cable you can use with the 350D..

Seeing as they normally use a USB/Serial cable then you could...

Get some active USB leads and a hub .. connect the lead(s) - you can now get active leads longer than 5M and everything the remote end is going to be USB 1.1 anyway - to the pc in the house and the hub at the camera end with the USB/Serial/Shutter release and the cameras usb lead connected to the hub...

Have you updated the EOS utils software..?

The software gives a camera specific UI depending on the model thats attached and the facilities it has to offer...

Peter...

if you need links just shout...

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Psychobilly

Psychobilly

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They are some of the earlier stuff.. Stick at it and your in the right place for help and advice :D

The moon was a composite of shots to show the Lumar occulation of the Pleiades.. would be great if you could actually capture an image like that bu the Dynamic range woudl be huge!!!

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Quatermass

Quatermass

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Hi Sorry Malcom, thanks for your help, yes I do have a driven EQ5 mount with single axis drive and most times it is fine my main issue last night was that when I took the shots of m13 it looked ok on the display but I had not sussed out the how to zoom in on the image displayed to check if I was getting trailing. When I got back in and loaded up the pictures 100 of them they were all trailed. SIGH>

So any way the second attempt using the zoom fixed that issue so I guess its just a case of trying again. Ideally I would like to get a dual axis drive and convert it so it has an st4 port so I can auto guide with my smart guider which would be better. Money is tight at the moment so I have to wait till I can afford the extra bit. I also use a Bahtinov Mask to focus with and suggestion to use other software on the PC to control the camera with a long lead to my bedroom laptop sound most enticing as its was dam cold last night had to put on my woolly hat and thermal even :D

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malc-c

malc-c

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If the mount is driven in RA then I would hazard a guess that the trailing is down to either or a combination of:

1) - poor polar alignment

2) - drive not tracking or tracking at the wrong rate.

3) - Scope not balanced correctly

My guess is more for poor polar alignment and or balance issues as being the cause.

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rocketandroll

rocketandroll

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The 350d is a great camera. Having been using EOS dslrs for years I guess I was used to them when I got one for astro stuff.

it will produce great shots if you stick with it. mine aren't great but if you take a look at the pics in the flickr full in my sig, 90% if them were taken with a 350d.

Ben

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk

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stan26

stan26

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Yes, as malc-c suggests I would say its poor polar alignment thats causing most of the startrails. Have you got a polar scope? Whan I first started out I was getting about 30% good subs by aligning with a polar scope with my EQ3-2. Now its mounted permanently on a pier and I have "drift" aligned it and getting around 75% good subs @ 30sec. You can drift align your EQ5 using the DSLR method with you 350D, its pretty easy, but will mean at least half an hour of your time before every imaging session. You could somehow mark on the ground where your tripod legs are positioned and place it in the same position every time, this won't garantee a good polar alignment, but will speed the process up on evey night you image.....

Here is a pdf download of how to do drift alignment using your camera........

stan

Zeroing it in. Using a DSLR or CCD to Align Your Scope[1].pdf

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