Is this camera any good?

[Astronut1982]

Hey guys,

A friend of mine has upgraded his camera & has offered me his Canon 350D for £100 but I'm unsure whether to take it or not.

I've been having a look online & see that people are using the 350D digital rebel XT but I don't see anything about a standard 350D. Is the digital rebel the same camera or is it a different version of the 350D?

My friend has asked me to try & decide by Saturday & then he's going to offer it to others so I need to decide quickly.

Thanks in advance,

Jeff

[SpookyKatt]

Its a good camera, an older model now but still very capable.

Pretty sure they're the same(350D and Digital Rebel), Digital Rebel

is just the U.S. name as far as I know.

Kathleen

[Psychobilly]

The Digital rebel XT is the same it's the US version...

What else is included with the camera?

The 350D is a capable camera provided you are prepared to take a bit more care with decent calibration frames - especially darks... as it is a bit noisier than the later generation cameras and does suffer from a little bit of ampglow...

Computer control will need both a USB and Shutter interface cable for exposures longer than 30s but they are fairly easy to maek ... or you could just control it from a timer remote...

It was my first "astro" dslr and I still have it... although it doesn't get used so much anymore..

Peter...

[The_PSY3NTIST]

Its a good camera, an older model now but still very capable.

Pretty sure they're the same(350D and Digital Rebel), Digital Rebel

is just the U.S. name as far as I know.

Kathleen

Think you are correct. I seem to remember that from when I was buying my first slr.

[Astronut1982]

Thanks for the quick response.

If I buy it, the camera comes with a 18-55mm lens, 2 batteries & 2 CF cards for it.

When you say take a little bit more care with calibration frames. What do you mean? I do currently take dark frames when I'm taking pics but do you mean taking flats & dark flats or is that something completely different?

Jeff

[Psychobilly]

The ampglow and noise levels change with time as the sensor temperature changes either due to taking exposures or changes in the ambient temperature..

With mine after a lot of experimenting iI found that after 10 exposures and by leaving a gap of around 1/2 the exposure time between exposures the ampglow and noise would become more stable...and darks would work well...

Peter...

[Mr TamiyaCowboy]

digital rebel XT is the us version

350D is the uk version

Digital kiss is the japan version

i have the 350d, it is a nice camera, good weight and at £100 is a cheap bargain. you can fit EF and EF-S lens units, and a battery grip that holds 2x canon batterys. picture quality is as all canon cams very good. one thing that lets the 350D down is no live view mode. it is not a pro Dslr but for the price is a very good entry to DSLR photography, learn to walk before you run

if you are able to canon also did a 350A , the A denotes astronomy and has had the IR filter replaced, these do not come about much and are usualy snapped up quick.

get some power in the batterys and ask your friend if you can try it out, reel off a good few hundred shots, and get used to its weight and settings. use both autofocus and manual focus. i think you will be happy with what the 350D produces picture wise and weight/quality wise

[Astronut1982]

Thanks for the advice guys,

I've gone ahead & bought the camera, he's bringing it along tomorrow. I just wish I had a t thread for it coz the forcast is good for tomorrow so I'm off to my darkest site & would've liked to give it a try. Still I can stick it on a tripod & try & take a pic of the milky way.

Cheers again,

Jeff

[Mr TamiyaCowboy]

grats on your purchase.

i am sure you will be happy with the 350D as your first Dslr cam.

i would keep the lens at 18mm, bump your iso to around 800 -1600, and do a 15-20 second exposure. view picture taken and zoon in to the stars to judge the focus. the stock lens has no infinity marking.

i tend to use a real bright star ( spica ) to help me manual focus the lens, or the moon works just as well.

EF and EF-S lens will fit your Eos camera, but the canon FD lens will require an adapter ring. i also would mess around with the camera in the day time to get used to the settings.

if you do not have a remote shutter switch, i would get one to help with dead still shots. and/or use the mirror lock function once focus is gained. recharge the second battery and keep this in an inside pocket, where it will be warm and ready to go.

have fun and happy snapping

[Psychobilly]

There are two different type of adaptors to use FD lenses with EOS (EF) bodies the cheaper ones don't contain the optical element thats needed to achieve infinity focus...

Canon FD to EOS lens adapters - Elefoto

Peter...