New Canon DSLR. But which one would you choose?

[Specman]

Hi,

I'm considering a camera upgrade from Canon 1000D for Astro Photography, thinking that maybe more pixels on the sensor and more features will get me higher quality images.

I'm thinking Canon 5D at the moment but note that it is a bigger camera and is going to add more weight to the back of my scope.

I'm wondering if a 550D or 600D might be a better choice as it uses the same battery and SD card as the 1000D.

I've just got an Astrotrac and have already ran into an ISO limitation on the 1000D. I could go for the 5D for Widefield and rip the UV filter off that 1000D for Astro use.

I would be interested to know what the group thinks.

Cheers

Mark

[Jannis]

the 5d i think would be a bit heavy. the 550 and 600 have roughly the same high ISO noise, but the tiltable display of teh 600d is something i'm really missing (a lot) on my 550d.

otherwise, image quality would be roughly the same.

not also, that the 5d do not have live view, wich often helpe a lot with focusing and aligning. also, the 550 and 600c have a movie crop optioms wich can be well used for planetary imaging as well.

and another important factor, the 5d is full frame, keep this im mind. this might be both good and bad, depending on your setup and what you plan to picture.

as an example, a 1000mm scope on the 550/600d would look the same as a 1600mm scope onm the 5d. while this is a lot, i still wouldn't look at it as a "wide-field" option.

have you conciderd just modefying the 1000d and contineue with that? shuold get a lot more sensitive so you won't hit teh iso limit just as fast.

though, if iso limit is the thing, don't get just the 5d, get the 5d MK2. it's expencive, but darn does it have good high ISO quality.

edit: i asume you mean the IR filter from the camera, not UV?

[Specman]

edit: i asume you mean the IR filter from the camera, not UV?

Yes, sorry I mean't IR filter..

Thanks so much for the reply, it has given me a lot of info to consider.

Clear skies!

Mark

[ianaiken]

mmmm - QHY8L cooled OSC CCD, higher quality images, less noise.... just a thought

[Sp@ce_d]

mmmm - QHY8L cooled OSC CCD, higher quality images, less noise.... just a thought

Yup that's my current thought for moving on from the modded 1000D

[jasperuk]

How much you thinking of spending, i just got a reconditioned Ti2 (550D) for £319 on ebay, not tried it out yet but hoping for some good results compared to the 300 and 400 i sold

[budman1961]

I'll chime in from the US....I have a Canon 1000D (Rebel Xs), I picked it up for $200.00 USD 6 months ago. I like the USB camera control aspect (no serial like the older cams), I use it all the time with BackyarEOS control software (free 30 day trial, you will; end up buying it). Its relatively lightweight too.

I followed Gary Honis's guides for removing/replacing the IR cut filter, and I was amazed at the results. Here is a link to his guide....Canon Digital Rebel XSi (450D), XS (1000D), T1i (500D) , T2i (550D), T3 (1100D), T3ii (600D) Modification Instructions - Removal of IR Cut Filter for Astrophotography & Infrared Imaging - by Gary Honis He has awesome support through his yahoo group, and is easily accessible through email. If you dont want to try it yourself, ha can do it for you too.

I did the full-spectrum (no filter) mod last weekend. With no interruptions, no tv, door closed, and all tools at the ready, it wa 65 minutes from start-to-finish.

I regret not doing it sooner......

Here is a before, with a metric ton of stretching....

And after minimal stretching....

It isnt that hard to do, print out his screw removal pages, as you remove the screws in each step, tape them to the appropriate step.

Andy

[Gina]

I'm nearly ready to do my 1100D and following Gary Honis's guide that I have already thoroughly studied to familiarise myself with all the steps. A list of pages with screws on together with double sided sticky tape is a great idea. Wish I'd thought of it when dismantling laptops for repair I might then have put the screws back in the right places!! I was going to leave it for a while and see how I went without the mod and get well used to the camera but as I intend to do it anyway there probably isn't any reason to delay it. Seems logical to go right ahead with the "better camera"

[Specman]

I'm nearly ready to do my 1100D and following Gary Honis's guide that I have already thoroughly studied to familiarise myself with all the steps. A list of pages with screws on together with double sided sticky tape is a great idea. Wish I'd thought of it when dismantling laptops for repair I might then have put the screws back in the right places!! I was going to leave it for a while and see how I went without the mod and get well used to the camera but as I intend to do it anyway there probably isn't any reason to delay it. Seems logical to go right ahead with the "better camera"

Everyone says its the way to go but I just hate all that red in the pictures. I'm not convinced. Viewing objects in different wavelengths is interesting and scientific, I can see the point of viewing the sun in Ha for example but I like to view my DSO's in white light, right or wrong.

[rocketandroll]

I suppose it depends what you want to get out of it...

If your specific aim is to see a DSO as it appears in the wavelengths of light the human eye is normally most sensitive to... and aren't fussed about the images being very feint and somewhat dull, and missing out on a lot of what it actually there... then I guess you can continue with an unmodded camera.

The comment about 'all that red'... if you image a galaxy with a modded camera it looks pretty much the same as with an unmodded camera... mostly white.

Nebulae appear more red because that's the colour they are, you are just seeing more of it because of the IR blocking filter being removed which allows more of that end of the spectrum in.

That said... it's not 'artificialy' making things more red... the veil nebula still looks neon blue and red, M27 still has that lovely turquoise tinge to it... you are just seeing the whole picture, rather than an artificially cropped view of the light emmited by these objects.

Ben

[sulaco]

I've just bought the 550d and love it, the 600d is the same camera in practically every spec but with a flip out screen which is what your paying for.

The flip out screen is just waiting to be damaged and really was the deciding factor for me.

[Specman]

I suppose it depends what you want to get out of it...

If your specific aim is to see a DSO as it appears in the wavelengths of light the human eye is normally most sensitive to... and aren't fussed about the images being very feint and somewhat dull, and missing out on a lot of what it actually there... then I guess you can continue with an unmodded camera.

The comment about 'all that red'... if you image a galaxy with a modded camera it looks pretty much the same as with an unmodded camera... mostly white.

Nebulae appear more red because that's the colour they are, you are just seeing more of it because of the IR blocking filter being removed which allows more of that end of the spectrum in.

That said... it's not 'artificialy' making things more red... the veil nebula still looks neon blue and red, M27 still has that lovely turquoise tinge to it... you are just seeing the whole picture, rather than an artificially cropped view of the light emmited by these objects.

Ben

Now you're just making me feel bad! You are right, I know, but I just don't like the strawberry red images

Also I haven't had my camera long enough (and it was a gift from the wife) to justify ripping bits out of it.

I'm going for a 55D by the looks of it so I think I will bite the bullet and mod my 1000D then.

I can always wear filter glasses

[dph1nm]

Everyone says its the way to go but I just hate all that red in the pictures.

Actually I agree. A lot of the images I see taken with modded cameras have red stars and obvious red noise in the background. Most unpleasant. I suspect this is because the red channel is now too broad (in wavelength) compared with blue and green.

NigelM

[jnc71106]

Not really the red is there because it's there not because the camera is making red noise. Are you suggesting the same image with a ccd is also red noise ?

[dph1nm]

Not really the red is there because it's there not because the camera is making red noise. Are you suggesting the same image with a ccd is also red noise ?

It is probably down to post processing. If the filters are not balanced in width then you need to adjust the signal to compensate. I suspect having modded their cameras, some folks are reluctant to scale away all that nice extra red!

NigelM

[MjrTom]

I dont think anyone has mentioned it but the difference between a crop sensor and a full frame sensor is huge.

Most common reasonably priced field flatteners will only cover an area the size of the APS-C standard I believe.

[Nadeem Shah]

If your on a budget, you can't go wrong much with a Canon 1100D.

Nadeem