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Best cheap DSLR for AP

Mr Noble

By Mr Noble
in Discussions - Cameras

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Mr Noble

Mr Noble

Posted
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Sorry if this has been asked repeatedly. I had a look but didn't find anything.

I have a CPC8" and would like to try taking some images.

Only have a Canon S95 at the moment as I sold my D300 and all lenses about a year ago due to never using it!

I'd like to get a DSLR for AP and the occasional other thing.

Any ideas about what a good AP camera "must" have?

Also, are there any super simple software packages that will take all the RAW files and stack them up for me?

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Gina

Gina

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I bought a Canon EOS 1100D body for AP. It is a later version than the 1000D and has a few updates that make it slightly better for AP. Around £300 for body only, new. Very pleased with it. :D

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spaceboy

spaceboy

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I have the 1100D CANON EOS 1100D Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm + 75-300mm lenses buy online | Currys and I'm not overly impressed with it. I'm positive that because there is no mirror lock up that it's causing trails in my image. No matter what my shorter exposures I seem to get the same little trail in my images. Of course it may all be down to user error :D It's not all the time so I'm sure it's not my mount. If I had the time again I would have gone for Canon EOS 500D with 18-55mm and 70-30 DC Lenses - 3820B158AA - Jessops - Digital SLRs

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Gina

Gina

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APT and some other control softwares have provision to lock the mirror up before exposures even though the 1100D does not specifically have this feature. This is produced by using the "live view" mode to move the mirror up out of the way and hold it there, allowing any vibration to die away before the actual exposure is made. APT for instance lets you set this as a "pause" before actual exposure. It works fine and I have had no vibration problem and get pin sharp stars with my 1100D controlled with APT.

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spaceboy

spaceboy

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APT and some other control softwares have provision to lock the mirror up before exposures even though the 1100D does not specifically have this feature. This is produced by using the "live view" mode to move the mirror up out of the way and hold it there, allowing any vibration to die away before the actual exposure is made. APT for instance lets you set this as a "pause" before actual exposure. It works fine and I have had no vibration problem and get pin sharp stars with my 1100D controlled with APT.

Thanks for the advice Gina. Are you sure the mirror locks up in live view though as I still hear the slap.

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Stephen

Stephen

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So are you saying that mirror lock up IS essential to have? I'd have though it'd make little difference on a 30 second + exposure in the dark.

I'm under the (probably wrong) impression that under longer exposures, lock up is not essential.

It also introduces amp glow?

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Gina

Gina

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Thanks for the advice Gina. Are you sure the mirror locks up in live view though as I still hear the slap.
Yes quite sure. The mirror has to be up to allow the light to fall on the image sensor. With the mirror down, all light is reflected into the viewfinder. Live view uses the same image sensor as is used for the actual exposure. Some cameras have a little loudspeaker that produces a shutter clicking sound as the camera shutter is too quiet to hear. That could be the explanation but don't know for sure.
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Gina

Gina

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I'm under the (probably wrong) impression that under longer exposures, lock up is not essential.

It also introduces amp glow?

Quite right that lock up doesn't affect long exposures because the vibration dies away in a second or less. Amp glow has been taken care of in the 1100D with an amp-off circuit included in the camera itself. Not quite sure when this improvement cam in but fairly recently as I recall. I can confirm that there is no noticeable amp glow in the 1100D with exposures long enough to see plenty of noise (something like a minute and highish ISO values).
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Gina

Gina

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I was think of going to an older cheaper (200 quid) thing off ebay, but if I can get a new one for not much more then that's probably the better bet.
That is the conclusion I came to from my research and the reason for buying the 1100D. I am very pleased with it.
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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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The Canon 1000D is about the best (and cheapest) entry level DSLR. Its so similar to the Canon 450D (but about 100 quid cheaper). I really dont know much about the "mechanics" of cameras. I think i read that the 1000D is better at reducing noise in images. Thats a good thing.

To this day i still dont know what the "mirror lock up" function is all about. I can imagine but i cant see its use.

Would i be right in saying it is best to lock the mirror up when imaging at night because its one less moving part in the camera that will introduce "shake" at the start and end of every exposure?

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spaceboy

spaceboy

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Yes quite sure. The mirror has to be up to allow the light to fall on the image sensor. With the mirror down, all light is reflected into the viewfinder. Live view uses the same image sensor as is used for the actual exposure. Some cameras have a little loudspeaker that produces a shutter clicking sound as the camera shutter is too quiet to hear. That could be the explanation but don't know for sure.

Thanks again Gina. Now I've got to figure out what I'm doing wrong :p

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Demonperformer

Demonperformer

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To this day i still dont know what the "mirror lock up" function is all about. I can imagine but i cant see its use.

Would i be right in saying it is best to lock the mirror up when imaging at night because its one less moving part in the camera that will introduce "shake" at the start and end of every exposure?

Yes, that's it. Rather than being all part of the same action, the mirror swings up out of the way first, then allows a few moments for any vibrations to die away and then opens the shutter when all is still.

At least, that's the theory!

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Yoddha

Yoddha

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There is something important to mention about mirror locking. The following models : 500D, 550D, 600D, 1100D, 50D, 60D, 7D, 5D Mk II can make true mirror locking through the USB cable (at least from within APT) and this will not introduce amp-glow.

The Digic 3 models - 1000D, 450D, 40D can also make true mirror locking, but this requires a serial cable. If you don't have such cable you can use the LiveView simulation of mirror locking, but it will lead to amp-glow in a long exposure.

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