New Canon Astro Camera - 60Da

[Psychobilly]

I guess that Canon are probably looking at it as a niche rather than a volume product...

Peter...

[garethmob]

thats a good point peter

but if thats the case, it will go the way of the 20DA in that it wont sell well, so it will be discontunued for a few years and then com out as a 90DA

obviously i dont know much about the cams but what does the 60D have that the 1100D dosent?

[Tinker1947]

I think it may be the better weather proofing of the 60D....

[rfdesigner]

I've had my 30D dripping with dew... and so far no problems.

If the 60Da is fairly water tight (probably the case) then if I were canon I'd get a proper IP rating for it and advertise that.

Derek

[Gina]

I guess they want to make most money. Why most manufacturers don't seem to realise that a cheaper/lower spec version would sell better and thereby make more money, fails me.

[Auntystatic]

According to my friendly rep they chose the 60D for a number of reasons.

It has a much more sensitive sensor and it has a much better SNR than the older 450D sensor used in the 1100D.

It has more weatherproofing than the lower models, important for those very wet due laden nights. I'm thinking about putting my 1100D in a freezer bag to keep the due off, I have none of these worries with the 1Dmk3 as its weather sealed.

It has a swivel screen allowing viewing and focusing wherever your telescope points.

It can be used for normal daytime photography.

It has a greater ISO range, the 1100D goes from 800 to 1600 to 3200 the 60D has in between ones too.

It has a silent mode which lowers the shutter slow and vibration free, for all the lovers of mirror lock up.

It comes with the battery eliminator as standard, saving you buying a Chinese knock off.

And with the 18mp sensor you can print your images at A3+ without having to interpolate.

But of course we won't know everything until its released in May or June and someone like dpreview.com reviews it.

Would I buy one? I don't think so, I have my 1D, 5D (modded), and 40D for my day time natural history photography and both my 5d and 1100D (modded)for my night time photography, untill I reach my limits with these 2 cameras I won't buy another, the next step for me would be to buy a dedicated astrophotography camera, and now they are starting to come out in a decent size (over 10mp) they are starting to look very interesting, so is the price though.

I wish Canon had listened to the little group in the corner and brought out a dedicated camera the likes of Atik and Sbig QHY etc.

[pixueto]

So, what about this:

http://cheapastropho...ht-Cameras.html

At £350 is this the alternative?

[Coco]

A firmware mod is a great advantage over those awful colour filter correction clips from astronomic, I never got on with looking though the view finder and filter, it just didn't seem right..

[ajohnson]

I hate to revive an apparently exhausted thread but searches on this forum have not so far revealed where this may be answered........

The EOS 60Da has been out a few years now, also they seem to be coming down in price from the eyewatering £1200+ introduction price to around £700, so their appeal to me is increasing and they are gradually creeping up my shot list for replacement camera to my aging Canon EOS350D for the following reasons:

My aging EOS 350D is doing just that, aging, frame count is approaching 30K and I know this camera has MTBF of around 50K on the shutter, hopefully mine is on the higher side of the mean and it will go on working for many years to come! The camera has not been modified because it also takes shots of family holidays, wildlife and anything else that is of interest to me. Also the batteries are not holding charge like they used to, I've had problems with clone batteries just locking the camera or not charging and have been reasonably successful in getting some half decent OEM batteries on e-Bay but the swap over time between charges is dropping fast.

I have been looking at EOS650Ds and 700Ds in the £400 - 500.00 region and either the cost of a mod to them to swap in the Baader LP replacement filter and WB firmware mod or buying an astro modded EOS before my venerable 350D dies and then maybe upgrading to a second "daylight" camera when it finally bites the dust. Either way the cost is coming out at around the same as a factory supplied EOS 60Da , which on the face of it will work as daylight / general purpose camera, may also work as reasonable video camera and appears to be a good compromise for Astrophotography.  So my question is are there any EOS 60Da owners on here who can tell me how they rate their 60Da on Daylight Photography, Astro Photography and Video

Now I do realise that from a purists point of view a nice cooled mono CDD with a filter wheel etc is the way to go and I do realise that "a one size fits all" camera, like the 60Da will be a compromise by comparison. So I'd like to ask all the nice CCD proponents on here to hold fire on this one and just assume I'm either barking mad and / or  don't expect to have the kind of money to spend on a camera that I can only use on one of those (for the UK) rare dark and clear nights with a telescope but can justify the extra expenditure on a single and more capable camera that will also take photos of the kids birthday parties, family holidays, wildlife etc.........

[wxsatuser]

Overall it's a very nice camera.

Mine did go dead when tethered but fixed under warranty.

Here is a review from CN and I would go along with this review.

http://www.cloudynights.com/item.php?item_id=2805

At around £700 it's more a bargain now than six months a go.

The video crop mode is excellent and gives 1to1 pixel resolution, ideal for moon, solar and planets.

No need for a webcam.

[Davey-T]

Had 60da for about 12 months and had no problems with it , daylight pic's come out a bit red but the Canon software has a one click WB corrector that works OK.

Dave

 

[wxsatuser]

Not noticed any red in my daylight pics.

[Alien 13]

Not noticed any red in my daylight pics.

That has to be the best reply ihave seen so far love it.

Alan

[Davey-T]

In the blurb when Canon introduced the 60da they said it was not recommended for daylight photography, don't know why, perhaps they wanted you to buy two cameras

Dave

[Davey-T]

Nice car picture just needed WB

Dave

[ollypenrice]

If this camera has come down to around 800 euros I'd say, 'Now you're talking.' CCD nut that I am, these tiny pixels say 'camera lens widefield' in a loud clear voice and I'm having a good think about this.

Olly

[MooMoo]

In the blurb when Canon introduced the 60da they said it was not recommended for daylight photography, don't know why, perhaps they wanted you to buy two cameras

Dave

You mean two cameras with 4 year old technology in a new plastic packaging and number.

[ajohnson]

Thanks for the responses and example photos, I think making the upgrade to "one camera" from my tried and trusted 350D will be easier to "sell" domestically, especially as the CN review uses a 350D to compare.  I also can't fathom why Canon went to the effort of trying to make this a bit of an all rounder then advise daylight use, I got this same answer direct from a Canon rep at the IAS last year.  I realise there is still a lot in favour of buying a dedicated astro modded camera and keeping the 350D rolling as a daylight camera but this leaves the question "why the hell do you need two cameras?" open and also "why is the camera you use in the dark better than the one you use to photograph the kids?" Like I said this could be a good compromise if the prices hold or keep coming down. It's not the only option, I can see a number of places offering Shimmed and rebalanced 600Ds with the Baader or Hutech filters which seem to be good value, it will be several months before I part with any cash over this.

Once again many thanks to those who provided feedback.

[Quatermass]

No thanks I have better things to spend my money on like a new mount

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

[Owmuchonomy]

Had 60da for about 12 months and had no problems with it , daylight pic's come out a bit red but the Canon software has a one click WB corrector that works OK.

Dave

From camera IMG_0111.JPG Red adjusted IMG_0111.jpg

Hi, can you point me to the 'one click' remedy you mention.  Cheers, Chris

[GuillermoBarrancos]

Why not pickup a Baader-Modified Canon 600D from Cheapstrophotography for half the price? It´s still a huge Upgrade from the Canon 350D.

Even at 800 pounds, I still don´t see the extra value in the 60Da.

Both 600D and 60D(a) have exactly the same QE (40%). Same sensor & size. Pixel size. Megapixels. ISO Range. Etc.

What does the 60Da has to offer over the Baader modified 600D that justifies the extra 400 pounds?

[Owmuchonomy]

For me I chose a 60Da because I use it for both astro and non-astro.  I paid £659 and that also included a direct mains supply which you don't get with a 600D.  A Baader modified 600D also can lose the ability to autofocus accurately.

[GuillermoBarrancos]

For me I chose a 60Da because I use it for both astro and non-astro. I paid £659 and that also included a direct mains supply which you don't get with a 600D. A Baader modified 600D also can lose the ability to autofocus accurately.

He rechims the cameras after modification and you can buy a mains powersupply for about 50 pounds/euro, still saving 350 pounds.

A baader modified 600D can be used in Daylight just like any other.

[Davey-T]

Hi, can you point me to the 'one click' remedy you mention.  Cheers, Chris

This from Digital Photo help You can adjust white balance using a selected part of an image as the standard for white to make the image appear natural. Using click white balance is effective when using it in parts of an image where white color tone has changed under the influence of a light source.

1. Click on a point that is to be the standard for white.

2. • The color of the image is adjusted with the point you selected as the standard for white.

   • If you click on another point in the image, the white balance is adjusted again.

   • To finish click white balance, right-click with the mouse or click the button again.

Dave

Had to leave bits out as it was whinging it couldn't post some format or other, so look it up in the help file for full version.

[justinroz]

Broken link? that shows 404...