For anyone who has a Canon EOS D/SLR

[EA2007]

As in my earlier post 'Help with / notes on Olympus E-400 etc' further down this message board, I have come to the conclusion that the exposure times (or lack of) are no adequate on an Olympus E-System camera for astrophotography. Therefore I am asking if anyone has any experience or advice with a Canon EOS (or similar make) Digital SLR.

Have a budget of say upto £800ish pounds or thereabout, maybe a bit more.

Just really looking for any advice on which model is the most popular / a good choice, as I have read that the older EOS 20D is the 'standard' for noise compared with the newer models.

Any information on remote shutter release cables and t-rings as in where to buy (good deals!!) would also be great

Thankyou

[centroid]

The EOS20Da was 'the' astroimaging DSLR, but 1. it was very expensive, and 2. they stopped making it.

Most people go for the EOS300D, 350D and now perhaps the new 400D, as they are quite light compared to the 10D, 20D and 30D.

The 300D and 350D can also be modified to make them more suited to astro imaging.

I had a 300D and have now upgraded to a 30D, but having a dedicated astro CCD camera, I've never used either DSLR for astro imaging.

However, a look around this forum and on UKAI, will show you quite a few very nice astro images, taken with DSLRs.

Thare are still some 350D's around in the dealers, and at bargain prices. Up market from that, the 30D (body) can now be found at less than £580, due to the announcement of the 40D.

Dave

[Ionizar]

I have a 350D but I have only just begun the journey into DSLR imaging and haven't done much with it yet. Only a single 30 second exposure of M31 the Andromeda Galaxy so far. Soon I will obtain the cable release for it so I can take longer exposures without touching the cam. I used it in prime focus on an 8" SCT so far.

It's not bad but I really need to try longer exposures to get anything worth seeing.

The new 40D Canon DSLR would be the optimal choice though considering it has liveview so you can more easily check the focus. The 350D is not bad, but you have to slew over to a bright star to get it focused because forget trying to focus it while looking at M31 for example. The viewfinder in the 350D is very dark. If you can save up for the 40D, you should consider that instead IMHO.