help choosing camera (£150)

[JonDoe]

hi everyone ive been looking on ebay tonight to get a cheap canon dslr camera body but there are so many to choose from.

ive got £150 to spend if anybody could let to know of a few to look out for.

many thanks

[Andymac79]

350d, 1000d 1100d Canons. Discussion over.

Seriously, capture software and stuff for Canons more freely available than Nikon. You will be very pleased with any of the above, 1100 is the latest of the three. You may struggle to find one for 150 but maybe. The 1000 and 1100 both have live view which people like but me not so much. They are light, my 1000d is less than 400g so good weight saving. I have been so pleased with the performance of mine for both daytime and astro.

Im a huge fan of these cameras. Get one before its too late...

[gkec]

I reality any would do but I got a EOS 350D and then realised liveview might be really useful so got a 1000D. Having said that there is nothing much wrong with the 350D I got some reasonable photos from it. One surprising issue is that the Canon s/w for the 350D had some obvious usability flaws. These all went away with the 1000D. This is not that surprising apart from the fact I didn't actually change the s/w on my computer. It was different for each camera. Both were well under £150.

[Andymac79]

Dont get too hung up on Live view, with APT capture software you can just take a short sub and use the built in focus aid to focus, thats how I do it. The 350 is old but still good, some awsome images taken with it.

But yes I agree, the 1000d or 1100d would be better, comes down to budget I guess.

[JamesF]

Agreed. Live view is really nice to have, but it's not the end of the world if you don't. On the other hand, given the choice between a camera with live view and one without, given a relatively small price premium I'd say go with the one with live view.

James

[JonDoe]

thanks for the response so far, will leave getting one till tomorrow evening so if anybody else would like to add something please do.

[stem1989]

I got my 1000d already modified second hand for £200, It might be worth saving that extra £50 and keeping an eye on astrobuysell, if not try and get one with live view, I bought a 400d a while back fro around £150 but no live view and to focus it was time consuming, move the focus a little, take a shot, and so on!

[JonDoe]

Hi Guys im looking at an 1100d now, before i buy will this camera have to be modified for astro, if yes does this stop it from being used for everyday photography, thanks.

[biondi]

I just bought a used 1100d for £205 off ebay, if I was you I'd save up a little more and get one of those..

[JonDoe]

I just bought a used 1100d for £205 off ebay, if I was you I'd save up a little more and get one of those..

i am looking to see if i can stretch my budget, if not it will have to be the 1000d, just waiting now to see if anyone can answer my question about modding.

[skywatcher58gb]

Hi The standard DSLR does not have to be modified for astro photography, many objects can be photographed successfully. However the in built Infra Red filter cuts out an amount of this light particularly for emmission nebula such as the Horse Head. I use a Canon 450D unmodded and plan to see how far I can go before I consider the modification. The colours are more blue than red, but for the time being I am more than happy to keep going and still use my camera for daytime photography.

Dave

[JonDoe]

Hi The standard DSLR does not have to be modified for astro photography, many objects can be photographed successfully. However the in built Infra Red filter cuts out an amount of this light particularly for emmission nebula such as the Horse Head. I use a Canon 450D unmodded and plan to see how far I can go before I consider the modification. The colours are more blue than red, but for the time being I am more than happy to keep going and still use my camera for daytime photography.

Dave

thanks Dave thats all i needed to hear, from the response ive got a canon seems the way to go, will look again at my budget and see what i can get.

ill keep coming back to this thread if anybody has anything to add and to let you know what i ended up getting.

[Obi Wan Ken00bi]

I also just started out with both a Nikon and a Canon, unmodded. I can tell you only one thing: at the moment the only thing that needs modifying are my skills.... atm I'm the limiting factor

[JonDoe]

Ju st a quick update to thank those who took the time to reply and to say i purchased a Canon 1000d, hopefully i can do it justice.

[Guy Wells]

Second hand Canon 30D for under £150...

[Obi Wan Ken00bi]

Congrats! Good luck with it and please post your results!