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Killed my Canon 60Da


wxsatuser

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There isn't one solution that fits all.

I am in the same camp as Peter...my main use is terrestrial and astro is secondary. My images are therefore by definition, second rate.

Do I expect to beat a CCD on a Tak...nope but I get a whole lot more use out of my kit than anybody living in the UK does with their pure astro kit. In fact I probably get more astro imaging time in compared to many others because I can take my kit on holiday abroad...

Would I give that up my kit for a CCD and Tak...nope, not on your life. Now if I could afford/justify both then it would be a different thing...

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An RGB image of the redbrick bungalow on the top of the next hill a mile away taken with telescope and mono CCD astro camera by moonlight, I found great fun :D  But of course, this isn't what this kit was designed for jus as DSLRs weren't designed for astro use.  Yes you can make both kits work for the other purpose (and it's fun to do so) but there are naturally considerable limitations.  If you want to be serious about AP, you need the right kit for the job - simple as that.  But if you simply want to dabble and have fun, there's nothing wrong with that - enjoy yourself, that's what life is about :)

Hardly a challenging target  for the technology ;):)

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I take on board the issues with DSLRs. However, you can't take your nice CCD up onto a cliff, fit a 10mm (focal length) lens on the front and take a very wide-angle shot of the whole sky. It is here where the flexibility of the DSLR comes into its own.

 

i.e. it can be an "adequate", compact narrow field deep sky imaging system when combined with a suitable 'scope and an integrated wide-field deep sky imaging system using photographic lenses and a cheap, portable tracking mount.

Fair enough. I wouldn't disagree that there are excellent examples of astro images taken with DSLRs, and I certainly wouldn't be without my Canon for daytime use .... but the point I was disagreeing with was ... 'There's no point in having a cooled CCD camera' (if you have severe light pollution).

I have bad light pollution. I have used both DSLR and cooled astro cameras and get vastly better results with the astro camera for a wide range of subjects even under these poor conditions. So for me anyway there definitely is a point in having a dedicated astro camera.

Adrian

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Pays yer money takes yer choice imo.

I have seen naff images taken with ccd and good with dslr and vice versa.

I knew from the outset I would never be an Olly or other great imagers on here but the important

part I can image and get results I want.

I may one day, funds allowing, get a full ccd kit and a better mount, may be even get to be a great astrophotographer.

Until then I will cut my teeth with the dslr.

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Until then I will cut my teeth with the dslr.

Im a fairly rubbish imager. Actually, scratch that...I am a very rubbish imager. But I do know that processing data is far, far easier when the source is a CCD rather than a DSLR. I wish that I spent the money on a CCD earlier....it would have saved me a shedload of frustration. Learning imaging is tricky enough without making it more difficult.

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I do know that processing data is far, far easier when the source is a CCD rather than a DSLR. I wish that I spent the money on a CCD earlier....it would have saved me a shedload of frustration. Learning imaging is tricky enough without making it more difficult.

Yes, I was about to add that to my last post.  An astro CCD is far more sensitive and the noise level far far below even a DSLR cooled to -15C

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For me it all boils down to  my usage balance....

So my premium "APO's" are a Canon 600f4L IS USM , Sigma 300/2.8 EX DG , Canon 200/2.8L II  and my Cameras are a 5D MK III and Modified 1000D 95% of time  (possibly more than that with the weather)  they get used for terrestrial photography on an almost daily basis....

A cooled mono CD, filters and "proper" telescope with it's simpler optical design  would undoubtedly be easier to use for Astro but wouldn't cut it for the terrestrial... 

A DSLR and Lens can produce reasonable astro images.. I doubt if a Mono astro camera, filters and scope could produce a full colour  panned image of a bird in flight  - horses for courses...

Peter...

I like my DSLR setup i can spot a gap in the clouds, carry all my kit out set-up and be imaging in 10 mins and back in the house with all the kit in 5mins if it rains. I am very happy with my astro images and can shoot wildlfe images and produce HD video with sound too.

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Hope so and best of luck, genuinely.

Regardng the double use possibilities of a DSLR I wonder, though, how much you gain by having an up market DSLR for dual use. I snap away by day with my 1000D but I've no pretentions whatever as a daytime photographer. Good daytime cameras are getting ever cheaper. Not sure we can say the same for CCD!!!

Olly

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Hope so and best of luck, genuinely.

Regardng the double use possibilities of a DSLR I wonder, though, how much you gain by having an up market DSLR for dual use. I snap away by day with my 1000D but I've no pretentions whatever as a daytime photographer. Good daytime cameras are getting ever cheaper. Not sure we can say the same for CCD!!!

Olly

A Canon 1000D just doesn't cut it in my books as a daytime camera, though it performs quite well when modified as an astro camera :p .

Tiny viewfinder, fairly sluggish focus response, 2 or three shot buffer, slow burst mode, cheap plastic body etc. It all depends on what you want to achieve and how you use it, just like astro work. If you are happy with your Canon 1000D, then in the end that is all that matters. Are you going to compete with the likes of Andy Rouse? I doubt it, doesn't mean you can't enjoy what you do.

Likewise same thing can be said about full frame vs. crop DSLRs. A (modern) full frame camera produces a much better image than a crop camera (under the same conditions). This is obvious because the photosites are larger, the anti-alias filter is generally less aggressive, and it is just a more premium sensor (i.e not a budget sensor). I can usually tell if a (good) bird photo has been taken on premium kit, just like you can with astro images. I am sure you can tell almost instantly that an image was taken with a budget camera+scope or a premium CCD+scope.

£899 for a QHY8 that can only be used for astro work seems very expensive to me whereas a Canon 60Da for (a realistic price of ~£700), seems like a bargain (though it isn't because it is priced closer to £1k).

I think that if the UK weather wasn't so pants, then all of these discussions would almost be a non-issue. We'd all have "omnichrome" cameras with L, R, G, B, Ha, OIII and SII filter wheel because we'd get much use out of it. As it stands it is a big investment to be sitting in a corner for what feels like 90% of the time.

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Takes longer to set up though, doesn't it?

Given that during the week even under the best conditions in mid-winter I may have an hour to get outside, including opening up the observatory, waking up the scope, moving all the computers etc. outside, doing any imaging and then closing it all down again. You can see the set-up time is significant.

Even doing USB tethering is probably going to take too long so I'm going to be getting an IR remote shutter release for the camera.

At the weekend (OK, Saturday night as I'm usually too shattered on a Friday evening to do anything) I can take longer as I can recover on Sunday. But how many Saturdays have clear skies these days? It seems painfully few.

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Funny old thread this one. It starts out as a discussion on a camera fault. All very reasonable and very little in the way of table thumping although I must admit I would be less than happy.

Then it comes very close to a DSLR assassination campaign where even OSC cameras are mentioned.

Now I can't actually speak for the original thread participants but it would seem that now they feel they have to justify to others their purchase decisions. 

Bizarre.

I hope you all get this problem resolved and can get on with your HOBBY,

Dave.

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Then it comes very close to a DSLR assassination campaign where even OSC cameras are mentioned.

Now I can't actually speak for the original thread participants but it would seem that now they feel they have to justify to others their purchase decisions. 

I don't see it like that Dave. I thought that it was an interesting discussion.

Clear skies. :icon_salut:

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My problem is solved.......it's back and working but not tethered so far.

As to dslr v ccd.......not a problem for me.

I knew the limitations before I purchased mine but I'm happy to mess about with it.

If I want or need better in the future then I will go the ccd route.

Chuffed last night as I actually got my first nebula, it won't impress Olly and friends, but

I would never had thought a few months a go I would be doing any sort  of AP.

Anyway have a laugh at this.....btw I have'nt even got any decent processing software. :rolleyes:

Canon 60Da 20x30secs@iso3200......ED80+reducer+Hutech.........shooting thru a neighbours tree......wheres me chainsaw. :grin:

m42.jpg

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I don't see it like that Dave. I thought that it was an interesting discussion.

Clear skies. :icon_salut:

That's the main reason I put that I can't speak for the others.

Not blaming you in the least and I hope that you didn't take it that way. I sometimes try, and many times fail, to put myself in the position of others. If I had bought the 60Da and had the reported problems, when I came on to SGL to chat with others about it I wouldn't want to listen to the joys of CCD imaging.  

The original posters may or may not agree. If it turns out that I'm alone with this opinion then by all means persuade them to chuck their cameras in the skip and buy a proper camera :)

Dave.

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My problem is solved.......it's back and working but not tethered so far.

As to dslr v ccd.......not a problem for me.

I knew the limitations before I purchased mine but I'm happy to mess about with it.

If I want or need better in the future then I will go the ccd route.

Chuffed last night as I actually got my first nebula, it won't impress Olly and friends, but

I would never had thought a few mnoths a go I would be doing any sort  of AP.

Anyway have a laugh at this.....btw I have'nt even got any decent processing software. :rolleyes:

Canon 60Da 20x30secs@iso3200......ED80+reducer+Hutech.........shooting thru a neighbours tree......wheres me chainsaw. :grin:

m42.jpg

I use a CCD and that impresses me. I admire the effort people put into their hobby more than the results sometimes.

Dave.

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Funny old thread this one. It starts out as a discussion on a camera fault. All very reasonable and very little in the way of table thumping although I must admit I would be less than happy.

Then it comes very close to a DSLR assassination campaign where even OSC cameras are mentioned.

Now I can't actually speak for the original thread participants but it would seem that now they feel they have to justify to others their purchase decisions

Bizarre.

I hope you all get this problem resolved and can get on with your HOBBY,

Dave.

Well said...

Mike and other 60Da users, I hope they behave, it is a pity that this has happened to a few users and as usual Canon (along with every other company these days), deny any faults. Tether it up often while it is still under warranty, I know I would since you might want to do tether up in the future. Get out there any enjoy it and do the best you can, it isn't a competition.

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I have a 60da an Atik 314l and an Atik 4000 OSC (used to belong to Olly) and I use them all for different stuff, Atik 314l permanently attached to 10" LX200, 4000OSC and WO110FLTfor taking to dark sites, and 60da for sticking out the bedroom window to try and catch a comet and also normal photography so they all have there uses.

Think I still need more scopes and cameras though :)

Dave

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  • 3 years later...

My EOS 60Da lost it when I was at a very, very dark site in the Colorado Rockies!  I wanted to start shooting pictures of the Milky way and NOTHING......After taking it to a Camera specialty shop in Colorado Springs (they would not touch it) I sent it to Canon in California, a few days later they sent me an email indicating that the power board was defective - to make it short it cost me almost 500$ to get it fixed, but that was worth it because of all the cameras I have owned, DSLR and CCD/CMOS, it gave the Greatest Images with the least hassle and no need for a laptop or anything heavy to lug around in addition to the scope. I am sad that it went out on me in Colorado since I made the trip all the way from Germany for that moment just to be knocked out hard.....and not getting any pictures with it. The picture below was the last picture I took with the 60Da before my trip to Colorado-It was taken in my backyard in Germany!! Now just imagine the pictures I could have gotten in the Colorado Rockies where it was V E R Y  D A R K...

IMG_6589_1.jpg

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I may have been bad luck, it is fixed now and I am looking forward to doing some nice pics this fall and winter C8Edge/C 9.25/Starwave 152mm refractor and EOS 6D, 60 Da, ZWO mono 120 mm, and the newest one, an Altair 183C hypercam (with the sony 183 sensor)

great pictures of yours Chris !!

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