DSLR or mirrorless?

[Andrew W]

thinking about cameras.

looking to do a bit of everything but mainly stars/nebula maybe a bit of planets and dso.

not looking to win awards just take nice pictures to record my observations really.

Still very early days for me so I'm not looking to specialise yet either therefore it needs to be able to turn it's hand to a bit of everything at the moment.

I think when I pull the trigger I'll have about £150-200 maybe a touch more

I don't have anything but a basic point and shoot digital at the moment although I used to have a fuji finepix bridge style camera.

so starting from scratch I have no bias towards manufacturer as I have no other compatible kit to consider.

My budget would suggest eos 1100d/1000d or the nikon d90 if I go dslr. obviously the other option is something like the fuji x-a1, eos m or sony nex-5n mirror less bodies.

Everything I've read suggests not bothering with anything that doesn't have live view ruling out the older cheaper stuff.

the mirrorless seem to offer a much smaller and lighter package and presumeably less vibration due to no moving mirror for the same or not much more money. The fuji and sony also have articulating screens.

The weight is an obvious consideration on my eq3 mount also.

is there a reason to go for the big bodied mirrored eos range as opposed to mirrorless or should I be looking elsewhere with my budget.

cheers

Andrew

[haitch]

Connectivity - EOS DSLRs can be controlled through a PC and the live view seen on the monitor. I looked at the EOS-M and it didn't have the capability unless they've updated it since.

There is a mirror lock up function that avoids vibrations.

I can only speak of Canons as they are all I own but that is for a good reason - software support for astronomy.

[haitch]

Oh, if you want to operate without a PC atached I recommend an articulated rear screen!

[Andrew W]

Cheers Haitch,

yeah ideally I'm looking to avoid carting a laptop around as well.

So was looking to do everything on the camera then use the computer purely for post processing.

if it can't be avoided and I have to have a laptop with me then so be it.

I was hoping to use my android tablet if I did have to bring some computing power around with me but that seems even more difficult due to google breaking certain usb features in the name of security in the last update.

I'd like the articulating screen and will probably hang on until I've got the budget for the right tool for the job.

I really like the lack of size and weight of the mirrorless but figure there has to be a catch or everyone would be using them.

[haitch]

What sort of mount and scope do you want to image with? If you are looking at widefield stuff or using the camera lens then you may get away without guiding but if you want to do any more you might need a laptop to guide with anyhow.

Have to say my favourite toy at the moment is my Astrotrac with my 600D. Great fun, quick to set up and get results from.

[rowan46]

i have an 1100d and use dslr controller on tablet for controlling the camera and getting focus its fairly well developed for canon and theres another one that i cant remember the name of for nikon the csc apps are not nearly so well developed  for tablet so focussing could be an issue.

[Andrew W]

I've just got an ST120 on an EQ3 mount.

so typical widefield refractor type stuff but I'm a telescope and astrophotography virgin.

it's mainly representative snapshots of what I'm observing that I'm looking to get rather than a full on mutli £1000 imaging set-up I'm after. (if only I had that budget!)

I'm trying to keep it all as simple and lightweight (ish) as I can because whilst I can get some stuff from my garden as I improve I'm going to have to be mobile to get to the best observing sites locally.

[happy-kat]

Nope my tablet is working again with my canon lost connection for a few months but thankfully a patch received fixed it, no more upgrades for me! Nexus 7 4.4.4

Dslr dashboard is the other app android

[Andrew W]

was that a patch for your specific tablet or from the app?

[happy-kat]

Google update

[Andrew W]

ok.  I was doing stuff via usb and on the sd card on my tablet with my go pro type camera but the 4.4 update killed both of those

[happy-kat]

Yes did me but since then there was am upstate ota that I accepted and it restored the function on my otg cable

[happy-kat]

Sounds like you have not received an ota update since if still having problems with your otg support

I did complain politely on the google help forum but I guess that is very far fetched to link that to a personalised update lol

[Andrew W]

I have had a recent update and my OTG cable works with my synth but a couple of apps that used to edit long hdr movie files on my micro sd card are not able to now (deliberate security fix apparently). totally killed a couple of useful tools I was using so now I have to punt the files on to my laptop and edit them there before dropping them back onto my tablet for portable viewing.

just added in extra steps that I wasn't having to do before which is frustrating.

[haitch]

Hmmmmm eq3 is a bit lightweight for imaging with a scope that size and you'll probably suffer plenty of colour fringing on an achromatic at f5

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[DaveS]

Yes, an EQ3 just won't cut it for any kind of 'scope based AP, let alone with a ST120. Put a DSLR / lens on it and it may well be a different matter.

I seriously reccomend using a laptop as you can control the camera, and if you use APT you can set up a capture sequence, then when you get a better mount (HEQ5 minimum) you can control that as well for GOTO then when you add a guider the lappei will control and integrate everything.

[nicks90]

Ignoring PC connectivity, what you are interested in is the chip. The rest is 'stuff' that's built around it. Useful stuff, but still just stuff.

I own aa samsung CSC/mirror less camera and I love it. Its got the same APS-C sensor as fitted to many canon DSLR cameras, but in a package that fits in my jacket pocket (with the 18-50 kit lens). Mega useful for daytime piccies and there is no reason it can't take the same quality AP as canon DSLR with the same sensor.

Obviously if you get serious, PC software for focussing and control becomes more important and I think that's where canon will win over most other brands, but if its point and shoot AP and everyday usability, a CSC is hard to beat.

But........... Beware the range of lenses available native to the camera. You can get adaptors, but you often lose functions using them. If you want a range of lenses with all the camera functions to work, you need to use proprietary stuff and if the range is limited/expensive, this needs to be factored in.

Note :- my AP is limited to wide field and I'm not that good at it or processing. So please don't think any of my pics are indicative of how well a CSC works.

[Andrew W]

Cheers Nick.

If I wanted to spend thousands I'd follow the mantra.

I'm on a tight budget so getting all singing all dancing just ain't gonna happen and frankly I just want to get some images of what I'm observing. Imaging is not the be all and end all of what I'm trying to do.

I've got the scope, eyepieces, eq3 mount, dual motor upgrades for the mount and camera mount bits for less than £200 through the classifieds and evilbay.

I've just won a lumix g1 mirrorless digital for £55. 12mp, live view, fully articulating screen, and viewfinder (wanted that for daytime stuff) micro 4/3 mount and about 2/3 weight of a typical dslr.

I figured once I'd taken the star diagonal and eyepiece off and direct mounted the camera there wouldn't actually be that much difference in weight on the mount or balance point.

The camera has it's limitations and apparently can be a little noisy over iso800 but frankly I've been a point and click type person with my normal photography up to now.

The camera can be used with lots of manual focus lenses from yesteryear with an adaptor allowing some interesting daytime photography options.

I'm still learning how to use and telescope and shortly how to use a camera in full manual mode.

If I really get in to it I'll end up having to upgrade stuff but for now this will get me started and help me choose which directions my daytime and astrophotography lie.