The final two! Canon 550D or Altair Astro GPCAMV2 IMX225

[spaceman_spiff]

Hi there,

Firstly, I can not comment on the Altair Astro GPCAMV2 IMX224 but I do own a Canon 550D.

I use it for all my 'bright target astronomy' (Solar, Lunar and planetary) and I am very happy with it. I don't doubt that a dedicated mono ccd camera with filters may provide a better result but the Canon was cheap, self contained (no need for laptops and cables) and acts as a backup to my DSO camera (an astro-modded 600D). The 640X480 movie crop mode is an excellent feature on the 550D it gives 60fps 1:1 pixel ratio which has provided excellent results for Lunar and Solar imaging.

As has been mentioned already, the planets are not best placed at the moment so imaging them may not give equally good results.

Here are some images taken using the 550D with a 6 inch Mak:

HTH Dan! 

[Adam J]

An astro modified 550D is a very versatile choice. I have one and am very happy with it.

[Adam J]

On 11/02/2017 at 23:36, Alien 13 said:

If you discount Planets, not a good time for several years and even Solar for the same reasons then you are left with Luna and DSO. The problem I have with the Moon is that its not monochrome and is quite large  If it was my money I would buy a 600 D instead of the 550 D and have a good all rounder.

Alan

 

The 600D and 550D have exactly the same sensor for that matter so does the 650D and the 700D, so your statement confuses me. The major advantage of the 600D is the movable LCD and the advantage of the 550D is the 640 x 480 60FPS mode that the 600D does not have. If you wanted to do planetary imaging you would always go with the 550D for this reason and would call it a better all rounder. The 600D is larger and so does run slightly cooler and so is slightly less noisy on average but there are variations between sensors anyhow and its not a huge difference.

[Sierra Golf Mike]

Well guys, it was a long process which I thought long and hard about then decided to go for a Canon 550D, sadly the ones for sale on Camera Jungle disappeared overnight, he who hesitates is lost! I had a look on eBay but the prices on there were ridiculous and some of them looked very poor and with no warranty. I ended up plumping for a Canon 600D, got a mint condition one from Camera Jungle who's prices are very good and they give you a 1 year warranty. I decided I could live without the crop video as I won't be doing much, if any, planetary work and will at some point be investing in an Altair Astro or ZWO camera.  I wasn't comfortable with having to do mosaics to get a full lunar disk at this stage, it seems like a lot of work.

 

So the decision was made for better or worse and I would like to thank everyone for their contributions, all were useful and in the end I am going for both options.

 

I look forward to posting on the Lunar Imaging and possibly DSO Imaging forums some of my meagre attempts.

 

Thank you all, once again

 

Dark Skies

[Sierra Golf Mike]

On 2/13/2017 at 22:13, spaceman_spiff said:

Hi there,

Firstly, I can not comment on the Altair Astro GPCAMV2 IMX224 but I do own a Canon 550D.

I use it for all my 'bright target astronomy' (Solar, Lunar and planetary) and I am very happy with it. I don't doubt that a dedicated mono ccd camera with filters may provide a better result but the Canon was cheap, self contained (no need for laptops and cables) and acts as a backup to my DSO camera (an astro-modded 600D). The 640X480 movie crop mode is an excellent feature on the 550D it gives 60fps 1:1 pixel ratio which has provided excellent results for Lunar and Solar imaging.

As has been mentioned already, the planets are not best placed at the moment so imaging them may not give equally good results.

Here are some images taken using the 550D with a 6 inch Mak:

HTH Dan! 

Dan,

 

Thanks for posting those excellent photos. If I can get anything similar, I will be well chuffed.

[Alien 13]

It was always going to be a win win as the 550d and 600d are both very good cameras, look forward to seeing your results.

Alan