Best beginners dslr

[newbie alert]

A dedicated planetary cam will do the job better than a DSLR but then a 80ed isn't really suited to planets..it will do the job yes but a sct with a bigger aperture and focal length will do a far better job....

Just use the 80ed and DSLR on dso's..plenty of targets out there to keep you busy for a  good while..

[SAW]

Been looking at getting a modded one from cheapastrophotography.

So for planets I could use a dedicated camera, I'll look into those a bit later then.

[newbie alert]

3 hours ago, SAW said:

Been looking at getting a modded one from cheapastrophotography.

So for planets I could use a dedicated camera, I'll look into those a bit later then.

That's who I got mine from...Juan does a great job

[alacant]

13 hours ago, Alien 13 said:

 

13 hours ago, SAW said:

450D vs 600D ? Any reason I should pay the extra for the 600 ?

The flip out screen on the 600D

 

Hi. I don't think it's that important as you could use your phone instead which has a better screen anyway. HTH.

[iapa]

On 17/06/2017 at 10:34, SAW said:

Found a astro modded 600D, little bit over my budget. I'll probably go for that.

excellent choice.

I've liked mine

[SAW]

Quick question 600D vs 1300D ?

[happy-kat]

600d flip out screen

[Alien 13]

2 hours ago, SAW said:

Quick question 600D vs 1300D ?

The three digit cameras i.e. XXX D will in general have more menu options available than the four digit ones like the 1300 D, things like proper mirror lockup for instance. The flip out screen is also very useful.

Alan 

[SAW]

You've all convinced me, 600D it is. I need to get a memory card, should I be looking at any specific brand/size ?

Still need a scope though :-(

[iapa]

9 hours ago, SAW said:

You've all convinced me, 600D it is. I need to get a memory card, should I be looking at any specific brand/size ?

Still need a scope though :-(

size will depend on your exposure duration. RAW are about 25-26M Byte each. If you take 5 min exposures, you are looking at around 10 images per hour. Or 240MB, a 4 hour session would be 1GByte roughly.

If you use shorter exposures, you will take more per hour.

I used SanDisk, 'Extreme' 16G microSD cards, and I changed the 'save to folder' on the camera each time so I could keep images organised by session

[Alien 13]

+1 for SanDisk  extreme cards, 16 or 32 Gb seems to be the best value for money/storage size and its worth shopping around for deals.

Alan

[happy-kat]

Two 16gb is better than one 32gb as then if you have card failure you still have one card. I use a 16gb and have a 8gb as spare only because the 16gb came with the card. You can do astro images using a camera lens so don't let not having a telescope stop you starting.

[SAW]

600D ordered from cheapastrophotography :-) hasn't got any lenses and I haven't got a mount yet :-(

[happy-kat]

Ask around friends they may have a lens you can borrow, try charity shops can find lenses there, old m42 lenses can be used with a £10 adaptor. Tripod could be a small bean bag you might have lying around or again might pick a camera tripod up in a charity shop. There is much to learn on processing (lots of free software) you might find you could start now getting to grips with what you have as you in time get more kit.

[SAW]

I've actually got a tripod so I can use that to start with. Not sure what lens(s) I will need, in the 'Making Every Photon Count' book they show a 200-300mm lens.

I've got a lot of reading to do ! I don't understand all this lens size stuff, subs, stacking etc :-(

[Davey-T]

I'd start with something shorter 50mm or so stars will trail quickly at 200 / 300.

Dave

[happy-kat]

Unless your tripod tracks then as above start with a shorter lens it will be easier to get to grips with.

[SteveNickolls]

There's a rule of thumb for estimating the length of exposure without trailing when using a static tripod, use 500/Focal Length of lens in mm = exposure time in seconds without trailing, so for example with a 35mm lens this gives 500/35 mm lens =14 seconds exposure. Actually you might get away with slightly longer :-)

Cheers,
Steve

[iapa]

There's also the '400' rule

either are a good estimate as a starting point for exposure.

i suppose it depends on whether you are planing on printing big (400 rule) or if you are just going to use as a screen save on your TV ?

It's how much trailing you will accept at this stage

[SAW]

2 hours ago, happy-kat said:

Unless your tripod tracks then as above start with a shorter lens it will be easier to get to grips with.

No it doesn't track, it's just a basic camera tripod.

[Knight of Clear Skies]

20 hours ago, SAW said:

I've actually got a tripod so I can use that to start with. Not sure what lens(s) I will need, in the 'Making Every Photon Count' book they show a 200-300mm lens.

I've got a lot of reading to do ! I don't understand all this lens size stuff, subs, stacking etc :-(

Here's a short guide I wrote on suitable budget lenses for AP that you might find helpful. This is my go-to image for showing what's possible with a very cheap (but good) lens.

Heart & Soul Nebulae with the Double Cluster. 135mm Super-Takumar lens (50 years old, cost me less than twenty quid on eBay) at f3.5 on a modded Canon 1100D, EQ3-2 tracking mount. 19x2 minute subs, 38 minutes total exposure.