Jump to content

SkySurveyBanner.jpg.21855908fce40597655603b6c9af720d.jpg

Imaging with a Canon 1300d?

M Astronomy

Recommended Posts

M Astronomy

M Astronomy

Posted
Posted

Hey guys! I'm wanting to start astrophotography but seeing as I don't have a suitable telescope (it's a 3 inch reflector with a very shakey mount), I'm aiming to do it with just a DSLR. I'm thinking about buying a Canon 1300d. Would this be a good starter camera to go for? I'm not planning on buying a motorised mount for now - my budget won't allow it - so any suggestions for objects to image would be much appreciated (I'm thinking star trails and the moon so far. I don't know the max exposure length). Also, does anyone have any tripod suggestions? Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • Replies 31
  • Created
  • Last Reply
Alien 13

Alien 13

Posted
Posted

There is a lot you can do with just a static tripod and the basic 18-55 mm kit lens that comes with the camera, you can use the basic 500 rule for calculating exposure length (500/fl = exposure length) so for a 50 mm lens the exp will be 10 seconds.

I cant comment specifically on the 1300D but the wi fi could be useful for remote focusing and shooting with a phone/tablet/PC  I know I couldn't live without this on my camera.

Alan

Link to comment
Share on other sites
xtreemchaos

xtreemchaos

Posted
Posted

hi mate , the 1300d is a great camera well suited to astro, but a tracking mount is really needed not a must but it helps, you will be able to do do star trails and moon shots but deepsky stuff really need loads of images staxed.

ive had a few half decent shots with my unmodded 1200d and basic tracking mount. heres one of the great orion neb i got last winter.

59973a218c678_rework7-1-17combirrgb.thumb.png.4e8551b22003de072081332e4404df87.png

a EQ5 would be a good starting mount with tracking motors, ive been able to get 1min 30 sec subs without guiding.

good luck and clear skys, charl.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
M Astronomy

M Astronomy

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Thanks for the replies guys! Just wondering if there is a maximum exposure length for the 1300d? I know stacking can be used for star trails but can it be used for deep sky objects? I'd need a tracking mount but I'm just thinking about what I could do in the future.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Stub Mandrel

Stub Mandrel

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, M Astronomy said:

Just wondering if there is a maximum exposure length for the 1300d?

The limitations are light pollution and thermal noise. Before I cooled my 450D = 1100D I was happily taking two minute exposures, and yes stacking (Deep Sky Stacker is the free solution) is essential for success with most DSOs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Chris

Chris

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, M Astronomy said:

Thanks for the replies guys! Just wondering if there is a maximum exposure length for the 1300d?

The camera will have a 'bulb' setting which will allow you to set the exposure time for as long as you want, other settings have a maximum of 30 seconds exposure. I recommend getting a remote timer/intervalometer which will let you program how long, how many, and the gap between exposures without touching the camera. If you use the shutter button on the camera it will shake the camera slightly and blur the stars.

One other option for the price of a 1300D kit would be an eq3 mount with motor drive (about £250 new) and a cheap 350/400D/20D (£40-60 ish), plus a remote timer and dovetail for attaching the camera to the mount (£20-25). 

Owe, and the kit lens will be bad for astro so you want to pick up a vintage 50, 135, or 200mm prime lens from ebay, I can highly recommend the pentax super takumar vintage primes, they cost about £20-50 on ebay. to attach these to your camera you need an EOS to M42 adaptor (£5). 

Just another option which will future proof you a bit better. The good thing about the old cameras is you can sell them for about the same as you buy them, they just don't have live view to focus which people swear by but I never used this, I just took a 2 second exposure to check focus. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
M Astronomy

M Astronomy

Posted
  • Author
Posted
15 minutes ago, Knight of Clear Skies said:

Hi, I put together a bit of a guide for starting AP with a DSLR and kit lens which you may find useful.

Wow that was a real help, thanks! When you say you got that last picture with a EQ-3, was it motorised? Otherwise how did you keep it in from? Sorry if I'm sounding stupid, I'm new to all of this. I think I will get the 1300d for now and then save for a proper mount with a motor. Thanks for all the comments!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Knight of Clear Skies

Knight of Clear Skies

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, M Astronomy said:

Wow that was a real help, thanks! When you say you got that last picture with a EQ-3, was it motorised? Otherwise how did you keep it in from? Sorry if I'm sounding stupid, I'm new to all of this. I think I will get the 1300d for now and then save for a proper mount with a motor. Thanks for all the comments!

Good to hear it was useful. Yes, that was taken with a motorised EQ3, I just have a battery powered RA motor for it. It's a good low-cost mount for lens imaging (mine was £140 second hand) but the Star Adventurer is lighter and probably tracks better. (It seems that the tripod is the weakest link for the EQ3, with a heavy telephoto lens or telescope the legs can flex). The Milky Way image at the bottom was about 20 minutes total exposure, from a dark site and using a modded DSLR. Here's a couple of my best efforts with this kit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
  • 3 weeks later...
tooth_dr

tooth_dr

Posted
Posted
6 minutes ago, M Astronomy said:

Hey guys! First clear night since my camera came and I got this shot. Needs improvement but am quite happy with this for my first try!

Night shot 1.png

Great start! Picked up plenty of detail in the MW. What settings did you use?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
M Astronomy

M Astronomy

Posted
  • Author
Posted

ISO 800 (any higher and the noise was getting pretty bad)

25 second exposure (no star trailing even at this exposure)

F3.5 (as wide as my kit lens can go)

Hopefully at some point I'll pick up a samyang/rokinon 14mm f2.8 to get some better results but I'll continue with this setup for now!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
M Astronomy

M Astronomy

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Yeah I noticed that. I'd need a motor for it though which would add to the price. I'll stick to this setup for now and try and get some star trails and more milky way shots when it's clear again. 

Also, any focussing tips? My kit lens doesn't have an infinity focus mark so what I'm doing right now is taking a 4 second shot at 6400 and then changing the focus depending on that. 

Thanks for all the help guys! My astrophotography future is looking bright!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
happy-kat

happy-kat

Posted
Posted

Focus on a star where the thirds intersect, get better focus across image. Choose any very bright star in the regioon of where you are looking should show in live view then get that right and adjust camera to point where you want.

I use my Nexus 7 with DSLR Controller app makes it a breeze.

IMG_20170220_154141.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites
M Astronomy

M Astronomy

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Okay. Is it possible to take several images and stack without a tracking mount? I understand you would need to manually align it with the object every time. Would I be able to stack the images afterwards, cause they wouldn't be exactly the same without proper tracking? Thanks for all the help!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
M Astronomy

M Astronomy

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Oh okay that's good. Next time I have a clear night I'll try it. The only issue is it never stays clear for long so I don't know how many images I'd be able get. How many is a good about of images to stack? I understand that you include dark and light frames and then it stacks them all together into one less noisy image. I'll download DSS right now. :icon_biggrin:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.