Canon 1200d vs 600d for DSO imaging

[PeterCPC]

I am wondering if it is worth getting an astro modified Canon 600d. I am currently using an astro modded 1200d for DSO imaging.

I get about 4-6% of hot pixels for exposures of 300 secs @800iso and was wondering whether the 600d would be able to improve on that or whether it would be just more efficient.

Any Canon experts out there who have an opinion please. Anyone done that swap? I suspect that it would not be worth it.

Peter

[Stub Mandrel]

Are they not the same sensor and processor anyway?

I solved this issue on my 450D by cooling it, but that may be a bit drastic for some.

Now all I need is some clear sky...

[tooth_dr]

I'm tempted to cool my 1000d....

[xtreemchaos]

I warm my one up, its better for shooting cloud that way  sorry its cloudy and I'm at my witts end. I do use a 1200d , and have wonder if it would be worth modding,would it be any betterthan my modded 1000d, it takes a nice pic without showing a bit of fair HA.  charl.

Edited September 7, 2017 by xtreemchaos
added text

[Knight of Clear Skies]

That sounds like a very high number of hot pixels, how did you go about counting them please? (Just to be sure, I take it you are disabling the display when shooting.) Dithering and a sigma clip is a good technique for removing them if you aren't already doing that.

For comparison, here's a 4 minute sub with a modded 100D (unfortunately, not full resolution, and I'm not sure if the DPP software conversion to jpg tries to clean hot pixels).

Edited September 7, 2017 by Knight of Clear Skies

[PeterCPC]

I established the number of hot pixels using the Bad Pixel Map in AstroPixel Procesor. I do disable the display and also cover the eyepiece.

I also use a mains adapter so not running on batteries. I do dither but am looking to increase the dithering agressivenes. I use kappa- sigma in DSS and APP.

Peter

[PeterCPC]

No further comments? Maybe I'll just stick with the 1200d then.

Peter

[Alien 13]

The 600D is undoubtedly a better package than the 1200D but from the responses is not a worthwhile  upgrade, something like the 700 or 750D would be a different thing though.

Alan

[PeterCPC]

Thanks Alan. What would be the benefits of swapping to a 750d?

Peter

[Alien 13]

10 minutes ago, PeterCPC said:

Thanks Alan. What would be the benefits of swapping to a 750d?

Peter

The sensor is different and the processor is Digic 6 vs Digic 4 so noise performance should be better, you also have more features and wi fi connectivity which I find very useful if I want to shoot and view from indoors 

Alan

[PeterCPC]

Thanks Alan. I have read that there can be banding issues with the 750d - do you know about this?

Peter

[SteveNickolls]

Hi, the 600D has a greater number of pixels on the LCD screen (1,040k v 460k of the 1200D) and the LCD screen is vari-angle. Both use a DIGIC 4 processor I believe and both have 18Mpx sensors. The Canon 700D still has 18Mpx sensor but DIGIC 5 processor, touchscreen capability and vari-angle LCD screen. The 750D has 24.2 Mpx sensor, DIGIC 6 processor, vari-angle touchscreen LCD and wi-fi capability. Price obviously comes into consideration across the range.

Cheers,
Steve

[PeterCPC]

Thanks Steve. I'm really not bothered about WiFi and vari angle screen as I use BYE. What I want is a less noisey/more sensitive sensor otherwise I can't see the benefit of changing. Is the DIGIC 6 really such an improvement on the DIGIC 4?

Peter

[PeterCPC]

I came across this on a comparison site:-

Canon 1200D and Canon 750D have sensor sizes so they will provide same level of control over the depth of field when used with same focal length and aperture. On the other hand, since Canon 1200D has 33% larger pixel area compared to Canon 750D, it has potential to collect more light on pixel level hence have less noise in low light / High ISO images.

Peter

[Adam J]

On 07/09/2017 at 13:43, tooth_dr said:

I'm tempted to cool my 1000d....

You wont be disappointed with the results if you do, I have cooled one before now and it was a massive step in performance. 

[Adam J]

Personally I dont like the idea of even smaller pixels without a big improvement in quantom efficiency. The 1200D already has quite small pixels and a 600 / 650 / 700 will not be a significant improvement. 

I would probably save my money for a cooled camera rather than try to upgrade to a different DSLR. Your signal to noise ratio will improve as the temperatures start to fall. 

[tooth_dr]

14 minutes ago, Adam J said:

You wont be disappointed with the results if you do, I have cooled one before now and it was a massive step in performance. 

I've been searching the forum a lot and reading up on it. Have you a guide that you'd recommend?

[Adam J]

I made a cool box that worked / works very well. Some others directly cool the chip. Either method will work well if correctly executed. 

This is my build thread here:- 

You are actually the last person to have posted in it lol. 

Edited September 8, 2017 by Adam J

[Stub Mandrel]

I followed this guide for astro modification:

http://dslrmodifications.com/rebelmod450d1.html

and added a cold finger from the template here:

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=132498

[Alien 13]

9 hours ago, PeterCPC said:

Thanks Alan. I have read that there can be banding issues with the 750d - do you know about this?

Peter

I dont have this issue with my 80D which has a similar sensor but have no idea about the 750D, I did find this site http://www.photonstophotos.net/Charts/RN_ADU.htm which would suggest that the 1200D is actually a very good performer with a lower read noise than a 700D

Alan

[PeterCPC]

Thanks all for the input. I have also discussed with Juan at cheap astrophotography and he recommended sticking with the 1200d. Decision made.

Peter

[AlanP_]

On 09/09/2017 at 07:25, PeterCPC said:

Thanks all for the input. I have also discussed with Juan at cheap astrophotography and he recommended sticking with the 1200d. Decision made.

Peter

Sorry to bring back this old thread, is the 1200d the better option over the 600d in terms of noise? I dont care about any other features, I just want as minimal amount of noise during my sessions.

[nephilim]

11 minutes ago, AlanP_ said:

Sorry to bring back this old thread, is the 1200d the better option over the 600d in terms of noise? I dont care about any other features, I just want as minimal amount of noise during my sessions.

You may find this useful https://www.photonstophotos.net/Charts/RN_ADU.htm

[AlanP_]

7 minutes ago, nephilim said:

You may find this useful https://www.photonstophotos.net/Charts/RN_ADU.htm

Thats very interesting, thanks for that. So the 1000d seems to produce the lowest noise, does that make it the best camera for Astrophotography? I know the others have some extra features such as the angled liveview, wifi and im sure others, but I wouldn't be fussed about those.  The canon 1000d has 10MP, while the 600d has 18MP, how big a difference does that make for Deep sky astrophotography? 

 

Edit: For some reason the photo below cropped. For reference the light blue is the 600d, and the dark blue at the bottom is the 1000d. 

Edited December 30, 2020 by AlanP_

[nephilim]

9 minutes ago, AlanP_ said:

Thats very interesting, thanks for that. So the 1000d seems to produce the lowest noise, does that make it the best camera for Astrophotography? I know the others have some extra features such as the angled liveview, wifi and im sure others, but I wouldn't be fussed about those.  The canon 1000d has 10MP, while the 600d has 18MP, how big a difference does that make for Deep sky astrophotography? 

 

Edit: For some reason the photo below cropped. For reference the light blue is the 600d, and the dark blue at the bottom is the 1000d. 

I'm not that clued up with the best specs for DSLR imaging, i'd ask the question as a new topic.