Will this camera work?

[George Gearless]

Hi experts.

I have the opportunity to get my hands on an older Nikon DX40 for around 50€. It seems in good condition and with the right coupling, I assume I can use it for astrophopgraphy with my skywatcher 127.

A have no illusions as to taking any prize winning photographs with this telescope/camera. But we've all got to start somewhere, right? And from what I gather from this part of SGL, it is a very long road indeed. So I don't want to mortgage my house from the get go (I'll do that later).

I guess what I am asking is this:

Where on my selfinvented scale of usefulness would you rate it?

1 being: I've found potatoes that take better pictures than this camera. Walk away. Now!

to...

10 being: What a find! NASA will be kicking themselves for not buying it before you.

 

Obviously no one is going to give it a 10. I mean, it is only 50€. But I am hoping that I can avoid a 1 all together. 

Will I be able to get at least a half decent photo of, say, Jupiter? Given a good portion of luck and a lot of patience, dare I even hope for a nebula or other deepsky objects (yes, I am aming high)? Or is that completely unrealistic? I realize that I am limited by my telescope. It is what it is. It's your take on the camera I am interested in for now.

[vlaiv]

I would say, at that price - just go for it. You simply can't beat that price for everything you listed (planets, nebula or two, maybe some globulars, small galaxies - all of that can be attempted with Mak127).

If I were to "critically" observe camera without price attachment - my only concern would be level of in camera image "enhancement". Ideally you want an option to turn off all the bells and whistles that vendors implement "to make life easier" for average consumer. If it can shoot raw without modifications (and to see what I mean look up "star eater" on internet) then yes it will be ok.

For planets you want it to shoot raw movie (probably not going to happen - most DSLRs use some sort of compression for video, but less of it is better - you want your recording to be as close to raw as possible), and other things will be ok with stills.

Like I said - for 50e there is almost nothing to loose. My bigger concern is - what is your mount - it may be weakest link.

[George Gearless]

Thanks for the quick reply vlaiv.

I see now I neglected to mention my mount. It's an AZ GoTo mount. Yeah I know...not what you were hoping for, I suspect. But there it is.

Your words do however encourage me. This camera (and the mount/telescope) should serve as a good foundation on which to learn the do's and don'ts of  astrophotography. I can build from there.

I am a little bit worried though, about the film/video capabilities of this camera. It seems to be non existant. In the tech specs in the link above, it only mentions that it can take 3 pics per second. From my 'research' on the internet regarding planetary photography, I've understood that video and registax are a must. Your reply hints a confirmation of this. 

Also thanks for taking the time to give a 'critical' review of the camera. It gives me pause. But at that price...not a lot. I'll propably go for it and learn the basics before I start pestering you with requests for advice on the finer points of astro photography :).