Canon 700Da

[Erling G-P]

Hello all,

Have been imaging for about a year.  So far I've used my bog standard Nikon D7000, but have now acquired a Canon 700D, astromodded & cooled, by Primalucelab.

On the Nikon, I've had good use of some of its more obscure features, more specifically these:

1. Intervalometer. With this I've programmed my sequences of images. Limits me to exposure settings available on the camera, so 30 secs is the longest subs I can make. With an unguided 200PDS on a HEQ5 Pro, short exposures have been necesssary however - my attempts at longer ones via an external controller have resulted in too many discarded frames.

2. Delayed shutter release.  With this, the camera flips the mirror and then waits a second before opening the shutter, to prevent vibrations from affecting the image.

3. Quiet release.  Dampens the noise of the mirror & shutter, making it more discrete. I've assumed it might dampen vibrations further, and if it makes the camera clicking away in the garden less aurally conspicuous to passers by, then all the better.

I have browsed through all the menus on the Canon, and also looked in the manual, but can't find anything resembling the above features.  Puzzles me, as with Canon & Nikon being competitors, I would expect them to offer more or less the same features.  Can anyone familiar with the 700D tell me if it doesn't have similar features, or if it's just me who can't find them ?

I hasten to add that this is in no way, shape or form intended to become a Nikon vs. Canon mudslinging contest. Each camera respectively is my first of either mark, and I have no preferences presently

 

Regards,

Erling G-P

[Adam J]

12 minutes ago, Erling G-P said:

1. Intervalometer. With this I've programmed my sequences of images. Limits me to exposure settings available on the camera, so 30 secs is the longest subs I can make. With an unguided 200PDS on a HEQ5 Pro, short exposures have been necesssary however - my attempts at longer ones via an external controller have resulted in too many discarded frames.

You set the camera into bulb mode and use an external intervalometer that you can plug in near to where the screen attaches. 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Qumox-intervalometer-remote-shutter-Camera/dp/B00C1C0WQC/ref=asc_df_B00C1C0WQC/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309924713643&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2919213887095309724&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046228&hvtargid=pla-561829304366&psc=1

13 minutes ago, Erling G-P said:

2. Delayed shutter release.  With this, the camera flips the mirror and then waits a second before opening the shutter, to prevent vibrations from affecting the image.

This is possible when controlling the camera via a laptop and a program like Backyeard EOS, I am not sure if its a option on the menu system incorporated into the camera though. 

https://www.dummies.com/photography/cameras/canon-camera/how-to-enable-mirror-lockup-on-the-rebel-t5i/

15 minutes ago, Erling G-P said:

3. Quiet release.  Dampens the noise of the mirror & shutter, making it more discrete. I've assumed it might dampen vibrations further, and if it makes the camera clicking away in the garden less aurally conspicuous to passers by, then all the better.

I am not aware of a feature like this being present on the 700D.

In general most would use a laptop with this camera when on a telescope, if using a camera lens at shorter focal lengths then I doubt that you would notice any effect from vibration anyhow. 

It wont have as many integrated features as a more modern model but the effect of the cooling should be very signifficant and more than make up for what it lacks in bells and whistles. 

Adam

[bottletopburly]

You should be able to lock mirror up in menu 

[Alien 13]

As mentioned above the Canon will have a mirror lock up function but no silent shooting mode, you can get lockup to work with an intervalometer but you have to be creative as shooting with lockup enabled requires two trigger pulses... The way to use lockup is by first enabling it and also setting the self timer too for 10 seconds, an intervalometer can now  be used to set the exposure duration as normal and will activate the mirror lock with inbuilt self timer starting the exposure after the 10 second delay.

Alan

[Dr_Ju_ju]

For all Canon cameras, I'd recommend using Magic Lantern (https://magiclantern.fm/) to extend the control range of your camera....

[david_taurus83]

Another +1 for Magic Lantern. You install it on the SD card and the menu is accessed by pressing the Q button. It has all the things you mentioned above apart from silent shooting. I used it on my 600D mainly for the intervalometer and exposures longer than 30s.

[Alien 13]

I like the idea of Magic lantern but wish Canon made available similar features even if it  was a "pro" type update at a cost, I always seem to have a camera that takes four or five years before ML gets updated...

Alan

[Erling G-P]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

I had read about the mirror lock in the manual, but never pictured it working with an intervalometer.  With regards to using a laptop; that's what I'm currently trying to avoid, preferring the simpler standalone option of a DSLR.

Primalucelab has actually built an intervalometer into the cooling system. It requires running a small, supplied cable from the cooler to the camera's external controller socket, and is fairly simple, with fixed exposure times of 1, 5, 10, 30, 60, 120, 180, 300, 600 or 900 secs. It of course requires the cooling system to be running, so in case of using the camera without that, an alternative would be nice - perhaps also to have greater flexibility with regards to exposure times.

I do recall reading about Magic Lantern quite a while ago, but had forgotten about it.  It definitely sounds like something to get.

Regards,

Erling G-P

[Adam J]

On 09/11/2019 at 07:48, Erling G-P said:

1, 5, 10, 30, 60, 120, 180, 300, 600 or 900 secs. 

Erling G-P

To be fair though that is a pretty sensible range of times. 

[Erling G-P]

4 hours ago, Adam J said:

To be fair though that is a pretty sensible range of times. 

I guess so, although there's some pretty big jumps between them.  Another limitation is that you can program two separate sequences, each of up to 50 pictures. In other words, 100 pics is the most you can program in one go, if you use both sequences.  With my short exposures and the Nikon, I've typically shot at least twice that, but once I get guiding to work, I should be able to increase the exposure times, thus needing fewer subs, and then 100 may be more than enough.  Alternatively, you could of course just restart the sequences as many times as necessary.

[jag32266]

Another option might be to get the BOOK "magic lantern"- they are well written on specific model cameras delving into more detail of the manual than included in the manual. HTH