Canon EOS10D

[Kluson]

Hi Everyone

I have an old Canon EOS10D it is in mint condition. Would this be suitable for Astrophotography. Does it need to be modified?

 

Many thanks for any help to a beginner

D

[Cornelius Varley]

41 minutes ago, Kluson said:

Hi Everyone

I have an old Canon EOS10D it is in mint condition. Would this be suitable for Astrophotography. Does it need to be modified?

 

Many thanks for any help to a beginner

D

The EOS 10D is quite old and doesn't seem to be supported by either APT or BackyardEOS so might be a bit limited in its operation.  No liveview, only 6.3mp and no support from 3rd party software.

[KevinPSJ]

Any camera you have is potentially better than none. If you are interested in dipping your toe in the water then I'd see how far you can get with what you have to hand. I have a Nikon D3200 DSLR which no-one in their right mind would really recommend now but it's what I have so it's what I'm using. The key hurdles will be: (a) attaching it at prime focus , (b) getting a focus and (c) long exposures without shaking the mount. To attach, you'll need a T-ring adapter for your camera - which also will depend on the telescope eyepiece holder dimension .

Focus is the hardest part to get started with. Figuring out how to get an focus without liveview - I suggest you start  in daytime and find a distant object via viewfinder of camera. Adjust telescope focus until the image is sharp - you'll need to take a photograph each time you want to check focus. Once you are happy, make a mark or keep a note of where the focuser is. If you have a parfocal ring then put in an eyepiece which gives roughly equivalent field of view and set the parfocal ring so you can swap camera and eyepiece fairly reliably. Next move to nighttime but again start easyt with something really bright like the moon. Put your telescope back to the same focus you found during the day and now try to get really sharp by incrementally adjusting focuser of the telescope and taking photographs until you are happy - move in and out of focus taking images as you go. 

The final challenge will be focussing on stars - they will very likely be too dim to see in the viewfinder so you'll have to use finderscope to roughly position and keep focus as set from something like the moon. This is where a parfocal ring can really save your bacon as you can get the image you want centered and framed using the eyepiece, then swap to the camera and take some images at very high iso while adjusting focus to get really sharp. I find a great test for sharp focus is maximum number of stars visible in the field but you can also look for sharpest points.

Next comes the challenge of taking long exposure. You'll want a shutter release cable to avoid shaking the mount when you start the imaging. You'll need to have polar aligned your scope (I assume you have a motor drive) and you will just have to experiment to see how long your exposures can go without star trails.

You can learn an awful lot about the art of astrophotography by making do with the equipment you have to hand! It will make you appreciate the progress you make even more!

Good luck getting to first image - that's a real satisfying experience. Start with the moon - it should not be out of your reach!

[Kluson]

Thanks so much. i have taken your advice on board. I am now looking for a good used Canon 750D which I can then have converted.

 

 Many thanks for your help and advice.

Cheers

D

[toxic]

i had an eos 10D back in 2011 it was what i had to start with here is a single exposure from it in 2012 no processing at all strait from the camera and at the time i didn't shoot in raw it was just jpeg i didn't know any better  that's one of the reasons i joined SGL hope this helps but if you all ready have it then use it.

[Kluson]

4 hours ago, toxic said:

i had an eos 10D back in 2011 it was what i had to start with here is a single exposure from it in 2012 no processing at all strait from the camera and at the time i didn't shoot in raw it was just jpeg i didn't know any better  that's one of the reasons i joined SGL hope this helps but if you all ready have it then use it.

Hi Chris

Thanks, I have other Cameras, I was just trying to decide whether it would be worth using it or putting in it's box and leave it in the loft. It's a shame as it is in such nice condition. My wife often likes to use it so maybe I'll give it to her., I went to Olympus micro Four thirds to reduce the weight and bulk of large DSLR. I think the OMD may be useful. I think a Canon 750D in reasonable condition would be good to then have converted for Astro use.  Thanks for the tip. What was the exposure on the picture above?

 

Clear Skies

D

[toxic]

3 hours ago, Kluson said:

Hi Chris

Thanks, I have other Cameras, I was just trying to decide whether it would be worth using it or putting in it's box and leave it in the loft. It's a shame as it is in such nice condition. My wife often likes to use it so maybe I'll give it to her., I went to Olympus micro Four thirds to reduce the weight and bulk of large DSLR. I think the OMD may be useful. I think a Canon 750D in reasonable condition would be good to then have converted for Astro use.  Thanks for the tip. What was the exposure on the picture above?

 

Clear Skies

D

i use a the atik 383L mono now for most astro stuff ,but i still use the eos 200d non moded for widefield your micro fourthirds would be best for smaller deep sky objects or planets and the 750d for more wider shots dependent on the scope used.

[Kluson]

19 hours ago, toxic said:

i use a the atik 383L mono now for most astro stuff ,but i still use the eos 200d non moded for widefield your micro fourthirds would be best for smaller deep sky objects or planets and the 750d for more wider shots dependent on the scope used.

Thanks Chris. I was thinking along the same lines. It will be interesting trying the Olympus with the Celestron.

[scitmon]

If you are looking to buy for just astrophotography, I would also consider buying a dedicated astro camera.  While DSLR's offer good value for money in terms of pixels per £, they also come with poor noise control.  Worth looking into and deciding what you want.

[Kluson]

Just now, scitmon said:

If you are looking to buy for just astrophotography, I would also consider buying a dedicated astro camera.  While DSLR's offer good value for money in terms of pixels per £, they also come with poor noise control.  Worth looking into and deciding what you want.

That's a great point. I will use my micro  four thirds set up for our normal domestic photography so it would indeed make good sense to use a dedicated astro camera. I was a little put off by the complexity as a beginner, however I intend to attend some society meetings etc  ( Once we can) and build up some knowledge. Your point is a good one and may well be the way forward.

 

All the best

D

[toxic]

22 hours ago, Kluson said:

That's a great point. I will use my micro  four thirds set up for our normal domestic photography so it would indeed make good sense to use a dedicated astro camera. I was a little put off by the complexity as a beginner, however I intend to attend some society meetings etc  ( Once we can) and build up some knowledge. Your point is a good one and may well be the way forward.

 

All the best

D

just as-or more importantly what mount do you have to track or guide with as it wont matter to much what camera you use if it wont stay on target, i have found in hindsight that mount - camera - scope in that order. but it depends on what you want to do deep sky or widefield or planetary but dont let this put you off as any camera that has the ability to take long exposures and a lense on a cheap mount will do to start.

[Kluson]

My Plan is an HEQ5 Pro. However to get started I am going to use a Sky Watcher Star Adventurer pro kit. This will make a good place to start and then develop form there. (forgive the pun)

Thanks

D