Camera pricing

[Toaster05]

Hi all,

I'm waiting for my Bresser Dob to be restocked and in the mean time I'm looking to pick up a camera.

I'm a total klutz when you comes to cameras but I've narrowed down my choices to something sensible like a Canon 750D. I don't own a camera, so my thoughts are I can use this for astro and day to day with a view to going dedicated astro cam in the future.

My question is what it a reason price expectation for this camera? I'm watching a few on eBay and prices are all over the place so it's hard to know what to reasonably expect to pay.

I don't wish to offend people with lowball offers, but also I want a good deal.

Sage like advice from my peers gratefully accepted.

Dan

 

Edited January 14, 2021 by Toaster05
Typo

[wibblefish]

Having a look around a 750D (Rebel T6i) can be bought new from some places for £700, ebay seems to average out at about £500.

I am guessing this camera is an older model since it doesn't seem to be around many shops? I would suggest if you are budgeting around 500-700£ for a camera you might be able to get a newer model for the pennies. 

It might be better therefore to suggest what your budget is then people will be able to recommend camera platforms though I understand Canon is pretty popular. Also there are likely to be additional costs to mount it to the telescope / additional lenses (if needed) etc which I am sure can also be added  

Edited January 14, 2021 by wibblefish

[MARS1960]

Type it into ebay and use the filter for sold items only.

But my advice would be to spend around £300 and get a decent 60D, it is one of only three Canon cameras that has a dedicated 640x480 crop mode, this is great for the moon and planets. 

Edited January 14, 2021 by MARS1960

[wxsatuser]

MPB will give you an idea about prices.

[Toaster05]

I was thinking of spending around £350-400. I'm not 100% locked into that camera but it seems like a decent choice for someone that knows more about baking bread than f ratios.

It's a baby step so I don't want to break the bank.

[wxsatuser]

1 minute ago, Toaster05 said:

I was thinking of spending around £350-400. I'm not 100% locked into that camera but it seems like a decent choice for someone that knows more about baking bread than f ratios.

It's a baby step so I don't want to break the bank.

750D excellent 379 tops lowish count
750D like new 399 low count

60D excellent lowish count 300 tops
60D good camera for planets and normal AP

haggle a bit you never know

[Carbon Brush]

I have used Canon 1000D since - well years ago. Both in standard form and astro modded form.
Absolutely no issues. Though by now pixel count and absence of video make them look very 'last season'.

My latest model is a 2000D. Bought about a year back. I got it at a good price because it was 'shop soiled'.
Excellent results and no hesitation in recommending this for general use.

I think that unless you are very well trained or a professional, almost any of the Canon DSLR cameras have enough bells and whistles to give good pictures.
By that I mean exposure control, different modes, stabilising lenses available.

For daytime use, I would say 90% of my pictures are 'point zoom shoot' and let the clever bits inside the camera do the work.

HTH, David.

[Toaster05]

It's tough to know exactly what's right for me as it needs to hit few parameters. Is not made any easier by the sheer number of models out there. 

Thinking about it though, I think it's entirely prudent that I get a solid camera that I can learn and understand before trying to wade into astro which is another art in itself I'm thinking.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll do a bit more research I guess!

[smashing]

50 minutes ago, Toaster05 said:

Hi all,

I'm waiting for my Bresser Dob to be restocked and in the mean time I'm looking to pick up a camera.

I'm a total klutz when you comes to cameras but I've narrowed down my choices to something sensible like a Canon 750D. I don't own a camera, so my thoughts are I can use this for astro and day to day with a view to going dedicated astro cam in the future.

My question is what it a reason price expectation for this camera? I'm watching a few on eBay and prices are all over the place so it's hard to know what to reasonably expect to pay.

I don't wish to offend people with lowball offers, but also I want a good deal.

Sage like advice from my peers gratefully accepted.

Dan

 

Hi Dan,

What are you trying to image and are you going to try and do it with the Dob?

 

[Toaster05]

7 minutes ago, smashing said:

Hi Dan,

What are you trying to image and are you going to try and do it with the Dob?

 

Hey,

I don't really plan on trying to image with the dob but I'm sure I'll give it a go at some point.

I was considering getting a Star Adventurer or similar as I've been impressed by the results of others and I like time lapse photography. The portability it a massive boon too.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-star-adventurer-astronomy-bundle.html

Again, rightly or wrongly I'm seeing this as an entry to AP.

 

Edit: meant to say DSO would be a target but I don't expect to run before I can walk.

Edited January 14, 2021 by Toaster05

[shropshire lad]

As most Dslr cameras on internet sites .. e.g MPB, Wex ... are sold body only don't forget you have to budget for a lens as well, and lens choice is equally as hard as the camera itself.

 

[smashing]

22 minutes ago, Toaster05 said:

Hey,

I don't really plan on trying to image with the dob but I'm sure I'll give it a go at some point.

I was considering getting a Star Adventurer or similar as I've been impressed by the results of others and I like time lapse photography. The portability it a massive boon too.

https://www.firstlightoptics.com/skywatcher-mounts/skywatcher-star-adventurer-astronomy-bundle.html

Again, rightly or wrongly I'm seeing this as an entry to AP.

 

Edit: meant to say DSO would be a target but I don't expect to run before I can walk.

Sensible approach and glad you didn't say you wanted to do galaxy hunting long exposures with the dob

[scitmon]

Unless you are planning to do day time photography too, I would recommend looking at getting a modded one from https://www.cheapastrophotography.com/ 

[Tiny Clanger]

8 minutes ago, shropshire lad said:

As most Dslr cameras on internet sites .. e.g MPB, Wex ... are sold body only don't forget you have to budget for a lens as well, and lens choice is equally as hard as the camera itself.

 

Most consumer level DSLRs are initially sold new as a package with a zoom lens (something like 18-55mm)  which hardly adds any cost to the body only price.

They are both common and cheap to buy secondhand as people frequently upgrade from them. Not an ideal tool for astro photog. , but if you are new to DSLRs and want to use the camera for general purposes too, one compatible with your camera body would be a good starter to learn on.

Heather

[Toaster05]

Yeah, almost all the available cameras on eBay tend to be sold as the 18-55mm kit. I fully expect to have to change lens but as you correctly alluded to, I'm green so it'll be fine to learn with.

I'll be able to photograph the moon I'm sure at least!

[happy-kat]

If you are looking to image the Moon or planets then video crop mode will be useful but that is not on all cameras, for example it is on 550d, 60d and possibly 600d. Good to read you are looking at canon it makes things so much easier when starting as so much software supports canon. A flip screen is useful too.

[Toaster05]

5 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

If you are looking to image the Moon or planets then video crop mode will be useful but that is not on all cameras, for example it is on 550d, 60d and possibly 600d. Good to read you are looking at canon it makes things so much easier when starting as so much software supports canon. A flip screen is useful too.

Not sure if this is what you mean? But looking online at the 750d manual I saw this.

[KP82]

19 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

If you are looking to image the Moon or planets then video crop mode will be useful but that is not on all cameras, for example it is on 550d, 60d and possibly 600d. Good to read you are looking at canon it makes things so much easier when starting as so much software supports canon. A flip screen is useful too.

With many Canon models, users need to use the 5x Liveview (which is very close to 1:1 crop) to achieve the 1:1 crop mode which is available in 60D, 60Da and 550D.

Edited January 14, 2021 by KP82

[wxsatuser]

13 minutes ago, happy-kat said:

If you are looking to image the Moon or planets then video crop mode will be useful but that is not on all cameras, for example it is on 550d, 60d and possibly 600d. Good to read you are looking at canon it makes things so much easier when starting as so much software supports canon. A flip screen is useful too.

No centre 1x1 crop mode on the 600D

The so called crop just interpolates the whole frame and that makes the image fuzzy.

[wxsatuser]

You can record 5x liveview on the 600D and 1100D this gets quite close to 1x1.

Canon 70 and 80D is 1x1 with 5x liveview.
 

[Toaster05]

This is why I asked on here. I'm lost with all this talk already! 😆

[wxsatuser]

Movie crop mode is only really useful for imaging the moon or planets.
If that is not to important to you forget it and just go for a model that is relatively modern and fits your budget.

If you went for something like a 60D you will get movie crop and more than likely some dosh left over for a lens or two.
Thats if you intend to use it for normal photography as well.

[MARS1960]

52 minutes ago, Toaster05 said:

Yeah, almost all the available cameras on eBay tend to be sold as the 18-55mm kit. I fully expect to have to change lens but as you correctly alluded to, I'm green so it'll be fine to learn with.

I'll be able to photograph the moon I'm sure at least!

If you type the camera of your interest into ebay ( IE: canon 60d body only) and check the sold filter it will list only body only ones (well 99% anyway).

I'd still recommend the 60D, I have used it extensively for terrestrial and astro for years and you have the bonus of choosing cheap older lenses that match the slightly older 60D body, lenses like the 18-135mm are a great lens and very useful.

[Tiny Clanger]

12 minutes ago, Toaster05 said:

This is why I asked on here. I'm lost with all this talk already! 😆

😀 Photography adds some extra uphill on to the already steep astronomy learning curve !

I've been a photographer (pro and am.) for most of my adult life, but after initially thinking ... hmm, could use my knowledge, skills and extensive kit to take some astro photos ... I did my research and decided it is too much faff, complication and expense to do it 'properly' . Especially as I have a wide range of lovely Nikon cameras, which are less ideal for this game than the Canon range. So I'll dabble, maybe buy a DSLR tracking mount one day , stick a Nikon on a 'scope for a quick untracked Moon photo , but that's about it.

I went looking at some of the places I've sourced second hand kit from , all businesses offering some sort of guarantee, (I'm too neurotic about photo kit being a delicate mix of optics, mechanics and electronics to buy off an unknown individual ). Strewth, second hand prices seem to have exceeded what I paid for some kit brand new this time last year !

I'd be happy to buy again from 'snap it up' who sell second hand kit through amazon, and give a 90 day guarantee on everything, or a year on their 'renewed' stuff which costs more, but gives you confidence. They give really accurate descriptions and check the cameras & lenses properly, One of the Nikons I bought off them had not a single mark of use beyond the shutter count (less than 1k) , it could have been brand new.

https://smile.amazon.co.uk/s?me=A2IDEEXIP4KMWY&marketplaceID=A1F83G8C2ARO7P

other places I've bought second hand photo kit recently over the internet from, and had really good experiences have been Wilkinson Cameras https://www.wilkinson.co.uk/preowned/

and Camera World https://www.cameraworld.co.uk/used-camera-equipment.html

Worth a look at their prices, obviously with them you are paying for a guarantee and the confidence it gives , so ebay should be much cheaper.

Once you have an actual camera in your hands, and wonder what on earth to do with it , see if Tony Northrup has an instructional video for your particular model (or one very similar) here https://northrup.photo/tutorials/camera-tutorials/ , his presentation is good, clear, well paced , camera specific and authoritative, usually with links for experienced folk to jump past the basics he starts with. Actually, never mind waiting, skim through his vids of the models you are considering, he won't perhaps cover the astro photography relevant details, that's not his area, butyou will get as good an idea of what the camera handles like as you can without getting your own hands on !

Heather

 

 

 

[Toaster05]

Heather,

Some super useful information there! I really appreciate it! (And everyone else who's commented)

I had a 10min look at the Tony Northrup link and that seems to be the perfect level at which you pitch information to me at, so I'll watch a few of those and get a better idea.

Again, really appreciate everyone taking the time to reply.