Canon 1100D upgrade options

[Michael1971]

Hello all,

My trustworthy modded canon 1100D stopped connecting to my pc making it unusable.
Hope I can it repaired. 
Meanwhile I was wondering, since its an old camera, maybe I can get something newer. (I do have an unmodded 600d)
More pixels, newer digic version, movable screen etc.
But to my surprise, when looking at newer camera's, the pixel size goes down a lot and with my 1000mm focal length I am reaching the over-sampling limit. 

Although for me this is something I am recently aware of, I am not sure its noticeable in images.
Anyway, did anyone went up from a 1100D camera and is happy with the switch? I am aiming at an affordable upgrade so don't mention de canon Ra.. lol

 

Thanks in advance.
Mike

Edited June 13, 2021 by Michael1971

[newbie alert]

If it's only for astro imaging through a scope maybe a cooled dedicated astro cam would be better..

[Michael1971]

Thanks for responding.

Yes but that would start around the 800$, and I don't want to spend that much..

[newbie alert]

12 hours ago, Michael1971 said:

Thanks for responding.

Yes but that would start around the 800$, and I don't want to spend that much..

Oh ok, maybe a second hand unit poss... I think it's probrably the best thing that you might do..

Cmos moves on swiftly, so people are always upgrading

[Michael1971]

Thanks for your input, I am more of a DSLR guy, but Ill look into second hand options for a dedicated one.

Thanks.

[alacant]

Hi

eos700d tested with telescopes from 55mm to 1200mm focal lengths. Hands on: all well.

I wouldn't get too hung up on the theory. Over sampling or whatever. Just look at the images, not the numbers!

IIRC, your 600d has the same sensor as out 700d. You should be fine.

[Michael1971]

Thanks for responding. I was looking at the 800D, but so far I found that even with all the new processors and upgrades, you see only slight difference in images, just more convience in moveable screen and wifi etc. Ill probably try my unmodded 600D and see where it gets me.

Thanks!

[R26 oldtimer]

I've tried with a 500D, 600D and a 700D. The 600 and 700 are the same (astrophotography concerned) and just a bit better than the 500. Lately I've acquired a nikon D5300 which produces much better data, despite the terrible live view. Also works fine with APT without additions cables.

P.s. my focal lengths go from 480 to 750 mm

[Michael1971]

20 minutes ago, R26 oldtimer said:

I've tried with a 500D, 600D and a 700D. The 600 and 700 are the same (astrophotography concerned) and just a bit better than the 500. Lately I've acquired a nikon D5300 which produces much better data, despite the terrible live view. Also works fine with APT without additions cables.

P.s. my focal lengths go from 480 to 750 mm

I was actually also looking at Nikon, because I read the same, that it produces nice images..but since I am so used to canon, bit hesitant to switch.  Probably need another t-connector etc.

I thought it couldn't be controlled from pc, good you mentioned that, I use APT to.

Is it easy to configure, use?

 

[R26 oldtimer]

It is very easy, apart from the live view.

It can't do exposure simulation for more than the video frame rate (1/30) , so have to bump up the iso to find stars. Also live view mag does x2 without problems but if you zoom in further there is some latency. So apart the overall use of live view for focus, it was very easy to adapt from canon.

That's 2 hours from bortle 5, with 6"newtonian, at 25 °C, where canons are pretty noisy at higher temperatures, but of course it's colder in the UK.

 

[Michael1971]

That's a really nice image, you gave me something to think about

thanks!

[newbie alert]

5 hours ago, Michael1971 said:

Thanks for your input, I am more of a DSLR guy, but Ill look into second hand options for a dedicated one.

Thanks.

No probs, did you know that most DSLR cameras have cmos sensors, the only difference is the dedicated camera can have cooling , so it deals with noise far better than a standard DSLR.. also it has a better spectral response due to the ir filter ,in most DSLR's block the majority of the wavelengths that we want, ie Hydrogen alpha 

[Michael1971]

Yes I am aware. Thats why I had my 1100D modified. Blew me away when I saw my first Orion with that.

btw, I found a cheap Nikon 5300 as R26 Oldtimer suggested so I am curious how that will turn out.

Was busy with finding power supplies, T-mounts etc they all need to be replaced but I feel kinda excited trying it out.

Maybe in the future I try get a dedicated one, hard to say since sometimes this hobby get on pause a while.

 

[happy-kat]

You can use Nikon lenses on a Canon but you can't use Canon lenses on a Nikon. The distance from flange to sensor is different between the makes. This is mirrored cameras.

Edit- but check before spending any money.

Edited June 15, 2021 by happy-kat

[Michael1971]

Didnt know I could use Nikon lenses on Canon. But well, I dont have any Nikon lenses yet. But thanks for the info.

 

[Michael1971]

21 hours ago, R26 oldtimer said:

I've tried with a 500D, 600D and a 700D. The 600 and 700 are the same (astrophotography concerned) and just a bit better than the 500. Lately I've acquired a nikon D5300 which produces much better data, despite the terrible live view. Also works fine with APT without additions cables.

P.s. my focal lengths go from 480 to 750 mm

Do you also have problems shooting flats in APT? I read that A wont work if there are no lenses attached and that you need to manually enter the settings and use M mode.

 

[happy-kat]

This is a long read but you might want to read it before jumping

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/746131-nikon-coloured-concentric-rings/

[R26 oldtimer]

2 hours ago, happy-kat said:

This is a long read but you might want to read it before jumping

https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/746131-nikon-coloured-concentric-rings/

A very very long read, but also very very interesting one, ending with a fix which I'll check out with my data. Thanks a lot! 😊

[Michael1971]

I missed the whole first half of France - Germany cause of that thread..lol

Amazing what some people do, writing their own program to counter problems, because Nikon refuses to help.

My d5300 comes tomorrow, hope I am lucky with my Nikon endevours..

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Xiga]

Good luck with your D5300 Michael, you will do very well to find a better AP camera for the money. I got mine back in 2016 and sent it off to JTW Astronomy (who luckily for you are based in Amsterdam) for Ha modification and it's been a pleasure to use ever since. I'm lucky to now have a cooled mono astro camera, but i still have my D5300 and nothing will ever make me part with it, it's that good. 

FWIW, i've never encountered the concentric rings problem in any of my images. I used ISO 200 exclusively, but then i never imaged at a fast F-ratio, i was always at F6.3 so maybe that was the reason. In any case, it's good that there is now a fix for those who were affected by it. Mark is a true genius it has to be said. 

[Michael1971]

Thanks Ciaran, I started to get a bit worried after reading that thread, but your comment gave me some peace of mind considering I am always at F5.

I will ask JTW for a quote for a Ha mod in due time. 

May I ask at what speed you shoot your flats?

Thanks,

Mike

 

 

[Xiga]

I used 1s Flats when doing Broadband imaging. For Narrowband it was longer, I think they were in the region of 7s to 10s. 

Try not to use super fast exposures for your flats if you can avoid it. For mine, I just plonk my iPad onto the dew shield with a piece of opal plastic in between as a diffuser. I then lower the screen brightness until a roughly 1s exposure gives a histogram somewhere in the middle. 

[Michael1971]

Thanks for responding, I just made some flats with the d5300 on my 150 and 200mm scopes and it looks ok so far.

I do it with an extra monitor with notepad open and a t-shirt over it. My histogram is bit more left from the middle but I think they will do.

Mike

 

 

[Kinan]

Nice discussion here,

Mike! I would be curious to hear how the camera worked for you   and if you have some initial photos feel free to share! 

[Michael1971]

Hi Kinan!

Unfortunatly, I send my camera out for modification and haven't gotten it back so I havent been able to take images.

I'm patient since the weather has been mostly couldy.. 

When I get it back and are able to take some shots, I will post the result.

Cheers

Mike