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Upgrade DSLR or Not


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I bought a Vixen VC200L as a first imaging scope earlier this year, lets call it ambition and move on. It's mounted on an NEQ6 Pro and guided using an Altair Maxiguider 80mm with an Altair GPCam 130. I have been using a Canon 1000D and I'm concerned  I may be oversampling at 0.65''/pixel. If i bin 2x2 then that comes up to 1.3''/pixel ( i have never tried binning),  but I'm not sure how well the 10.1 MP sensor would cope.

My proposed solution is to upgrade to a Canon 5D or 5D ii. There is a big difference in price between the two. The 5D is 12.8 MP and the 5D ii 21.1 MP. Ideally I'd like to save some cash and get the 5D, but not if binning at 21.1 MP would be far superior. Also with the 5D series being full frame, my FOV is increased quite substantially, and with the addition of a reducer later down the road i could frame the complete Horses Head, which is where i want to be in terms of max FOV.

Does this make sense?

 

 

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You need confirmation from VC200L users that a Full Frame DSLR won't be vignetted,  your APC-C size might be as large a format as is practical.

I'm pretty sure you can't Bin a DSLR.

And yes 0.65arcsec/pixel is oversampling, but many use small-pixel cameras and get good results - one for vlaiv to expand on.

Personally I'd rate the Canon 6D MK1 over the 5D.

Michael

 

 

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I did a bit of searching and found this:

Along the Reducer HD 0.79x focal reducer, the Vixen VC200L astrograph become a powerful and versatile optical system for astrophotography with two different focal lengths (1800 mm F/9 and 1386 mm F/6.9) corrected also on larger sensors. Correction is granted up to 24x36 mm, the full-frame format. We suggest however to limit sensor size to APS-H (35 mm image circle) when Reducer HD is used in combination with the VISAC in order to keep vignetting at acceptable levels.

I'll check stellarium again later but if I recall correct, the reducer didn't offer a much wider field of view in addition to a full frame sensor, and the aps-c size plus a reducer was a smaller field of view than just using a  full frame sensor. 

On binning, it looks like you're right. There is an old post on here suggesting that DSS has a 'super pixel' process that can bin without effecting colour. 

I can appreciate that the 6D is a better camera than the 5D but I'm not sure the increase in price represents a similar increase in image quality. 

😵

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17 hours ago, Ohgodwherediditgo said:

bin 2x2

Hi

Good idea. It's an excellent way improving your images. In fact, unless you've a top end gaming machine upon which to process full frame stacks, binning as the first stage in processing is also a good way to speed up subsequent steps. Most astro software has a bin algorithm. Some work better than others though.

Cheers and HTH.

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35 minutes ago, alacant said:

Hi

Good idea. It's an excellent way improving your images. In fact, unless you've a top end gaming machine upon which to process full frame stacks, binning as the first stage in processing is also a good way to speed up subsequent steps. Most astro software has a bin algorithm. Some work better than others though.

Cheers and HTH.

Fortunately I do have a decent gaming PC to process on. Do you have a suggestion for good binning software to use? I'm currently only using Siril as its free and I'm still getting my head around the very basics of processing. 

 

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Siril has a good re-sample routine under 'geometry', but it's not as good as the one in StarTools' 'Bin' module.

At that focal length, maybe best to bin anyway though. Fast computer or otherwise.

 

 

Edited by alacant
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I just did a sanity check in Stellarium and it would seem that the difference between a 5D II and 6D is a moot point. If i was to buy either of those two then i would be at  0.73''/px ( close to where i am right now ),  if I am to go for the classic 5D then it's 0.94/px , and if i was to stay with the 1000D and buy the focal reducer (£320) 1.03''/px. If i binned 2x2 with the 5D it's 1.8''/px.

In conclusion I'm thinking that the 5D is actually the better choice for what I'm trying to achieve!?

I did look into a APS-H sensor because of the flexibility of being able to use the focal reducer without significant vignetting,  but the 1D and focal reducer is hideously expensive.

 

 

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