Budget Astro Camera recommendations for 72ED

[TerraC]

Hello

Mainly visual for me but falling into the slippery slope of trying to take some pictures of the sky - like you do.  I'm currently shooting with an unmodified Canon 550d. Beginners system with an AZ-GTI, Evoguide 50ED and EVO-FF flattener. (and occasionally a Startravel 102).  I'm honestly just toying around and not setting the world alight with my images, i'm fine with that and working to a tight budget so I cant really justify spending £1000's.  

However, I've recently picked up a Skywatcher 72ED and Stellamira field flattener with 2" aperture locally for a steal of a price.  It's yet to see first light and i've only managed to link it all up and balance it on the mount. 

I'm considering an upgrade to the camera.  Is it worth looking for a budget astro cam for shooting widefield with the 72ED. £300ish?   Mainly nebula and galaxies.  Or would it be better just to get the 550d modified and stick with that until I decide to start to get more serious and upgrade mount, scope etc in the future? 

Are there any okish astro cameras for around that price that will get me anywhere near or better than the Canon 550d when modded? Or am I wasting my time and need to spend at least £500+ for something?  What do people think?

Thanks

Ray

 

[PeterCPC]

If you really want to get into AP the first consideration is the mount. You really need a tracking EQ mount.

[knobby]

Hi Ray, have you tried the firmware to use your AziGti in EQ mode ?

[AstroNebulee]

If I were you stick with your Canon firstly to see if you really get into it. I used my unmodded Canon 450D and 600D for a year before biting the bullet on an dedicated astro camera. Then you can hone your skills in gently with learning the basics in AP (and I'm still learning so much now and will never stop 😊)  I'm glad I used my dslr at first. Just adding a T-ring to the scope and dslr will pull out some great images. 

I run my AzGti in eq mode and run firmware 3.37,brilliant little portable mount for AP. 

Cheers 

 

Lee 

Edited March 22, 2022 by AstroNebulee

[happy-kat]

You have a larger sensor in the 550d and larger pixels, I think in comparison an imaging camera in budget would give you a letter box view of your currently attainable wide field of view with your DSLR. Have a look using the imaging resource on a favourite target.

Though galaxies can be smaller and you'd get a tighter view on those targets with a smaller sensor and pixels. The astronomy tools in the resources bit of the site.

Edited March 22, 2022 by happy-kat

[TerraC]

2 hours ago, knobby said:

Hi Ray, have you tried the firmware to use your AziGti in EQ mode ?

Yes I use EQ mode now.  Sorry forgot to say that on the original message.

 

[Elp]

Considering you've already got what you need try with that first. Many people have produced stunning results with DSLRs.

[Adam J]

5 hours ago, TerraC said:

Hello

Mainly visual for me but falling into the slippery slope of trying to take some pictures of the sky - like you do.  I'm currently shooting with an unmodified Canon 550d. Beginners system with an AZ-GTI, Evoguide 50ED and EVO-FF flattener. (and occasionally a Startravel 102).  I'm honestly just toying around and not setting the world alight with my images, i'm fine with that and working to a tight budget so I cant really justify spending £1000's.  

However, I've recently picked up a Skywatcher 72ED and Stellamira field flattener with 2" aperture locally for a steal of a price.  It's yet to see first light and i've only managed to link it all up and balance it on the mount. 

I'm considering an upgrade to the camera.  Is it worth looking for a budget astro cam for shooting widefield with the 72ED. £300ish?   Mainly nebula and galaxies.  Or would it be better just to get the 550d modified and stick with that until I decide to start to get more serious and upgrade mount, scope etc in the future? 

Are there any okish astro cameras for around that price that will get me anywhere near or better than the Canon 550d when modded? Or am I wasting my time and need to spend at least £500+ for something?  What do people think?

Thanks

Ray

 

I honestly dont think you are going to get anything in the £300 range that is going to do better than a modded 550D. 

So yes I think that you are going to need a budget of £600 for most dedicated cameras, even second hand though sometimes you do find a bargain in the £400 - £600 range. 

You are going to really struggle to do anything in terms of mono with that kind of budget as you would need filters too. 

Honestly all in all I would wait and use the DSLR until you have a budget of more like £1000.

 

Adam

Edited March 22, 2022 by Adam J

[Clarkey]

I've got to agree with the other posts. For that budget you are better off staying with your DSLR. If you only use it for astro you could pay to get it modified so it will be better for Ha rich targets. The other alternative is to buy a modded DSLR. They regularly come up second hand for around £200. I have a mono camera, but I still use the DSLR as a OSC.