Final check on 1st camera before I purchase!

[Neutrinosoup]

Hi,

I’ve been looking for a budget camera for my daughter and I to use for nightscapes and landscapes without breaking the bank. I’m looking at the following:

1) Canon EOS M3 - 2nd hand  = £220 ish

2) Samyang 14mm f/2.8 Canon EF = £250 ish from reputable online resellers second hand or £160 from eBay
 

Are these options reasonable and do I need an adaptor to fit that lens?

We will take on holiday to rural Canada this Summer, so a lightweight budget tripod recommendation would be appreciated!

Thanks

Niall

[saac]

I'm not 100% sure but I think that the mirrorless Canon cameras use a different lens mount (EOS EF-M) compared to the  DSLR EOS range.  If you go with a Samyang 14 mm lens (which is a very good lens) then yes you will need to have an appropriate adapter for the EF/EF-S system lens mount.  Best thing is to speak to the camera dealer and they will advise. 

Jim  

[Neutrinosoup]

1 hour ago, saac said:

I'm not 100% sure but I think that the mirrorless Canon cameras use a different lens mount (EOS EF-M) compared to the  DSLR EOS range.  If you go with a Samyang 14 mm lens (which is a very good lens) then yes you will need to have an appropriate adapter for the EF/EF-S system lens mount.  Best thing is to speak to the camera dealer and they will advise. 

Jim  

Thanks….maybe easier to use something like this: (didn’t mean to get blue font!!) —> it shouldn’t need an adaptor and it’s cheap

Canon EF-M 22mm F/2 STM Pancake Lens

[Elp]

If you want more selection of lenses at decent prices best get a DSLR in standard Canon EF/EFS mount. The Samyang 14mm ED is a very good lens and you can use it for widefield without a tracking mount if you keep the exposures fairly short. Due to the large curved front lens and FOV it offers it can however be problematic imaging near stray light sources (IE in an urban or semi urban backyard).

Note, the majority of lenses are no good for astro if you want good quality to the edge of view, you'll see this in a lot of landscape AP images where stars start to distort at the edge of the images if you zoom into the taken images. The ED Samyangs are generally good bang for buck, I wouldn't use one that doesn't have ED lenses built in as from experience, those that don't don't control star shapes very well, even colour in the centre of frame. You also want to keep the focal length short, otherwise you'll need a tracking mount to avoid stars turning into lines.

Generally most carbon fibre tripods work well though not necessarily cheap. If serious about this you want one with thick leg sections and as less leg extensions as possible. Leofoto used to be affordable but their prices have since gone higher, Innorel do good decent ones too. For general photos ones there are a select few Manfrotto and Gitzo suited to astro, the latter of which isn't cheap, but I always say for AP your tripod is probably THE most important piece of equipment, even if doing visual astronomy with binos or a scope.