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Camera recommendations


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I am currently using my 14 year old Nikon D90 for my general photography purposes, as well as astrophotography. It's decent enough, but I am considering upgrading to a more modern mirrorless camera - probably Nikon so I can continue using my existing set of lenses, but not definitely. I would consider other makes. 

The D90 does video, but it is VERY limited in capability in that regard: there's no real control over exposure and it's not at all light sensitive. It struggles to even capture Saturn at all. I am hoping whatever I get next will be more suitable for planetary imaging. Can anyone recommend a particular camera that stands out, as well as being decently competent at regular long exposures for deep sky targets? 

Note: this is for a camera I can use for general photography too. I know a dedicated astro camera will be best for astrophotography, but I can't afford to get both. 

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The issue with using a camera body for planets is that you need to be at a good pixel scale to get any detail onto the sensor which calls for barlowing usually, the next problem is that the sensors are large so your frame rate is very slow (a planetary astro camera can capture up to 150+ images per second) even when doing video you usually can't capture at that frame rate. Planetary cameras don't cost that much so perhaps get one dedicated for that purpose, I still use my 224 and its even cheaper now than when I bought it when it first came out.

Most bodies however allow long exposure for DSO (even though they're not as sensitive as astro cameras and produce more noise so you'll have to image for much much longer in comparison). The gotos are Canon and Nikon, you'd need to decide what sensor size and budget taking into consideration the lenses you have or are likely to use or adapt. Usually you can adapt older lenses to mirrorless but not the other way around due to decreased back of lens to sensor distances with mirrorless.

Is your current camera insufficient for daytime?

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Planetary astro cameras need to be plugged into a laptop in order to get the pictures out of them. I don't have a laptop I can use for that. Hence not being able to afford it - it's more than just the camera. 

Yes, my D90 no longer feels up to scratch for regular daytime photography. My wife's mobile phone is producing better pictures a lot of the time. So I want to move to a better camera for general photography, but I don't want to get one totally unsuitable for astronomical use. Pretty much every camera on the market will do a better video frame rate than the D90. If I was setting up an imaging system specifically for astro purposes, I wouldn't be using a regular camera body. 

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When I went through this exercise quite recently I thought about going full frame. Having had a modded Canon 600D previously I though Nikon might be a good change, I've always wanted a 750/810/850. I eventually went Sony, but these do have issues for astro, for a compact body though full of features they're great.

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