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New DSLR - will it work?

philsail1

By philsail1
in Discussions - Cameras

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philsail1

philsail1

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Thanks "tmarkuk," - your obviously another satisfied customer with your "Canon 1000D." Good price too! I'll take your advice and have a good look around for the most competitive price.

John - v. good advice there. I certainly will pop into the likes of "Jessops" and try out some DSLR's I fancy. The "feel" of the camera in ones hands could give me a preferance straight away!

Regards,

philsail1

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jgs001

jgs001

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Phil, I tried several and the 450d (the 1000d wasn't release at that time) felt right, good size and weight, and fit nicely in my hands. Using EFS lenses will reduce the size and weight of the lenses if that's a concern.

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buddyarrows

buddyarrows

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Hi Phil,

IMHO the Canon 1000D and especially the 450D are exceptional for astro imaging and being small and lightweight will not adversely effect scope balance. Canon are the only make that as far as I know can be fitted with the excellent Astronomik clip filters that are perfect for filtering out light pollution etc. Also remember, the more pixels usually equates to more noise.

David

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buddyarrows

buddyarrows

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Hi Phil,

IMHO the Canon 1000D and especially the 450D are exceptional for astro imaging and being small and lightweight will not adversely effect balance. They are the only make that as far as I know can be fitted with the excellent Astronomik clip filters that are perfect for filtering out light pollution etc. Also remember, the more pixels usually equates to more noise.

David

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buddyarrows

buddyarrows

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Hi Phil,

IMHO the Canon 1000D and especially the 450D are exceptional for astro imaging and being small and lightweight will not adversely effect balance. They are the only make that as far as I know can be fitted with the excellent Astronomik clip filters that are perfect for filtering out light pollution etc. Also remember, the more pixels usually equates to more noise.

Good Luck.

David

:)

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philsail1

philsail1

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Thanks David - you are really driving home how much you like your Canon!

I'm going to throw another camera into the discussion - a NIKON D40!

I've really taken to this one now, as it seems to fit almost all the criteria I'm looking for in a digital SLR - it's lightweight, is easy to use, has an excellent build quality, and gives excellent sharp results. (Also, it's a very good price (£246.00 from Argos - when they have in stock!).

From reading the reviews on it, it seems to give excellent clear pics (despite only having 6 million pixels).

Is anyone on SGL using one - or has used one?

Regards.

philsail1

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jgs001

jgs001

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I know people that have, and produced excellent results. I also know someone who had a D40 and has now moved over the 1000d for astro. For daylight, there's a continuos debate (read argument) over which system is better (isn't there always :)) but I don't think it matters. The only thing to remember with the lower priced Nikon's you need to make sure you get the correct lenses, or you won't be able to autofocus, something about the AF motor being in the lens.

I went Canon mainly because of the support for Canon in astroimaging.

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Psychobilly

Psychobilly

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Phil,

Gon't get overly hung up with the MP arguments....

For astro less can be more.....

Also DSLR semsors are completely different beast compared to compact ones...

I use Nikon (D200 and D50) , Canon (1000D and 350D) and Minolta DSLR's (KM5D) I have quite and investment in Nikon System Kit and same for Minolta (still use lenses from the 35mm S9000 systems I had) in terms of lenses and flash equipment but moved over to Canon for Astro work... Better software support and ability to repalce the internal filters being the drivign factors...

Peter...

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philsail1

philsail1

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Thanks John, Arthur, and Peter.

It's plain to see that from all the replies I'm getting, it's got to be a Canon (100D?).

John - Yes, the Nikon doesn't autofocus - but I do manual focus on the little Canon A570is Digicamera, and find it very easy to use. (But, I know the Canon SLR's are in a different league to their digicameras!).

Arthur - yes you are right about the Nikon. The D40 doesn't have a "live" view, or remote socket. I just Fancied the Nikon for the price, size and ease of use. Like I commented above to John, I do realise that the Canon SLR's do seem to be the ones that have set the standard for "astro imaging."

Peter - your input is very, very useful in that you have experience of both Nikon and Canon SLR's! which you do you find the easiest to use, the lightest to carry around all day, and also which "feels" the nicest to hold! Also would you say that there is a "huge" difference between the quality of (unprocessed) images between the Nikon and Canon. A lot of questions, but it would be very useful for me to have your opinions on these factors.

I must admit that I'm a bit of a "technophobe" where it comes to doing a lot of computerised processing and tweeking. Also, I just don't seem to have the time to spend on these things. I'm tending to look for relatively simple means to obtain "reasonable" photos of subjects such as the Moon and Planets - and perhaps some of the more prominent deep sky objects. In this age of economy and recession, I do want to spend my money on a DSLR that will fullfill as many roles as possible and not be just dedicted for astro use. This is why I'm having difficulty in deciding whether to go for a lighter (but perhaps a little more basic) DSLR, than the heavier (but more "astro" capable) Canon.

Thanks for all your help.

phisail1

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jgs001

jgs001

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Phil, what it basically boils down to is the SLR's you've looked at, and are considering, will do a good job and in the end it's your personal preference, weight, cost, features etc that will decide. Peter is probably one of the few here who can give you a side by side comparison of the main contenders abilities. I'm biased... never having tried the Nikon and having some investment in Canon kit, I'm not likely to change.

A basic SLR will still do just as good a job as a more complicated one in the same sort of range.

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Psychobilly

Psychobilly

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THe Nikons and Canons are both capable of producing very high quality images..

My Nikon D200 is prosumer an weighs a tonne but built like a BSH... The Nikon D50 and the Canons are all very lightweight

As I hinted Earlier changed to Canon for Astro as at the Sensosrs are lower noise on long exposure (espercially the 1000D) and the replacement filters were available so that I could modify them for Enhanced Ha response...

Latest gen Nikons have better sensors in terms of long exp noise perf - getting closer to the Canons...

In your psoition i would definitely go Canon 1000D with the 18-55 IS ... an later add someting like a 28-300 (I habe nikon and canon fit Sigma DG 28-300 lenses) and you'll have a lightweight camera lens setup that will cover the vast majority of photo ops that you will come across day to day...

Peter...

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philsail1

philsail1

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John, Peter.

I went into "Jessops" in Macclesfield today (we were over there visiting our duaghter). Tried holding the following cameras:-

Nikon D60.

Canon 1000D (or I think it might have been a newer model).

Panasonic Lumix G1.

Both the Nikon and Canon felt comfortable enough to hold - with one hand under the lens barrel. However, the Panasonic Lumix G1 was definately the lightest, and easiest to hold - in fact it almost felt like I was holding a "digicamera." It is sooooo small and light. (Sales guy told me it was a "micro 4/3rds DSLR). Hefty price tag at £469!

(as I had seen this on "Steve's Reviews" site on Internet) I asked salesman if this camera, (with its smaller sensor) could produce images of a quality anywhere near those of a "normal" DSLR, such as the Canon? Of course he said yes! I told him I would do some more rsearch before comitting myself.

I am taken with this camera though. It is very, very nice to hold. Seems to have actually more "features" than most other full size DSLR's - and from the various reports and smaple pictures I've seen on the internet, the G1 does indeed seem to produce very, very good images.

I think I will wait until around Christmas time though - unless prices do drop due to effects of recession.

regards,

philsail1

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jgs001

jgs001

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There's a couple of differences between the Micro 4/3's and a normal SLR. Firstly the sensor is, I believe a 2x crop factor, rather than the 1.6x APS-C size of the Canon and 1.5x of the Nikon. One of the reasons for the smaller size and weight is the lack of the mirror box and prism that routes the light from the lens to the viewfinder. I don't know, but I think they use an electronic viewfinder. I've used that on my Z2 and it works but I found there were some issues with it, but that's also much older tech.

As for prices dropping, they do seem to be doing that now, but they ramped up a lot about 4 to 6 months ago first.

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philsail1

philsail1

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Thanks all.

Narrowed it all down to:-

1. Panasonic Lumix G1. (Like the small size and light weight of this camera - and its

many features - Price is way too high at present though).

2. Olympus E-520 (Like its "Live" view, accurate manual focussing, size and price).

3. Canon 1000DNikon D60. (Will keep this in mind - as it is really the best for price!

I'm not so keen on its size that's all).

Regards,

philsail1

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DaveS

DaveS

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Just a thought from a 'tog....the micro4/3 cameras have a much shorter flange-sensor distance than normal 4/3 or other DSLRs. This enables a lot of "foreign" lenses to be used, Leica M appear to be popular, though pricey. Also the short F-S distance may make coupling to a telescope easier...maybe!

How do you find the EVF of the panny? I know it is supposed to be one of the best, but some people see "rainbows" around moving objects, like you can see on cheap DLP video projectors.

Dave

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