Canon 400D vs canon 1000D

[kris h]

Which one of these is the best i know next to nothing about cameras

but want to get into photography & for use with my scope there one for sale on here and know someone with a 1000d for sale but not sure what to do is there much difference between them

any help or advice would be very helpful

kris

[CGolder]

canon site has a good comparison site, i think they are similar spec. if they are around the same price i would get the 1000d as its a more modern camera

[Ian123]

The only thing i know is that the number of digit's correspond to the actual performance:

4 digits=amateur cam 1000d

3 digits=semi-pro cam 400d

2 digits=pro cam 70d

That's it i'm afraid

That goes for Nikon as well.

[garethmob]

from what i remember (i eventually choose a 300d as the cost of a second hand for somthing that may eventually not appeal to me) was better than a lot of money wasted

i found from reviews the 1000d is a step down of the 450d but slightly better in some respects than the 400d

i used this page

Canon EOS 1000D / Rebel XS Review: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review

seemed to have thought about every eventually which would be needed including comparisons of canon nikon and sony up against this camera

heres the same website but a review of the 400d

Canon EOS 400D / Digital Rebel XTi Review: 1. Introduction: Digital Photography Review

the 1000d does have the cool sonic cleaner removes dust of the mirror and does have live view which can aid in focusing but im not sure if the 400d does

[Dougie]

A year ago, I was looking for a Canon camera and had a choice between the 1000D and a slightly more expensive model in the semi-pro range.

It was the weight that won it for me.

The 1000D is 60g lighter than the 400D, was important when it would be attached to the back of my CPC800.

Only problem now is that my wife finds the 1000D nice and light to use!

[Peter Drew]

I use a 400D and it's a great all round camera, but had I realised the benefit of liveview I would have gone for the 1000D.

[aGreyarea]

I got a 1000D exactly because it was the cheapest liveview canon I could get. I don't have any experience of trying other cameras, nor of using the liveview on just the camera, I always take the laptop and use the screen on that and found it to be brilliant.

Also, I don't know if the 400D is the same becasue it is older, but with the 1000D you have just one usb cable and can control everything, exposure, ISO, balance, quality, everything, and I always read about people who have just bought themselves a new shutter release cable?! You can also use 3rd party software to programme runs of 30 x 90s ISO 400 lights, darks etc etc, all with the one usb cable.

Bearing in mind my limited experience, for me, the picture qualilty is good, it's nice and light, and its easy to use.

[stevebb]

Do a search on google for 400D astro images and 1000D astro images (if that is the end goal) and look at how they both handle the noise.

Personally, I think the 1000D would be the better camera but to throw a spanner in the works I noticed Cameraworld currently has a very good offer on the 500D that may be worth looking at.

Steve

[Sam]

I own both the 400D and 1000D and have used them both for astro imaging. In my opinion the 1000D is slightly better for the following reasons:

1. It's easy to remove the filter on the 1000D to give a better response in the lower red part of the spectrum. This is because all of the connections are of the ribbon type with quick release type holder thingys. Really for astro work you'll need to have it modded as there just isn't enough of the red that gets through to allow great shots of some of the big nebulae. If you aren't confident enough to open up a new camera to mod it yourself (and void the warranty) then there's a few retailers around who will do it for you.

2. The 1000D has live view which is fantastic for getting the focus just right. The 400D doesn't have liveview which means focus is trial and error. Though I would imagine if you had one of the B(can't remember the spelling) masks then this might not be a problem. For me going from the 400D to the 1000D for astro imaging really speeded up the process of focusing the camera and it also allowed for repeated checking of the focus during an imaging run - which is important as the ambient temp and telescope/camera temp change during the night. When I was imaging with the 400D this was the thing that really bugged me the most and the 1000D solved this.

3. The 1000D can be driven entirely from one USB connection whereas the 400D required an extra cord to control the number and timing of shots - the 1000D has this built into it's own software on the computer - this was a real bonus for me as my new computer didn't have a serial port and was running out of USB ports.

4. The 1000D is slightly lighter which is always a good thing when hanging stuff off your scope.

5. From imaging with both I have found that there is less noise with the 1000D which I remember was easy to see when I checked the darks coming out of both cameras. I suspect (haven't actually tested this so it's a bit hearsay) that the 1000D gets rid of heat a bit better than the 400D as the 400D was really only limited to about 300sec exposres before too much thermal noise built up whereas the 1000D seems to be still fine after about 600sec (shame my guiding isn't!!).

Overall though both cameras are very similar except for the above points. The 1000D is basically the same parts as the 400D with the newer electronics of the 450D and a plastic body. It seems to me that an astro person working for canon must have thought that the 400D was a great camera for astro imaging but just needed a few tweaks so they raided the 450D production line - maybe just coincidence! If you have a choice and the budget is ok with it go for the 1000D.

Sam

[Nexus 6]

Bought the 1000D 18 months ago after checking the merits of the 400D. I agree its the slightly better option due to the reasons given above.

Alan

[ollypenrice]

Reading Sam's post as a non DSLR imager (but 1000D daylight user) I would say, Don't underestimate the virtues of easier focus. In capture focus is half the battle. Tracking is the other half. So I'm sure Sam is on the money in preferring the 1000D.

I thnk turning the live view off during final exposure is considered important, though? To reduce thermal noise?

Olly

[Sam]

Exactly right Olly the liveview gets turned off as soon as the focus is sorted.