DSLR purchase questions

[hozepipe]

Hi guys

Well after one night of taking photos I'm already hooked, so I want to try some prime focus photography with my ED80/HEQ5

I'd like to buy a good DSLR body, so wanted to know what cameras I should consider? Is there a difference attachment-wise between Canon, Olympus etc? I have an EOS 650 film camera so at least I have a few lenses if I want to use the camera normally (though does that mean I can only use a Canon?). It's been a while since I;ve used an SLR and can't remember these details.

I was wondering if getting an older model would be a cheap way to try it?

Likewise what kind of adapters do I need to facilitate prime foucs photography?

[Martin 2]

The canon eos 300d or 350d seem to be the camera of choice, the 400d is quite new and I havn't heard how good it is at astro stuff.

I was looking to go this route but Rog will be trying out an ATK ccd imager soon which may come in at below £400, and will be far better than a camera. It depends wether you want to use it for normal photography as well. Also the canons have a filter built in which works for normal photography but cuts out some wavelenghts of light that you actually want in astro photography, you can get a mod for it but it doubles the price of the camerea.

There are many on this site who can advise you better than me but I hope this helps.

M2

[moondog]

For a DSLR the Canon 300/350D or the new 400D would be the best bet for astro work.

A lot of astro image processing software has special routines for the Canon as well.

If you want a camera for ordinary day use as well and don't want to have to use a laptop computer outside, a DSLR would be best.

Otherwise I would look at the Atik that Martin has suggested, you will get far better astro photos with shorter exposure times. You will also have less tracking problems due to the shorter exposure times. You will need a laptop though.

MD

[robindurant]

I have read the report on the 400 over the 350d Canon which filnally came to the conclusion that the 350d still had the edge