Canon 60Da - any first lights yet?

[pmrid]

Has anyone had a chance to field-test one of these yet?
Peter

[gregbradley]

Have a look in the deep space forum about 3-4 weeks ago. Someone posted an Eta Carina image as I recall.

Greg.

[jjjnettie]

A few practice shots have been posted but no one has really put it through it's paces yet.

[MrB]

Another was posted today:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=90648

The other:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=89774

[hotspur]

Can this camera be used for general use,or is it purely a astro camera?.I am buying a 7D next week,thought I'd maybe check a few things about this camera first.

[AussieAmature]

I have just purchased a Canon 60D un modded and gave it a go on an 8"F4 Newt astrograph and was really happy with my first time astro photo's heres what they turned out like with a 3min exposure at ISO1600 single shot no stacking http://photobucket.com/AussieAmature

[[1ponders]]

What are the 'benefits' of the 60Da over the 60D, to be honest I haven't followed it.

I sent Mike a brief review of the 60D under sky conditions this morning. Hopefully he'll get it uploaded soon, but i think he could be flat out selling eclipse glasses :lol:

The bottom line is the 60D was great. I'll know more after more use but it seems pretty good on noise at least and colour depth. The 14bit processor really shows the importance of greater bit depth in cameras.

Sorry if this is a bit OT Peter, you are asking about the Da after all.:)

The eta shot is a 100% crop (seeing may be wasn't the best for 8min subs, 2.5 hrs total) and the Mimosa is 300% crop (15x3min subs) . I'm pretty happy with it.

[MrB]

60Da vs 60D, Better Ha (claimed 2.5x more) and apparently a lower noise sensor.

[Star Hunter]

Have just ordered the 60Da from Photo Continentals today. Will post my review and sample images shortly.

Q. What's the best way to show images in this forum? It says use an URL for the photos. Does this mean I must have a seperate website URL address to show images?

[MrB]

James, JPGs up to 200k can be hosted right here at IIS, but yes larger images must be hosted offsite.

[Star Hunter]

Thanks for that info, Simon.

200K not a problem and I have an external website for photos. Now I just need some clear skies next week to test this new arrival.

I bought the camera for the missus but she said I can use it. Works all the time....:D

She's a great missus really, even though last week the wife was seen putting cream on her face one night. I asked her why and she said it makes her look beautiful. Next thing, she's taking it all off with tissues. I said, Geez it didn't last too long, eh? Man, you should have seen the look :eyepop: I got.... priceless!

[Danack]

Probably too late to be useful but basically the 60Da is not _recommended_ for normal use but can be used.

The issue is that due to the lack of an IR filter, everything that's warm looks a lot redder than it does to your eyes. In particular pictures of people apparently look like everyone's blushing.

You can get IR filters to prevent that, and it may not be an issue if you're a landscape or nature photographer, but it is a specialised camera rather than a general purpose camera.

[MrB]

I haven't tested the Da's response yet, so I could be wrong, but I doubt the IR filter has been removed entirely.
I'm willing to bet that Canon simply enhanced the transmission thru the filter of the red end of the spectrum. Much like the Baader ACF filters do for modded camera's, which still cut above approx. 690nm, including the IR, just like the standard canon filter does.
My Baader modded 300D took great shots with custom white balance, I'm guessing it was because there is no 'extra' spectrum being recorded with the Baader, just more of what was already being recorded.

http://www.dslrastromod.co.uk/baader_files/baaderacf.jpg

[Tandum]

Exactly who is a nutbag. A 60D is about $880 and a 60Da is about $1550. I'm pretty sure I can get the filter in a canon swapped for a couple of hundred bucks. Get a grip.

[MrB]

I had toyed with that idea Robin, but in the end decided to just go with the Da for simplicity as it is ready to go out of the box, plus I retain the warranty if I need it(yes unlikely, but knowing my luck...)
It also comes bundled with the AK-E6 AC adaptor, tho thats only about $200 value.
There are also claims the Da has a lower noise sensor than the 60D.
I'm guessing, if it is true, that it's the 7D's sensor.

[graham.hobart]

Will be posting 60Da first light later, and for those interested in terrestrial photo's I will post a pic of my daughter taken straight out of the box. - It looks fine to my eyes without any tweaking.
I did a head to head (well, almost) on Tuesday night- 60Da with FS 60 and the QHY 8 OSC on the TSA 120. I took same exposure lengths and will try and process these asap so you can see some comparisons. QHY 8 was controlled with Neb 3 and 60da with APT.
Will try and post tonight when get back from work
Graz

[Octane]

Graham,

When you post your portrait, can you make sure it's been processed in Digital Photo Professional, and not ACR/LR/PS, etc.

Cheers.

H

[graham.hobart]

Here is a basic comparison with 60Da on an FS 60, ISO 3200 42 minutes lights with calibration. Basic portrait auto mode, no processing at all. Then QHY 8 OSC camera 50 minutes on TSA 120 no calibration frames (sorry about gradient).
The astro shots have not really been post processed hence the defects but I thought you might like the raw look.
see them here...http://www.flickr.com/photos/61197697@N00/?deleted=7260890946
did it this way as the 60da file is huge and kept crashing my ancient lappy!
Hope this is useful. The 60da seems quite clean even at exif 21'c at high iso.
Cheers
Graham

[MrB]

Thinking about Robin's comment earlier, It's not such a bad deal.
60D $880
Modding ~$200 > $1080
AC adaptor ~$200 > $1280 (if you need it, I do, beats swapping batteries)
Is the factory warranty worth ~$300?

[Star Hunter]

[QUOTE=Octane;856012]Graham,

When you post your portrait, can you make sure it's been processed in Digital Photo Professional, and not ACR/LR/PS, etc.

Cheers.

Why DPP and not PS?

[Octane]

Because the only true RAW convertor for Canon files is DPP.

PS/LR (ACR) is reverse-engineered guessware and an /approximation/ of what your investment captured. For true fidelity, colour, shadow detail, native sharpness, and, so on, nothing comes close to DPP. It is software written by Canon /for/ Canon hardware.

Now, with the addition of the DLO (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=89972) module, it is the final word in pre-processing of RAW files straight out of Canon cameras. If any further adjustments need to be made, there's a reason why there's an Export to Photoshop option in the Tools menu.

From a post I made on another forum a while back.



H

[Star Hunter]

[QUOTE=Octane;856397]Because the only true RAW convertor for Canon files is DPP.

PS/LR (ACR) is reverse-engineered guessware and an /approximation/ of what your investment captured. For true fidelity, colour, shadow detail, native sharpness, and, so on, nothing comes close to DPP. It is software written by Canon /for/ Canon hardware.

Now, with the addition of the DLO (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=89972) module, it is the final word in pre-processing of RAW files straight out of Canon cameras. If any further adjustments need to be made, there's a reason why there's an Export to Photoshop option in the Tools menu.

From a post I made on another forum a while back.



That full-on reply you had re DPP etc, was excellent. I use both anyway and agree with you.

[pin3appl3]

Thanks for that H.

[pmrid]

The original thread got a bit hijacked away from the question - has anyone given the new Canon 60Da a decent workout yet?
It surprises me that so little has emerged about it. So what about it all you early adopters? Is it worth the $$$?
Peter

[RobF]

I can't help but think a more honest analysis would be something like a QHY8 image compared with 60Da taken at the height of summer (say 20-25degrees celsius ambient temperature).

[spacezebra]

Im waiting on a new refractor, so as soon as that arrives (next weekend) ill be busy with the 60Da.

Cheers Petra d.

[Octane]

Peter,

My apologies for the non-intentional hijack.

I requested to see an image posted after being processed in DPP. I was asked why, and, I thought for the benefit of those wondering what to do, posted an in-depth reply.

Sorry!

H

[pmrid]

G'day H.

I was hovering over a decision about one of these - and hoped some adventurous soul would have given one a good workout by now. But, curiously, that doesn't seem to have happened. I guess the days of the uncooled OSC are drawing to a close in Astrophotography. Why image at ambient when for little extra you can image at 15 or 20 below with more filter control and less noise.

Peter

[MrB]

I haven't had a chance to get serious yet. When I have time available, the weather is crap. When the weather is good, I don't have time.
Have only had a chance to get single exposure non-guided non-calibrated widefields with prime lenses: http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=92560&highlight=60da