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Old 29-03-2008, 07:23 PM
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EzyStyles (Eric)
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My Modded 40D has arrived :)

Just received my modded 40D with the baader UV/IR filter replacement. As expected, the camera looks good but i have no idea how to use it.

Read the manual twice, watched a few youtube videos, it is definitely a more professional camera than my trusty old 350d.

Tested the live view function and i can tell straight away that this is heaven sent for fine focusing. works a treat.

There is also a new software which automates and captures your images on the computer wthout the need of a long exposure cable just via the usb cable.

Some pics below and more info about it later. right now im still trying to learn how the thing works!.
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Old 29-03-2008, 07:35 PM
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Now come on Eric, I don't believe that one, I'm sure you will have it up and running in no time.

Send it to me Eric, I will help you out and give it a run in for you

Leon
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Old 29-03-2008, 07:42 PM
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LOL Leon, persoally i think im not up to standard to use this camera. It is definitely a huge leap from the 350d. i don't get 3/4's of the functions involved. Any one interested in this?

Will be awhile for first light as im busy with my personal life relocating (yes to another light polluted location) etc etc. Have to also fix my new JMI DX2 focuser . arghhh
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Old 29-03-2008, 07:50 PM
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Are you serious Eric,

Leon
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Old 29-03-2008, 07:55 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EzyStyles View Post
Tested the live view function and i can tell straight away that this is heaven sent for fine focusing. works a treat.

There is also a new software which automates and captures your images on the computer wthout the need of a long exposure cable just via the usb cable.
Hi Eric
Did you get the TC 80N remote control.
You will need it if you wish to do interval exposures > 30 seconds with mirror lock up enabled. The EOS utility software does not cater for intervals > 30 seconds with MLU. This function is grayed out on the menu.
Check Dennis's post with regard to this.
you will learn to use this camera very quickly and produce stunning pix as always!
The live view works great for focussing on bright objects like Sirius but not the fainter ones.

Last edited by skwinty; 29-03-2008 at 07:56 PM. Reason: additional comment
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Old 29-03-2008, 08:00 PM
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Hi steve thanks for your reply. are you sure you need TC 80N remote control?

All i did was plug in the USB cable, launch the EOS Utility software, set the expo interval and off it goes. saved the images directly into my comp. check your pm for another question
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Old 29-03-2008, 08:39 PM
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iceman (Mike)
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Wow Eric, fantastic. Very quick delivery!

Did you get it from Hutech?
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Old 29-03-2008, 08:58 PM
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You're going to suffer badly from the weather wraiths Eric. I'd suggest you had better send it up here. We've had our fair share so I can feel it starting to fine up already.
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Old 29-03-2008, 11:07 PM
Zuts
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Hi Eric,

Is this up for sale yet ?

Paul
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Old 30-03-2008, 12:34 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by iceman View Post
Wow Eric, fantastic. Very quick delivery!

Did you get it from Hutech?
Hi mike, nope not a hutech one, but from a well known source

Quote:
Originally Posted by [1ponders] View Post
You're going to suffer badly from the weather wraiths Eric. I'd suggest you had better send it up here. We've had our fair share so I can feel it starting to fine up already.
lol Paul, if you are happy to deposit some $$$ into my bank account, i'll be happy to send it up to you

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Hi Eric,

Is this up for sale yet ?

Paul
If you are seriously interested, i can pull a few strings or really convince myself to go for a ccd
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Old 30-03-2008, 01:04 AM
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g__day (Matthew)
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Glad you like the 40D - I am seriously tempted!

BTW - I keep feeding features and queries of what I would like to be in a digitial camera for astronomy to Canon research (via my brother) - but I guess anyone can. The latest feedback he gave me from the labs developing this Camera and software is below - along with their contact e-mail:

Matt


(My bro) My brother is a hobbyist astronomer who is considering a Canon 40D in sophisticated ways, and has some questions that he hopes some people here might be able to answer. (There isn't a Camera/Photography mailing list, is there?)

(The Camera techs) digphoto@cisra is probably what you want, but here's some answers anyway. This is all publicly available info.

(CiSRA) is Canon Systems Research Australia - with alomst 400 PhDs - second in size only to CSIRO...

(my Bro) 1. I read it displays video at 30 frames per second - can this be adjusted down for low light conditions to say 3 frames a second - to as slow as one frame per 5 seconds?

(Lab guys) The exposure of live view *is* adjusted automatically to try and make it bright, but in very low light it gets very grainy. I don't know if the effective count time is reduced. I was reasonably impressed with how low we could push the light and still get a recognisable image out.

(My Bro) 2. Is the Live View capability only operational on models 40D and better because they have the Digic 3 chip? Would it operate on a 400D using the Digic 2 chip if they were inclined to release this software?

(Lab guys) There was an old specialist astronomy camera as it happens, called the 20D-A, and as far as I know it was the first camera to introduce the LiveView feature. The camera was only released in Japan and was DigicII based.

So I would guess in theory it could be done, but there's a lot of software involved doing the mirrorlock etc. I think the 20D-A only supported back-of-camera view, not remote live view (although someone such as dpreview.com may know otherwise?). It also had the IR filter removed.

Since Astronomy is what liveview is originally designed for, I would postulate that it's not too hard to use it to focus on a star at night through a telescope.

(My bro) Again for an astronomer - the Remote Live View - would be brilliant for framing a shot from a remote controlled observatory.

(Lab guys) The default software that comes on the CD with the 40D allows you to view a stream of the liveview image and change zooms, focus, etc. It's quite good.

(My bro) 3. Does Live View cut out when the shutter is depressed? I presume so - that its a prism flip, not a dual CCD chip like S-BIG astro photography CCDs that have two CCDs on camera - one to image an one to guide!

(Lab guys) Yes, but only for the shutter movement. The mirror/prism does not have to move - you can configure it to keep the mirror up while the shot is taken and return to liveview straight away. The viewfinder is not usable in this state of course, nor is autofocus (both of which happen in the top of the camera). The recently announced 450D incorporates a "compact camera" style autofocus operation while in live view. It's not as fast as the true autofocus, but it works. That camera isn't out yet unfortunately.

(My bro) 4. Lastly all commerical DSLRs tend to have IR filters, but do they filter out above the Hydrogen alpha line or below it? This is one of the key features limiting a DSLR for astro-photography (that and water or peltier cooling to minimise dark currents in the CCD). They use filters that tend to cut out the main light source from galaxies, if they were set just a tad lower astro photographers would be excited! I'd much rather spend $6K on (just the body) an all purpose DSLR that could be switched into night mode that would work light the really expensive dedicated astro photography camera S-BIG and Fingers Lake Instruments. Maybe the DSLRs guys should look at this because if they put their minds to it it's a big market with folks spending lots and their needs are not too different from normal users. The ideal astrophotography camera would have:

1. High quantum efficiency - low dark current
2. Different IR filters that sit below the Hydrogen Alpha line
3. Optional ability to guide [See below re Guiding]
4. Ability to store dark frames (shots of different duration with the lens closed, possibly at different recorded temperatures) which is removed from images taken.

(Lab guys) Like I said above, the 20D-A had the IR filter removed (or at least customised), but it was only a limited release. Google would know more.

The newer cameras (350D onwards) can do auto dark-frame subtraction - It's called "long exposure noise reduction", and it basically takes a dark frame of the same length straight after your exposure. On 30s exposures this means you've got 30s downtime between images, which is actually fairly annoying. Doing it manually is less painful and you get more control. I suggest reading up on what causes the dark count and
the different types of "hot" pixels to properly characterise them and subtract them more accurately. There are several papers on the subject.

I would guess you can do guiding using the Liveview image feed to a PC, but then you'd need to obtain the SDK (available from Canon Australia under an NDA) and write some software to do it. Shouldn't be too hard
if you're good at software and image processing
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Old 30-03-2008, 01:04 AM
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EOS Utility will let you do exposures of up to 99hrs 99mins. I don't know what the guy above was saying

And it's limiting magnitude is pretty good. I can focus on M42 in live view.
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Old 30-03-2008, 01:47 AM
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Quote:
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EOS Utility will let you do exposures of up to 99hrs 99mins. I don't know what the guy above was saying

And it's limiting magnitude is pretty good. I can focus on M42 in live view.
Sure , M42 is a bright object. Try some thing a little less bright.
Try taking 10 by 120 second exposures with a 10 second interval using live view from the eos utility.
You will find that option is not available.
Can be done with TC80 n for 99 hours or in bulb mode for 99 years but not from the eos utility
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Old 30-03-2008, 07:14 AM
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Great stuff Eric cant wait to see some astro photos.
Phil
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Old 30-03-2008, 08:31 AM
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Try taking 10 by 120 second exposures with a 10 second interval using live view from the eos utility.
You will find that option is not available.
Can be done with TC80 n for 99 hours or in bulb mode for 99 years but not from the eos utility
Hi Steve,
I take multiple bulb exposures using the EOS utility software all the time.
Mirror lockup has to be disabled and the interval between exposures must be enough to compensate for the camera's processing time - if you are using ICNR the interval until next shot for a 120 second exp must be 240 seconds at least...120 for the light, 120 for the dark. I would add another 10secs for safety's sake.
Using ICNR, the example you gave above would result in a failed shot.

Doug
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Old 30-03-2008, 05:04 PM
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Hi Steve,
I take multiple bulb exposures using the EOS utility software all the time.
Mirror lockup has to be disabled and the interval between exposures must be enough to compensate for the camera's processing time - if you are using ICNR the interval until next shot for a 120 second exp must be 240 seconds at least...120 for the light, 120 for the dark. I would add another 10secs for safety's sake.
Using ICNR, the example you gave above would result in a failed shot.

Doug
Hi Doug
This is what I am saying.
When you use live view, mirror lock up is enabled, otherwise the live view function is disabled.
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Old 30-03-2008, 05:50 PM
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Hi Doug
This is what I am saying.
When you use live view, mirror lock up is enabled, otherwise the live view function is disabled.
Sorry Steve - picked you up wrong!
Doug
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Old 30-03-2008, 06:11 PM
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Sorry Steve - picked you up wrong!
Doug
Hi Doug
No problem. He who makes no mistakes does nothing!
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Old 30-03-2008, 06:22 PM
ozstockman (Mike)
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Sure , M42 is a bright object. Try some thing a little less bright.
Isn't it enough to get your camera focused on the brightest object that can be found in the sky? What will be the point doing it on less bright?

cheers,

Michael
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Old 30-03-2008, 06:26 PM
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Isn't it enough to get your camera focused on the brightest object that can be found in the sky? What will be the point doing it on less bright?

cheers,

Michael
Sure, that is good. however it is frustrating to slew to say Sirius, get excellent focus, slew to the object you wish to photograph, spend 1 hour imaging and find that focus has shifted during the slew.
Further than this I love my Canon40DH and live view sure makes focussing a lot easier
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