Boasting optical characteristics designed specifically for astrophotography, the EOS 60Da allows the capture of night-sky images with exceptional high quality and lower noise.
Sydney, 3 April, 2012: Canon Australia today unveiled a new EOS digital SLR camera tailored specifically for astro-photography enthusiasts: the Canon EOS 60Da. Building on and significantly advancing the pedigree of the respected EOS 20Da with the high-quality, high-performance characteristics of the EOS 60D, the new body offers the combination of high sensitivity and low noise which is critical to the creation of top-quality, detailed astronomical images.
Built around an 18-megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor and a DiG!C 4 image processor, the camera boasts a low-light, long-exposure shooting performance that will make it a must-have tool for anyone keen to capture the wonders of the night sky.
"The EOS 60Da takes Canon's industry-leading sensor technology and pushes it even further to allow the accurate capture of red nebulae and other astronomical sights," said Rebecca Pearson, Assistant Brand Manager – EOS, Canon Australia. “By combining superior sensitivity with very low noise, enthusiasts will be able to produce astrophotography images with more detail and colour accuracy than has previously been possible, allowing them to become even more deeply immersed in their hobby and satisfied with their end results."
Superior optical characteristics for high image quality with low noise
The EOS 60Da builds on the excellent performance characteristics of the popular EOS 60D and adds features designed to meet the unique needs of astronomy enthusiasts.
Designed specifically for astrophotography, the EOS 60Da features a Low Pass infrared cut filter that allows the greater capture of hydrogen-alpha (H-α) light of 656mn length. The filter delivers approximately three times the transmission factor of the Canon EOS 60D and is designed to allow the capture of much clearer images of reddish, diffuse nebulae.
The EOS 60Da will be available through Canon dealers from April 19th, 2012** as a Body kit only.
Hi, i just caught news of this now via a mate. Here is the link he gave me, maybe it has different info...http://www.canonrumors.com/
Looks good, but i am wondering is it worth the $1500 or is it worth modding a 450d, 500d etc for cheaper?
NEW CANON EOS 60Da DSLR CAMERA FOR ASTRONOMY ENTHUSIASTS CAPTURES THE TRUE COLORS OF THE COSMOS LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y., April 3, 2012 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today introduced the EOS 60Da Digital SLR Camera, a long-awaited successor to the EOS 20Da that is optimized for astrophotography. This DSLR caters to astronomers and hobbyists who enjoy capturing the beauty of the night sky by offering a modified infrared filter and a low-noise sensor with heightened hydrogen-alpha sensitivity. These modifications allow the camera to capture magnificent photographs of “red hydrogen emission” nebulae and other cosmic phenomena.
“The EOS 60Da is a testament to the constant desire to meet the needs of every customer, including those in specialized fields,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, executive vice president and general manager, Imaging Technologies & Communications Group, Canon U.S.A., “This new camera enables an accurate depiction of a part of our solar system which is hard to achieve with conventional cameras but should be enjoyed and celebrated.”
The Canon EOS 60Da camera packs a powerful 18-megapixel CMOS sensor (APS-C) that produces sharp and high-contrast images of astronomical objects, a major enhancement over the EOS 20Da model’s 8.2-megapixel sensor. The improved infrared-blocking filter is a modification suited specifically toward astronomy enthusiasts to achieve a hydrogen-alpha light sensitivity that is approximately three times higher than that of a normal Canon DSLR camera. This produces a 20-percent higher transmittance of Hydrogen Alpha line, or Hα wavelength, allowing astronomers to capture crisp, clear images of reddish, diffuse nebulae. Enhanced Features Crisp images of the stars and planets can be viewed on the EOS 60Da’s improved 3.0-inch Clear View LCD screen with 1,040,000 dots for detailed focusing. The flip-out Vari-angle screen allows photographers to adjust the screen for easy viewing without straining even while the camera is mounted to a telescope via a third-party T-ring adapter. Optimized for stargazing with friends or in an educational setting, astronomy enthusiasts can connect the camera to a TV with the provided AVC-DC400ST Stereo AV Video Cable and display the night sky on a TV monitor using the camera’s Live View mode. Moreover, the EOS 60Da’s Live View mode is equipped with a Silent Shooting feature that eliminates shutter-induced vibration for maximum camera stability when the camera is mounted to a telescope or super-telephoto EF lens.
Enhanced noise reduction on the EOS 60Da sensor offers photographers the ability to experiment with the wide array of ISO settings and increased ISO speeds up to 6400 expandable to 12800. Other features include an intelligent nine-point autofocus system, full manual controls, and RAW, JPEG, and RAW+JPEG image recording capabilities. Accessories The EOS 60Da helps capture the wonders of the night sky with its use of Canon’s award-winning EF and EF-S lenses along with other EOS accessories. Additionally, the EOS 60Da is packaged with Canon’s RA-E3 Remote Controller Adapter, providing the ability to connect a Canon Timer Remote Control such as the TC-80N3 (optional accessory). The TC-80N3 is ideal for controlling time exposures longer than 30 seconds as well as capturing a series of consecutive time exposures that can be composited during post-processing for improved image quality. This is especially useful when the camera body is connected to a telescope[i] or an EF super telephoto lens.
Canon has also included an AC adapter kit with the EOS 60Da, allowing the camera to be powered through an AC wall outlet or a battery-powered inverter, ideal for long exposure image or video capture at home or in the field. Availability
As a specialized product, the EOS 60Da is only available to order from select authorized dealers. The estimated retail price is $1,499.00 and it is expected to be available this month.
Awesome. I want one even though I use dedicated astro CCDs. It'd be great for Milky Way mosaics, night time lapse videos.
If its anything like the 20Da it isn't simply a different low pass filter. They tweaked other aspects of the 20Da which simply meant it produced the best DSLR images of any Canon camera in my opinion.
I am definitely getting this beasty. They will be hard to get, go out of stock fast and hold their resale reallly really well.
Who's a good Canon dealer in Sydney??
Also here is a link to the iphone app that can control time lapse on cameras:
For me the question would be 60Da vs 5D MK II. Vaguely comparable on price (second hand 5D MK II). Does the sensitivity of the 60Da outperform the excellent low noise performance of the 5D MK II I wonder.
For me the question would be 60Da vs 5D MK II. Vaguely comparable on price (second hand 5D MK II). Does the sensitivity of the 60Da outperform the excellent low noise performance of the 5D MK II I wonder.
You would really have to compare it to a 5D mark ii that has been modified. Any DSLR modified would outperform an non modified 5D mark ii.
Full frame would be nice though. You'd have to remove the filter and replace it with Edmunds Optical flat glass or Baader U/IR cut filter which is more astro friendly.
But if its like the 20Da the factory does more to the camera than that. It will probably have its own firmware that is tweaked.
You would really have to compare it to a 5D mark ii that has been modified. Any DSLR modified would outperform an non modified 5D mark ii.
Sure? I mean, the noise on the 5D MK II is so much more controlled than the 60D you could do significantly longer exposures for the same noise, right, so hence giving you greater sensitivity across the detected range. Yes there would be that portion of the spectrum that only the 60Da would capture but as an overall result of a wide field photo, I wonder how they would compare still.
Having modified several DSLRs my opinion is there would be no comparison. Modified DSLRs are about 3-4X more sensitive in Ha. So unless 5D mk11 was modded there would be no contest. Mind you full frame is a nice FOV.
Look at Alex's recent aurora time lapse. The darker more colourful red one was a modified Sony Nex 5 and the other non modded Nikon D700 which up until 5D mark iii and Nikon D800 was the king of low light cameras.
Sure? I mean, the noise on the 5D MK II is so much more controlled than the 60D
Although the 5DmkII has better noise qualities per pixel, I'm not sure that it's going to be better per mm^2 of sensor.
i.e. even though the 60D would be noisier images - by the time you stack several frames together and then down sample them to the same resolution as a 5D has, it's not obvious which one would be 'better'.