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Old 22-04-2013, 09:51 PM
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frenchbluehour (Nicole)
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Canon EOS 650D

Hi

not sure if I should be posting here or over in beginners astrophotography!!

Just after thoughts and experience with astrophotography with a 650D really...

Any info would be greatly appreciated
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Old 22-04-2013, 10:24 PM
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Octane (Humayun)
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Good choice for an above-entry-level camera!

The bulk of your money should be spent on good lenses -- they will transfer to new bodies as you outgrow them as your skill level increases.

Do you intend to do long focal length deep space imaging or widefield nightscape-type work?



H
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Old 22-04-2013, 10:35 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Octane View Post
Good choice for an above-entry-level camera!

The bulk of your money should be spent on good lenses -- they will transfer to new bodies as you outgrow them as your skill level increases.

Do you intend to do long focal length deep space imaging or widefield nightscape-type work?



H
Hi there,

both actually... I have a real love of nightscapes however intend on moving into deep space imaging - awesome stuff!!! Could look at the images for hours ....

I have so far the EF-S 18-55mm f3.5-5.6 IS III and EF-S 55-250mm f/4-5.6 IS III lenses .... Will build on it from there

Your thoughts??
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Old 22-04-2013, 10:54 PM
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Hey Nicole,

It's addictive, that's for sure.

The lenses you have, while decent for terrestrial/daytime work, may not end up being so suitable for night time work.

The 18-55mm closed down to f/5 or so, should start to yield round stars at the edges of the frame.

Ideally, what you need is to invest (eventually!) in lenses that are f/2.8 (or faster) -- an f/2.8 lens lets in almost twice the amount of light as the f/3.5 lens will in the same exposure time. And, if you close your lens down to f/5 as mentioned above (to combat vignetting and distortion), the f/2.8 lens will let in almost 4 times as much light. With a fast lens, your exposures can be shorter, and you get tighter looking (non-trailing) stars at web resolution.

To put it into context:

An f/2.8 exposure that yields a nice exposure at 30 seconds, would take an f/5 lens about 100 seconds for equivalency.

Having said that, there's nothing stopping you from getting results now with what you have; learn how to use your camera first, get comfortable with it, and add to your collection as your skillset grows.

Feel free to ask questions if the above was a bit confusing or if you'd like more info.

H
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Old 23-04-2013, 09:30 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Octane View Post
Hey Nicole,

It's addictive, that's for sure.

The lenses you have, while decent for terrestrial/daytime work, may not end up being so suitable for night time work.

The 18-55mm closed down to f/5 or so, should start to yield round stars at the edges of the frame.

Ideally, what you need is to invest (eventually!) in lenses that are f/2.8 (or faster) -- an f/2.8 lens lets in almost twice the amount of light as the f/3.5 lens will in the same exposure time. And, if you close your lens down to f/5 as mentioned above (to combat vignetting and distortion), the f/2.8 lens will let in almost 4 times as much light. With a fast lens, your exposures can be shorter, and you get tighter looking (non-trailing) stars at web resolution.

To put it into context:

An f/2.8 exposure that yields a nice exposure at 30 seconds, would take an f/5 lens about 100 seconds for equivalency.

Having said that, there's nothing stopping you from getting results now with what you have; learn how to use your camera first, get comfortable with it, and add to your collection as your skillset grows.

Feel free to ask questions if the above was a bit confusing or if you'd like more info.

H
Thanks so much for the info
Greatly appreciated, that's for sure.


Yes I'm happy with my camera and the lenses for terrestrial photography. I plan on investing in other lenses down the track, although just getting comfortable with the whole process to start off with - as you mentioned.

Thanks again. I will surely ask loads more questions I'm sure.

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Old 23-04-2013, 11:55 AM
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That's a tremendous post, succinct and info filled, Octane. Thanks.

I've been eyeing off this camera, a portion of my tax return is earmarked for one, I think. They're frequently on sale (and the body-only can be had really cheap), so it's good to see that other people have them and are using them successfully!

Make sure you post your photos, terrestrial or otherwise, Nicole!
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Old 23-04-2013, 12:49 PM
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Originally Posted by elfinke View Post
That's a tremendous post, succinct and info filled, Octane. Thanks.

I've been eyeing off this camera, a portion of my tax return is earmarked for one, I think. They're frequently on sale (and the body-only can be had really cheap), so it's good to see that other people have them and are using them successfully!

Make sure you post your photos, terrestrial or otherwise, Nicole!


Agreed .... Awesome simple explanation from H...
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Old 23-04-2013, 02:51 PM
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So more than a few of us considering a DSLR !
I am looking at a 60D for the same uses as Nicole.
Leaning more to the Nightscape side of the equation.
What do you think of the 60D Humayun ?
Cheers ian
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Old 23-04-2013, 03:30 PM
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This seems like an appropriate time to post a reminder: Teds Cameras is still running their overseas price match deal on Canon EOS DSLRs, as posted here.
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Old 23-04-2013, 08:31 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Octane View Post
Hey Nicole,
Feel free to ask questions if the above was a bit confusing or if you'd like more info.

H
Hi
If to purchase just one extra lens for now, do you have a recommendation - useful for both - If possible
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Old 24-04-2013, 09:56 AM
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Trev,

phw0ar, thanks for the vote of confidence.

Go for it.

Quote:
Originally Posted by elfinke View Post
That's a tremendous post, succinct and info filled, Octane. Thanks.

I've been eyeing off this camera, a portion of my tax return is earmarked for one, I think. They're frequently on sale (and the body-only can be had really cheap), so it's good to see that other people have them and are using them successfully!

Make sure you post your photos, terrestrial or otherwise, Nicole!
Thanks, Nicole! Glad it helped!

Quote:
Originally Posted by frenchbluehour View Post
Agreed .... Awesome simple explanation from H...
Ian,

The 60D would be great. The advantage that it has for the astrophotographer is the articulating screen which will save your back and your neck when it comes time to focusing and composing your images. The body is of a sturdier build, too. The 60D has a 14-bit sensor (I'm not sure if the entry-level systems now have a 14-bit sensor in them, too... the 14-bit sensor came through with the introduction of the 40D). Go for it!

Quote:
Originally Posted by gaa_ian View Post
So more than a few of us considering a DSLR !
I am looking at a 60D for the same uses as Nicole.
Leaning more to the Nightscape side of the equation.
What do you think of the 60D Humayun ?
Cheers ian
H
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Old 24-04-2013, 10:42 AM
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Nicole,

Sadly, there's no one lens that does everything -- that's why there's such a huge range!

For nightscape work encompassing wide sweeping vistas of the Milky Way and a landscape at the same time, requires a wide angle lens. These are often in the range of 14-24mm, 16-35mm, 17-40mm and so on.

On your camera, because it is what's called a cropped sensor (1.6x smaller than a full-frame camera (35mm negative)), you take the the focal length on the lens and multiply it by 1.6 to give you the field of view that would be seen using a full frame camera. The focal length doesn't change -- what you actually see, does. To work out what lens you would need on a cropped body to give you the equivalent field of view on a full-frame camera, you divide by 1.6.

Example: Greg and Mike have had great success using the Samyang 14mm f/2.8 lens. They, however, are using full frame cameras. To get the same type of field of view using your camera, you would need to use a lens with a focal length of 14/1.6=8.75mm (9mm). A 9mm lens is something not really heard of, although, I'm sure they do exist. What is available, however, are 10-22mm lenses, of which both Canon and Sigma make. I have read on here countless times that the Canon version is not really good, and, also a bit slow at f/3.5. I believe the Sigma version wins that round, and, I think it's an f/2.8 lens. The Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens also gets rave reviews.

Assuming that you were to use the same wide angle lens for terrestrial/daytime work, it may be fine for landscapes, but, will be a poor choice for photographing people and other objects. The reason behind this is because the majority of wide angle lenses have some level of distortion. Photographing people with a wide angle lens (up close and personal) will make their noses look really big due to distortion. They are fine for photographing groups of people.

So, bearing this in mind, the one general purpose lens that I swear by, is the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM. It is a top quality Canon L-series lens and has the same IS (image stabilisation) as you have on your current lenses. This lens is attached persistently to one of my cameras when I'm shooting weddings, and, it can also double-up as a beautiful landscape lens.

Landscape example: http://users.tpg.com.au/hqureshi2/atfae.html
Portrait example: http://users.tpg.com.au/hqureshi2/bri.html

So, to sum up: perhaps the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 in Canon mount (it's available for Canon, Nikon and perhaps some others) and the Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM as a general purpose walkabout lens.

I hope this helps!

H

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Hi
If to purchase just one extra lens for now, do you have a recommendation - useful for both - If possible
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Old 24-04-2013, 11:13 AM
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Another vote for the Tokina 11-16 lens. A beauty!
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Old 25-04-2013, 03:37 PM
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frenchbluehour (Nicole)
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Thanks again H

Your info really does help - the detailed response - I like it!


Attached is literally the first pic I took with my 650D when I got it last year!


The landscape example you attached is beautiful .. I love it!

Thanks again
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Old 26-04-2013, 06:52 PM
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Incidentally, Choice.com.au recently did a test of 19 DSLR and other cameras.

The 650d - the twin kit variety no less - came in second (to a Nikon at 4x the Canon's price). It's a ripper camera by all accounts.

Whether you buy the body only and put the couple hundred saved to a better lens or just go the entry level twin kit variety (that'll be me, I think) you just can't go wrong with it, it seems.
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Old 26-04-2013, 09:17 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by elfinke View Post
Incidentally, Choice.com.au recently did a test of 19 DSLR and other cameras.

The 650d - the twin kit variety no less - came in second (to a Nikon at 4x the Canon's price). It's a ripper camera by all accounts.

Whether you buy the body only and put the couple hundred saved to a better lens or just go the entry level twin kit variety (that'll be me, I think) you just can't go wrong with it, it seems.
Interesting to know!

I'm certainly happy with mine! and look forward to using it for astrophotography...( my first DSLR was a Nikon D70 about 7 years ago!!)

The advise from this forum is great too love it!
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