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Old 06-12-2018, 06:12 AM
RichardJ (Richard)
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Best current Canon DSLR for astroimaging

Interested in hearing what astroimagers think is the best current unmodded Canon DSLR for deep sky imaging and night scapes.

RichardJ
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Old 06-12-2018, 06:24 AM
glend (Glen)
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Does it have to be a Canon? I have owned a few Canon's, including a modded and cooled one. My Nikon D5300 is better imho.
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Old 06-12-2018, 07:50 AM
RichardJ (Richard)
Psalm 19: 1 - 4

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Thanks for your reply Glen.
I am specifically interested in Canon cameras.

Richard.
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Old 06-12-2018, 09:07 PM
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Canon 5D Mark4 is pretty darn good, if you can handle the cost. The sensor isn't as good as the Sony sensors (or of course the Nikon sensor in the D850) but it's respectable. The 80D is a decent APS-c sensor. The original 6D is still not a bad choice.

I'm with Glen, even my Nikon D5100 from 11 years ago gives most Canon APS-c cameras a hiding.

Hope that helps,
Cam
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Old 06-12-2018, 09:21 PM
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that_guy (Tony)
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A bit biased but if you can find a good low shutter count 5d mk ii second hand, it has excellent colour and is built like a truck. Very affordable.
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Old 07-12-2018, 08:58 AM
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Astrofriend (Lars)
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I'm very happy with my Canon 6D. You find used ones cheap today.

Earlier DSLR cameras that I have/had:

Canon 350D
Canon 5D
Canon 40D
Canon 6D

None of them has been modified.

/Lars

Last edited by Astrofriend; 11-12-2018 at 11:18 PM.
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Old 07-12-2018, 06:08 PM
Startrek (Martin)
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According to Roger Clark in the US from clarkvision.com the Canon 7D mark 11 is the best DSLR for astrophotography as it has low noise and good hydrogen alpha response ( for both standalone on tripod or through a telescope at prime focus )
The only drawback it weighs 950grams very heavy
My current 10 year old Canon 600D only weighs 590 grams
Hope this helps
Cheers
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Old 07-12-2018, 06:23 PM
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acropolite (Phil)
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+1 for the 6D Mk1. An added bonus is that the 6D has wifi. From memory you can trigger via an app & Wifi

I doubt the 7DII is as good as that sensor is nowhere near as good in low light. (I have both)
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Old 07-12-2018, 07:43 PM
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If it has to be Canon, then I'd agree that the 6D would be the best choice and only slightly bested by the considerably more expensive 5D mkIV: however; if you open the field to other contenders I would suggest Nikon D600, 610,800,810, Sony A7r3 or in APSC , Fuji has some models with very good hydrogen alpha response (around 43% transmission !!!! compared with most other brands in the 20 to 25% range. That's a huge difference) the only downside with the earlier Fuji cameras like the Pro 1 & the X-e1 is their lack of tethering ability; however as a standalone in the field it could be OK

Best
JA
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Old 09-12-2018, 03:31 PM
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Camelopardalis (Dunk)
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Agree with most of the above, an original 6D is a capable camera, streets ahead of the 18MP APS-C Canons of the time with respect to noise, and as they’ve been on the market a few years you might find one at a good price.

I’d be curious about the current crop of 24MP APS-C Canons, that sensor appears roughly in the same ballpark as its competitors in many respects. Would like to try one for astro.

But for size and weight, the Fujifilm X-series are hard to beat, especially at the promotional pricing that (seemingly frequently) comes around. It’s mostly intervalometer territory though, as only the high end models tether to a computer I have two of the bargain basement models and they’re excellent daytime stills cameras, with better than average Ha response after dark.
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Old 09-12-2018, 06:36 PM
RichardJ (Richard)
Psalm 19: 1 - 4

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Thanks everyone for your input.

I think I will go with the Canon 6D original.

RichardJ
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Old 11-12-2018, 11:23 PM
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Astrofriend (Lars)
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Hi,
Now I remember that I have collected a lot of links about camera tests and reviews related to astronomy.

You find them here:
http://www.astrofriend.eu/links/link...erareview.html

Maybe to some help.

/Lars
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Old 12-12-2018, 06:52 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Camelopardalis View Post
I’d be curious about the current crop of 24MP APS-C Canons, that sensor appears roughly in the same ballpark as its competitors in many respects. Would like to try one for astro.
Hi D,

Seeing that you mentioned it, I too was curious, so here are 3 new Canon APS-c cameras (7DMkII, M50 and the Rebel 7(2000D)) and a Fuji XT20 Compared (Similar for XE3 and not much different for XE2 or XE1)
for noise at high iso (3200). I usually compare at this ISO not because I would necessarily use the camera at that high an ISO sensitivity, more that it will accentuate any differences. The noise downscales at lower ISO values, but the comparative differences between the cameras remain the same.

Sometimes (this time too) the differences in the fine detail and noise in the background black are muted somewhat by the JPEG upload to IIS. To compare small differences it is best to check these comparisons live on dpreview to see the maximum detail.

Best
JA
Attached Thumbnails
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Last edited by JA; 12-12-2018 at 07:15 PM.
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Old 15-12-2018, 03:46 PM
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Camelopardalis (Dunk)
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Thanks JA

That’s a pretty interesting comparison. All cameras are a black box from a processing point of view, meaning we don’t know what has happened to the image before it is written to the “raw” file. I have taken a bunch of test shots with my Fuji and it definitely shows thermal noise in 2 minute exposures. I’ll try to dig out an example.
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Old 15-12-2018, 06:00 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by RichardJ View Post
Thanks everyone for your input.

I think I will go with the Canon 6D original.

RichardJ
I agree, I have the 6D as well and it is a nice camera.

But if you do need a new Canon FF DSLR, then the EOS R is the best choice.
It has no mirror box, hence compacter and lighter, has an electronic finder and a tilting screen which is also easier with astrophotography. And it has the same sensor as the 5D4.
The RF to EF adapter is included, so it mounts all EF (and unlike all other Canon FF DSLRs, all EF-S) lenses.
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Old 15-12-2018, 09:48 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by skysurfer View Post
I agree, I have the 6D as well and it is a nice camera.

But if you do need a new Canon FF DSLR, then the EOS R is the best choice.
It has no mirror box, hence compacter and lighter, has an electronic finder and a tilting screen which is also easier with astrophotography. And it has the same sensor as the 5D4.
The RF to EF adapter is included, so it mounts all EF (and unlike all other Canon FF DSLRs, all EF-S) lenses.
6D is still one of the very best.
In my experience there is still a considerable difference between a full frame sensor and an APSc one. You can see it in the images straight away, they are more interesting, more detail and more light captured.

6D2 sensor is slightly worse than 6D for Dynamic Range and perhaps noise in high ISO but its slight. It does have a tilt screen which is very handy.

Greg.
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  #17  
Old 15-12-2018, 10:30 PM
JA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by gregbradley View Post
6D is still one of the very best.
+1 on that^.

Quote:
Originally Posted by gregbradley View Post
In my experience there is still a considerable difference between a full frame sensor and an APSc one. You can see it in the images straight away, they are more interesting, more detail and more light captured.
Absolutely right. When compared on an equal subject size basis the results are quite telling. Here is a comparison of 2 Full Frames (Canon 6D & Nikon D610) on the top row and 2 APSc sensors (Canon 7D & Canon 7D MkII) on the bottom row for info...

(Unfortunately the starkness of the comparison is lost considerably in the IIS upload. If interested redo on dpreview)

Best
JA
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Click for full-size image (Canon 6D v Nikon D600 v Canon 7D v Canon 7D MkII.jpg)
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  #18  
Old 15-12-2018, 11:57 PM
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Astrofriend (Lars)
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Full frame is what I like, but it needs a telescope that can handle that image circle or a good camera lens.

I had to replace my 2.5 field flattener to a 3" field flattener.

You can follow my project here:
http://www.astrofriend.eu/astronomy/...flattener.html

Later when mirrorless full frame cameras come it will be much easier to fit the sensor distance to field flattener and also have filter wheel, off-axis adapter in between.

/Lars
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  #19  
Old 17-12-2018, 09:17 PM
RichardJ (Richard)
Psalm 19: 1 - 4

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Picked up a new 6D camera body at a reasonable price.
Looking forward to trying it out as soon as the weather and moon permit.

RichardJ
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  #20  
Old 17-12-2018, 10:08 PM
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Astrofriend (Lars)
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Hi Richard,

Congratulations!

In what combinations with telescope or camera lenses will you use the full frame camera?

/Lars
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