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  #21  
Old 11-09-2007, 10:13 AM
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ving (David)
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You nikon guys.. hang onto your dreams
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  #22  
Old 11-09-2007, 10:59 AM
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If I had my time again, I would buy a modded 400D. When I see some pics using the H-alpha stuff that I can't get near, I know I'm missing out. Maybe next time--cooled modded dslr. See http://www.centralds.net/en/index.htm
At $US2150, how can you resist?
Geoff
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  #23  
Old 11-09-2007, 05:50 PM
Neil
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Digital SLR

G'Day Skairey, I managed to get this image of the moon during the recent eclipes using my Olympus 300E, hand held to the eyepiece of my Bintel 12" Dobsonian.
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  #24  
Old 13-09-2007, 12:18 PM
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Hi Neil,
Nice pic, I got a couple too, I have sumitted them earlier, but I'll pop them in for you.

Iim still shovelling through the rest of the eclipse photos, I'll post a couple when I'm finished, stink'n work keeps getting in the way.







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  #25  
Old 13-09-2007, 09:58 PM
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You nikon guys.. hang onto your dreams
Im a Nikon disciple Mike & Im hanging..still hanging.....still hanging!!!
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  #26  
Old 22-09-2007, 04:20 PM
Neil
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G,Day Skairey, great pics,did you use afocal method?, or some other? Sorry about the lateness of my reply; been busy hitting the books for 3rd birthday comp.
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  #27  
Old 29-09-2007, 01:10 PM
snowyskiesau
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I've been thinking about a new camera for general use but if I can use it to get
a start in astrophotography, all the better.
After some browsing around various photography groups, the Canon 40D is coming up as a favourite.
It seems to get the thumbs up here as well (apart from those old Nikon die hards )

What accessories will I need to attach a 40D to a telescope?
[ I have an ED80 and a Celestron C8]
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  #28  
Old 29-09-2007, 01:25 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by snowyskiesau View Post
I've been thinking about a new camera for general use but if I can use it to get
a start in astrophotography, all the better.
After some browsing around various photography groups, the Canon 40D is coming up as a favourite.
It seems to get the thumbs up here as well (apart from those old Nikon die hards )

What accessories will I need to attach a 40D to a telescope?
[ I have an ED80 and a Celestron C8]
Hi I've just bought a 40D but haven't really had the skies to give it an astro workout yet!
You'll need an EOS T-Ring to attach the Camera directly to the C8, to do prime focus stuff with the ED80 you might want to get a 2" Prime focus adapter to attach the T-Ring +Camera to like the pic below.
Hope that helps
Doug
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  #29  
Old 29-09-2007, 03:06 PM
rally
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For many situations there is an advantage in having a smaller CCD with smaller photosite size (for the same number of mega pixels) as this will yield a more detailed resolution image of the same object - ie get in closer

This makes the Olympus 4/3rds sensor ideal for astro photography - but . . .
The caveat is that the Olympus CCDs are generally noisier than the Canon sensors for long or dark exposures, but with the release of the new models this year their noise and high ISO is now much better.

Olympus now has a number of live preview models
E330 (7.5mp), E410 (10mp), E510 (10mp) and the soon to be released E3
The E330 has and the E3 will have a tiltable CCD making manual focus with live preview with up to 10x magnification.
The E330 uses live MOS sensor (not CCD).

I have successfully used the E330 for moon shots during the eclipse with terrestrial lenses and the live preview with the ability to zoom up to 10x is not just a pleasure to use it is almost bordering on essential.

They can be controlled offline via a PC and the image is available on the PC screen.

I am waiting to receive one of the new breed of cameras and can report when I get a chance. They can also be successfully modded for IR photography. There is a Yahoo Olympus Astronomy group that may know more.


PS Forgot to mention - Dust is almost non existent on the Olympus DSLR sensors - they all have an ultrasonic sensor that vibrates the CCD and the dust falls off onto a sticky pad every time the camera is switched on or you tell it to do a cleaning cycle - I haven't had any dust on nearly 20,000 images this year.
And the Olympus Camera can accept almost every lens ever produced for any 35mm camera or DSLR (except most of the canon lenses) - so any old lenses you have or can get cheap on eBay will most likely be useable
Note all lenses will yield an effective focal length exactly twice their 35mm foacl length - so a 50mm lens will yield images that are equal to using a 100mm lens on a 35mm camera, your 150 will be 300mm and if you have an old mirror then your 500-600mm will be 1000-1200mm.

Last edited by rally; 29-09-2007 at 08:00 PM. Reason: added dustbuster & lens
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  #30  
Old 29-09-2007, 03:39 PM
snowyskiesau
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Options for Canon 40D

Quote:
Originally Posted by dugnsuz View Post
Hi I've just bought a 40D but haven't really had the skies to give it an astro workout yet!
You'll need an EOS T-Ring to attach the Camera directly to the C8, to do prime focus stuff with the ED80 you might want to get a 2" Prime focus adapter to attach the T-Ring +Camera to like the pic below.
Hope that helps
Doug
Good info, thanks Doug.
Thought I might try piggybacking at first. I can get some experience in drift aligning while I'm at it.

Still trying to decide which lens option to get with the 40D. One of the deals is with a 17-85 wide angle zoom , another with a 24-105 standard zoom.
The first sounds better for astro work, the second may be better for terrestrial stuff.

It's a long weekend so an extra day to decide
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  #31  
Old 29-09-2007, 04:10 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by snowyskiesau View Post
Good info, thanks Doug.
Thought I might try piggybacking at first. I can get some experience in drift aligning while I'm at it.

Still trying to decide which lens option to get with the 40D. One of the deals is with a 17-85 wide angle zoom , another with a 24-105 standard zoom.
The first sounds better for astro work, the second may be better for terrestrial stuff.

It's a long weekend so an extra day to decide
Hi again
I've got the 17-85mm lens, it's a good daytime walk around lens.
For astro widefield stuff I find it a bit slow at f4-5.6. Saying that, I still haven't had a chance under dark moonless, cloudless skies since I bought the camera to be absolutely sure.
I would favour fast f ratio prime lenses for astro work.
If you wanted to dip your toe - the Canon 50mm f1.8 is probably the best bet to start with. It's cheap $149 rrp , a bit plasticy!!! Build quality is not the best but results are sharp. Check out Bill Christie's widefields (2020BC) in the Deep Sky images section - they're fantastic...taken with the 50mm lens. I have been looking to get a decent budget Canon prime, and the voices in my head are telling me to get the 85mm f1.8 which is around
$500 on ebay.
The Sigma 17-70mm gets a good name - iceman has taken some nice widefields with that, so some zooms do a good job!
All the best
Doug
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  #32  
Old 29-09-2007, 04:22 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dugnsuz View Post
Hi again
I would favour fast f ratio prime lenses for astro work.
If you wanted to dip your toe - the Canon 50mm f1.8 is probably the best bet to start with. It's cheap $149 rrp , a bit plasticy!!! Build quality is not the best but results are sharp. I have been looking to get a decent budget Canon prime, and the voices in my head are telling me to get the 85mm f1.8 which is around
$500 on ebay.
Doug
[quote edited]

I've pretty much settled on the 40D with the 17-85 lens, as you say a good walking around camera
After reading a few other threads here, I was also considering the 85m f1.8 ($499)
I'm not sure whether a more powerful lens such as the 135mm f2 ($1599) is of any advantage for astro work.
I can see the advantage of the fast speed but does the increase magnification make a big difference?

[Ignorance speaking here so be gentle when enlightening me]
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  #33  
Old 29-09-2007, 04:52 PM
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If your budget allows go for the 135mm f2L lens then send it to me!!!!
That is one of THE widefield astrophotography lenses.

Take a look at the pics on my photobucket page (link in signature below)
to see how different lenses frame specific deep sky objects.
As you'll see, a 135mm lens would nicely frame the LMC, Eta Carina Nebula etc in a wide field shot.
The lower the f number, the quicker the camera will record data.
eg a 30sec exp @ f2 will give you more stars and detail in your image than a 30sec exp @ f4. A fast lens allows shorter exposures which minimize any tracking errors in your mount too.
With the L lenses you could then use a 2x or 1.4x Canon extender to turn a 135mm lens into a 270 or189mm lens without degredation of quality.
Cheers
Doug
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  #34  
Old 29-09-2007, 05:38 PM
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Mostly the camera will be used for landscapes, wildlife, that sort of thing so
any lenses I get should be suited for that.
It's just an advantage if they are also suited to astrophotography as well.

The 50mm 1.8 is on the shopping list. Still deciding between a 135mm f2 and the
70-200mm f/4L both are about the same price but the latter might be a better choice for the non astro stuff.
Mind you, it does have a wider FOV than the 135.

Can't afford both dammit!

(And iceman's latest posting from Kulnura shows what a lower cost lens can do - in the hands of someone who knows how to use it.)
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  #35  
Old 29-09-2007, 05:43 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by snowyskiesau View Post
Mostly the camera will be used for landscapes, wildlife, that sort of thing so
any lenses I get should be suited for that.
It's just an advantage if they are also suited to astrophotography as well.

The 50mm 1.8 is on the shopping list. Still deciding between a 135mm f2 and the
70-200mm f/4L both are about the same price but the latter might be a better choice for the non astro stuff.
Mind you, it does have a wider FOV than the 135.

Can't afford both dammit!

(And iceman's latest posting from Kulnura shows what a lower cost lens can do - in the hands of someone who knows how to use it.)
http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/index.html
Good review site for many lenses
Maybe that will help your decision or drive you mad with exponential options!!
Cheers
Doug
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  #36  
Old 29-09-2007, 05:51 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dugnsuz View Post
http://www.photozone.de/8Reviews/index.html
Good review site for many lenses
Maybe that will help your decision or drive you mad with exponential options!!
Cheers
Doug
Now I'm really confused! Just as well it's a long weekend and I'm stuck at home, nothing to do but research how to spend by money

And to top it off, there's a nearly full moon .
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  #37  
Old 29-09-2007, 06:08 PM
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Originally Posted by snowyskiesau View Post
Now I'm really confused! Just as well it's a long weekend and I'm stuck at home, nothing to do but research how to spend by money

And to top it off, there's a nearly full moon .
Seeing you have the time, here's another site with user reviews
http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/
Go get 'em!
Cheers
Doug
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  #38  
Old 29-09-2007, 06:19 PM
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IMO the Canon 135mm f/2L lens is top performing astro imaging lens.
For daily use it's one of the sharpest lenses Canon makes, only second to the magnificent 300mm f/2.8L but approx $4k cheaper.
Have a look at the Antares region which Paul took recently with this lens.
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  #39  
Old 29-09-2007, 07:54 PM
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EOS T-Ring

Hi
to save me looking around, where did you get your EOS T-Ring ??
i just brought a Canon 400d. Thanks



Quote:
Originally Posted by dugnsuz View Post
Hi I've just bought a 40D but haven't really had the skies to give it an astro workout yet!
You'll need an EOS T-Ring to attach the Camera directly to the C8, to do prime focus stuff with the ED80 you might want to get a 2" Prime focus adapter to attach the T-Ring +Camera to like the pic below.
Hope that helps
Doug
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  #40  
Old 30-09-2007, 09:07 AM
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acropolite (Phil)
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Quote:
where did you get your EOS T-Ring
Bintel have them.
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