DSLR Camera for Astrophotography

Carlz (Carly) · #1 13-10-2011, 09:26 AM

Hey everyone,

I have been thinking about selling my Pentax DSLR and purchasing another one (the pentax was a quick purchase with no research done). I just wanted some advice on what i should be looking for in a camera... i.e settings wise, and performance. Im only new to astrophotography, so im not too sure on what is needed in a camera. My budget is roughly up to $1,300 (and would prefer a lens, not just a body).
Any ideas?
Carly

Poita (Peter) · #2 13-10-2011, 10:15 AM

You can get a Nikon D7000 with a lens for that money, I have one and find it a truly excellent camera for Astro and for traditional photography. Also, that money gets you a magnesium alloy body, not a plastic one.
There is also a Pentax with the same sensor as the D7000, if you got that I guess you could keep your lenses and sell just the body.

I prefer the Nikon over the Canon, but it comes down to personal preferences. The metering and autofocus is definitely better than the Canon, but the image results will be much the same on Canon/Nikon/Pentax etc. I prefer the layout and the one-handed operation of the Nikon, and the loadable setups etc. it feels more like something designed for people who have to use the gear every day, rather than having lots of features that can be annoying to get to, but really, it is down to personal preference, all current model DSLRs in that price range are excellent.

Ken Rockwell is a nutjob, but his thoughts sum it up for me:
http://www.kenrockwell.com/tech/nikon-vs-canon.htm

Read the first bit, where he basically says it is much of a muchness, then jump way down to the heading DSLRs (a few pages in), some of it is out of date, but it sums up why operationally I prefer Nikon for traditional photography.

More people tend to use Canon for Astro than anything else, so you will find more owners with Canons. I think that is partially because in the past there were definite advantages to the Canon gear.

Octane (Humayun) · #3 13-10-2011, 10:27 AM

Carly,

My strong recommendation would be to see if you can find yourself: either a second hand Canon 40D or a second hand Canon 5D. Both of these cameras are absolutely fantastic for astrophotography. If you're not interested in using them for standard terrestrial photography -- you can have them modified to pick up the hydrogen alpha wavelength, which is where all the red nebulae hide.

Peter, rebuttal

: whenever someone's handed me a Nikon, I get completely lost -- none of it makes any sense to me! It's all about what you've gotten used to -- so, the ergonomics you mention, mean nothing to someone who's gotten used to using another system. Furthermore, ergonomics don't count for much when it comes to astrophotography as pretty much everything is controlled via software when you tether your system to a computer.

I'm not sure what you mean by hidden features? The three most used things on my camera are modes (aperture/shutter priority, manual), exposure compensation, and focus point selection. Modes are easily switched, exposure compensation is a slide of the thumb on the selection dial/aperture is dialed with the index finger, and the focus selection is done with the thumb on the joystick. All while not even looking at the camera.

Also, Ken Rockwell: lol.

There is a lot, and, I mean, a lot of software support for Canon cameras insofar as astrophotography is concerned.

Have a look on eBay and you will find yourself a 40D or a 5D for $400-$800. The rest of the money can be spent on lenses which will last you a lifetime.

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask if you'd like more information.

H

traveller (Bo) · #4 13-10-2011, 11:27 AM

As a Nikon user, I have to agree with that Canon does a better job at AP. They tend to have less noise and their RAW format is also true RAW. Having said that, Nikkor lenses are unbeatable in colour reproduction IMHO.
So if you are doing piggyback, not much difference. But if you are doing prime focus, get a second hand Canon.
As a rule of thumb, the shorter the numer of digits, the more "pro" the camera is geared (e.g. 20d is more pro than 200d, D7000 is less pro than D900).
HTH.
Bo

Poita (Peter) · #5 13-10-2011, 11:29 AM

Oh and if you want a Canon10D to play with, I can lend you one, it is gathering dust on the shelf. The D7000 has exceptional low noise performance, but I agree there are more apps that support Canon. Depends if your main focus is AP or traditional photography. I used the Nikon for both, and figured one day I'd end up getting a dedicated astro CCD anyway (which I did a month or so ago), so I went with the Nikon with that in mind.

Yeah, Ken is a fruit loop, but every now and then he makes sense

jwoody (Jeremy) · #6 13-10-2011, 08:54 PM

I would add that a camera with the "Live View" function helps out when trying to focus. As said above a second hand canon 1000d or similar with a view to modding it would be a good choice.
Ken Rockwell, haven't been there for ages, must have a look.

Carlz (Carly) · #7 05-11-2011, 09:29 AM

Thanks all for your feedback

I bit the bullet and ended up getting a nikon D5100. I found the menu easy to use, just everything about it i liked. It is nice and simple

I was heading for the Canon, but there arent many around in shops for me to have a look at physically. Anywho thanks for your feedback

barx1963 (Malcolm) · #8 05-11-2011, 11:11 AM

I am a Canon user, but Nikons and Canons are in many ways the pick of the crop with DSLRs so the camera will serve you very well. The main prob I am aware of with Nikons is they have a built in noise reduction program colloquially (hope I spelt that right) as the "Nikon Star Eater" which can detect faint stars as noise anf delete them. Michael Covingtons book on DSLR astro imaging has a work around that can be used.
It could be that this isue has since been resolved with later versions of Nikons, just thought you should be aware of it.

Malcolm

Carlz (Carly) · #9 05-11-2011, 11:13 AM

Thanks Malcolm i shall have a look into it

trek1701 (Mark) · #10 05-11-2011, 11:55 AM

I spent considerable time looking into this.
I was originally thinking the Nikon D5100 had advantages over the Canon600D
I ended up with the more durable Canon 60D as its priced had dropped and the Nikon D7000 didn’t have the articulated screen.

Cheers Mark

Carlz (Carly) · #11 05-11-2011, 11:57 AM

Yeh the movable screen definitely comes in handy when looking at zenith

midnight (Darrin) · #12 05-11-2011, 03:30 PM

Carly,

I would recommend you take a look at the work by a fellow member here Octane (Humayun) as I have learnt a lot from reading and viewing his work.

In the end, you'll grow acquainted with your choice of camera so enjoy researching and learning from some of the masters here.

And good luck. As I said take a look at some of works of fellow IIS members here with DSLRs and you'll quickly get an idea for settings and performance capabilities.

Darrin...