CCD vs DSLR

[richard omeara]

I have a g star ex camera.Which im sure is a fantastic camera.I have spent $$$$ on cables and express card adapters.Yes ive given up on it.Before i convert to DSLR.Are they less complicated conection wise?

[leon]

Yep Richard the DSLR's are very easy to connect to the scope, I have the Canon 5D and just use one USB cable to the Lappy and that is it.

You probably would be better off with a Remote switch for the exposures, but that is all you need.

Leon

[JohnH]

And astro ccds typically use one cable only too - a usb connection so I am not sure I would let that influence your choice too strongly.

[richard omeara]

So i can basicaly put a DSLR atop my scope and take photos too aSD card.Apart from leads for the autoguider that would be it.Can it be done like that?Sorry im a tradie.

[Bassnut (Fred)]

If its a Cannon 450D or 40D, sure can (via its supplied PC software) or with a suitable plug in timer on any DSLR. In fact with a timer, you dont need a PC at all, only you will probably have one nearby for guding anyway, if you are serious about astrophotography. Now the pain starts.

[richard omeara]

So if i get a 40D am i better of getting the body only.And saving up for a decent lens latter.Or getting the standed lens they supply in the kit form?

[wmzaphod]

Originally Posted by richard omeara

So if i get a 40D am i better of getting the body only.And saving up for a decent lens latter.Or getting the standed lens they supply in the kit form?

I really wouldn't bother with a kit (standard) lens unless you can't afford anything else...... Personally, if I was starting from fresh, I'd buy the 40D (or equiv) and get a 50mm 1.4 at around $450, then save up for a quality 70-200 f2.8 or f4 . You'd get great pics with both.....

I use a range of cameras and do have the Canon timer/remote which works very well but is a bit expensive ($200 ish)

Cheers,

Peter

[Tandum (Robin)]

I recently bought a 40D body only ex hong kong for about $1K and had easystyles modify it by replacing the filter. This of course voids the warranty, but coming from HK I'd have warranty headaches anyway. I have since scored a 90-300 lens off my brother in law and have been looking on ebay for something smaller. The standard lenses that come in the kits aren't the highest quality.

I have one usb cable running to a 4 port usb hub on the mount with the canon, quide scope etc plugged into it.

The other cheap option is the QHY8 camera. It's cooled which would be a real bonus and currently costing about $1900. But it's an Astro only camera and I'd have trouble talking the chief into a camera that wouldn't take normal daytime photos.

[richard omeara]

Plan off attack.Should be able to get a 40D body only local for $1100.By the time this c**p weather is finished may have $$ for a decent lens.Maybe put GSTAR in the draw until i get more tec.Thanks all.It really helped HEAPS.

[Dennis]

Hi Richard

Just a word of warning from someone who still bears the fresh wounds and scars of astro photography, even after 10 years in the game using good gear!

It is a challenging aspect of our hobby; the demands on you, your equipment, your set up procedures, acquiring objects, focusing them, getting enough data and then processing it, are all quite significant.

There are many talented astro photographers here on Ice In Space producing wonderful images with a wide range of equipment, spanning a huge price range, but underlying each image are many failures, setbacks and much frustration!

Take your time in learning the craft and don’t be put off by the set backs. Work through each problem you encounter and try to reduce its impact – one more out of the way.

My experience is that there is no magic bullet or perfect set up – even the gear at the top range of the market still requires a significant amount of user interaction to get the best out of it and sometimes, half the fun is in solving the niggling problems.

Good luck on the journey!

Cheers

Dennis

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

Richard,
I spent 10 months trying to get my Gstar to work with my laptop so I completely understand your frustration.
But perseverance paid off for me and now I can take advantage of the Gstar software to capture my images. (before I used a DVD recorder to capture the .avi's)
My laptop is a relatively new Acer Aspire that has been back graded to XP, I connect my camera, using an extra long AV cable (use only the yellow video lead) into the Belkin video capture device which in turn is plugged into a Ritmo PCMCIA Carbus IEEE 1394 + USB 2.0 PCMCIA card (approx $38}.
The beauty of video astronomy is that you can use an Alt/Az mount, polar alignment doesn't have to be spot on, it is much more sensitive than a dslr and best of all is the fact that you can observe in real time on your monitor.
What I can see through my little 80mm scope using the Gstar is far superior to what I can observe visually through my 10" scope.
I can't wait to get my 10" eq mounted, imagine what I'll be able to see then!!

[Screwdriverone (Chris)]

Originally Posted by wmzaphod

I really wouldn't bother with a kit (standard) lens unless you can't afford anything else...... Personally, if I was starting from fresh, I'd buy the 40D (or equiv) and get a 50mm 1.4 at around $450, then save up for a quality 70-200 f2.8 or f4 . You'd get great pics with both.....

I use a range of cameras and do have the Canon timer/remote which works very well but is a bit expensive ($200 ish)

Cheers,

Peter

FYI, I have a $1.90 IR 6in1 remote control that works extremely well with Canon, Pentax and other brands, the post on which is here. Definitely not $200 worth!

Might be some help for the DSLR option. $10 delivered from Hong Kong off Ebay.

Cheers

Chris

[wmzaphod]

Originally Posted by Screwdriverone

FYI, I have a $1.90 IR 6in1 remote control that works extremely well with Canon, Pentax and other brands, the post on which is here. Definitely not $200 worth!

Might be some help for the DSLR option. $10 delivered from Hong Kong off Ebay.

Cheers

Chris

That's incredible - what a buy

I wish I'd seen that before I bought my timer/remote

[coldspace]

For those using an astro video system and trying to capture the best frames, I use the Imaging Sources video converter. This is a dedicated professional standard converter system from your Astro-video to your laptop. the beauty of this system is it does not compress the image so it retains the absolute best result. I don't know the full specs but I do know that when comparing the images from my colour mallincam using it and using a canopus or belkin converter the results were like chalk and cheese. It has composite input as well a s-video which is what I use to get the best signal. The other excellent feature is it comes with "IC" capture software which is very easy to use and capturing and storing images as bitmap is a breeze. The other feature I like is all the image adjustments are in sliders at the top of the screen which is a must when viewing live images on your laptop to get the best detail out of what you are looking at. I have attached the brochure if anyone is intrested in looking at it. It comes in USB2 or firewire versions. They are a bit pricy at around $380 but when you are using good gear you don't want to be let down by your converter system. They don't have sound so you will only be able to use it for astro use but thats what they were designed for as well as security use. Works fine with Vista or XP and is plug and play simplicity.

http://www.theimagingsource.com/en/p...b2lt/overview/

If you go to the website and click on documentation you will be able to look at the brochure and if you want one you can buy one through "Turn key Solutions" in Sydney.

Matt.

[leon]

Very true and wise advice Dennis, as I do know it takes many failures to get a decent image, and many hours of time spent under the stars, as you have stated.

Leon

[AlexN]

Originally Posted by Screwdriverone

FYI, I have a $1.90 IR 6in1 remote control that works extremely well with Canon, Pentax and other brands, the post on which is here. Definitely not $200 worth!

Might be some help for the DSLR option. $10 delivered from Hong Kong off Ebay.

Cheers

Chris

does it let you set exposure count, iso, aperture, exposure duration and a wait time between exposures?? If not, thats the clear upside of the $200 ones...

However, I bought a non-genuine timed remote for my 350D for $75 (including shipping) from hong kong, which has all the features of the canon one... I also have a $7 one that doesnt have any of the timing features, just a single button to expose, and a lock for bulb exposures...

[Screwdriverone (Chris)]

Originally Posted by AlexN

does it let you set exposure count, iso, aperture, exposure duration and a wait time between exposures?? If not, thats the clear upside of the $200 ones...

However, I bought a non-genuine timed remote for my 350D for $75 (including shipping) from hong kong, which has all the features of the canon one... I also have a $7 one that doesnt have any of the timing features, just a single button to expose, and a lock for bulb exposures...

Ahh, no, it doesnt

You can only use the Telephoto / Wide function on most and the shutter button, whether that is any good, I dunno because I aint got no DSLR

If remote (no wiggles) shots is what you want where you can set the exposure length first on the camera, then maybe $1.90 is OK, otherwise, I bow to the DSLR experts for their knowledge, thanks for the clarify Alex!

Cheers

Chris

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

Again, congrats on getting your camera working.