Michael, I have taken plenty of long exposures with the 50D and not seem any hint of banding. I think RB's suggestion of saving to the compact flash would be the best.
Yep, I will give that a go and see what I get.
Quote:
Originally Posted by astro_south
If you are getting noisy terrestrial images (with iso 1600 or above) perhaps try over exposing a 1/3 to 2/3 of a stop. A lot of "noisy" images just aren't correctly exposed - tending to be underexposed.
Thanks, I'll keep that one in mind for next time.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Octane
Also, for astrophotography, try using a AC-DC power source, rather than the battery. See if that makes a difference.
For all my astrophotography, ever since I began, I used a power source, instead of battery, and have never noticed a single band. If they did occur, it was my own fault for not taking correct flat lights.
That is the difference between my 350D and 50D, I'm using an AC power source for the 350D and a battery for the 50D. Could it be possible that using a battery can mess around with a long exposure?
Quote:
Originally Posted by RB
BTW Michael, does the band show up in darks
Andrew, I've just taken a dark, around 20 degrees C, 300 sec, ISO800. I pushed the levels way up high so you can see what is going on.
Andrew, I've just taken a dark, around 20 degrees C, 300 sec, ISO800. I pushed the levels way up high so you can see what is going on.
Looks ok, I don't see the vertical bar that was in your eta.
I assume you used a CF card?
If so the problem was probably interference with you computer lines.
I keep my setup as basic as possible, I focus using live focus, use a timer and save my images to CF. I don't use the PC for image storage and I always use a AC adapter when doing long exposures.
Hopefully you have solved the problem.
If you want to save to PC, run your cables away from the body to minimise electrical interference.
Looks ok, I don't see the vertical bar that was in your eta. I assume you used a CF card?
I was using IP camera control and saved the dark directly to the laptop. More than likely what I'm going to have to do is:
1) obtain a AC adapter for the 50D
2) see how things go when saving to the flash card directly
In order to use Images Plus I will need to have one USB cable running to the camera, I will try to keep it clear as possible. Thanks for all the feedback everyone, I will update after the next attempt.
I would have to agree with Humayan. I've owned a 20D, 50D and 5DII all have performed flawlessly, the 50D had better noise performance than the 20D, although the difference in image quality between the 20D and 50D IMO was barely percaptable. As Humayan said, the feature set on the 50D is fantastic.
I'll be interested to see if the CF test resolves the problem.
Phil, you put a Digic III chipset on a 20D and I'll *guarantee* it'll smoke the 50D in terms of noise. Small pixels is just stupid from a design point of view and there comes a time when on chip noise reduction can *only* do so much. Why do you think the D3 kicked Mark III butt? The fact that AF works on the D3 was one aspect, but high ISO noise it smokes anything Canon has produced. The 5D Mark II has pretty good high ISO noise too, even more so if shooting at sRAW (11mp). Of course, why by the camera if you're only going to shoot at 11mp rofl.
I'd love Canon to produce a 12mp full frame with dual digit IV 1 series camera, high quality 920k 3.5" LCD screen, GPS, wireless built in, weather sealed pop up flash that can act as a master flash unit for others, 8fps (anything more is just overkill), ISO 50-25600. That'd be a *real* 1 series camera.
Ok guys... It's only been oh lets see... 7 Months! (life, who knew that it could become so incredibly busy), I am finally going to continue this 50D investigation
I'm going to update the Canon firmware to 1.0.7 today (just for the sake of it), and put the camera through its paces tonight. I have a ACK-E2 AC power adapter on the way, however that is not expected to arrive until early next week. Until then I will still try the following:
1) Pushing the images straight to the CF.
For anyone that's interested, I will post results after the run.
Michael
edit: /sigh, clouds and high speed winds put an end to any attempt last night (standing by for clear weather...)
I did 2 things differently, 1) I used an ACK-E2 AC power supply and 2) I saved the image directly to the CF to eliminate any cabling/transmission issues.
I took a few different images with different ISO settings and exposure durations, here is one of them as an example.
SW ED80
Canon 50D
ISO 800
1 x 600 sec
Vertical band = present
On the upside, I have contacted the supplier and they were more than happy to help me out Therefore, in the new year I will be talking with them and Canon Aust to solve this.
Just noticed this thread regarding your 50D. I also purchased a 50D earlier this year, and I don't have any issues with vertical banding. I do find however, that I seem to have horizontal banding, and the raw images seem noisier than my 400D.
Below I have attached the following for your perusal. All images were taken using a Hutech IDAS LPS filter, imaged through my ED120, guided with the ED80 all on the EQ6 Pro.
i. Single 8min exposure with the 50D at ISO800 (straight off the camera)
ii Stacked and processed 6x8min with the 50D at ISO800
iii Single 8min exposure with the 400D at ISO800
iv Stacked and processed 6x8min with the 400D at ISO800
I save my images in both RAW and jpeg both to the computer and the CF card. I power the camera with the ACK-E2 power supply.
Daniel, thank you for posting up some of the images you have taken with your 50D, it just confirms there is definitely something wrong with copy I have. I'm not sure what it could be (either does the supplier from the description I gave them), however its going to be sent back to them next week and they want to pass it onto Canon Aust for further investigation. At the end of the day I hope its resolved, because its just not right at the moment.
Oh dear, I received feedback from the supplier today and the news is not good. Canon say the camera is 'unrepairable' and have asked if I can stand by for a possible firmware update in the future to address this issue. I almost fell off my chair!
Here's the thing
1) It seems that this problem is isolated to my 50D only; and
2) Why would Canon release a firmware update to fix ONE camera out there?
Canon said this is a known issue with the 50D, but how can it be a known issue when its only my camera that is showing this fault? Everyone else seems to be having a great time with their 50D's without any crazy vertical bands in their images. /sigh
Anyway, I have rejected their findings and their subsequent offer of sending a faulty camera back to me
Just received bad news, Canon have refused to repair my 50D under warranty. Canon are still playing the 'this is a common 50D problem' card, I'm completely disgusted in their customer service, but on the other hand impressed with their dodging the issue skills.
I am at a loss on what to do now, any suggestions?