Which DSLR for astrophotography?

andeelym · Post by **andeelym** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 6:03 pm

Oh, I use it for my everyday use as well, I was thinking might as well use it for astro too since its known for its good noise control.

Anyway, you can see this link for a ISO shootout where 5D mark ii is the better performer.
(http://www.photographybay.com/2008/12/2 ... omparison/)

I also read somewhere that Canon RAW files are preferred over Nikon RAW files as Nikon RAW files loses out some fine details that Canon ones will retain. Especially finer/smaller stars will disappear in Nikon systems. Not sure if it is still a prob today.

andeelym · Post by **andeelym** » Mon Sep 13, 2010 6:08 pm

cloud_cover wrote:Hahah! Too late, andy is already a 5DMk2 user (evil!!!!!! - Just kidding - I'm a nikon user)
The noise comparing D700 vs 5DMk2 is comparable, if I remember correctly.
Andy: You have an outstanding camera. Yes, you can get better quality on a dedicated astrocam but unless you have deep pockets, you might find it not worth the additional investment. Your 5DM2 should be able to do ISO 1600 without even breaking a sweat, and that's conservative. If you're stacking (and you should be), then higher ISOs will definitely not be an issue at all. Also your cam will be outstanding at wide field with night landscapes especially if you mate it with a fast lens (say that cheap and good 50mm f1.8)
If you want more light gathering, why not either
1. Get a better mount to allow longer tracking
2. Get an autoguide system to allow longer tracking
3. Get a faster telescope system to allow shorter exposures
Apart from the mount option (which will allow you to mount more equipment or heavier scopes), the other 2 options will be cheaper than a new high end astrocam

Umm, are you referring to me? [smilie=ahaaah.gif]

orly_andico · Post by **orly_andico** » Tue Sep 14, 2010 12:55 am

I also have that Zeiss Jena.... but it doesn't have enough back-focus to mount a Toucam or DSI. That's why I butchered the Bronica... MF lenses (this one's a 6x6) by definition have lots more back-focus... :-)

Post by **Airconvent** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 11:22 pm

cool..another Pentaxian!
For astro photos, can go for the avlue-for-money pentax kx which has one of the lowest noise camera of its class. The coming K5 and Kr should be even better!

http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=76

orly_andico · Post by **orly_andico** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 11:40 pm

Success!!!

http://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/pent ... ils-3.html

It is possible to disable the forced Dark Frame Subtraction on the K20D via entering Debug Mode. I tried this before and couldn't get it to work, and when I tried it just now with files I created, it didn't work either.. but when I used the files in the ZIP file (linked in the above forum thread) it worked!!

The mechanism is quite simple: leave the SD card door open, then power up the K20D. A menu pops up, asking if you want to enable Debug Mode. If you say <EN> (enable) the K20D enters Debug Mode and Dark Frame Subtraction is disabled.

To disable Debug Mode, turn off the camera. On the next turn-on (even if the SD card door is now closed) just select <DIS> to disable Debug Mode.

Re-enabling Debug Mode requires power-cycling and opening the SD card door again though...

orly_andico · Post by **orly_andico** » Wed Sep 15, 2010 11:42 pm

BTW Richard, I have been a long-time Pentax user. :-) One of my favorite antiques is a 50/1.4 radioactive-thorium-glass Super-Takumar.

The K-5 looks pretty expensive though, but maybe I'll go for a K-r in, say.. 6 months? arguably though if the K20D can take decent astrophotos, I have no reason to.. that K-r money would go a long way toward my next mount!