My new toy: a canon

[one_iota]

Now I know amongst such august company that this probably doesn't rate....however I just bought a new toy: the Canon 450d with a Tamron 18 - 250 zoom.

I'm having a bit of fun with it.

I have an interest in astrophotography but the telescope is a large step away.

The full moon was rising on a weatherful night and armed with camera with tripod I captured a few shots.

This is one:


https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/02/1157.jpg

The technical details are:

File Name IMG_0098.JPG
Camera Model Canon EOS 450D
Shooting Date/Time 30/01/2010 20:27:09
Shooting Mode Program AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1
Av( Aperture Value ) 5.6
Metering Mode Evaluative Metering
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO Speed 400
Lens 18-250mm
Focal Length 141.0 mm
Image Size 4272x2848
Image Quality Fine
Flash Off
White Balance Mode Auto
AF Mode Manual focusing
Picture Style Standard
Sharpness 3
Contrast 0
Saturation 0
Color tone 0
Color Space sRGB
Long exposure noise reduction 0:Off
High ISO speed noise reduction 0:Off
Highlight tone priority 0 Disable
File Size 3242 KB
Drive Mode Self-Timer Operation
Camera Body No. 2180586378


Don't you just love digital technology :D

[dmdigital]

Canon's just lack rifling:p (and a third "n")

You need to up the shutter speed / aperture and spot meter on the full moon as it has blown out the highlights.

I'm not familiar with the EOS450D but I assume it has a histogram on the picture review screen. Read up on how to interpret this and it will assist a lot.

Have fun with the new toy and just keep reminding yourself that you should have bought a Nikon.

[one_iota]

Thanks D :D

I'll work on it

I'm still a bit "raw" ;)

If I buy a Nikon I wont be able to afford the telescope :p

[dmdigital]

Sorry that last post came across a bit abrupt:angel:

Are you shooting RAW or JPEG? If you have the software RAW is much better.


You could always buy a Nikon telescope:angel:

[slt]

I have an interest in astrophotography

Cool! :)

A good percentage of my camper's purpose is to act as a mobile observatory ... though still humming and aahhing about a "proper" telescope too. Got the family a Celestron Nexstar for Chrissie, and we're loving it. We should compare notes one day.

And enjoy the camera .... started with somthing similar (30D) but eventually woke up to Nikon too :p

[Pedro_The_Swift]

OMG,, its like admitting to buying a Disco in a room full of Defender drivers,,,:p:p

Great shot Mahn:cool:

[dmdigital]

OMG,, its like admitting to buying a Disco in a room full of Defender drivers,,,:p:p

Great shot Mahn:cool:

:Rolling:

[one_iota]

Sorry that last post came across a bit abrupt:angel:

Are you shooting RAW or JPEG? If you have the software RAW is much better.


You could always buy a Nikon telescope:angel:

:D

Typical Nikon owner :rolleyes: ;) (see Pedro's wise observation)

Yes it does RAW and the software that came with the camera is not too shabby according to the reviews. I need to spend some time getting my brain around that.

It's certainly a step up from my box brownie.

Canon is the preferred DSLR camera for astrophotography due to its low noise on long exposures. Canon setout to fill this niche.

[Banjo_pluker]

I own a 30D.

i bought as I had SLR lens (75-300) that fitted straight in.

I love my canon and I am sure you will have a lot of hours of fun with it.

I wish I had the 18-250 zoom as it covers a much broader range for general photography.

Happy snapping!!

[werdan]

Canon is the preferred DSLR camera for astrophotography due to its low noise on long exposures. Canon setout to fill this niche.

Canon used to make a specialist astrophotography model in the '20Da'. It was based on the 20D but had a different IR filter, a lockup mirror and an open shutter live-view mode that allowed accurate focusing in very low light. I don't think they've made anything like that since though.

[one_iota]

Correct. That model is no longer produced. AFAIK It had the advantage of being able to capture light at the wavelength of hydrogen. This is normally fitered out by most cameras.

These days the serious guys are mounting CCD's to their scopes: http://www.sbig.com/

[dmdigital]

Typical Nikon owner :rolleyes: ;) (see Pedro's wise observation)
Thought Pedro's comment was spot on especially as you own a Defender! ;)


Yes it does RAW and the software that came with the camera is not too shabby according to the reviews. I need to spend some time getting my brain around that.
I've heard the software with the Canon isn't to bad for "with camera" stuff. Easiest description is shooting RAW produces something like a digital negative, shooting JPEG is like having it already developed and ready to print. You can do a lot more correction to a RAW and re-saving it doesn't loose information like a JPEG (even something as simple as cropping a JPEG looses detail in the compression of the saved image).


Canon is the preferred DSLR camera for astrophotography due to its low noise on long exposures. Canon setout to fill this niche.
Yes I realise that used to be the fact with Canon, I'm not sure where it stands now as Nikon has nailed them down in the noise race but on the down side both of them are putting in better IR filters. Don't know whose the best now.

[drifter]

:)

I dunno - I was shooting at ISO 6400 the other night and didn't have any noise problems...

Welcome to the world of dSLR cameras, one_iota - one of the many hobbies guaranteed to remove money from your wallet almost as quickly as Land Rover ownership.

It's cool - it's fun!

[dmdigital]

I dunno - I was shooting at ISO 6400 the other night and didn't have any noise problems...
Turn the iPod up louder:p

I find my Nikon is noisy above ISO12800 but ISO6400 isn't much different to ISO200:p

[one_iota]

Cool! :)

A good percentage of my camper's purpose is to act as a mobile observatory ... though still humming and aahhing about a "proper" telescope too. Got the family a Celestron Nexstar for Chrissie, and we're loving it. We should compare notes one day.

And enjoy the camera .... started with somthing similar (30D) but eventually woke up to Nikon too :p

Hi Gunter,

I came across this clip via Astronomy Picture of the Day (http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html) on this site http://www.tierrayestrellas.com/cielosdelteide/index_eng.htm

Viaje alucinante by Daniel Lopez on Vimeo

He uses Canons 300D and 400D

But I'd love his Takahashi scope:

http://www.tierrayestrellas.com/cielosdelteide/equipo.htm

[Pedro_The_Swift]

amazing vid:cool:

[slt]

Fantastic Mahn! (and yes APoD is one of my home pages in the browser). I've been playing around with time lapses too, but so far either the moon was too bright, or it was cloudy. And on my last camping trip I was rudely interrupted by a bunch of hoons who decided the campground was a good spot for a bit of spotlighting :twisted:

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2010/02/1071.jpg

Btw, I'm lusting after a Tak FSQ-106 ... more portable for my mobile Puma observatory :)

[one_iota]

That's a lovely shot even with the possum spotters intrusion.

Where was that taken?

It looks a bit like Dunns Swamp near Kandos or Dumaresq Dam in Armidale.

[slt]

You know your dams Mahn :)

Dumaresq, in mid-January. The bright 'star' just above the horizon is Mars.

[one_iota]

When I was in Armidale last I took a photo of those trees just to the right of Mars. It was a wintry afternoon and cloudy but the setting sun hit the trees....a great subject...pity about the photographer...the shot was crap. I still have it but wouldn't dare post it here.

[Bushie]

...the shot was crap. I still have it but wouldn't dare post it here.

Remember there's still the occasional shot of a toyota posted here. :D:D:D

Go on post it, couldn't be that bad.


Martyn