Most of the images I have taken and published on this web site were done so with my main camera the Canon EOS 600D Digital SLR, this should give you a good feel for how well a standard DSLR camera can take images of deep space and solar system objects. They are a great all rounder camera that I am sure most people starting out in Astrophotography will get many years of good service from.

What camera to choose? This is a hard thing to quantify as everyones needs and wants are different,  As for myself, when looking around for a camera I had to be a little praticale about my choice as I wanted to have a camera that was suitable for daytime use and for Astrophotography, especially given I was just starting out in the hobby of Astrophotography and didn’t know how far it would take me?

Why did I choose the Canon EOS 600D? Well I read a few books, asked a few questions and had a shop around (I suggest you do the same). What this lead me to conclude was, while a Nikkon camera is either equal or better in some areas in comparison to the Canon they also have some downfalls, I have based my decision on the following points:

  • There is a problem with the Nikkon firmware (commonly referred too as the star eater) thats removes legitimate stars and sources of light from the image when processing a dark frame on board the camera,
  • The Nikkon remote control software is an optional extra cost where the Canon camera came with the software out of the box,
  • Ever since the days of the Canon EOS 20Da, more and more of the community and software developers have made tools that operate Canon’s (such as Backyard EOS) and make them a much more versatile solution rather than just a camera.
  • Given the strong community following there is heaps of info about modifying cameras if you want to try it out.
  • There are some bargains available out there in the community as people are looking to upgrade their cameras to newer models so you don’t need to spend a fortune getting started.
  • The 600D had almost all of the features of the 60D but was cheaper by quite a bit.

So I think that explains why I got what I did. Am I happy with it? You Bet, would I get the same camera again? You Bet. However like I said; look around read books and ask questions to find what is right for you as this will very likely lead you to a different camera altogether.

What about a dedicated AP Camera? Again this is very subjective as everyones needs are differnet, however if I was choosing a camera just for Astrophotography I would have gone for a dedicated mono CCD like the QHY 9 as this can really turn out some stunning photo’s and does not have all the IR or low pass filters on the CCD chip that block alot of the light we want to capture and has a Filter wheel available to get full colour shots if you wanted to. Keep in mind Canon have just released the EOS 60Da and this could be a very viable alternative to a dedicated AP Camera (check out this blog for more details).