Which camera?

Hi all,

I think I might just about have managed to accrue sufficient SPU's with the family treasurer to turn to the dark side. (ie make the switch from film to digital) However, then comes the question.... which camera? All of my digital work to date has been CCD. From looking over this forum, it seems like most people use either a Canon or a NikonD70.

While I am sure that this has been discussed somewhere on here before, would any of you DSLR experts care to give you suggestions on the best camera to get. Also, any issues for astrophotography? eg battery life.

The camera would be used for both normal and astro photography.

Thanks

Maurice

Since no one else answered yet: My own little
research suggested the Canon 20Da was the one
to get. There seems to be more top-quality
images with this DSLR than the others.

There are some small issues about color balance
when using these astro-optimized cameras. To get
really good H-alpha response they need extended
or enhanced far-red sensitivity, but then the
color balance is a little off for normal
photography. It can be fixed with some
IR blocking filter during normal photography,
or some color shift in Photoshop.

There was already some discussion of similar question:
http://www.astromart.com/forums/viewpost.asp?forum_post_id=492660
http://www.astromart.com/forums/viewpost.asp?forum_post_id=507314

If you just go the "Search Forums" tab on the left menu,
and put in some camera name (D70 or 20Da, etc.), set the
start date to early 2006, and search, you will find many
nice images. You can pick the images you like best, and buy
that camera.

i read a link someone posted here a while back comparing the canon's Vs. the nikons with each ISO setting and exposure length. wish i could find than link, it had some good data in it.

the stock (not modified for astrophotography) canon cameras performed better than the nikons.

i shoot canon and Im still trying to get results at astro photos.

for my 20d I have the canon batter grip. this allows you to use 2 batteries at 1 time and i have done about 45 minutes of total exposure time in 1 night with plenty of battery power left.

also there is the canon AC power adapter which you could power from a 12v battery pack with adapters is AC power is not available.

canon also has a timer remote that i have. you can configure it to take as many shots as you want for any length of time and have it pause for any amount of time between exposures. or you could control the camera with your PC / laptop with the USB cable and the canon capture software.

canon does have a wireless remote shutter release, but its about $500.

nikon does have a wireless remote option(ir?) in which you can get one for a few bucks off ebay


now the big question...... what film camera have you been using? If nikon, all of your Nikon glass will work on any nikon DSLR.

if canon camera it has to be an EF mount for them to work on the canon DSLR's

James