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Camera 800$

Sky-Watcher AZ-EQ5 Pro Askar FRA400 Acquisition Buying Advice Solar System
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The_shapley_supercluster avatar
The_shapley_supercluster avatar
Good morning
I am a beginner in astrophotography. I own an Askar FRA400 telescope and an AZ-EQ5 mount. I am now thinking of buying a DSLR at a price of around 800$. What camera would be suitable for this set up? 
I would prefer a typical camera that would also be suitable for ordinary photos.
Ian McIntyre avatar
Ian McIntyre avatar
That is a nice scope/mount setup. As someone who started with the DSLR route, I would honestly suggest that you not try to crossover your astro/daytime gear. Knowing what I know now, with that budget I would go with a ZWO ASI183MC Pro, or even save for something even higher end. I feel like I spent a lot more than I needed to trying to avoid jumping right into a dedicated astro camera. And I spent a ton on lenses as well. You have a pretty sweet scope that you will get much more out of with a dedicated astrophotography camera. Long exposures heat up the sensor and add noise. A pro version ZWO has a cooled sensor.

That being said, even with a DSLR you will miss quite a bit if you don't get the IR cut filter removed. That makes it sub-optimal for day time photography.  I started with a Canon EOS R. It is unmodified and I didn't feel comfortable sending it off, so I found a used EOS 77D and got it modified. Ended up about $600. 77D is basically the 80D sensor in a Rebel body, which has a weight advantage. With your mount the added weight of the 80D would not be a problem, and you will have the added durability. You should be able to find a used one on ebay and get it modified for right around your budget.

But again, if I had to do it all over again, I would just go with the cooled dedicated astro camera.
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andrea tasselli avatar
andrea tasselli avatar
I'll second Ian's thoughts above. People are starting out in AP with a DSLR because they already got one (or more) so it is a no brainer. Then they discover they miss too much with the IR filter on and get it modified at cost and then it just not good enough even if it is modified and they make the switch to an astro camera. Just cut it short and get an astro camera instead.
Tareq Abdulla avatar
Tareq Abdulla avatar
For this price you can get 294 color camera, and if you can save and add little bit more to reach about $1000 then you will have a color cooled astro APS-C based on IMX571 sensor, one of quality great cameras out there in markets, i am also voting about going with a dedicated asto cameras, i have so so many DSLRs and Sony mirrorless and i use NONE of them for my astro work, and NONE can match any of my astro cameras even the cheapest one.
rdhand avatar
rdhand avatar
If you have an account (or open one for free) the following is a link to a Canon T7i that has a full spectrum modification.  The site is Cloudy Nights and it is good resource for used equpmemt and information.  Another good site is astrobin.  People from all over the world post photos.  You can search for a target and see what others have done with it.
With the correct filter an astro modified cameramcan be used for normal photography.

https://www.cloudynights.com/classifieds/item/314696-canon-rebel-t7i-astro-modified/

Also,  Spencer Camera does the astro modifications for NASA and have a lot of good information on their site.
https://www.spencerscamera.com/
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