Canon Announces EOS 60Da for Astrophotography

[lol]

Though it once again returns me to my gripe that I really wish Canon would put out a monochrome body...

I agree, that would be ideal (one usually needs different exposure times for the different narrow-band filters anyway). In addition to astrophotographers, I bet there would be a market among the more artistic photographers who wouldn't mind going back to b/w, and also surveillance etc where they need the best sensitivities. With the colour sensors we are essentially throwing away two thirds of the photons.

Depends on the wavelength but it can be much worse than 2/3. For example, for the dominant H alpha, and less commonly used SII and NII you only get significant output from the 1 in 4 red filtered sites. OIII and H-beta are better sitting where green and blue sites are sensitive although I've not really found a good way to stick them together yet. I debated replacing H alpha with H beta for the increase in resolution, although that is offset by the lower levels of H beta. So I'd love a "mono" DSLR for this application.

[kdsand]

I haven't done much with magic lantern yet but I would imagine there could be some interesting adaptations.

[DarkKnightNine]

I've always been curious about this kind of photography; tried it a few times and failed miserably. Just what exactly do you focus on when shooting the stars? And what are optimal camera settings? Can anyone help me with this?

[epsiloneri]

I've always been curious about this kind of photography; tried it a few times and failed miserably. Just what exactly do you focus on when shooting the stars? And what are optimal camera settings? Can anyone help me with this?

You focus on infinity. Pick the brightest star/planet and zoom in with live view to focus manually. Or use any very distant light.

For shooting stars (a.k.a. meteors), you would ideally want large aperture (naturally) and wide focal length, on a tripod, also dark skies if you can find some. Your 5D3 or 1DX together with 16-35/2.8 @ 16/2.8 will be perfect. Then use the appropriate ISO that doesn't overexpose the sky in 10s, point your lens towards the sky after midnight and start shooting multiple 10s exposures until you get a meteor in the field. The difficult thing is that you don't know were or when they show up. With a remote, you can just let the camera run and do something else in the mean time. Alternatively, you can use bulb mode and stop an exposure early if you actually see a meteor during the exposure (to improve contrast).

On average you will find only one every 30 min, unfortunately, but it helps if you do it on a night with known high meteor activity (meteor 'shower') such as the trusty Perseids in August (then you might find up to 100 meteors/hour).

Edit: Oops, I read shooting stars, not shooting the stars  Please disregard most of my previous text. For shooting stars you can use essentially the same settings, but you don't need to do multiple 10s exposures. Use as long exposure your night sky allows. If it's longer than a few 10s of seconds, you will start to see star trails (depends on focal length and direction).

[ers811]

I've always been curious about this kind of photography; tried it a few times and failed miserably. Just what exactly do you focus on when shooting the stars? And what are optimal camera settings? Can anyone help me with this?

You focus on infinity-ish.... most lenses aren't in focus when you crank the focus ring all the way.  You'll have to back it off a little.

Just find a bright star and zoom 10x in live view.  Keep a steady hand/tripod and get the star as small as possible.

I don't usually use a lens with IS for wide field astro, but if you do, you can turn it on (just to focus).  Half press the button while you're focusing to make things easier on the eyes.  Don't forget to turn it off before you shoot.

[Neeneko]

For folks asking about "why video", here's why.  One frame on the right, over a thousand stacked on the left.

Hrm.  Cool example.

[Neeneko]

I'm sure Canon can recommend the 800/5.6 as a small, short-focal-length refractor.

Heh.  I actually do use my old 700mm Canon lens ^_^

[DarkKnightNine]

I've always been curious about this kind of photography; tried it a few times and failed miserably. Just what exactly do you focus on when shooting the stars? And what are optimal camera settings? Can anyone help me with this?

You focus on infinity. Pick the brightest star/planet and zoom in with live view to focus manually. Or use any very distant light.

For shooting stars (a.k.a. meteors), you would ideally want large aperture (naturally) and wide focal length, on a tripod, also dark skies if you can find some. Your 5D3 or 1DX together with 16-35/2.8 @ 16/2.8 will be perfect. Then use the appropriate ISO that doesn't overexpose the sky in 10s, point your lens towards the sky after midnight and start shooting multiple 10s exposures until you get a meteor in the field. The difficult thing is that you don't know were or when they show up. With a remote, you can just let the camera run and do something else in the mean time. Alternatively, you can use bulb mode and stop an exposure early if you actually see a meteor during the exposure (to improve contrast).

On average you will find only one every 30 min, unfortunately, but it helps if you do it on a night with known high meteor activity (meteor 'shower') such as the trusty Perseids in August (then you might find up to 100 meteors/hour).

Edit: Oops, I read shooting stars, not shooting the stars  Please disregard most of my previous text. For shooting stars you can use essentially the same settings, but you don't need to do multiple 10s exposures. Use as long exposure your night sky allows. If it's longer than a few 10s of seconds, you will start to see star trails (depends on focal length and direction).

Thanks. Really appreciate the advice.