Canon Announces EOS 60Da for Astrophotography

[lonelywhitelights]

Just noticed in the specs that this camera doesn't shoot video... that's actually quite a shock, I've been using video mode on my 7D to shoot little videos of Jupiter etc so it's a shame that a dedicated astrophoto camera isn't capable of shooting video... for the price I would think video capability is a just a given nowadays? leaving it out and still charging that much? sure it's IR capable now but that modification isn't as costly as putting video in... hmm...

 

[iso79]

Just noticed in the specs that this camera doesn't shoot video... that's actually quite a shock, I've been using video mode on my 7D to shoot little videos of Jupiter etc so it's a shame that a dedicated astrophoto camera isn't capable of shooting video... for the price I would think video capability is a just a given nowadays? leaving it out and still charging that much? sure it's IR capable now but that modification isn't as costly as putting video in... hmm...

I like this move. Maybe Canon is returning to focus on making great still cameras for photographers who don't need video recording.

 

[daveswan]

This is a very interesting cam, but what exactly is the band-pass of the IR blocking filter? Ideally it should extend all the way to the SII line or a bit beyond with a sharp cut-off. Baader and Astronomik do replacement filters like this.

As for no video, I'm in two minds about this, as ideally one would use a dedicated USB or Firewire cam and Registax for planetary imaging. I don't do any astrophotog, myself *yet* partly due to budget crashes, but also the LP where I am in London is pretty dreadfull, seeing down to even mag 4.5 is a spectacularly good night

 

[Astro]

Is it just me or did this just totally blindside us?

that is the problem with camera rumor sites.... the rumors are 90% useless made up stuff.

these camera makers are reayll tight-lipped bunch of peoples.

 

[briansquibb]

Caught us by surprise, I believe. The way you missed this, Craig... I won't visit CR again. [100% lie, of course] ;D

Going to have to switch to Nikon Rmours now ;D ;D ;D ;D

 

[lol]

are these the same as a fully IR modified camera or somewhere in between?
you know the type for taking those cool mid day shots where all the trees and crass goes white

Nope. This camera still blocks IR, but the filter is a different one which passes more deep visible red which is desired for astronomical use.

 

[expo01]

- There were no rumours, so no hopes to get up

I think this is the case.

- It beats the old product in every way

That remains to be seen. The 20Da were hand selected sensors, which worked incredibly well.

- It's such a specialised product that enthusiasts don't mind the cost

The 60Da is ALOT cheaper than the 20Da was.

 

[IWLP]

Just noticed in the specs that this camera doesn't shoot video... that's actually quite a shock, I've been using video mode on my 7D to shoot little videos of Jupiter etc so it's a shame that a dedicated astrophoto camera isn't capable of shooting video... for the price I would think video capability is a just a given nowadays? leaving it out and still charging that much? sure it's IR capable now but that modification isn't as costly as putting video in... hmm...

Canon's own specs disagree, as does the B&H preorder page. And then there's this line in the presser:

"Canon has also included an AC adapter kit with the EOS 60Da, allowing the camera to be powered through an AC wall outlet or a battery-powered inverter, ideal for long exposure image or video capture at home or in the field." (emphasis added)

So it appears it does record video.

 

[emag]

With a UV/IR blocking Clip Filter and manual white balance it will be fine for standard photography. I'm curious if it has the 'region-of-interest' video feature found in the T2i or the T3i's zoom feature, both of which are useful for planetary work. I use a modified 40D for astro, but would love to be able to use one camera for both deep field and planetary work. Currently I remove the 40D and use a Philipps SPC900NC for planets. I've been waiting on an announcement regarding the fabled T4i, this one caught me by surprise. I'll have to compare the cost/return of the 60Da vs. T3i w/modification vs. T4i with modification. Digic5 would have been nice. That said, the 60Da is definitely on my short list. Now to get back to work before my boss walks by! ;D

 

[Marsu42]

Moreover, the EOS 60Da’s Live View mode is equipped with a Silent Shooting feature that eliminates shutter-induced vibration for maximum camera stability when the camera is mounted to a telescope or super-telephoto EF lens.

Enhanced noise reduction on the EOS 60Da sensor offers photographers the ability to experiment with the wide array of ISO settings and increased ISO speeds up to 6400 expandable to 12800.

I don't get the enhancement - enhancement over the 60d or 20da? If this silent shooting mode the same one as on the vanilla 60d it's not exactly silent say in comparison to a Nikon d7000. And I can do stronger "enhanced noise reduction" on raw images in postprocessing, too - what could an in-camera version improve, or is this esp. about bulb nr?

 

[awinphoto]

Does this mean no 70D or 7d2 any time soon? Lol. I dont shoot much astorphotography, so dont jump all over me, i'm genuinely interested... What other differences are there to the 60Da are there from the 60D other than the change to the infra-red filter? Also what real world differences would the difference be between the two, especially if one was to shoot the two cameras seemingly side by side (in theory since no one has the new camera yet)... Just curious.

 

[Axilrod]

Wow this is the first thing I've seen Canon release that there has been no mention of on this site. Looks like I'll be adding a new body sooner than I thought.

 

[Neeneko]

Hrm... I am not quite sure I see the point in this body.....

Ok, I admit I am still pretty new to astrophotography so maybe someone more experienced can correct me, but I see a couple problems here.

(1) The built in filter really limits what you can do. You can always slap different filters on the front to change what wavelengths you see, but this body locks you into one particular type of shot.
(2) The camera still includes a CFA, so the dyes in that are going to screw with whatever you see anyway.
(3) While the A/C adapter helps (wow astro photography can suck batteries dry), they are not including a cooling kit of any type, which will limit its usefulness

I actually have a bad feeling about this. Half baked products like this can serve as marketing examples of 'see, there is no market for this, we tried and it didn't work!'. Kinda reminds me of, a few decades ago, various game companies trying to develop games for girls.. they would produce 1 or 2 half assed titles, point to them saying 'these games we made for girls did not sell well, see, there is no market after all!'.. so the product became a self fulfilling prophecy.

So while I applaud Canon for at least trying to reach out to the niche... I suspect that it will not go all that well (unless those 'sensor enhancements' are something significant) and it will be held up as an internal example of why they shouldn't develop niche products.. which decreases the chances of them ever releasing more interesting variants of their bodies... (ok, I admit, that is still me dreaming of Canon releasing an official B&W body, which would rock for astrophotography)

 

[preppyak]

So while I applaud Canon for at least trying to reach out to the niche... I suspect that it will not go all that well (unless those 'sensor enhancements' are something significant) and it will be held up as an internal example of why they shouldn't develop niche products.. which decreases the chances of them ever releasing more interesting variants of their bodies... (ok, I admit, that is still me dreaming of Canon releasing an official B&W body, which would rock for astrophotography)

It's not like they have never done this before: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canon_EOS_20D#EOS_20Da

My guess is they left elements of the 60D in so it could be theoretically used as a regular camera and an astro camera...expanding the market a bit, but, only time will tell for that. Since they discontinued the 20Da pretty quickly, I'd say if this one doesn't sell well, then they'll probably avoid that niche.

 

[Neeneko]

My guess is they left elements of the 60D in so it could be theoretically used as a regular camera and an astro camera...expanding the market a bit, but, only time will tell for that. Since they discontinued the 20Da pretty quickly, I'd say if this one doesn't sell well, then they'll probably avoid that niche.

*nod* I was actually thinking of the 20Da and how it became an example of 'see, there is no market for this'.

Sad thing is, if Canon actually produced an astro DSLR and stuck with it, they could easily crush the rest of the market. Dedicated astro cameras tend to be overpriced and under powered, a lot of people just use converted DSLRs and only go dedicated if they want to play with monochrome+filters, which is a space DSLRs have completely left at this point (grrrr).

 

[donkom]

Lifepixel offers hydrogen alpha conversion of DSLRs, I wonder if a modified 60D from them will be identical as a 60Da from Canon? http://shop.lifepixel.com/4-Convert-your-digital-camera-to-astrophotography-Hydrogen-Alpha-c16/

Beyond that, Canon releases special camera versions every so often, like last year with the 7D SV - barcode scanning capabilities and modified firmware to meet the mass portrait industry. Not sure if they sold any, though.

 

[Marsu42]

Sad thing is, if Canon actually produced an astro DSLR and stuck with it, they could easily crush the rest of the market.

Maybe they are doing just that with the 60da? If you forget about the marketing hype, this seems like a regular 60d with customized firmware and missing ir filter - so leaving out something while increasing the price seems pretty smart and Canon-like to me ... and since it's so near the 60d it should be pretty easy to produce, though maybe few dealers will have it in stock.

 

[Neeneko]

Maybe they are doing just that with the 60da? If you forget about the marketing hype, this seems like a regular 60d with customized firmware and missing ir filter - so leaving out something while increasing the price seems pretty smart and Canon-like to me ... and since it's so near the 60d it should be pretty easy to produce, though maybe few dealers will have it in stock.

Meh, this might make a dent, but I would not call it market-crushing. A body like this is not going to take on the dedicated monochrome astrophotography cameras, it will not even take on the colour ones since you are stuck with hydrogen-alpha.

 

[IronMike]

Moreover, the EOS 60Da’s Live View mode is equipped with a Silent Shooting feature that eliminates shutter-induced vibration for maximum camera stability when the camera is mounted to a telescope or super-telephoto EF lens.

Enhanced noise reduction on the EOS 60Da sensor offers photographers the ability to experiment with the wide array of ISO settings and increased ISO speeds up to 6400 expandable to 12800.

I don't get the enhancement - enhancement over the 60d or 20da? If this silent shooting mode the same one as on the vanilla 60d it's not exactly silent say in comparison to a Nikon d7000.

Actually, this probably refers to the electronic first curtain that many canon cameras use when shooting in "Live View" mode. It's not necessarily any quieter, but it drastically reduces the vibration when taking a shot and is ideal for use at extreme magnifications (like in microscopy or astrophotography)

Here is a link:

http://krebsmicro.com/Canon_EFSC/index.html

(I'm not affiliated with this link in any way, but I do take photo's through microscopes...)

Mike

 

[justsomedude]

Ok, I admit I am still pretty new to astrophotography so maybe someone more experienced can correct me, but I see a couple problems here.

(1) The built in filter really limits what you can do. You can always slap different filters on the front to change what wavelengths you see, but this body locks you into one particular type of shot.

I don't think you're understanding the "built in filter" and what it does. Actually, ALL dSLRs have an IR filter to produce "normal" looking skin tones. Without an IR filter, you would get very strange looking photos of people (and many subjects for that matter). Based on my interpretation of the 60DA, it appears as if some type of IR filter still exists, it just has been severely weakened.

But yes, you are correct, this certainly limits what you can shoot. But then again - most astrophotographers looking for breathtaking night-sky photos are not concerned about shooting portraits the next day with the same body. This is the reality of serious astrophotography. See more below...

http://www.lifepixel.com/tutorials/infrared-diy-tutorials/canon-5d

http://www.northlight-images.co.uk/article_pages/cameras/canon_5d2_infra-red.html

I actually have a bad feeling about this. Half baked products like this can serve as marketing examples of 'see, there is no market for this, we tried and it didn't work!'.

I don't see this as half-baked at all. I see this as Canon attempting to satisfy (and possibly expand) what is seen as a very niche/limited market. Hence the quiet launch - this isn't supposed to be some mind-blowing dSLR that destroys the market. It's meant for astro-photo dorks like me, who can appreciate the offering of a camera body with a sensor that has limited IR filtering.

Heck, Canon is probably one of the only camera manufacturers that can afford to offer a specialty body like this. I, personally, thank them for doing so. I get a custom IR camera body without having to mod an old 5D2 and void the warranty. A specialty astrophotography camera that still gets full warranty coverage? That's a win-win to me.