Nikon recently announced their new full-frame D810A, which includes several nice astro-specific features, and retails for about $3,800. There was a recent rumor that Canon was working on a full-frame astrophotography camera, but they have not made any announcements. At this point, neither camera is available new. Canon introduced the 60Da in 2012, which was a 60D with a different IR-cut filter which allowed more Ha light to pass to the sensor. Canon also previously offered a 20Da back in 2005. If you want enhanced Ha sensitivity but don’t want to have your camera modified there have been a few cameras offered by Canon and now Nikon that are designed with improved Ha sensitivity. The downsides of this modification are voiding any warranty on the camera, and no longer being able to use it for daytime photography without fairly extensive post-processing color corrections. There are a handful of companies and individuals that offer this service for fees starting at about $300. Many astrophotographers choose to have their cameras modified to replace that filter with a less-restrictive one that allows more of the Ha light to reach the sensor. Unfortunately, most of the light from nebulae in the universe is in the hydrogen-alpha wavelength, which is between the Infra-red and visible wavelengths, so the filters in most cameras block the majority of this light (80-90%) from reaching the sensor. The result is a natural color picture like we see with our eyes. To correct for this attribute of the CMOS sensors, manufacturers add a filter in front of the sensor that blocks this infrared light, then do processing on the captured images to correct for the white balance and other attributes. If the cameras were offered with bare sensors, the color balance in photos would be heavily shifted towards the red. The CMOS sensors in DSLR cameras can actually capture a wider spectrum of light than the human eye can see, including down into the infra-red wavelengths. It can become a major issue on warm summer nights (this is one of the reasons I’m moving from the Canon Rebel T3i to the 7D Mark II). Thermal noise is less of an issue in the winter, on cold nights. (The 7D Mark II exhibits the lowest thermal sensitivity of the cameras he has tested to date.) Roger Clark has tested a number of Canon cameras over the years, and found the thermal sensitivity to be generally decreasing with the newer generation cameras. Some sensors and cameras though are less susceptible to this thermal noise than others. This is because of the fact that as the temperature of a CMOS or CCD sensor increases, so does the thermal noise recorded by the sensor. Professional astronomical cameras are actively cooled down to temperatures well below freezing. (Of course, I just bought a new camera that doesn’t have this feature, so apparently I need to start doing yoga.) Low Thermal Sensitivity Otherwise as you image higher in the sky, you’ll be bending further and further down while craning your neck to view the screen. Variable-angle LCDĪ rotatable LCD that you can orient independently from the camera can be very handy when centering a star and focusing. A live view that also includes exposure compensation can also be handy in making sure your camera settings (ISO, shutter speed) are reasonably appropriate for bright targets like the Moon, Jupiter, and Saturn. Having a live view makes it easy to center and focus on bright objects. DSLR Astrophotography FeaturesĬharacteristics you should look for in a DSLR you want to use for Astrophotography. If you’re looking for a new camera, here are some aspects to think about, followed by some recommended models for different budgets. So if you already have a DSLR and want to get started with AP, go ahead and use your existing camera. If you are looking to buy a new DSLR for Astrophotography, this article offers some recommended cameras and some of the features to look for in an astrophotography DSLR.ĪNY relatively modern DSLR will work for astrophotography, and work pretty well.
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