Best iso performance in the 550d price range or less?

lifeofbrian2007 · 19th of April 2012 (Thu)

I am on the verge of getting my first ever DSLR, and i'm pretty sure i've settled on the EOS 550D. The main reason i want it is for night/astro photography, does anyone know if this is the best choice, i hear that its not that great in low light?

Thanks.

canadave · 19th of April 2012 (Thu)

To be honest, although some bodies may be a bit better than others in low light from a sensor point of view, I think you'll see an even more pronounced difference as a result of your lens choices. For instance, the 60D that I have isn't bad in low light, but with slow lenses, the sensor's low-light quality would be moot anyway. Conversely, if you have good quality fast lenses, that's probably more important than any differences in the various bodies.

My recollection may be faulty on this, but when I was looking at the various cameras and comparing for low-light performance, the differences between them were fairly minor--nothing that made me sit up and go "omg, this is HORRIBLE in low light."

If you think the 550D "isn't that good in low light," go to Google Images and search for "550D astrophotography" and see what kind of pics there are. They look all right to me...

cyberon · 20th of April 2012 (Fri)

I use the 500D and 1100D and they work fine for me. Of course some of the more expensive bodies can give you a little higher ISO performance with less noise but there are ways around this.

the jimmy · 21st of April 2012 (Sat)

Quote:

Originally Posted by lifeofbrian2007

I am on the verge of getting my first ever DSLR, and i'm pretty sure i've settled on the EOS 550D. The main reason i want it is for night/astro photography, does anyone know if this is the best choice, i hear that its not that great in low light?

Thanks.

I believe your biggest "performance" gain will be in post processing, also your technique, i.e. if you stack, if you have a good mount to track, there are many ways to take astro photo's and good results can be had with nothing but a tripod, all the way thru spending thousands on equipment.

I also agree with previous posts, the 550D will be good, but your choice of lens is more important.

19th of April 2012 (Thu)	#1
lifeofbrian2007 Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Mytchett, Surrey Posts: 79 IMAGE EDITING OK	Best iso performance in the 550d price range or less? I am on the verge of getting my first ever DSLR, and i'm pretty sure i've settled on the EOS 550D. The main reason i want it is for night/astro photography, does anyone know if this is the best choice, i hear that its not that great in low light? Thanks. Last edited by lifeofbrian2007 : 19th of April 2012 (Thu) at 17:27.

19th of April 2012 (Thu)	#2
canadave Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: South Shore, Nova Scotia Posts: 187 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: Best iso performance in the 550d price range or less? To be honest, although some bodies may be a bit better than others in low light from a sensor point of view, I think you'll see an even more pronounced difference as a result of your lens choices. For instance, the 60D that I have isn't bad in low light, but with slow lenses, the sensor's low-light quality would be moot anyway. Conversely, if you have good quality fast lenses, that's probably more important than any differences in the various bodies. My recollection may be faulty on this, but when I was looking at the various cameras and comparing for low-light performance, the differences between them were fairly minor--nothing that made me sit up and go "omg, this is HORRIBLE in low light." If you think the 550D "isn't that good in low light," go to Google Images and search for "550D astrophotography" and see what kind of pics there are. They look all right to me... __________________ Canon 60D - EF-S 18-55mm ƒ3.5-5.6 IS • Tamron AF 70-300mm ƒ4-5.6 SP Di VC USD XLD • Pentax SMC-M 50mm ƒ1.4 (via adapter) - Kenko Teleplus MC4 DG 2x teleconverter - Manfrotto 055XPROB • Manfrotto 496RC2

20th of April 2012 (Fri)	#3
cyberon Member Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Perth, Australia Posts: 538 IMAGE EDITING OK	Re: Best iso performance in the 550d price range or less? I use the 500D and 1100D and they work fine for me. Of course some of the more expensive bodies can give you a little higher ISO performance with less noise but there are ways around this. __________________ 500D, Speedlite 430EX II, Lens : 15-85mm; 50mm F1.8 II; 100mm F2.8L IS Macro; 70-200mm F4L; Samyang 8mm F3.5 U/W : G11, OEM Housing, Inon S2000, Inon D4 Tray, Inon UCL-165 Close up lens Astro : Modded 1100D, ES 80ED, Skywatcher HEQ5 Mount, Astrotrac TT320X-AG, Astronomik CLS Clip in filter

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