Beginner Starter gear for upcoming trip to Iceland with Astro

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IcelandTrip

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Jesse Pozniak
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Bear with me as I am a newbie to photography. Next month (Oct 2nd – 16th I will be touring round Iceland) and have realised I probably want to get the most out of the trip photos wise instead of using just my Samsung Galaxy note 20 as a camera. I’ve also recently gotten very interested in astronomy and therefor astrophotography. As Iceland has some of the best dark sky spots, I have intentionally booked the trip for the new moon phase and will be using a camper to tour around the whole island (ring road).

I’m looking at buying a used camera from one of the online camera specialists that give 12 months warranty. The use would be daytime landscape stuff, your typical holiday in Iceland photos and then in the evening some longer exposure/ layered astrophotography. As I am very new to photography, I was looking at older models, a basic tripod and a spare battery or so (I have some storage already from other devices).

I plan on spending the next month or so learning from youtube, forums etc how to get the most out of my trip now that its all confirmed and planned.



What I am looking at getting (or already have marked as OWNED that I have inherited):



Camera:

A camera that is good all round for the day shots but also is recommended for astrophotography and nightscapes both during my trip and once I return home.

Currently own a Canon 400D that was my dad's old camera and have been messing around with that but realise its terrible by today's standards and I get better results with my phone. Used Body Canon 60D (£200ish), Canon 70D (£350ish) or 80D (£550ish). Would I see much of an improvement from one model to the next here on the kind of stuff I want to take? Any alternative recommendations bearing in mind I am familiar with Canon stuff so feel comfortable with it. A flip out screen seems like a must for lining up Astro shots. If I really get into the astro side, I would like to start taking photos through a telescope eventually. As I will probably not return to Iceland, I would like to get some good shots whilst I am there.



Lenses:

Which of the below would you recommend using/ditching?

Centon 500mm F8 MC Mirror Lens (OWNED)

Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM (OWNED)

EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II (OWNED)

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II (looking to pick up second hand on the usual places)

Any others you would recommend? I'm trying to balance spend on lens vs body.



Tripod:

Portable Tripod,K&F Concept 70"/177cm or similar budget friendly lightweight travel tripod



All in all, I would like to keep my spend under £1000 but obviously would prefer to spend less if I will get similar results. Many thanks in advance for your input!
 
Others can comment on the gear side, but you may want to consider getting the new Fotovue Iceland guide, to identify good photo locations.
 
Just consider that you can't use EF-S lenses on the 6D, it's EF lenses only. I haven't shot Canon for a number of years, but a used 6D, or maybe a 5D3 might be the way to go.
 
I wouldn’t bother with any of those lenses for Astro, except maybe the 50mm, but you’ll find it too long for vast Milky Way type shots, but might be useful for more subject oriented stuff
You want something wide with a wide aperture, preferably f/1.4, but up to f/2.8 is ok. I’m not a canon user so can’t recommend specific lenses, but have a look at samyang. They make some reasonably cheap wide lenses mostly Manual focus, but isn’t an issue as you wont autofocus on stars anyway.
Id say in the region of 10-24mm, obviously on crop cameras 24mom isn’t massively wide, so you might want to look more at the lower end of that. Samyang make a 12mm f/2 that I used to use on my Fuji, but not sure if they have the same for canon mount.
 
TCR4x4 said:
I wouldn’t bother with any of those lenses for Astro, except maybe the 50mm, but you’ll find it too long for vast Milky Way type shots, but might be useful for more subject oriented stuff
You want something wide with a wide aperture, preferably f/1.4, but up to f/2.8 is ok. I’m not a canon user so can’t recommend specific lenses, but have a look at samyang. They make some reasonably cheap wide lenses mostly Manual focus, but isn’t an issue as you wont autofocus on stars anyway.
Id say in the region of 10-24mm, obviously on crop cameras 24mom isn’t massively wide, so you might want to look more at the lower end of that. Samyang make a 12mm f/2 that I used to use on my Fuji, but not sure if they have the same for canon mount.
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Thanks for the input, very useful stuff, I am looking at MF samyang and rokinon so good to know I am on the right track. The 50mm was recommended as a good cheap starting lens for astro, The other lenses I was thinking might be useful for daytime stuff as I want to use it for city, nature etc alongside the astro at night.
 
Jelster said:
Just consider that you can't use EF-S lenses on the 6D, it's EF lenses only. I haven't shot Canon for a number of years, but a used 6D, or maybe a 5D3 might be the way to go.
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Would a 6D give vastly better photos than say a 70D? Seems 70D can be picked up around £350 but the 6D is £500ish and lacks the swivel screen which seems handy for astro
 
As I was reading through your requirements the 6D sprang to mind, but I expect that this would blow your budget when you start adding lenses.

I'm not too hot on the Canon X0D range these days, but lens wise you want something wide (lower focal length - 10 to 16mm on cropped sensor or 16 to 24mm full frame) and fast (low f number) for astrophotography. Your 18-55 and 75-300 will be a good starting point for day to day stuff - a 50mm prime would be a good addition. Tripod wise, I don't know the model you linked to, but I like the 3LT Travis or Manfrotto Befree range as budget travel tripods.

And enjoy Iceland! It is a stunning country!
 
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IcelandTrip said:
Would a 6D give vastly better photos than say a 70D? Seems 70D can be picked up around £350 but the 6D is £500ish and lacks the swivel screen which seems handy for astro
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Until recent generation sensors the 6D was the best Canon low-light High ISO sensor.

You should expect to pay £425-£500 for one from a dealera (with warranty) and around the £400 mark for one from a private seller. Your EF-S lenses will not work on the 6D as @Jelster says

Use this website to get pre-loved prices https://usedlens.co.uk/?search=6D&retailer=0&brand=all
 
Mr Perceptive said:
Until recent generation sensors the 6D was the best Canon low-light High ISO sensor.

You should expect to pay £425-£500 for one from a dealera (with warranty) and around the £400 mark for one from a private seller. Your EF-S lenses will not work on the 6D as @Jelster says

Use this website to get pre-loved prices https://usedlens.co.uk/?search=6D&retailer=0&brand=all
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Thank you for taking the time to help out, it is very much appreciated! It looks like 6D is probably the body that I will be hunting for then!
 
Ideally for Milky Way/Aurora you are going to want wide & fast - FF I shoot 20/1.8 or 35/1.4 for astro landscape.

But...... In all honesty, you could probably shoot Milky Way or Aurora with what you have but your ISO is going to be pretty high - That will mean multiple exposures & then stacking them to reduce the noise.

Your other option is a Move Shoot Move star tracker which will allow you longer shutter speeds without star trailing & therefore lower ISO which will give you cleaner images...... You also then have the option of some nice timelapse shooting......

My lighter tripod is also a 3LT Travis as previously mentioned - it's pretty good in all honesty.

I'd also take the longer zoom - some nice compressed landscapes to be captured in Iceland.
 
The 60D wasn't great in low light, so pretty poor for astro.
If you're going to stay with Canon crop sensor cameras, I'd look at the much newer 80D.
If you can push the budget, then the 6D is a brilliant camera in low light. The lack of the flip screen in a frustration though. But I loved my 6D and it produced great images, oh and it's the same size and weight as the 60D.

If staying with crop sensor Canon, look to replace your 18-55 kit lens with one of the following:
Canon 17-55mm f2.8 IS - probably around £3-400. A great all round zoom lens and at f2.8 it lets in enough light to be useful for astro
Sigma 17-50mm f2.8 - equivalent to the Canon above but a bit cheaper.
Sigma 18-50mm f2.8 - the older model of the Sigma, cheaper still, easy to pick up for £150-200
Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 - another equivalent
Sigma 18-35mm f1.8 DC Art - part of the highly rated "Art" series and f1.8 is great for astro, but you're looking at £5-600

Alternatively, keep the kit lens as it'll be fine for daytime and landscapes and add one of these for astra:
Samyang/Rokinon 14mm f2.8 - there's several models, the older manual focus (which is fine for astro) can be had for under £200, the newer MF model is around £300, the newest autofocus model is around £500+
Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 DX - this is wider and has autofocus, there's currently one on ebay for £199.

So my suggested kit would be:
Crop sensor:
Canon 80D - £550-600
Canon 17-55mm - £350
Tripod - £70 - check out K&F Concept.
Keep your 75-300.
If you have money spare, buy a s/h Canon 50mm f1.8 STM

Or full frame:
Canon 6D - £500
Canon 17-40mm f4L - £300 (f4 on full frame is actually ok) or
Sigma 17-35mm f2.8-4 - I have this lens, it's f2.8 at 17mm and f4 at 35mm, it's pretty good for the price, ie under £200 (ebay link)
Canon 50mm f1.8 STM - £80
Tripod - £70-100

Or alternative full frame:
Canon 6D - £500
Canon 24-105 f4L - £300 - a great all round zoom lens.
Samyang 14mm f2.8 - £200 the older manual version for astro.

The image below was taken last year with my 6D and the Sigma 17-35mm.

IMG_3247a-4.jpg

Don't forget gloves and a headtorch ;)
 
I'd sell everything you have except the nifty fifty. I'd chance not having a warranty but make sure I had a week with the gear before I went to make sure it was ok. Say you get 200 for your kit and it gives 1200 to spend. A 6d is easily had for 350 on ebay, I'd get a MF Samyang 14mm or 24mm at 150 or 250, a 24-105 at 350 and a 70-200 f4 for around 250. If you buy well and look at histories for sellers on ebay you should end up with a nice bit of kit capable of taking great images in many different scenarios all of which won't devalue very much if you buy well. I would definitely put a wanted up add here as most sellers will give you a fair price and are very trustworthy.

Regardless of what you get make sure you have enough batteries and cards.
 
If you’re looking at selling everything, which you’ll have to do (barring the 50mm) if you go FF then I’d throw the Nikon D610 into the mix. It has over 2 stops better dynamic range and better noise handling than the 6D and is roughly the same price used from places like MPB. I’d have suggested the D750 but that wouldn’t leave you much budget for lenses.

Pair this with a fast wide Samyang/Rokinon and you have a great Astro combo.
 
snerkler said:
If you’re looking at selling everything, which you’ll have to do (barring the 50mm) if you go FF then I’d throw the Nikon D610 into the mix. It has over 2 stops better dynamic range and better noise handling than the 6D and is roughly the same price used from places like MPB. I’d have suggested the D750 but that wouldn’t leave you much budget for lenses.

Pair this with a fast wide Samyang/Rokinon and you have a great Astro combo.
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He's stated that "bearing in mind I am familiar with Canon stuff so feel comfortable with it", given the short time-frame to get used to the gear before a potentially once in a lifetime trip, switching systems probably isn't a good idea.
Given that with astro you are shooting in the dark, it's probably best to stick with what you know unless you have a good month or two to get used to it and actually try shooting at night with the new kit.

Besides, if he sticks with Canon, he can keep the 400D (it's not worth much to sell) as a backup camera, I'd definitely want a backup camera if I was going to Iceland, even if it stayed in the accommodation and didn't end up being used.
 
ABTog said:
He's stated that "bearing in mind I am familiar with Canon stuff so feel comfortable with it", given the short time-frame to get used to the gear before a potentially once in a lifetime trip, switching systems probably isn't a good idea.
Given that with astro you are shooting in the dark, it's probably best to stick with what you know unless you have a good month or two to get used to it and actually try shooting at night with the new kit.

Besides, if he sticks with Canon, he can keep the 400D (it's not worth much to sell) as a backup camera, I'd definitely want a backup camera if I was going to Iceland, even if it stayed in the accommodation and didn't end up being used.
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Yeah I get that but tbh the principles of photography are the same regardless of brand and I've personally not found it an issue swapping from one brand to another. YMMV (y) Also the 6D is quite different to the 400D so would have to learn how to use that. Obviously the menus will be similar though.
 
snerkler said:
Yeah I get that but tbh the principles of photography are the same regardless of brand and I've personally not found it an issue swapping from one brand to another. YMMV (y) Also the 6D is quite different to the 400D so would have to learn how to use that. Obviously the menus will be similar though.
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Of course the principles are the same and once you are experienced, swapping between cameras/brands is less of an issue but the OP is a beginner who's only experience is with the 400D and has limited time to get to know the gear.
If it was just a camera for a standard sort of trip, it would be less of an issue but in my experience when shooting at night you benefit massively from being comfortable with your camera, where the buttons are and where to find settings in the menu.
I'm not bashing the Nikons, they are capable cameras but having the best spec in the world won't help if you are struggling to work the camera on location.
 
ABTog said:
Of course the principles are the same and once you are experienced, swapping between cameras/brands is less of an issue but the OP is a beginner who's only experience is with the 400D and has limited time to get to know the gear.
If it was just a camera for a standard sort of trip, it would be less of an issue but in my experience when shooting at night you benefit massively from being comfortable with your camera, where the buttons are and where to find settings in the menu.
I'm not bashing the Nikons, they are capable cameras but having the best spec in the world won't help if you are struggling to work the camera on location.
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Yep, totally get that. It was just a suggestion as, like I said, if they're contemplating the 6D they're going to have to learn that anyway as button layouts and features are quite different from the 400D so it wouldn't be too much more to learn the Nikon.

It is difficult to judge as I'm used to swapping from one to another, but usually after an hour or so I'm au fait with a new camera so a month I would have thought was ample (y) As I said, was just a suggestion and something else to consider, doing astro I'd want my images as clean as possible (y)
 
snerkler said:
If you’re looking at selling everything, which you’ll have to do (barring the 50mm) if you go FF then I’d throw the Nikon D610 into the mix. It has over 2 stops better dynamic range and better noise handling than the 6D and is roughly the same price used from places like MPB. I’d have suggested the D750 but that wouldn’t leave you much budget for lenses.

Pair this with a fast wide Samyang/Rokinon and you have a great Astro combo.
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If the OP can find time to learn a new system, might actually be easier for an unexperienced photographer, then I think this is a good suggestion. If you get auctions at the right time a D750, Samyang 14mm, 24-120 and 75-300mm VR should just about be doable. I have owned all the lenses and they are all good value
 
wookie6262 said:
If the OP can find time to learn a new system, might actually be easier for an unexperienced photographer, then I think this is a good suggestion. If you get auctions at the right time a D750, Samyang 14mm, 24-120 and 75-300mm VR should just about be doable. I have owned all the lenses and they are all good value
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Wow, if you can get all that for a grand I need you to buy my gear in the future ;) :p
 
snerkler said:
Wow, if you can get all that for a grand I need you to buy my gear in the future ;) :p
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D750 often around £500, 24-120, 300 easy enough, Samyang 14mm - 150-200 and 75-300 vr around 150-200. You might have to wait a few weeks to get those prices but there are deals if you can be bothered to look. I'm not talking beaten up bits of kit either I would be expecting decent condition at worst. I'm assuming his other kit raises a couple of hundred too
 
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wookie6262 said:
D750 often around £500, 24-120, 300 easy enough, Samyang 14mm - 150-200 and 75-300 vr around 150-200. You might have to wait a few weeks to get those prices but there are deals if you can be bothered to look. I'm not talking beaten up bits of kit either I would be expecting decent condition at worst
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Wow, cracking deals. I just tend to use MPB as a guide and a decent condition D750 is circa £900. I think I need to use fleabay more (y)
 
snerkler said:
Wow, cracking deals. I just tend to use MPB as a guide and a decent condition D750 is circa £900. I think I need to use fleabay more (y)
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Do a search for previous sales to get an idea. There are frequently items that sell for less than they should. Mind you I looked again at D750s and 600 would be a more realistic figure
 
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6D can be controlled from your phone, perhaps not quite as convenient as a flip screen but good enough especially if the camera is on a tripod
 
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