What kind of camera is best for taking detailed pictures of the moon?

I am becoming more interested in photography. I own a Canon Powershot A460, but i am thinking about investing in a Digital SLR camera. And this is simply because of the compliments on my creativity that i get with this little camera, I would find great pleasure in being able to photograph the moon and the night sky, if possible.
Does anyone know of what is the best camera for this type of photography? And where I can buy one? 00 is my limit at this point.
Thank you!

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Comments

Amarela

July 9th, 2010 at 5:22 PM

It’s not the camera–it’s the lens. You don’t have to buy the most expensive camera body. I own a Nikon D40 which costs under $500 and I get great pictures (and it comes with a standard zoom lens to use for everyday pictures). If you’re getting your first SLR, get the Nikon D40. I’ve had mine for two and a half years now and it’s never let me down.

You’d need a big zoom lens to get details of the moon. If you don’t understand millimeters (mm) and aperture, you should not invest in an expensive lens. You might realize later down the line that you bought the wrong thing.

But, for pictures of the moon, you could try a Nikon Zoom Telephoto lens that goes from 70 mm to 300 mm for around $550. I haven’t tried it, but I think it’s what you need for moon pictures.

For night photography, you definitely need a tripod, no question about it. You can get a good tripod for around $100.

This puts you at your limit. I hope this helps!
LaLa

July 9th, 2010 at 5:22 PM

You do need a good camera, but more important for taking pictures of the moon would be a really good lens, which can run you over what you said your bubget is. Goos lenses arent cheap.
Fishmeister

July 9th, 2010 at 5:22 PM

$1200 is not going to get you far..

I’ll give you a rundown of equipment used for this shot and price (B&H price)..

Canon 50D = $1149
Canon 500mm f/4 IS = $5600
Two Canon 1.4x Teleconverters = $600

Total = $7349
(and that doesn’t even include the cost of the tripod)

Exposure:1/125 at f/8
ISO speed:ISO 200

Here’s the image (click on it to zoom in a little)..

http://i.pbase.com/o2/51/687951/1/106893813.ZpsiOf3l.IMG_2142a.jpg

I understand that budget is an issue, but you can look at maybe getting a Canon 20Da (specially made for astrophotography)

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/specs/Canon/canon_eos20da.asp

It has been discontinued for a while but they crop up on eBay once in a while.

.
jimmymae2000

July 9th, 2010 at 5:22 PM

This photo was taken with 35mm, hand held, through the eyepiece of my 8 inch reflector.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2458/3599907357_486e96a3a0_b.jpg
KenL

July 9th, 2010 at 5:22 PM

How about a cheaper camera and a 600mm mirror lens? It would be a great moon lens but would have limited use otherwise – and they are fairly inexpensive.

They need a specific camera mount.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?ci=9810&shs=mirror&sb=ps&pn=1&sq=desc&InitialSearch=yes&O=jsp%2Fproductlist.jsp&A=search&Q=*&bhs=t

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