Basil Loc: New Mexico

In a few days I will be taking a multi-day camping trip to the Moab, UT area and plan to take some Milky Way photos using an iOptron SkyGuider Pro tracker. I have used my 6D in the past and generally been happy with the results, but now I also have a 5D Mark IV and, while I will be taking both, I'm trying to decide which should be the one I set up primarily for the night sky Milky Way shots. I will be using a manual focus Rokinon 14mm f2.8 lens.

I would like to hear opinions, especially from anyone having experience with both cameras, on which would be the best to use for this purpose. I could be wrong, but I don't think the extra pixels on the 5D4 would matter since I will be shooting pretty wide and not doing any cropping to speak of and I know the 6D has pretty good low-light performance. Thoughts? Would you chose one over the other and why?

PoppieJ Loc: North Georgia

I think that the low light capabilities of the 6D would make it the best choice for this application. I am going next week to southern Utah and that is what I intend to use for my night photography along with the ioptron star tracker

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

I have owned both. The 6D was great in low light, (and I used the same lens but branded Bower) a bit better than the5DII and 5DIII, but the 5DIV caught up to it and has that 10 more megapixels. Since you are going to be there a few days try both on the Milky Way but the 5DIV would be the overall choice for general photography, esp. because of the much better AF.

Basil Loc: New Mexico

Thanks for the input. Yeah, the 5D IV will definitly be what I use for general and landscape photography for sure. Maybe I will start with the 6D and get several shots, then if time permits change over to the 5D4.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

According to Photons to Photos (https://www.photonstophotos.net/Charts/PDR.htm ) the 5D4 has better low light/high ISO performance, substantially better DR (~2 stops), and higher resolution. No question, take the 5D4.

Basil Loc: New Mexico

I agree on paper it appears the 5D4 would be slightly better WRT DR but I'm wondering how that translates to actual performance / IQ for this specific task (Milky Way shots). I'll probably end up trying both and see which produces then nicer Milky Way when I get home and pull them into LR.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Please let us know what you find out in real-world practice.

Basil Loc: New Mexico

I posed the same question on another (paid) forum and the consensus from those who shoot lots of Milkyway shots was the 5D4 would be their preferred choice so I'm now thinking I will make that my primary camera, but I will also attempt a couple shots with the 6D with the same settings just for comparison. I bought the 6D specifically for shooting night sky but that was before I had the 5D4.

Orphoto Loc: Oregon

As a nikon guy i have no advice as to the body choice. With 4 yrs experience on the sky guider pro here are a couple of tips. Assuming decent polar alignment you will be able to get exposures of at least 2 mins without trailing. Ambient light in sky will be your limiting factor. Dont go for crazy high iso s. 1600 is plenty. Use lens best aperture instead of wide open. Do NOT use autofocus, instead master live view techniques and watch for subtle red vs. green haze outlines. Twist base adjustment screws against each other to reduce slop in side to side and up/down alignment. Make sure tripod base is really level.

Basil Loc: New Mexico

Thanks for the info. Where I'll be shooting (Goblin Valley State Park, UT) there shouldn't be much, if any, ambient light (it's recognized by the International Dark Sky Association as an "international dark sky park") and I'll be shooting when there is no moon at all.

For polar alignment I probably do go overboard for using a 14mm lens (which isn't as sensitive to star trails as longer focal length). I have an app called Polar Scope Align Pro that lets you dial in the exact spot you should place Polaris in the scope's reticle based on your lat/long and local time. When you position Polaris in the correct spot, the tracker should be pointing directly at True North (Polaris itself isn't exactly at True North).

In the past shots I've done exposure with the tracker of up to 3 minutes with no issues. One of the reasons I got the tracker was so I could shoot longer exposures but at lower ISO (usually around 800-1600). I always use manual focus and zoom in 10x in Live View and use a "loop" on the screen to see the stars better, then adjust manually for best sharpness.

Good reminder on leveling. I always have trouble with using that tiny bubble level on the Star Guider so, before I put that on, I use a pair of small (3 inch) bubble levels on the top of the base, with one pointing roughly north/ south and the other at 90° from the first one. Also I usually try to point one of the tripod legs towards north as much as possible. This usually gets me close. I wish the Star Guider had some micro adjustments on it for fine-tuning the level since doing it by adjusting the legs is a PITA. I've been thinking about getting a leveling tripod base that has fine adjustments and a bubble level to make leveling the base a bit easier.

This is what my set up looks like (this is with the 6D, but based on comments here and elsewhere I'm probably going to use the 5DIV mostly for this trip). My Sirui Tripod is "ok" but I kinda wish I had something a bit beefier. As it is, I usually hang some weight under the center of the tripod just to keep it more planted.

Orphoto Loc: Oregon

Basil. You are clearly careful with your technique, which is important with astro work. Using similar process I get 2 min exposures with round stars using a 500mm f4 when imaging deep space objects. Experiment, you might be able to go 15 or 20 mins at only 14mm.
For the future consider series 3 or higher gitzo legs. And Williams Optics makes a replacement wedge base which is a joy to use. If you grow tired of the milky way mount a long lens and aim toward the larger nebulae. Enjoy your trip.

ahudina Loc: Browns Point, WA

I also use a Williams optics wedge and agree it’s a great addition to your kit.

Basil Loc: New Mexico

Thanks for the tip on the legs. This Sirui tripod is ok for light duty, but probably not the greatest stability for star shots. By the way, I just ordered this Neewer Tripod adjustable base. It's not a high end piece of gear, but seems to have pretty good reviews. Should have it in time for my trip to Utah. I'll give it a try.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

Just had this appear on "Canon Watch", looks like you are trying to decide between the #1 and #3 cameras used for Astrophotography.

"Moreover, not only is the Canon EOS 6D the most used camera but Canon is also the most used brand (23%), followed by Nikon (22%), ZWO (22%) and Sony (11%).

The six most used cameras are:

Canon EOS 6D (10%)
ZWO ASI174mm (6%)
Canon EOS 5D Mark IV (4%)
ZWO ASI160mm (4%)
Nikon D750 (4%)
Nikon D850 (4%)
Head over to Skies & Scopes to see all statistics."

Look here and scroll down: https://www.canonwatch.com/

Look here for the article this is a condensation of: https://skiesandscopes.com/astronomy-photographer-of-the-year/

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

Just a guess, but due to the price, I’m betting there are a lot more 6Ds in circulation than 5D4s (and a lot more Canons than Nikons)