Telescope Reviews: T2i....battery or AC Adapter for Astro use

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Astrophotography and Sketching >> DSLR & Digital Camera Astro Imaging & Processing

Pages: 1

zawijava
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 10/06/07

Loc: Wells, Maine 04090

T2i....battery or AC Adapter for Astro use
#5676125 - 02/12/13 03:48 PM

Hi,

I've read here the recommendation that for astro use using a ac adapter instead of the battery in my T2i will reduce noise from battery heat...it does get warm. Is this for all exposure times ie long, short, HD Movie mode etc?

And does the ac adapter not get warm as well?

thanks! -Tim

camera is very new to me, it hasn't seen star light yet due to poor Wx

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RedLionNJ
professor emeritus

Reged: 12/29/09

Loc: Red Lion, NJ, USA

Re: T2i....battery or AC Adapter for Astro use new

[Re: zawijava]
#5676139 - 02/12/13 03:53 PM

The AC adapter will actually eminate more heat than the battery - the difference is that the heat is not being emitted inside the camera, so the sensor is not affected by it.

For any astronomical purpose, I'd be trying to minimize the additional heat recorded by the sensor.

Grant

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zawijava
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 10/06/07

Loc: Wells, Maine 04090

Re: T2i....battery or AC Adapter for Astro use new

[Re: RedLionNJ]
#5676174 - 02/12/13 04:11 PM

Grant,

So the small ac adapter "brick" (not sure what it's called) that slips into the battery compartment on the T2i doesn't produce any heat? -Tim

Quote:

The AC adapter will actually eminate more heat than the battery - the difference is that the heat is not being emitted inside the camera, so the sensor is not affected by it.

For any astronomical purpose, I'd be trying to minimize the additional heat recorded by the sensor.

Grant

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Falcon-
Post Laureate

Reged: 09/11/09

Loc: Gambier Island, BC, Canada

Re: T2i....battery or AC Adapter for Astro use new

[Re: RedLionNJ]
#5676176 - 02/12/13 04:13 PM

To elaborate a bit on what Grant said in case you have not seen one of these AC adaptors yourself - the AC adaptor's power brick is outside the camera (on the other end of a 5ft cable in fact). That is why the head produced by the AC to DC circuitry does not effect the camera at all even though technically it ges warmer then a battery under load does.

Quote:

Is this for all exposure times ie long, short, HD Movie mode etc?

Yep, any exposure mode/type/length will see a noise contribution due to heat. Long exposures see it most severely simply due to the length of time for the heat-induced noise to be added to your signal. That said, if you are doing video capture of the moon or any type of daylight photography I would not worry about it at all.

For what it is worth I do use AC adaptors instead of batteries for both my cameras when doing astro work.

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Tom and Beth
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 01/08/07

Loc: Tucson, AZ

Re: T2i....battery or AC Adapter for Astro use new

[Re: zawijava]
#5676193 - 02/12/13 04:20 PM

With my XSi, a fully charged battery on a cold night will last somewhere around 2 hours.

So far, I've had the AC power suply and have noted:
1) No time limit.
2) No heat. The conversion is done in a box separate than the Dummy Battery Connector inside the camera.
3) A very slight reduction in weight at the focuser end, although now I have another cable to deal with.

For the cost (Amazon -$17, delivered) it was money well spent, IMO.

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piaras
professor emeritus

Reged: 01/26/09

Loc: Niagara Region

Re: T2i....battery or AC Adapter for Astro use new

[Re: Falcon-]
#5676195 - 02/12/13 04:21 PM

Another reason is you will likely only get about 2 hrs with the battery. That is what I got with my T3i, full charge on an August night.
Pierre

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zawijava
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 10/06/07

Loc: Wells, Maine 04090

Re: T2i....battery or AC Adapter for Astro use new

[Re: Falcon-]
#5676197 - 02/12/13 04:23 PM

So, it's sounding like I have a misunderstanding of how the ac adapter plugs into the camera

can someone enlighten me since I don't have an Owners Manual for reference

Quote:

To elaborate a bit on what Grant said in case you have not seen one of these AC adaptors yourself - the AC adaptor's power brick is outside the camera (on the other end of a 5ft cable in fact). That is why the head produced by the AC to DC circuitry does not effect the camera at all even though technically it ges warmer then a battery under load does.

Post Extras:

Falcon-
Post Laureate

Reged: 09/11/09

Loc: Gambier Island, BC, Canada

Re: T2i....battery or AC Adapter for Astro use new

[Re: zawijava]
#5676206 - 02/12/13 04:27 PM

The ac adaptor goes like this:

AC outlet -> Wire -> AC/DC power brick -> wire -> battery "blank" -> camera

The battery blank is simply a connection that happens to be shaped like a battery, no active circuitry of any sort. All the power conversion goes on in the "AC/DC brick".

You can see all this (with cables coiled up) on this page: amazon.com link

Edited by Falcon- (02/12/13 04:28 PM)

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zawijava
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 10/06/07

Loc: Wells, Maine 04090

Re: T2i....battery or AC Adapter for Astro use new

[Re: Falcon-]
#5676249 - 02/12/13 04:44 PM

Thanks, that's the way I assumed it worked as I have another Canon Camera and Video cam. Unfortunately the plugs that come out of those power bricks are different than the T2i so looks like I'll have to spend the entire $69 bucks vs just getting the "battery blank" which is about half that. thanks for all the responses! -Tim

Quote:

The ac adaptor goes like this:

AC outlet -> Wire -> AC/DC power brick -> wire -> battery "blank" -> camera

The battery blank is simply a connection that happens to be shaped like a battery, no active circuitry of any sort. All the power conversion goes on in the "AC/DC brick".

You can see all this (with cables coiled up) on this page: amazon.com link

Post Extras:

Sean13
sage

Reged: 11/17/12

Loc: North Platte, Nebraska

Re: T2i....battery or AC Adapter for Astro use new

[Re: zawijava]
#5676374 - 02/12/13 06:05 PM

Here is an ebay link to much cheaper generic AC adapter kit for your camera if you don't feel like spending $70 on a branded one:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ACK-E8-AC-Adapter-Kit-for-Canon-EOS-Rebel-T2i-Kiss-X4...

Post Extras:

Falcon-
Post Laureate

Reged: 09/11/09

Loc: Gambier Island, BC, Canada

Re: T2i....battery or AC Adapter for Astro use new

[Re: zawijava]
#5676381 - 02/12/13 06:10 PM

Well.... there is a way to save money. There are some cheap clones of the Canon AC/DC adaptor, and they naturally come with a battery blank.

Now I own both a cheap clone and a canon official part and I have to say the quality on my clone is so low that I would not buy another..... I have already had to take it apart and re-solder the DC cable to the board. Still, they ARE inexpensive! A quick amazon search for "t2i ac adapter" showed the first result as $16.90. Just keep in mind you do get what you pay for

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zawijava
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 10/06/07

Loc: Wells, Maine 04090

Re: T2i....battery or AC Adapter for Astro use new

[Re: Falcon-]
#5676449 - 02/12/13 07:13 PM

I think I'll steer clear of the cheap ones

thanks for your insights!

-Tim

Quote:

Well.... there is a way to save money. There are some cheap clones of the Canon AC/DC adaptor, and they naturally come with a battery blank.

Now I own both a cheap clone and a canon official part and I have to say the quality on my clone is so low that I would not buy another..... I have already had to take it apart and re-solder the DC cable to the board. Still, they ARE inexpensive! A quick amazon search for "t2i ac adapter" showed the first result as $16.90. Just keep in mind you do get what you pay for

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avarakin
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 07/13/09

Loc: Parsippany NJ, USA

Re: T2i....battery or AC Adapter for Astro use new

[Re: zawijava]
#5676702 - 02/12/13 10:15 PM

Another thought is: if you expect to travel to darker sites for your imaging, instead of 110v model, you should buy 12v model which can be used directly from battery. Converting from battery to 110v and then to 7v camera needs wastes a lot of power.
Unfortunately such converters are rare and pricey. If you are into DIY then it is easy to build one out of parts found on ebay for 20 total.

Alex

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Mike Clemens
Frozen to Eyepiece

Reged: 11/26/05

Loc: Alaska, USA

Re: T2i....battery or AC Adapter for Astro use new

[Re: avarakin]
#5676750 - 02/12/13 10:50 PM

I've been thinking to deliver only QUALITY 12V to the scope from the pier on 12 AWG ultraflex cables, and then put nice well filtered tiny homebuilt DC linear power supply(ies) out there that put out the Canon voltage, the USB hub voltage, the dew heater voltage. I could buy the T2i cheap power supply just to get the battery blank and feed it some stepped down DC.

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zawijava
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 10/06/07

Loc: Wells, Maine 04090

Re: T2i....battery or AC Adapter for Astro use new

[Re: Mike Clemens]
#5676759 - 02/12/13 10:59 PM

You can buy the battery blank separately, at least from Canon...not sure about the cheap version? But I guess the complete cheap power supply is less $$$ -Tim

Quote:

I've been thinking to deliver only QUALITY 12V to the scope from the pier on 12 AWG ultraflex cables, and then put nice well filtered tiny homebuilt DC linear power supply(ies) out there that put out the Canon voltage, the USB hub voltage, the dew heater voltage. I could buy the T2i cheap power supply just to get the battery blank and feed it some stepped down DC.

Post Extras:

Falcon-
Post Laureate

Reged: 09/11/09

Loc: Gambier Island, BC, Canada

Re: T2i....battery or AC Adapter for Astro use new

[Re: zawijava]
#5676805 - 02/12/13 11:28 PM

Mike: Hmm... that is rather a good idea. If I ever get my but in gear for my synscan upgrade I should do the same and add in 7.whatever volt outputs for the cameras (and, as you say, 12v for the mount and 5v for USB)

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guangtou
sage

Reged: 03/27/10

Re: T2i....battery or AC Adapter for Astro use new

[Re: Falcon-]
#5676899 - 02/13/13 12:51 AM

Wouldn't a battery grip also reduce noise since the batteries would then not be next to the sensor?

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Falcon-
Post Laureate

Reged: 09/11/09

Loc: Gambier Island, BC, Canada

Re: T2i....battery or AC Adapter for Astro use new

[Re: guangtou]
#5676992 - 02/13/13 03:17 AM

Quote:

Wouldn't a battery grip also reduce noise since the batteries would then not be next to the sensor?

Yes it would, but it adds mass (important for those of us who overload our mounts) and only partially solves the running-out-of-power problem.

Still, for those imaging away from easy AC power....

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neptun2
professor emeritus

Reged: 03/04/07

Loc: Bulgaria

Re: T2i....battery or AC Adapter for Astro use new

[Re: Falcon-]
#5676996 - 02/13/13 03:28 AM

I also use AC adapter with my Nikon d90 and it is must have purchase for astronomy in my opinion. In the cold at -15 deg celsius the battery lasts for no more than 1.5 hours. The AC adapter allows me to work with the camera without worrying that it can shut down during the session.

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bilgebay
Post Laureate

Reged: 11/06/08

Loc: Türkiye - Istanbul and Marmari...

Re: T2i....battery or AC Adapter for Astro use new

[Re: neptun2]
#5677086 - 02/13/13 06:46 AM

I am using this to convert 12V to 7.5V for my Canon DSLRs. It's cheap, it's efficient, me happy

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