Lenses for night sky

Home · Register · Search · Software · Hosting · Software · Join Upload & Sell

Moderated by: Fred Miranda

Pre-order new Rokinon 16mm f/2.0 ED AS UMC lens

Pre-order new Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM lens

Bower 35mm f/1.4 price dropped to $379

FM Forums \| Alternative Gear & Lenses \| Join Upload & Sell
1 2 3 4 5 end

Archive 2010 · Lenses for night sky

alexandre
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #1 · Lenses for night sky

ISO1600 wrote:
The Zuiko lenses will be absolutely horrible wide open for stars.

If you said this about Lensbaby maybe I'd believe.

May 11, 2010 at 08:43 PM

TWoK
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #2 · Lenses for night sky

alexandre wrote:
ISO1600 wrote:
The Zuiko lenses will be absolutely horrible wide open for stars.

If you said this about Lensbaby maybe I'd believe.

As much as I love Zuiko lenses, Chris is right. Every one of them has some of the worst coma I have ever seen wide open. That doesn't mean they can't take great pictures of many, many things. Just not stars, wide-open.

May 11, 2010 at 08:59 PM

Ronan O Keeffe
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #3 · Lenses for night sky

I have a couple of Zuikos and every now and then I forget to stop down the 55mm 1.2.

100% centre frame crops from 5DMKII, unprocessed.

f1.2

f5.6

May 11, 2010 at 10:04 PM

Chris VenHaus
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #4 · Lenses for night sky

Full frame crops:

Here is what the C/Y Zeiss Distagon 21mm does near the far left corner. I consider this at the edge of what I would consider acceptable. As you move towards the center fo the frame, this isn't an issue with the 21mm Distagon. This is wide open (f2.8) at ISO3200 on a 5D mkII:

This image is copyrighted by the owner

Here is the Zeiss 35mm f1.4 wide open at 3200:

This image is copyrighted by the owner

Edited on May 12, 2010 at 12:52 AM · View previous versions

May 12, 2010 at 12:34 AM

TWoK
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #5 · Lenses for night sky

The 24L2 should be very good.

May 12, 2010 at 12:36 AM

Luvwine
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #6 · Lenses for night sky

I am a total rookie when it comes to taking pics of the night sky. However, here is one I took with a 1DSIII at ISO 1600, 10 second exposure with a Zeiss 35/2 at F2:

http://www.pbase.com/luvwine/image/122971111

Let me know if you want crops or the like. Just got a 5D2 and have not tried that body for this application yet.

May 12, 2010 at 01:50 AM

sirimiri
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #7 · Lenses for night sky

Wow I see a lotta purple in that shot :-/

But it is pretty to look at...the heavens are captivating to look at.

May 12, 2010 at 04:13 AM

Rob Riley
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #8 · Lenses for night sky

AhamB wrote:
montespluga wrote:
N 14-24 is fine for that - with low distortion at 18 mm while beeing UW

David Clapp was using this lens too (among others) for his moonlight shots: http://www.davidclapp.co.uk/image_gallery.php?image_subcat=Moonlight%20-%20All

David didnt seem totally wrapped in the lens choices he was using though

http://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/638307

May 12, 2010 at 04:16 AM

ISO1600
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #9 · Lenses for night sky

Any proper aspherical lens is a good starting point. Even the best spherical lens designs will usually exhibit some coma wide open.

May 12, 2010 at 05:04 AM

ISO1600
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #10 · Lenses for night sky

alexandre wrote:
ISO1600 wrote:
The Zuiko lenses will be absolutely horrible wide open for stars.

If you said this about Lensbaby maybe I'd believe.

Zuikos are excellent lenses for stopped-down landscapes, and maybe even moonlit shots- but not for stars unless you have a tracking equatorial mount.

which brings up my next point- if you want to take good star pics, stop the lens down and use a tracking mount, like the Kenko Skymemo. Or stop the lens down and blend shorter (<20 sec) shots together in post. Not fun, but those are the best ways to do it.

May 12, 2010 at 05:08 AM

trajan
Offline
• •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #11 · Lenses for night sky

Kenko Skymemo seems to sell for about $800. Are there cheaper alternatives?

--trajan

May 12, 2010 at 05:22 AM

ISO1600
Offline
• • • •
Upload & Sell: On

p.2 #12 · Lenses for night sky

yes.

Nikon D3X seems to sell for about $8000 (new... right?). Are there cheaper alternatives?

--chris

you get what you pay for, as with everything. The Skymemo is supposed to be a great place to start for serious astrophotography- but i think you could get a somewhat decent Meade or something for under $300. The build really matters though on these, as the cheaper worm gears in a low end model wont' accurately keep pace over longer exposures and you will get slight drift/misalignment.

May 12, 2010 at 05:36 AM

Chris VenHaus
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #13 · Lenses for night sky

Thanks. A tracking mount isn't a viable option if I also want to include landscape elements. I agree, if just sky though- equatorial mount with clock drive is the way to go.

May 12, 2010 at 12:05 PM

Chris VenHaus
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #14 · Lenses for night sky

Here's an example of a shot I took with the 21mm Distagon + 5DmkII. This was a quick field process on an uncalibrated laptop, and only Camera Raw noise reduciton used.

This image is copyrighted by the owner

May 12, 2010 at 01:34 PM

Rob Riley
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #15 · Lenses for night sky

nice

not to be disparaging to Canon L, but they are a known quantity
Canon 17-40/4 L v/s Contax Zeiss 21mm f2.8

http://www.16-9.net/lens_tests/1740.html

May 12, 2010 at 01:40 PM

Chris VenHaus
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #16 · Lenses for night sky

Preaching to the choir, Rob ;-) I rarely use my Canon lenses (except the new 70-200 f2.8 IS mkII), because there are so many great alt lenses out there. However, for this type of photography, there are very specific challenges that need to be overcome that are uniquely different from a typical landscape shot.

The crux of this challenge is what is the best WA lens that can be used wide open or stopped down to f2.0 for point light sources? To date, the Distagon 21mm is best, but I really could use an extra stop, since ISO 3200 is the max I can get before serious degradation takes place in the 5D mkII, and 30 second expoures are max to avoid distracting star trails.

May 12, 2010 at 01:53 PM

kidtexas
Offline
• • •
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #17 · Lenses for night sky

I guess I'm still confused. Why not try out that expensive 24L first before looking for another lens? Two stops faster than the 21/2.8, about the same focal length, and... you already own it.

May 12, 2010 at 02:39 PM

Chris VenHaus
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #18 · Lenses for night sky

Yes, I plan on trying out this weekend. I posted in alt because I wanted to know if any other alt lenses out there were being used for this specific type of photography.

May 12, 2010 at 03:41 PM

tjavery
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #19 · Lenses for night sky

I use a Canon 5DII + 24 f/1.4II for star shots. I shoot mostly at f/2.0 (ISO 3200, 25 sec.).

The 24II is a fine lens, but it still shows coma in the corners at f/2.0.

This image is copyrighted by the owner

One approach to dealing with the lens' shortcomings is to focus on a foreground subject and let the stars go soft. The subject will be in sharp focus, but the stars will go just soft enough so that the coma is not noticeable as much.

This image is copyrighted by the owner

I can't think of any other lenses that would be better. We might just have to sit tight and wait for newer Canon bodies that will do ISO 6400 (and up) cleaner and better than current bodies

May 12, 2010 at 04:00 PM

Chris VenHaus
Offline
•
Upload & Sell: Off

p.2 #20 · Lenses for night sky

Thank you, tjavery! I really dig the 1st image. This is precisely the kind of feedback I'm looking for. Do you have a full frame corner crop of this image? I'll try mine out this weekend, and will also compare at f2.8 to the Zeiss 21mm at f2.8. I'm hoping someone will post their experience with the Nikon 24mm f1.4 for stars.

May 12, 2010 at 04:07 PM

1 2 3 4 5 end
FM Forums \| Alternative Gear & Lenses \| Join Upload & Sell 1 2 3 4 5 end