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Archive 2018 · Laowa 15 vs Batis 18 for astrophotography ?

rvh23
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p.3 #1 · p.3 #1 · Laowa 15 vs Batis 18 for astrophotography ?

Fred Miranda wrote:
Also, it's easy to know the exact infinity by the distance scale displayed on screen. The only issue is that it changes from lens to lens.
During the day, I make a note where true infinity is...depending on the focus by wire lens' focal length, it could be at 50m, or 15m or just right when the infinity symbol appears on screen. Then, at night, I remember the exact infinity distance for that specific lens and dial in. It nails the stars every time.

I agree this works extremely well, except for camera-lens combinations for which best infinity focus is past where the infinity symbol first appears. In that case your only option is live view with the Batis.

Edited on May 05, 2018 at 05:18 AM · View previous versions

May 05, 2018 at 01:29 AM

rvh23
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p.3 #2 · p.3 #2 · Laowa 15 vs Batis 18 for astrophotography ?

Clear sky tonight so I thought I'd directly compare the astro performance for these two lenses shot side by side. The comparison is for a worst case scenario: brightest star I could find placed in the extreme top-right corner, 100% crops on A7rII. 10sec, ISO 640

Laowa 15 on the left at F2, 2.8.and 4.
Batis 18 on the right at 2.8 and 4.

Batis wins this no question, it's pretty impressive even wide open at 2.8. The Laowa seems to need at least F3.2 to get similar coma performance, which is a pain because the clicked aperture stops (handy in the dark) are at full stop intervals, so you need to declick to access 3.2. Despite having checked "remove CA" in camera raw for the Laowa, it shows more color aberration too. The only advantage the Laowa shows, is less vignetting, which is why the Batis crops are darker.

** edit ** The Laowa is the third copy I have tried, possibly better than previous copies in terms of lens to sensor accuracy on my camera, but all three in retrospect probably perform fairly similarly.

Edited on May 05, 2018 at 07:12 AM · View previous versions

May 05, 2018 at 05:11 AM

rvh23
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p.3 #3 · p.3 #3 · Laowa 15 vs Batis 18 for astrophotography ?

A different star, not quite as bright, and not as far into the corner.
Both lenses just at f2.8 (Laowa 15 left, Batis 18 right).

May 05, 2018 at 05:17 AM

Fred Miranda
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p.3 #4 · p.3 #4 · Laowa 15 vs Batis 18 for astrophotography ?

rvh23 wrote:
I agree this works extremely well, except for camera-lens combinations for which best infinity focus is past where the infinity symbol first appears. In that case your only option is live view with the Batis.

True. My 35/2.8 (which I have not used in ages) functions this way.

May 05, 2018 at 09:38 AM

Fred Miranda
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p.3 #5 · p.3 #5 · Laowa 15 vs Batis 18 for astrophotography ?

I agree and my test gave me the same conclusion. The Lawoa didn’t do well at f/2 and at f/2.8 it was just ok. The Batis 18 and GM 16-35 did better wide open in comparison.
I may get the GM zoom for Astro and for harsh weather as my primes are not moisture resistant.

rvh23 wrote:
A different star, not quite as bright, and not as far into the corner.
Both lenses just at f2.8 (Laowa 15 left, Batis 18 right).

Aug 28, 2018 at 11:46 PM

MedicineMan404
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p.3 #6 · p.3 #6 · Laowa 15 vs Batis 18 for astrophotography ?

If I'm size and weight challenged/can only take one lens for double duty it's the Laowa 15/2. The coma is there but as a landscaper that can also do wide-field astro its a winner. I could not stand the fly-wire focus on the B18 and sold it. Here's a landscape from the Laowa.

Laowa 15 2 jpg below Rickets by MedicineMan4040, on Flickr

For a long time I tried different lenses for Milky Way. It was FredMirand who put me onto my FE12-24 and I can't thank him enough. Here's an example-

Greyson Highlands Milky Way by MedicineMan4040, on Flickr

Aug 29, 2018 at 02:33 AM

akclimber
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p.3 #7 · p.3 #7 · Laowa 15 vs Batis 18 for astrophotography ?

While on the slow side at f/2.8, the Batis is great from wide open on. Sharp, great colors, no comma. It's Achilles heel, as pointed out above, is its light falloff around the edges.

Aug 29, 2018 at 01:39 PM

Fred Miranda
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p.3 #8 · p.3 #8 · Laowa 15 vs Batis 18 for astrophotography ?

I played in the variation lottery and purchased a Samyang 14/2.8 MF E-mount. Fingers crossed.

Sep 02, 2018 at 03:07 PM

MedicineMan404
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p.3 #9 · p.3 #9 · Laowa 15 vs Batis 18 for astrophotography ?

^Fred was it this model-
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1018382-REG/samyang_sy14m_e_14mm_f_2_8_ed_as.html

Sep 04, 2018 at 03:18 AM

Frogfish
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p.3 #10 · p.3 #10 · Laowa 15 vs Batis 18 for astrophotography ?

Fred Miranda wrote:
I played in the variation lottery and purchased a Samyang 14/2.8 MF E-mount. Fingers crossed.

What is it, specifically with this lens, you are looking for to try and ensure you have a good copy ?

Sep 04, 2018 at 05:25 AM

Fred Miranda
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p.3 #11 · p.3 #11 · Laowa 15 vs Batis 18 for astrophotography ?

Frogfish wrote:
What is it, specifically with this lens, you are looking for to try and ensure you have a good copy ?

Yes, I have owned this lens in the past and I know it's great for astro. There is high variation though and in most cases the issues are caused by element tilt.

Sep 04, 2018 at 09:14 AM

Fred Miranda
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p.3 #12 · p.3 #12 · Laowa 15 vs Batis 18 for astrophotography ?

MedicineMan404 wrote:
^Fred was it this model-
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1018382-REG/samyang_sy14m_e_14mm_f_2_8_ed_as.html

Yes, that's the one I ordered.

Sep 04, 2018 at 09:14 AM

ylimehajile
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p.3 #13 · p.3 #13 · Laowa 15 vs Batis 18 for astrophotography ?

I ordered the Laowa but after reading this thread I'm a little nervous. Just trying to rationalize in my head - since coma is typically near the edges I'm thinking I could crop to 18mm to eliminate most of it and still be a stop ahead of the Batis. And I like the other things this lens gives you, and it's almost 1/2 the price of the Batis.

Sep 04, 2018 at 09:36 AM

GMPhotography
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p.3 #14 · p.3 #14 · Laowa 15 vs Batis 18 for astrophotography ?

Tokina Firin review

https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1480006/0?keyword=Tokina,Firin#13956240

Sep 04, 2018 at 09:57 AM

Steve Spencer
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p.3 #15 · p.3 #15 · Laowa 15 vs Batis 18 for astrophotography ?

ylimehajile wrote:
I ordered the Laowa but after reading this thread I'm a little nervous. Just trying to rationalize in my head - since coma is typically near the edges I'm thinking I could crop to 18mm to eliminate most of it and still be a stop ahead of the Batis. And I like the other things this lens gives you, and it's almost 1/2 the price of the Batis.

Keep in mind when you crop you will lose part of that stop advantage. Cropping because it increases magnification makes noise more prominent, so in effect you will lose some of the advantage of the wider aperture if you crop.

Sep 04, 2018 at 10:12 AM

ylimehajile
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p.3 #16 · p.3 #16 · Laowa 15 vs Batis 18 for astrophotography ?

Steve Spencer wrote:
Keep in mind when you crop you will lose part of that stop advantage. Cropping because it increases magnification makes noise more prominent, so in effect you will lose some of the advantage of the wider aperture if you crop.

Yeah, good point. If it doesn't work out I'll try the Samyang - although I don't have the patience for lens lottery. I'm crossing my fingers that I'm going to get a stellar copy that magically fixes the coma issues

Sep 04, 2018 at 10:23 AM

jwhatts
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p.3 #17 · p.3 #17 · Laowa 15 vs Batis 18 for astrophotography ?

ylimehajile wrote:
Yeah, good point. If it doesn't work out I'll try the Samyang - although I don't have the patience for lens lottery. I'm crossing my fingers that I'm going to get a stellar copy that magically fixes the coma issues

.

Honestly, the Laowa has to much utility beyond astro. For me, the coma is acceptable at f/2.8. But beyond that, the rendering, size, weight, and close focus distance make this a special lens. Don't regret your decision, it's truly a joy to use!

Sep 04, 2018 at 11:47 AM

MedicineMan404
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p.3 #18 · p.3 #18 · Laowa 15 vs Batis 18 for astrophotography ?

Fred Miranda wrote:
Yes, that's the one I ordered.

I have that one. Infinity is nowhere near the mark!

Sep 04, 2018 at 12:27 PM

MedicineMan404
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p.3 #19 · p.3 #19 · Laowa 15 vs Batis 18 for astrophotography ?

jwhatts wrote:
Honestly, the Laowa has to much utility beyond astro. For me, the coma is acceptable at f/2.8. But beyond that, the rendering, size, weight, and close focus distance make this a special lens. Don't regret your decision, it's truly a joy to use!

Jwhatts you're so right. It is a jack of all, and master of some but not all.

Sep 04, 2018 at 12:28 PM

Schlotkins
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p.3 #20 · p.3 #20 · Laowa 15 vs Batis 18 for astrophotography ?

MedicineMan404 wrote:
I have that one. Infinity is nowhere near the mark!

yep remember this!

Good luck Fred! I had a canon mount Samyang 14 2.8 that was pretty good. However, I tried 4 times to get a good FE mount copy and never got there.

Honestly, in the 2.8 range, the Nikon 14-24 was best in terms of Astro. It's at least as sharp as all the other options. At the wide end, there is little to no coma.The Vignetting on that lens is sooooo small compared to the Samyang. It was a huge difference. It's just too bad adapting nikon lenses to sony is so bad. In fact, the Nikon at 2.8 probably beats the Laowa 15 in every category except for size/weight. The 3.4 stop vignetting on the 16-35 GM is going to be huge.

I may go back to the Nikon for 14. I have a Tokina 20 f2 I really really like. I also have a Samyang 24 1.4 but I am going to replace that with a Batis 25. I have Sigma Art 35 1.4. The last astro lens I'd like is the Voigt 65 f2. I can only imagine the panos you could make with THAT thing.

Chris

Sep 04, 2018 at 12:40 PM

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