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Archive 2010Lenses for night sky

Chris VenHaus
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p.1 #1Lenses for night sky
Does anybody have any recommendations for alt lenses on a 5D mkII body for night sky photography? I already own (C/Y) Zeiss 21mm, 35mm f1.4, Nikon 14-24, and Canon's new 24mm mkII and 35mm f1.4L. I recently tried the Zeiss 21mm wide open, and although it performs well, there is a bit of sagittal coma, vignettes more than I'd like, and is 1 stop away from where I'd like to be (f2.0). The Zeiss 35mm f1.4 was absolutely awful, wide open (sagittal coma).

Anybody use the Zeiss ZE f2.0 for this type of photography yet?
May 09, 2010 at 09:37 AM
Alf Beharie
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p.1 #2Lenses for night sky
The Tamron SP 17mm f3.5 is very good wide open and it will give a wider field of view.
May 10, 2010 at 04:57 AM
Chris VenHaus
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p.1 #3Lenses for night sky
Thank you. However, I need f2.0 or faster.
May 10, 2010 at 05:39 AM
Jason_Thames
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p.1 #4Lenses for night sky
You could try the Nikkor 28 1.4. It has always been a lens that in my experience does very well regarding coma wide open.

-Jason
May 10, 2010 at 05:47 AM
kidtexas
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p.1 #5Lenses for night sky
Since you have the 24/1.4 II, would you mind telling me how it performs in this application?
May 10, 2010 at 10:06 AM
Chris VenHaus
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p.1 #6Lenses for night sky
I just received it a few days ago, and haven't had a chance to use yet.
May 10, 2010 at 10:10 AM
Chris VenHaus
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p.1 #7Lenses for night sky
I just looked up the price for the Nikkor, and nearly choked. Getting into Leica territory there...
May 10, 2010 at 10:12 AM
kidtexas
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p.1 #8Lenses for night sky
Ahh ok. I'll be interested to hear what you find.
May 10, 2010 at 10:21 AM
alexandre
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p.1 #9Lenses for night sky
Try Zuiko 28/2 or 24/2, you can find one for about 4-5 hundred.
May 10, 2010 at 10:28 AM
thrice
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p.1 #10Lenses for night sky
My immediate recommendation is the Canon 24/1.4L. Very highly corrected for coma, for a lens of that speed.
May 10, 2010 at 11:17 AM
dakel
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p.1 #11Lenses for night sky
Well according to a review I read, the 24/1.4 II has pronounced sagittal coma flare at wide apertures. This bums me a little as night sky photography is one of the reasons I bought this lens. I guess it's difficult to design a fast 24 with insignificant coma flare. Nevertheless I will reserve judgement until I get to try night sky photography with it.
May 10, 2010 at 12:49 PM
Jason_Thames
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p.1 #12Lenses for night sky
Chris VenHaus wrote:
I just looked up the price for the Nikkor, and nearly choked. Getting into Leica territory there...

It certainly isn't cheap, but it would meet your requirements I believe. Maybe rent it to see how well it could do the job you require.

-Jason
May 10, 2010 at 02:09 PM
Alf Beharie
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p.1 #13Lenses for night sky
The Zeiss 28mm f2.8 Distagon T* is sharp open, and does'nt suffer from coma.
May 10, 2010 at 02:15 PM
montespluga
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p.1 #14Lenses for night sky
N 14-24 is fine for that - with low distortion at 18 mm while beeing UW
May 10, 2010 at 03:22 PM
ISO1600
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p.1 #15Lenses for night sky
The Zuiko lenses will be absolutely horrible wide open for stars.

The Nikon 28/1.4 will probably be about the best lens you can get for stars.
May 10, 2010 at 04:50 PM
dakel
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p.1 #16Lenses for night sky
I looked up the Nikon 28/1.4 because I'd not heard of it before. They are going for around $4K on ebay. Wow.
Another potential option is the Zeiss 35/2 - supposedly a well corrected lens.
May 11, 2010 at 11:23 AM
Chris VenHaus
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p.1 #17Lenses for night sky
Thanks. I'll definitely check out the Zeiss 35mm f2.0. Looks like an outstanding lens, even for conventional landscapes.
May 11, 2010 at 11:33 AM
AhamB
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p.1 #18Lenses for night sky
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
May 11, 2010 at 02:30 PM
Chris VenHaus
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p.1 #19Lenses for night sky
Thank you. Most of the fast lenses I have will work fine for moonlight, but for stars, sagittal coma can get very nasty with fast lenses, when used wide open... Sagittal coma is the "birds wings" effect you get with point sources of light, and is especially bothersome towards the edges of the frame..
May 11, 2010 at 02:35 PM
sirimiri
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p.1 #20Lenses for night sky
Those are pretty good looking shots, at that web resolution. Especially for having to keep your shutter speed under a certain point to avoid trails, and have your ISO high enough to pick up enough light but without crudding up the image with noise or color/detail loss.
May 11, 2010 at 02:42 PM
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