- Canon EF 50mm
f/ 1.8 II (also an STM variety, unsure of the difference)
Canon EF 50mmf/ 1.4 USM
Canon EF-S 24mmf/ 2.8 STM (also a 40mm EF mount variety)
Canon EF 20mmf/ 2.8 USM (also a 100mm variety)
Canon EF 17-40mmf/ 4L USM
Canon EF 85mmf/ 1.8 USM
Sigma 18-50mmf/ 2.8 EX DC
Sigma 17-50mmf/ 2.8 EX DC OS HSM
Sigma 10-20mmf/ 3.5 DC HSM
Sigma 50mmf/ 1.4 EX DG HSM
Samyang 16mmf/ 2 ED AS UMC CS
Samyang 14mmf/ 2.8 ED AS IF UMC
Samyang 14mm T/3.1 ED AS IF UMC II
Samyang 24mm T/1.5 VDSLR ED AS IF UMC II
Samyang 16mm T/2.2 ED AS UMC CS
Needing help to decide which of these lenses is my best option
- GeoAmy
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Needing help to decide which of these lenses is my best option
I currently have a Canon EOS 2000D which so far I only have a kit lens for. I’ve narrowed my next lens down to a few options and was hoping to get an idea of the best options for a total beginner to astrophotography. They are all second hand in order to keep them within my price point (hard max of £200). I'll be using it out in the countryside mostly but there will likely be some instances where I'm in the back garden of a house in a cul-de-sac so a bit more residential. In terms of the quality of images I want to produce, I don't expect anything incredible because I am very much a beginner. I'm more interested in getting a lens that performs well but isn't ONLY for astro work if that makes sense, even £200 is a lot of money for me so I'm trying to pick a versatile lens. Thank you in advance! The ones I’m considering are:
- Graeme1858
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Re: Needing help to decide which of these lenses is my best option
Hello GeoAmy
There's a few here that use a lens for astrophotography. I'm sure you'll get lots of advice.
Welcome to the forum.
Regards
Graeme
There's a few here that use a lens for astrophotography. I'm sure you'll get lots of advice.
Welcome to the forum.
Regards
Graeme
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Celestron 9.25 f10 SCT, f6.3FR, CGX mount.
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ZWO EFW, ZWO OAG, ASI220MM Mini.
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Celestron 9.25 f10 SCT, f6.3FR, CGX mount.
ASI1600MM Pro, ASI294MC Pro, ASI224MC
ZWO EFW, ZWO OAG, ASI220MM Mini.
APM 11x70 ED APO Binoculars.
https://www.averywayobservatory.co.uk/
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Re: Needing help to decide which of these lenses is my best option
Your top two lenses are what we the "nifty fifty". They work great as an all-around general AP lens. Because they have a 50mm FL they will start to give you star trails fairly quickly with your camera because it has an APS-C sized sensor. A quick formula to tell how long you can expose with a lens using an APS-C sensor is to divide your lens FL into 300. In your case using the nifty fifty, it's 300/50=6. So you can take up to a 6-second image before star trails become evident. You will find that there is a difference between evident and annoying. So you can increase your exposure time up to the point where the star trails become annoying!
If you go for the Samyang 14, you will then get 300/14 then you can go all the way up to 22 seconds of exposure before the trails become evident.
Good luck with whichever lens you choose.
Cheers,
If you go for the Samyang 14, you will then get 300/14 then you can go all the way up to 22 seconds of exposure before the trails become evident.
Good luck with whichever lens you choose.
Cheers,
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Re: Needing help to decide which of these lenses is my best option
I recently bought a refurbished Canon EOS 1200D (T5) body. Instead of the kit lenses, I bought a used Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/ 3.5-5.6 IS STM Zoom Lens and a re-stocked/return Rokinon (Samyang) Full Frame Ultra Wide Angle 14mm f/ 2.8 ED AS IF UMC lens for Canon (it's one on your list). I bought these less expensive lenses after researching as many reviews I could including watching Youtube videos, trying to get the best bang for the buck for a better quality lens, and to allow some versatility for regular photography and for astrophotography. I have seen some great images from the 18-55mm Canon kit lens, so I'm not knocking that lens, I just wanted to have a more versatile all-in-one-lens in the 18-135mm lens I chose, which is also a macro lens. I bought the Rokinon lens specifically for nebula and milky way views of the night sky, but I am sure it will do well enough for daytime photography.
I have only taken a few hundred images, mostly of an indoor baby shower for my daughter. I was able to capture about 30 good images, the rest so-so, and I attribute that to my ability as a beginner in digital photography. Sadly, I have not tried any astrophotography yet. I know a faster lens is always better for the night sky, but the faster and newer the lens, the more expensive it is. I decided to keep my purchases on the cheaper side. You can always buy better lenses as your skills get better. I have heard the Samyang/Rokinon lenses are very good for the price.
I have only taken a few hundred images, mostly of an indoor baby shower for my daughter. I was able to capture about 30 good images, the rest so-so, and I attribute that to my ability as a beginner in digital photography. Sadly, I have not tried any astrophotography yet. I know a faster lens is always better for the night sky, but the faster and newer the lens, the more expensive it is. I decided to keep my purchases on the cheaper side. You can always buy better lenses as your skills get better. I have heard the Samyang/Rokinon lenses are very good for the price.
Bruce
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Refractors: Meade AR-5 127mm f/9.3, Meade ST-80 f/5 and Meade 60mm f/12, Jason 60mm f/15 #313, Jason 60mm f/12 #306 S7, Bushnell Sky Chief III 60mm f/15.
Reflectors/Catadioptrics: Meade 10" F/4 Schmidt-Newtonian, Galileo 120mm f/8.3 Newtonian, Meade 2045D 4" f/10 SCT, Meade ETX-90EC f/13.8 & Sarblue 60mm f/12.5 Maksutov-Cassegrains.
Mounts: Skywatcher EQ6-R Pro & Meade LXD55 Equatorial mounts, ES Twilight II and Meade 2102 ALT/AZ mounts, a modified 10" SkyQuest Dobsonian mount, various 60mm EQ mounts.
Misc: Celestron 20x80mm binoculars, Revolution II Imager/accessories, & lots of optical accessories/eyepieces.
Projects: 8" f/2.9 and 65mm f/10 reflectors, Dobson-style binocular mirror mount.
- GeoAmy
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Re: Needing help to decide which of these lenses is my best option
Thanks for the advice! I think I will go for the Samyang 14mm - I keep seeing it mentioned and from what I can gather, keeping it shorter will give me more tolerance while I get to grips with what I'm doing. All of my photography so far has been with the kit lens and letting the camera auto-select settings so I need something that will be a bit more forgiving.
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Re: Needing help to decide which of these lenses is my best option
It's a fairly easy list to whittle down to just a couple.
You didn't mention anything about having a tracker or mount so I'm assuming you are just talking about using this on a fixed tripod. If that is true, that will rule out anything tighter than 24mm or you will get star trailing very quickly. So now you are down to just 11 choices. Now, cut all of the zoom lenses. They are generally not great for astrophotography. That whittles your list down to only 7 choices. Next lenses to cut are anything slower than f2.0 and that gives you only the Samyang 16mmf/ 2 ED AS UMC CS, Samyang 24mm T/1.5 VDSLR ED AS IF UMC II, and maybe the Samyang 16mm T/2.2 ED AS UMC CS to choose from.
Personally, my choice would be the Samyang 24mm T/1.5 VDSLR ED AS IF UMC II. Stop it down to f2 or f2.8 and you have a great lens.
You didn't mention anything about having a tracker or mount so I'm assuming you are just talking about using this on a fixed tripod. If that is true, that will rule out anything tighter than 24mm or you will get star trailing very quickly. So now you are down to just 11 choices. Now, cut all of the zoom lenses. They are generally not great for astrophotography. That whittles your list down to only 7 choices. Next lenses to cut are anything slower than f2.0 and that gives you only the Samyang 16mm
Personally, my choice would be the Samyang 24mm T/1.5 VDSLR ED AS IF UMC II. Stop it down to f2 or f2.8 and you have a great lens.
Greg M.~ "Ad Astra per Aspera"
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https://www.nevadadesertskies.com
Scopes: Celestron EdgeHD14", Explore Scientific ED152CF & ED127 APO's, StellarVue SV70T, Classic Orange-Tube C-8, Lunt 80mm Ha double-stack solar scope.
Mounts: Astro-Physics Mach One, iOptron CEM70EC Mount, iOptron ZEQ25 Mount.
Cameras: ZWO ASI2600mm Pro, ZWO 2600MC Pro, ZWO ASI1600mm
Filters: 36mm Chroma LRGB & 3nm Ha, OIII, SII, L-Pro, L-eXtreme
Eyepieces: 27mm TeleVue Panoptic, 4mm TeleVue Radian, Explore Scientific 82° 30mm, 6.7mm , Baader 13mm Hyperion, Explore Scientific 70° 10mm, 15mm, 20mm, Meade 8.8mm UWA
Software: N.I.N.A., SharpCapPro, PixInsight, PhotoShop CC, Phd2, Stellarium
https://www.nevadadesertskies.com
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