0.00
#... |
|---|
Hi i'm just starting out and what to try astro photography, I have picked up a 2nd hand Canon EOS 2000D and now need a lens or 2  , As i'm just starting out and money is low at the moment , im looking for recommendation's of lenses that will work well in my budget that will give me good results, so any help would be gratefulThank in advance Steve |
|
7.42
#...
·
1
like
|
|---|
| I'd suggest the canon's own 50mm f/1.8 which should be easy to find used at less than 100 quid. Alternatively, buy a an adaptor for Nikon/Olympus lens and go for the old manual ones which are more than quite good enough, especially the Nikkor 100mm f/2 or the OM Zuiko 135mm f/2.8, which can be found within that price bracket on eBay. You don't say whether you're tracking or not so I'll assume you don't, in which case 135mm is the longest you can go but 100mm or 50mm would serve you even better. |
|
0.00
#... |
|---|
| Thank you for the advice, I'm not ssteward, but I'm a beginner with a Canon EOS 2000D as well, and I'll look for these lenses, then. |
|
7.42
#... |
|---|
| Correction: Nikon 105mm f/2.5 not 100mm f/2. My bad. |
0.00
#... |
|---|
| You can get a 500 mm F8 mirror lens which is like a Mini SCT on eBay for about $50 |
0.00
#... |
|---|
|
Those are some good suggestions, but if you don't have a tracking mount I would go for a low focal-length lens. Something around 18-35mm allows you to take untracked pictures up to 20-30 seconds without having too much star trails. Jelle |
4.53
#... |
|---|
|
Hi Steve, I also started with some of the lenses mentioned above. Most of them are really useful. Personally, I would not recommend the 500mm mirror lens. The exposure times for this long focal lenght may be a bit challenging. I think, that there are better choices. I bought a 300mm f/4 Canon L lens without the image stabalizer. There are some cheaper (500€-ish) ones out there. They are quite old but still have a really good image quality with an aperture of 4. But the lenses don't have to be that expensive. Any newer used lens will usually produce a good image quality. I would suggest the road that Jelle is suggesting. A tracking mount for the camera is even more important. If you spend half the money on a sky tracker or something similar, then you still have some money left to buy a lens, too. The nifty fifty (50/1.8) is really cheap and offers a lot of oppertunities. A lens in the 200 to 300mm range offers a more detailed view to some objects. Search the web for some trackers, read some reviews and then decide. Otherwise, chances are that you will not be satisfied with your results. A second thing, you should keep in mind. A lens for a DSLR has to be sharp for all object distances. So there must be a compromise for the makers to offer a decent quality for all of them. That said, there is some kind of compromise for the infinity focus setting. A photo lens will usually never be as sharp as a good telescope. I really suggest to buy a tracked mount. If you'd like to upgrade later, this mount can be used for a second setup. This is how I use my old mount today. Of course, you can take images without that mount. But I guess that you will soon recognize that you want more. This is just my personal opinion. I went through that process myself and spent a lot of money on more or less useless equipment. I do not regret it, but if I'd bought the right stuff from the beginning, it would've been much cheaper for me ;-) Greetings Christian Oh, I just recognized that your budget is 100 pounds instead of 1000. So the nifty fifty is within your budget. Maybe you can find a fast 85mm lens. Stay away from one of the very old Sigma lenses for your camera. They may have problems with the DSLRs, because they can't handle some of the communication between the lens and the body... |
|
0.00
#... |
|---|
|
I have this up for sale if you might be interested: https://astromart.com/classifieds/astromart-classifieds/telescope-catadioptric/show/500-mm-f8-mirror-lens-mounted-for-use-as-a-scope Peter |
0.00
#... |
|---|
| Consider the Pentax Ahasi Super Takumar line. The lenses are solidly built and many are still in great shape despite their age (I think mine was probably manufactured in the 80s). You definitely don't need to spend more on things like autofocus or auto aperture control for astrophotgraphy, so there's no sense in spending extra on it (but they still work great for traditional photgraphy !). I bought a 200mm f/3.5 for under $100 shipped on eBay. At that focal length you will defnitely want a star tracker, however. There are a few youtube videos reviewing that exact lens for deep sky astrophotography. I'm very pleased after my first few sessions. |
1.20
#... |
|---|
|
The 130g light SMC Pentax DA 35mm f/2.4 This lens is free of coma even fully open at f/2.4, so a decent performer for wide field images. Price for a new one is about 125€, used, you'd get them way below 100€. CS Markus |
|
7.42
#... |
|---|
Markus A. R. Langlotz: The problem with Pentax lenses is the aperture engagement tab that sticks out of the lens. If you're using a clip-on filter you can't use the lens. (even with an adaptor). I had to dismantle the flange too get rid of it. Another way around is to bend the tab inside the lens so it won't stick out but it is barbaric to the lens ;). |
|
0.00
#... |
|---|
| I am just starting out and want to know which camera would be best for me, I have a choice of either a Nikon D810 or a Nikon D3300 . I can buy one or the other for same price used, the D810 has a shutter count just over 9000 and the D3300 has a shutter count of only 379, any suggestion would be much appreciated, I am going to pick up either later today so quick reply would be great thanks |
|
7.42
#... |
|---|
| D810, no question there. The other one won't even work with APT or possibly N.I.N.A. And you want one or the other to work with your camera. 9000 shutter activations is nothing for a camera like the D810. |
11.14
#... |
|---|
Go with the D810 (and I am a Canon guy ). If I am not mistaken, purchasing and modifying a D810 is a cost-effective way to obtain a camera with similar performance with D810A. And don't worry, the shutter count is very low.
|
|
0.00
#... |
|---|
| Thanks For info much appreciated |
0.90
#... |
|---|
Consider the Pentax Ahasi Super Takumar line. The lenses are solidly built and many are still in great shape despite their age (I think mine was probably manufactured in the 80s). You definitely don't need to spend more on things like autofocus or auto aperture control for astrophotgraphy, so there's no sense in spending extra on it (but they still work great for traditional photgraphy !). I bought a 200mm f/3.5 for under $100 shipped on eBay. At that focal length you will defnitely want a star tracker, however. There are a few youtube videos reviewing that exact lens for deep sky astrophotography. I'm very pleased after my first few sessions. I have gotten (what I think are) good results using the Takumar SMC 200mm f/4 stopped down (with rings) to f/5.4. I agree about the star tracker. I have the SW Star Adventurer Pro Pack and highly recommend it as an entry point into the hobby. Since it is capable of auto-guiding and of carrying a small refractor, it will be able to grow with you for a while. https://www.astrobin.com/ofaewd/?nc=user More info on vintage lenses for astro: http://www.nightofmanywords.com/articles/budget-lenses-for-astrophotography |
0.00
#... |
|---|
|
The tracking mount is by far your most important and should be next purchase. I have had great results with a skyguider pro, but if you can save the money, go for a full goto mount, but not a super cheap one! if not a skyguider or star adventurer will get you started, is always good for wide field stuff, and you can always upgrade to a small refractor. This is the route I went down and bought a redcat, some guiding kit, and a couple wide angle lenses. Once I get a go-to mount and a larger scope, I will still always have a great, portable, wide field set up. SGP and SA run around 450 USD. I'm not sure what that would be in quid as you Brits say, but I'd imagine £380 or so. If money is a constraint, get the sky guider or star adventurer. Then just use some kit lenses. I've actually gotten some pretty good pics with just the 18-55 and even the crappy 75-300 on my canon T3i or my sony a55. |
|
0.00
#... |
|---|
|
Thank you for all the replies, I’ve used an old Miranda 49mm prime lens that was given to me and took the first pick of Orion Nebula, it’s not fantastic but I’ve never seen it and for it to show on a picture I took was a moment I will remember, I’m going to save for a tracker as I’m sure it will pay off, I will also look out for a new lense later taking into account your recommendations , thank u all again regards steve |
