Star parties or dark sky excursions are another great time to use a camera lens in place of the telescope. 135mm and 200mm lenses are suitable for wide angle star-field views, and comet and asteroid hunting, while 300mm lenses serve very well for the Andromeda galaxy, large emission nebulae, open clusters, and even larger globular clusters. It seems they are now quite comparable in quality to prime lenses. I had of course heard that this lens is supposed to be very sharp, but I had never before had such a full blown "wow" experience when reviewing the sharpness of a lens. It is a heavy lens. I own a 135 since the film days (because you "had to have one" and could not afford much else), still have the zeiss Jena f3.5 M42 and even jumped for the zeiss f2.8 for my yashica when they were sold for next to nothing. It is a parade of photos that should have been galled out after a boring Sunday afternoon shoot of "Think I'll bring along a camera when I walk the dog", There are so many things wrong in this 'review' -- most of all the idea that 'you' should get this lens and somehow it magically makes the duck or the cat stuck right in the center of picture a great photo! I would recommend buying it used if you want to save some money, with the added benefit that you can re-sell it at the same price as you bought it for, effectively giving you the opportunity to "rent it" for free. I have found myself shooting wide open almost all the time. For my purposes, this is a spectacular lens. Canon 135mm is a great lens. I guess thats where practice will come in handy. (purchased for $900), reviewed December 4th, 2006 In the right hands this lens really does have "magic pixie dust", as a friend once described. The main problem with the old lenses is spherical aberration and colour error, especially pronounced on digital sensors. Focus throw. You might never need another lens in the overlapping range at 135mm there isn't much difference between the separation afforded by f/2 vs f/2.8, and the latest 70-200s are plenty sharp. here are some links to some pics taken with the lens: The lens arrived next day, less than 24 hours after I hit the order button. With a rounded 9-blade diaphragm, shallow depth of field imaging will be rendered with pleasing out-of-focus highlights. Most of these APOs have F ratios around 6.5, and are unable to comprehend in their field of view large celestial objects such as the Andromeda galaxy, the North America nebula, and comets. Sure, not all 135mm lenses are lightweightSigma's new 135mm F1.8 is rather heavy at 1130gbut if you look at the Samyang 135mm F2, which is pretty much flawless optically, it weighs only 830g. D8XX cameras, subject isolation and quality of bokeh.Zoom lenses can not hold a candle to such primes. This is one of the sharpest lens i've ever owned. However, for $15 I also bought an old Tamron Adaptall 2, 135 mm f2.5. 135mm F2.0 The optical design includes one extra-low dispersion lens element to control chromatic aberration, contributing to sharp, color-accurate imaging, and each of its lens elements features Ultra Multi-Coating to improve light transmission and reduce ghosting and flare. Rokinon 135mm F/2 Lens for ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY. Your Baader filter passes 420-680nm and, in theory, a good APO should be able to focus that part of the spectrum with no chromatic aberration. 10/10 (Editor's Choice) Check Price. Required fields are marked *. It is worth of it's price?Any links to astrophotos with this lens?Thanks. The finish and texture of the Rokinon 135mm F/2 is a step up from the 14mm F/2.8 I ordered a few years ago. The North America Nebula captured using the 135mm lens with a clip-in Ha filter. And because you can shoot between F/2 and F/4, plenty of light reaches the sensor in a relatively short exposure. He loves photography, and runs a YouTube channel with tutorials, lens reviews and photography inspiration. Lenses with extreme sharpness and bokeh tend to be heavy. Thanks Gary! canon 135mm f2 astrophotography - fullpackcanva.com The lens hood is not petal-shaped, which is great news for those using this lens for astrophotography. Photography is art and technology, the latter serving the first.Photography is not something arty with a lot of gadgetry. The image below highlights the creative freedom this lens provides. However, these APOs have a couple of drawbacks. Typical L construction. The focuser adjustment rotates roughly 270 degrees, meaning fine-tuning on a bright star is more precise. The diameter of the lens is 77mm, with a non-rotating filter mount on the objective lens. When coupled with my Canon DSLR camera, the entire system weighs just over 3 pounds. The Best Telephoto Lenses for Astrophotography - Articles When stopped down to 49mm it really is indistinguishable from an APO, except it shows red chromatic aberration with modified cameras even with the UV/IR block or CLS-CCD filter. In my test, nikon have the same color correction than Canon and same sharpness. Camera tech for video has come a long way in recent years, with faster autofocus, subject tracking, eye tracking and smarter lenses that stabilize the frame. It actually makes my eyes water as I try to resolve how bad the blurriness is. I got my first 400 around 50 years ago, and I must say that each step forward feels like a revolution, for a while. When you buy a lens with fantastic sharpness and image quality at all apertures, you typically expect it to cost $1,200 on up. Other times, like the Witch Head Nebula, I love seeing the star responsible for the object in all its glaring glory! Selecting between it and the 200mm Takumar was not an easy choice but, in the end, I chose the Takumar because it seemed to have slightly better contrast. Such "full spectrum" cameras are somewhat more sensitive in the ultraviolet, but much more sensitive in the deep red and infrared. I read and bought it. As you'd expect though, distortion and light falloff are both higher with a full-frame image circle, but perhaps not as much as you'd normally expect. The interest of a f/1.4 is to be able to be perfect at f/2.8, while a f/1.8 or f/2 might need to be on f/4 to have the same sharpeness and overall IQ.They are not meant to be used wide open, except in rare moments. http://www.idyll.com/135. I think prime users get too used to the idea of bokeh as the only answer. AF is accurate and very fast. Just plain black plastic (no interior felt as in newer lens hoods). The lens is so crisp that the diaphragm blade pattern is visible on point light sources shot at large aperature. Check them out for yourself! Reducing aperture with the built-in aperture iris interferes with the light path, and results in eight diffraction spikes around bright star images. I have the Canon EF 135mm, f2L USM. Only con I can think of, and that may be a big one depending on how you plan to use the lens is the lack of weather sealing. How to Find the Perfect Astrophotography Target with Stellarium I really don't want to count all the pores - and the hairs coming out of them (eeeew!) These were just a tad less sharp at the corners than their Canon competition, but certainly extremely sharp all over the field if closed down one stop or even half a stop. In 3 months I got loosy focus ring. Given the spot on DPR front page, lots of 'what-lens-should-I-buy' newbies will be spending their money on this one. If you have pictures taken using the Rokinon 135mm F/2 lens, please feel free to share your results in the comments section (links to Astrobin, Flickr or your personal gallery are fine). There are a total of 8 stops actually written on the lens. I use it for everything, landscapes, townscapes, interesting detail, portraits. Would it at all be possible to at least make sure the people you publish know a little bit about photography? To me it is a dead spot between 85 and 200. Sharpness, contrast and the natural vignetting on full-frame cameras is awesome! Please re-enable javascript to access full functionality. By the way, I still enjoy using my very sharp Sears 135mm, PKA mount lens. "That is why when SLRs came along the 200mm became the big seller and the 135 was largely forgotten"Did you notice that this 135mm F2 lens on an APS-C camera is more or less equivalent to a 200mm F2.8 lens on an FF camera ?So this lens can be seen as the 200mm F2.8 lens for APS-C camera users. My goal for this article was to show some great example photos and share some ideas for projects this lens is a good fit for. (purchased for $900), reviewed April 15th, 2011 sigh, overdone bokeh and centre sharpness bear little relevance to the art of this hobby. Build quality: excellent. The logic of this article can be applied to a 200/2.8 as well. Have you ever come across this phenomena? I was expecting a lot more of an article that says "the best telephoto lenses for astrophotography". Rokinon FE14M-C Lens. Well saturated but neutral. Ive been using kit lenses for the past year, favoring the Nikkor 50mm 2.8. The aperture ring is marked with each f-stop, and you need to manually click through F/2 F/22 and watch the blades do their work. This makes me feel I shall take the Zeiss 85F1.8 off my A6000 or maybe NOT, it's just another hype article about "A" lens. So, for Joe User or especially for Jane Client, one really has to look closely to see much of a difference. Its actually kind of neat to watch! We were surprised by just how much difference there was between these AI-powered image enlargers. I like fast lenses, and my Nikkor 105DC is my favourite. Pentax seems to have put more emphasis than others on keeping the resolution uniform all over the field. Most small refracting telescopes start in the 300 to 400 mm focal length range, and even these are classed as widefield telescopes. IS would also help outside with wind. My point is that we must never lose the joy of photography. if you really want to get the best gym photos that can be taken, use it and enjoy what you will see. The only reason i sell this lens is because of versatility. (purchased for $899), reviewed December 9th, 2006 You currently have javascript disabled. DPReview March Madness, round one - vote! Also, when used as recommended, and properly guided at full camera resolution, they are all comparable to a field-corrected APO, producing perfect images from edge to edge which can be easily cropped 25% with no evidence of aberrations. The aesthetic quality of the blur in the out-of-focus parts of the image are buttery smooth and soft. Aperture ring. (37% is difference, so you get little more, about 15.5Mpix). KevinS, in my experience stopping down dramatically improves image quality in terms of chromatic aberration, coma and astigmatism. The OP admits he limited experience with lenses other than what he has. Im so new to all of this so thank you for your insightful and educational posts. The Best Telephoto Lenses for Astrophotography. Using a Canon EF 24-105mm Lens for Astrophotography - AstroBackyard Otherwise, on FF body this lens is wonderful. however i started to realise how every subject might actually be a cardboard cutout being photographed. 8MP is plenty for the usual 8x10 or 16x20 portrait print. " Does the bright star reflection bother you? Some APOs can be fitted with pricey telecompressors, but those invariably result in vignetting and coma. What's it got and what's it like to use? i too use the 135mm nikkor[ with a MB speed booster on fuji x for outstanding separation], also a samyang 85 mm 1.4 nikon mt with speedbooster also gives excellent separation, yes, I think I have read that the old Nikkor 135mm f3.5 was even sharper than the f2.8. Check out The foolproof image seems to be more a case of how a bright fuzzy cluttered moving background can completely detach from the offset dark subject matter and overwhelm it. Personally, I can't stand these circles, and I see them as VERY distracting.Lots of fads come and go, and this is just another one of these fads that some photographers are obsessed with. These include canon lens for night photography along with good budget lenses for astrophotography. My first photo of the night sky is of Comet NEOWISE, however I know its not the best photo I could capture. The first example is good to show that you can take photos of persons in front of an ugly background without completely ruining the shot (important for people shooting events), the last one is the only one I really like (because of the color) but you could shoot this with any lens with short MFD. This lens provides all of these requirements. USM works so quickly and accurately, it puts my 24-70/f2.8L to shame. It's kinda curious how topsy turvy things have gotten since this article, just 4 years later, I think 135mm is possibly more niche than ever yet Samyang finally delivered an AF version of this concept at a lighter weight for E mount, but also at a higher price. Best lenses for astrophotography: 50, 85 and 135mm - DSLR, Mirrorless When I got home and loaded the photo into Lightroom I was blown away by two things. I cant seem to find this documented anywhere. My first shot was a section of the constellation Sagittarius that included the Lagoon Nebula, and Trifid Nebula. When all that was available were APS-C crop cameras a 85mm lens provided a near equivalent view angle to the 135mm on a full frame camera. OK guysTOS rule number one "Posts that are not respectful of other individuals (be they members or not) are not welcome here.". Another thing that makes people go "wow" over the 135mm F2 lens design is the bokeh, which can be so creamy that distant backgrounds almost render as gradients. When I was teaching photography in 70's at a junior college, I critiqued students photos, but I never did so harshly. I know taste is subjective, but it seems to me that some people have become obsessed with blur and bokeh. Yet the Jaegers becomes essentially color free when stopped down to 3in. At least not in my camera (Sony A6000), the focal length in a crop sensor does not make it very suitable for portrait, the photo detail is something else, but without AF that type of photography with that focal distance and at least 80 cm of the subject it requires too much dedication, with how comfortable the DMF approach mode is for that type of photography Also in my mount it does not have any communication with the camera (it does not have a chip, it only has it for Nikon). It could easily rival 'bokeh monsters lenses' at fraction of their price. I'll walk you through all this inc. While there are certainly pricey 135mm F2 lenses out there (such as the aforementioned Sigma 135mm F1.8 Art, or the Carl Zeiss 135mm) there are a couple that give you extreme value for the money. The difference between modern and old telephoto lenses is probably similar to the difference between my APO and an old Jaegers 5in F5. FULL FRAME TELEPHOTO 135mm F2.0 Asahi Optical's Pentax KX was one of the first cameras with this lens mount, acting as a midrange model in the lineup. Equipment used was an astromodified Canon 700D, Samyang 135mm f2, SkyTech Triband filter, Star Adventurer 2i, ZWO mini finder with ASI120MM, guiding with PHD2 and polar alignment using sharpcap. Rokinon lenses are made in Korea, and so is the Samyang variation. Include the Carl Zeiss in your research though, it might be an interesting lens for you, even if it is a bit pricey for what you get. There is no such thing, in my opinion. lol, nice images, and i nearly bought this lens myself a few years ago. Generally, prime lenses have a reputation for being slightly sharper, and I have found that to be true whether I am shooting a nebula or a Scarlet Tanager. Below, are a few examples of astrophotography images Ive taken with lenses of varying focal lengths. This free website's biggest source of support is when you use these links, especially these directly to it at Adorama or at Amazon, when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. Imaging Resource 1998 - 2023. I think youll find that this lens is behind some of the most amazing wide-field astrophotography images online! Otherwise I might not achieve focus? It really is about talent, creativity, and vision, not gear. If 135mm f2 works for you, then fine. I find neither the cat nor the duck particularly good. Thanks! But you are talking more than 2x crop (cut half by width and height) and that leaves you to twice smaller resolution == quarter of the Mpix count.So now your 42Mpix A7rII is only a 10.5Mpix. 135 mm. You may need to refocus your subject as the temperature changes throughout the night. For example, a friend recently recommended Pentax 6x7 prime lenses which were designed for a large format flat field, and are also adaptable to the EOS system. I am no stranger to the full manual control of this lens, for both aperture and focus. Literally it means "blur" so you could just as well use the dictionary definition below the top match from Google search: Bokeh - the visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image, especially as rendered by a particular lens. I've tested some of the old Pentax 6x7 lenses with a friend. Now - THAT's a lens everyone should have ;). We've combed through the options and selected our two favorite cameras in this class. The Canon 135mm f/2 is no less impressive on a full-frame camera. I've been using a vintage FD 135/3.5 on my A7R IV as a compact tele option, often alongside a tiny Samyang 75/1.8. Thanks.. Focus end stop. Then you should have tried the 180mm nikkor ED, the old one, which is the favorite tool of a lot of astrophotographers. A camera tracker (or star tracker) is necessary for long exposure deep-sky astrophotography, but a compact model such as the iOptron SkyTracker or Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer will do just fine. But I would argue that a 135mm F2 lens produces even greater bokeh, thanks to the long focal length that compresses the background far more than the 85mm lens. Besides, adding IS would mean adding extra elements and that would very likely reduce the image quality. They just wanted to increase their joy from photography. Bottom line, this is just an outstanding lens by any measure, one that makes clear why you'd want to pay the freight for expensive prime glass. Photos posted are pleasing but I'd be into seeing something new. My 24-70L needs to be stopped down to f5.6 to begin to match the sharpness of my 135L at f2.0 (the test shots were of the portrait of Andrew Jackson on a $20 bill). Whereas quality apochromats can be corrected with broad band filters, such as the Astronomik UV/IR cut filter or the CLS-CCD filter, telephoto lenses can not. Some noteworthy targets to try. enlarge. It is so sharp it makes you rethink the use of your zoom lenses. Astrophotography is one of the ultimate tests of lens quality, as long exposure photography of deep-sky objects in space can highlight issues that are hidden during daytime photography. Thanks, 2. I owned this lens for a long time, then traded it for the 70-200 2.8IS II. We revisit a classic DPReviewTV episode in which Chris Niccolls and Jordan Drake shoot a few rolls of Fujifilm's Acros 100 II, and a few frames on the X-T3 in Acros film simulation, to find out. Chromatic aberration is almost eliminated in narrowband, so lenses with that problem may be fine performers. If this was used to shoot video you would think that the first image was using a green screen. Tack sharp even at wide open aperture. As it is it is earns a 9. Hey Trevor, great article! Thats quite a jump from 135mm, so the camera body you use with this lens may change the types of targets you shoot. The author's recipe for a good photo is:1) Just shoot blindly, with no regard to what's in the frame, because the lens will blur away everything on the background.2) If (1) does not work, just head on to https://www.bhphotovideo.com, download a jpg of the lens you were using, and photoshop it on top of the taillaits of the passig car that didn't get blurred out enough.3?) The flat lens hood is great for taking flat frames after a night of astrophotography. As rest you do just by cropping or stitching. You can also find him as @mwroll on Instagram and 500px. Not only does it let you travel light, but impressive wide field projects are often more successful when captured under a dark sky. (purchased for $1,100), reviewed October 5th, 2008 Also, accurate guiding is essential. The lens is available on eBay for around $200. Otherwise this lens is absolutely incredible. This summer I'm going to try the lenses out for LRGB images to see how they perform. This is a stunning lens, clearly one of the very best lenses that Canon produces, this is in the same world class as the 35 1.4, 85 1.2 L lenses. It focuses within a blink of an eye, instantly. thanks for the tiring patronising lecture and then agreeing with me. If you buy a nifty fifty or a 100mm macro lens you simply cannot go wrongyou will get a great and handy lens for your money, with great image quality. It starts out very sharp at f/2.0, gets even sharper at f/2.8, and softens only slightly at f/11. Sometimes though, we stumble upon a great lens design which is strong in all three. [emailprotected]. The thing is, on my APS-C body the 100mm is challenging enough. Litepanels Studio X2 Bi-Color LED Fresnel Light.