Question in regards to camera lenses

[StevenG.]

Hey, everyone. I have a question that is in regards to the Canon EOS Rebel XSI 450D.

I don't have a camera lense for it, since it is made to be attached to the telescope for astrophotography.

I'd like to also take pictures of constellations, star trails, etc. with the camera.

What would be an ideal camera lense for it? Any suggestions?

[Steve Ward]

Can't help you with what to buy but can advise against the Sigma 70-300 apo dg for astro work. Great quality glass and price but as i found out a bit late its a very free-moving zoom. As soon as you point it above about 30 degrees it will creep out of position. Tried about 10 different ones when i took it back to retailer but all were the same so swapped for the canon 75-300, much firmer action and no slippage even at the zenith position.

Hope thats of some help.

[JB80]

The best starting point would be the stock Canon 50mm lens or the 18-55mm that is available. Both are extremely useful for what you want to use them for and they are not going to break the bank either. There are other makes like Sigma that has been mentioned but be sure to double check that they are Canon fit lenses and not Nikon one.

I have an 18-50mm Sigma lens for my 450D and it's my most used lens at the moment.

[RikM]

+1 for a 50mm prime lens. Short focal length and fast is what you want to start off with. Primes will usually be a better choice than zooms.

As a next step the EF 200-L has great reputation.

Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

[robster]

I have the EF 70 to 200 f2.8L and the EF 100 to 400 F4-5.6L - both are astounding lenses.

The former is a rotational zoom, and the latter is a push-pull, but with a zoom lock, so neither suffer from zoom creep. The only issue I have is that the 100 to 400 isn't totally weather sealed, and suffers from sucking dust - I have it services about once every 18 months to have it cleaned, but I've never had an imaging problem with them.

Both lenses are excellent quality and suffer little CA.

On the wide side of the scale, I use a EF 17 to 40 f4L (sharp) and a EF16 to 35 f2.8L (fast but sometimes not as sharp). Both are excellent lenses.

And the 50mm - my Canon 50mm EF 1.8 (Mk 1) is now over 20 years old - never let me down once, and probably one of the best 50mm lenses available. I paid about £50 for this when I bought it in 1990 - if I sold it on e-bay now, it would fetch around £140 - there's a very good reason for that, as they are highly sought after. Primes are always better than zooms, but the quality of a good prime is always reflected in the price.

[Viv]

And the 50mm - my Canon 50mm EF 1.8 (Mk 1) is now over 20 years old - never let me down once, and probably one of the best 50mm lenses available. I paid about £50 for this when I bought it in 1990 - if I sold it on e-bay now, it would fetch around £140

I've got the cheaper plastic, but still great lens of this one.

Better still a can drinks cooler, fits on it perfectly, to stop it misting up.

[themos]

The one I'm dreaming of is this one

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-135mm-f-2.0-L-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

[Viv]

The one I'm dreaming of is this one

http://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Canon-EF-135mm-f-2.0-L-USM-Lens-Review.aspx

That looks nice !

[ollypenrice]

I've used a Samyang 85 and an EF200L with our CCD cameras, usually doing an Ha run in the mono and an RGB in the OSC.

A simple front aperture mask is a good idea so as to prevent the star spikes caused by stopping down internally. I only cottoned on to this idea recently. No spikes in M45!

Primes will beat zooms.

Olly

EF200L:

Samyang 85 (mosaic):

Focus is super critical so I use a Telescope Service micro adjuster.

Olly