Widefield Milky Way photography

[hobsey]

On my dark skies holiday in September, I'm going to have ago at capturing the Milky Way.

Now, I have a 1.8 nifty fifty which I intend to use but I would like a wider shot.

Would a wide lens adapter which screws onto the front of the lens for wider shots be ok to use with the lower f/stop or would I just be better off using my 18-55 and just increasing the exposure times?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/52mm-0-45x-Wide-Angle-Macro-Conversion-Lens-for-Canon-EF-50mm-f-1-8-II-/130681534053?pt=UK_Lenses_Filters_Lenses&hash=item1e6d39f665

Thanks for looking.

[Alien 13]

It does depend on which 18-55mm lens you have, the IS version i use is far better than my nifty fifty and can be used wide open its worth taking a few test shots with yours to see how it performs.

Alan

[hobsey]

If you mean IS as image stabilizer, then thats the one I have. The normal kit lens.

[Alien 13]

Yes thats the one i have found that mine is a very good performer.

Alan

[Digz]

Personally I would try and avoid screwing any piece of additional 'glass' in front of a lens unless it's a decent filter.

Having said that, for the price, it won't break the bank and could be worth a punt.

[Welrod50]

I really wouldn't bother with anything like the one you've seen on Ebay. They are so deep, you have to zoom in slightly to avoid severe vignetting around the edges which defeats the object. Also, although optically they aren't too bad, they will degrade the image to some extent and you also risk internal reflections with longer exposures.  I've experimented with screw-in type converters of various sorts over the years and can say from experience, if you want the optical quality and a decent end result, you will need the proper lens to start with. 

Have a go with the kit lens to start with and stop down to f3.5 or f4 to sharpen things up a bit.

I did some trails and a few milky way shots from St Ives in Cornwall last year with a Sigma 10-20mm lens and although cut short by wispy cloud after a short while, the few shots I got were pretty good.

HTH

[jimmyjamjoejoe]

The kit lens is perfectly capable of great results from a dark site. The 50mm will be worth a punt just to get some nice detail near cygnus.

Or you could listen to the voices in your head and get some new glass. I recently got a samyang 14mm f2.8, which gets rave reviews for sharpness etc. Seems the optical quality is awesome since it's manual focus and aperture - it's kindof the dobsonian of lenses it also controls coma astonishingly well, which is rare for a camera lens.