Budget Canon lens suitable for Astrophotography

[happy-kat]

I stop mine down to f2.8 don't need to go any further. Also mine is not a super coated takumar but I don't find CA an issue. You'll love the buttery smooth focus control.

[Chris]

Oh yes, both the camera and the lens arrived at the same time this morning. My god, this feels so right!  

[RichM63]

Very nice, hope you get some cracking Milky Way shots etc.

Clear skies,

Rich

[Chris]

Thanks  I'm now in the process buying a second hand EQ3 with RA and dec motor kit plus polar scope, so once that's here I can have a proper play

Edited February 5, 2016 by Chris Lock

[Gina]

Been doing some clearing up and found an M42 to Canon EF mount adapter ring so since I have a number of M42 Asahi Super Takumar or similar lenses I shall be using these lenses on my DSLRs for widefield.  So far I haven't done much with widefield imaging and it's a field I want to get into.  ATM I'm trying hard to restore my interest in astro imaging after a long period of not doing any.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Gina

[Stub Mandrel]

My Carl Zeiss Sonnar 135mm is super duper and give me pin-sharp stars compared to anything else I have managed so far.

[alexbb]

+1 for the Jena Sonnar 135.

You can check a quick attempt at Orion here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByhJ_xuQxcnjTTA1dnZhUnpkdH
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByhJ_xuQxcnjdFY4Z3FEaWs0YTg

I could have processed them better, but anyways..
Both are from the same stack, just one is brightened more. They are a stack of about 50 subs @ 15s each, about 20 darks, 20 bias, 20 flats taken with a Canon 450D, ISO800 on a Skywatcher AZ Synscan.

Regards,

Alex
 

[Andy Mitchell]

Not sure if its the sonnar, but I've owned (from new!) a late multi-coated carl zeiss jenna 135mm f3.5 and it still holds up well. I also got the 35mm f2.4 Flektogon at the same time, all part of a kit with a film SLR. Most, but not all, of their lenses were very good and generally go for a lot on eBay as they have a cult following.

Here is an example of the 135mm on the atik with an Ha filter:

[Astrosurf]

Cracking pic!

[Chris]

Wow that's a cracking image! Is that the elephant trunk I see? If so I'm not used to seeing in the context of it's surroundings.

[Andy Mitchell]

Thanks for all the compliments, is indeed the elephant's trunk and the surrounding area. Its a big area, about twice the apparent size of the moon if memory serves.

[hitmanh]

For those with mirror-less cameras (4/3s, Fuji X, Sony alpha, etc) Canon FD lenses work a treat, I've pick up 85mm F1.4, 100mm F2.8, 200mm F4 , and 300mm F4 for not a lot of cash from ebay in the last year and had some pretty nice shoots.

[djdurance]

I know this is an old post but wanted to add in how much I would recommend fixed lenses over cheap zooms! I've been working away on the my Canon ef-s 55-250 lens and not super happy with the results. However, I picked up this Super-Takumar 135mm F3.5 lens for £35 and it really is much easier to work with. And.. frankly, better results. I really blew out the stars on my edits here (much to learn there!) but this was captured using an unmodified 600d, CLS filter, and the Star Adventurer. 19lightsx90seconds.