Sugestions on camera lens for wide field

[pubquiz]

Hi

I have been thinking about having a go at  widefield stuff for a while and wondered if anyone could recommend a used decent camera lens to look out for on ebay etc.

 

I would be using my QHY163C with it

 

I currently have an Altair 102 triplet and a megrez 72 (sold my 8"RC last year ...still keeping an eye ot for a C9.25 to replace it for planetary/luna etc) on a Mesu 200 mount

It would be used for wider stuff than I can get with the Megrez 72 ...say...the Heart and Sould Nebs in the same FOV.

Just thought it would be something to try if I can pick up an old camera lens for a resonable price ....is a zoom worth considering? ...camera resolution is quite high at 3.4 size pixels so is a fixed fl better then crop after etc.

Never done any AP with a camera lens so am total virgin with them....any thoughts/recommedations to put on the shortlist gratefully accepted.

 

Tom

 

 

[PeterCPC]

Get a fixed focal length. Pentax Super Takumar lenses are good. If you can stretch to it I would recommend the Samyang 18mm.

Peter

[pubquiz]

Hi Peter

 

Thanks for the rapid reply....18mm?...is that right...is that not VERY wide ie fisheye ish   thought standard camera lenses were 50mm?....was thinking more 200mm ish?......may have misworded it when I said widefield....I dont want like full milkyway shots etc just something that I could get shots of some of the bigger nebula etc triffid and lagoon in same frame which is too much of a sweeze in the megrez 72 (fl 425mm) hence me thinking 200mm ish.

 

[Uranium235]

How about somewhere in the middle? The Samyang 135mm f2 is a very good lens.

Wide enough for you? (though it is a mosaic)

1hour per panel in Ha - x9 panels

[PeterCPC]

Then the Pentax Super Takumar 135mm might be what you want to keep the costs down.

Peter

[pubquiz]

thanks guys will add these lenses to the list and look out for them...very nice mosaic Uranium

Whats this quiz champion in your sig?...is there a quiz league here?...is it an astro quiz or a GK quiz? (only asking as am a mad keen pub quizzer ...hence the name)...am going to be on the soon to be on TV next series of 15-1 ...filmed in Nov last year

[michaelmorris]

On 04/03/2018 at 13:16, pubquiz said:

Whats this quiz champion in your sig?...is there a quiz league here?...is it an astro quiz or a GK quiz? (only asking as am a mad keen pub quizzer ...hence the name)...am going to be on the soon to be on TV next series of 15-1 ...filmed in Nov last year

It's the Astroquiz at the annual SGL star party.

 

[pubquiz]

I see

 

[michael8554]

On 3/4/2018 at 11:50, pubquiz said:

thought standard camera lenses were 50mm?.

50mm lenses were "standard" for 35mm film SLR's.

For an APS-C "crop frame" DSLR a 35mm lens would give about the same field of view.

And your QHY163 has a slightly smaller sensor, so a slightly smaller field of view.

I would download a planetarium that allows you to superimpose fields of view for different sensor sizes and focal lengths.

Then you can see exactly what focal length lenses would suit your targets, rather than guessing.

Michael

 

[pubquiz]

Hi Michael

 

Thanks for that...yes I use Stellarium and from that about 135mm to 200mm would be what I am after.....I sold all my 35mm camera stuff a while ago for next to nothing and had a Tamron 80-200 zoom that I could have tried so wish I had kept that now.....are old camera zooms as above a useable idea?

Was asking re camera lenses as it would never be used for visual just astrophotography so would be a cheaper route than buying a small focal length low focal ratio telescope...it would be mounted on top of one of my scopes.

[melsky]

Another vote for the Samyang 135mm F2 lens, this was shot at F2.4 on my Atik One 6 camera.

[pubquiz]

very nice protostar:) ....seems a popular choice ...prob outside my funds though as would only be used for occasional astrowork ...if I had a DSLR would get used more but I don't.

[kirkster501]

Holy thread revival....

What lens to replace the nifty fifty on a modded Canon 450D please?

[happy-kat]

What do you want, wider or closer?

Budget?

[kirkster501]

I was thinking of the type of picture that encompasses the whole of Cygnus, Ursa Major and Orion constellations.

[happy-kat]

you can trial different sizes with your dslr using say skysafari or stellarium.

i like my canon 40mm pancake lens as it is ok for night stopped down to f4 and it's a great walk around lens as so small.

But it is not quite wide enough perhaps for what you are after. Example with 1100d on Orion.

[Jkulin]

I purchased last year a Samyang 14mm F2.8, they are the same as the Rokinon it just depends what country it is sold in, I use that for widefield with my Nikon D800 and it really is a remarkable lens, I kept looking on fleabay until one came up cheap enough, I use on my Leica an 11-18 on a crop sensor and have had some lovely exposures with widefield as well.

[hobsey]

You could go with a 24mm pancake lens on the cropped sensor give you the equivalent of just under a 40mm on full frame.

Both the 24mm and 40mm pancake lens are very sharp for the money.

[Ludd]

I have had good results so far with a Samyang 10mm f2.8 for really wide shots, a Samyang 85mm f1.4 for getting closer in, and a Takumar 135mm f3.5 as well.  I felt I had a bit of a gap between the Samyangs, and the Canon 50mm f1.8 was a bit irritating to use because it lost focus if you breathed anywhere near it, and was still quite limiting on constellations.  So I've just bought a 1970s SMC Takumar 28mm f3.5.  Daylight tests are promising, and I'm now waiting for a clear night to see how it fares on stars.