Lens for Rebel T2i for Night Sky Shots?

[tailes151]

I've been tasked with finding a lens for my brother for his Christmas present. Unfortunately, I know nothing about photography.

I have been asked to find a lens for a Canon Rebel T2i that works well for night sky shots/photographing constellations, stars, etc...

I was not given a price range but would assume nothing over $500 and probably closer to $300.

Any ideas? Would this be a good bet?

Thanks for your input!

 

[tracerbullet]

Actually it would.

I was thinking - you don't need anything different than for other pictures really. 2 things do come to mind though - a wide lens would get a lot in the photo - ie the sky... and also that an open aperture would allow for faster shots. The 50 1.4 would do both. Plus it's a great daytime lens too, almost a must-have IMO.

You could consider a zoom lens however, a 17-85mm perhaps, to let him zoom in on specific constellations. For stars you'd have to go further 70-300mm but even then you're not getting much without a telescope so never mind. 17-85mm is a little over $500-ish new I think.

Outside of Canon, Tamron has a few decent lenses, for example a very highly rated 17 - 50mm: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...2_8_XR_Di.html

And also a reasonably decent 18-200mm: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc..._XR_Di_II.html

The 50 1.4 also has a 1.8 version that's not as good as the 1.4 but it's dang close for a whole lot less money: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...0mm_f_1_8.html

Not sure if this helps or hurts, LOL.

 

[JohnnyRebel]

I've been tasked with finding a lense for my brother for his Christmas present. Unfortunately, I know nothing about photography.

I have been asked to find a lense for a Canon Rebel T2i that works well for night sky shots/photographing constellations, stars, etc...

I was not given a price range but would assume nothing over $500 and probably closer to $300.

Any ideas? Would this be a good bet?

Thanks for your input!

http://www.astropix.com/HTML/I_ASTROP/LENSES.HTM

Suggested Starter Lens Sets for Astrophotography

When just starting out, the best lens to get is a simple 50mm f/1.8. It is small, lightweight, reasonably fast even when stopped down to f/2.8, and cheap.
If your camera came with a zoom lens, then you can certainly try it out for astrophotography.
The next lens to think about getting will either be a wide angle or a telephoto. Wide angles are great for scenic shots on a fixed tripod and are more forgiving of mount tracking errors when used piggy-back for constellation shots.
Telephotos are great for large nebulae like the North America nebula and the Milky Way star clouds in Sagittarius. Which type lens to get first will be up to your personal preference, but telephoto lenses will require a good telescope mount, and accurate focus, polar alignment and tracking. As the focal length of the lens increases, things become more critical and the degree of difficulty increases.

• Wide Angle
  • Canon EF-S 18mm-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF Zoom ($175)
• Normal
  • Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II Canon ($115)
  • Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8 D ($125)
• Telephoto
  • Canon EF 200mm f/2.8 L II USM ($775)
  • Nikkor AF 180mm f/2.8 D ED-IF ($900)

The Canon 200mm and Nikon 180mm telephotos can be used wide open, although performance will improve if they are stopped down. These long telephotos will also require some type of mount or ring to hold the lens securely. Mounting them by the camera body tripod socket alone is a bad idea because mounting a large heavy lens by a single pivot point invites rotation during an exposure leading to trailed stars. Many astrophotographers choose to mount these heavy lenses with a separate ring at the front of the lens in addition to the camera's tripod mount. Using two rings to mount this type of lens allows flexibility in aiming and framing the camera.
Expect to have to stop the other lenses down a minimum of one to two stops to get acceptable performance, and perhaps three stops to get very good performance on a full-frame DSLR camera.

 

[Maximus96]

For night shots I suggest a good sturdy tripod instead. The kit lens at f/16 or whatever is decent enough for stars.

 

[XZeroII]

I have a 50mm 1.8 and it's great. I've never done stars though (too much light pollution around here) but I would imagine that it would work well. And it's very cheap.

 

[bobdole369]

50mm/1.8 works gangbusters for stars.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/adriangonsalves/510020555/
(not mine, googled up, I had similar results with up to 15 second exposures).

A good (and I mean GOOD) sturdy tripod, and either a wired, or wireless shutter release are pretty much required. So is a cloudless moonless night, and no wind, and being out in the sticks far from urbania. You can do the timer thing but its pretty soul-wrenching.

 

[RobDickinson]

50/1.8 is a great lens for night time star field shots.