Recommended Lenses for Astrophotography
Unlock the full potential of your night sky photography with our expert-recommended astrophotography lenses! This guide covers top brands, ideal focal lengths, and camera compatibility, helping you capture breathtaking celestial images like never before. Don't miss these pro tips to elevate your stargazing photography experience!
Full Frame Lenses:
Remarkably sharp and free of coma at f/2.8. Solid construction, very precise focus ring. One of my favorite lenses and insanely affordable. This is a great lens to get your feet wet in night photography.
Excellent lens at a very reasonable price. Sharp and nearly free of coma at f/2. Almost as good as the Nikon and Zeiss 24mm. This is my go to lens in nearly any situation. You will not regret buying this lens.
Not as good as the 24mm, but still a good lens if you stop it down to f/2
This is the best performing 35mm.
The best lens for night photography in the 14-20 range. It has very little coma, incredibly sharp, very little vignetting. If you want the best this is the lens for you.
A great alternative to the expensive 14-24. Very little coma and very sharp.
A decent performer at night, it does have coma and vignetting but it is the best all around super wide angle for use during the day and night. It accepts filters unlike most of the other lenses
This is a phenomenal lens that is incredibly sharp, with a price tag to go along with it.
APS-C Lenses (Cropped Sensors)
I have only tested the Tokina 11-16 in the below list, the rest are based on feedback from use during workshops and reviews from others.
If you have an APS-C sensor this is your go-to lens. Fast, wide, sharp and low on coma. There are two versions of this lens, both perform well, the newest version will likely outperform the old version, but I have not tested them side-by-side yet.
Available for Canon, Nikon and Sony
A new lens from Sigma that has a constant aperture of f/1.8 in a zoom lens! The reviews I have seen for this are incredible, I would highly recommend trying out this lens. This would be a great lens for doing panoramas of the milky way.
Available for Canon, Nikon, Sony
Another great lens from Rokinon that is very fast at this focal length and is reasonably priced.
Available for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax and Sigma, and everything else.
A good low cost option on APS-C as well. I only recommend it for the budget minded or those shooting Pentax. This is because the Tokina 11-16 is much more versatile, but is twice the price and not available for Pentax. If you’re considering upgrading to full frame soon this would be a good option as well.
Available for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax and Sigma
Another lens to consider if you will be upgrading to full frame soon. This is a fairly long focal length on a cropped sensor, but is still useful for tight shots of the milky way and panoramas of the milky way in spring.
Available for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax and Sigma
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