![]() ![]() So without further ado, here’s our guide to the best lenses for astrophotography, starting with the best full-frame lenses, followed by the best lenses for APS-C, and then Micro Four Thirds.īest full-frame lenses for astrophotography This roundup is ordered by sensor size, working from full-frame, to APS-C, to Micro Four Thirds. We can’t sensibly include every suitable lens in this list, although we regularly note alternatives to our top picks. One final point is that there are lenses for the likes of Canon, Nikon and Sony cameras, plus plenty of third party options available for multiple lens mounts. For example, a fixed focal length lens is likely to be cheaper, smaller, and offer a wider maximum aperture, whereas a zoom lens is usually bulkier but affords you focal length flexibility. Quality-wise, zoom lenses have come a long way and we feel the main differentiators are around handling rather than image quality. There is a choice between zoom and fixed focal length lenses, too. Mirrorless lenses tend to perform better for corner detail than equivalent DSLR lenses when set to their widest aperture. A common downside to wide-angle lenses is the image quality fall-off in the corners, so you’ll want to pick one that holds detail well. Anything around f/1.4 to f/4 is appropriate. The size of aperture is important too – the wider the maximum aperture, the more light is let in, which is crucial for the best possible image quality when working in low light. Even complex vertical-multi-shot panoramas capturing the milky way work well with a wide-angle lens in this region. For APS-C lenses, the equivalent focal length is roughly 9-16mm, while for Micro Four Thirds you’re looking at something between 7-12mm. Many lenses in this roundup are designed for full-frame because this is an optimum sensor size for astrophotography, and the most popular focal length is around 14-24mm. How to find a great lens for astrophotography Before we get cracking on that though, let’s take a spin through the key features of a good astrophotography lens. ![]() We’ve picked out lens suggestions for all the major systems, including DSLRs and mirrorless camera from Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax Fujifilm, Olympus/OM SYSTEM and Panasonic. If you’re building a setup from the ground up, check out our guide to the best cameras for astrophotography – otherwise, let’s start talking lenses. This may be a prime or it may be a zoom – both are hugely useful in astrophotography. What you also want is a lens that captures a nice, wide angle of view to see as much of that beautiful night sky as possible. A lens with a large aperture helps you keep these other two exposure values as low as possible. Too high an ISO setting will make your images unacceptably blurry, and too long a shutter speed will cause the stars to smear across the sky as the Earth turns. The key to astrophotography is allowing the camera to drink in as much light as possible, as you’re unavoidably working in dark conditions. Having one of the best lenses for astrophotography is crucial when shooting the stars – arguably even more so than the camera. Tim Coleman and the AP team guide you through the best lenses for astrophotography, with options for full-frame, APS-C and Micro Four Thirds.
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