Because of the Nikon D500 ability to photograph in the dark, I will need to experiment more in regards to the best camera settings to utilize for night sky photography. For starters, it has the same ISO score and depth of field as the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8, since it’s also 14mm at f/2.8. David Kingham is a landscape photographer who focuses on the night sky. Check the histogram after you take the picture to make sure the image is being properly exposed. Like the Nikon, this Samyang has noticeable levels of flare, although it also has noticeably more coma. It’s an inexpensive lens as lenses go, but I wish Nikon had charged a bit more and designed it better. Other times she’ll use multiple exposure to expose for the moon and stars separately. Compared to the Samyang 14mm f/2.8, it picks up noticeably more stars, particularly in the corners of images, where it is quite sharp. Note: The Nikon D600 has been superseded by the D610. Want to know how the Nikon D7100 stands up to the challenge of night photography? Recently, I bought myself a Nikon D3500 and decided to give astrophotography a try. The differences aren’t massive, but they are visible. The Tamron’s retail price is $800 cheaper than the Nikon 14-24mm. Again, though, if you already own this lens, you certainly can use it for nighttime photography. For photographers who care more about light transmission than depth of field, this is perhaps the best lens available today for nighttime photography. Of the three, the Samyang has the least coma, which means that you will get the sharpest stars in the corner of your frame. D4, 14-24mm f/2.8 lens, 20 sec., f/2.8, ISO 4000, Matrix metering, manual exposure. Shoot at f/2.8 and 14mm, and you’ll be able to get some very interesting shots. Unless all of your subjects are far away, this lens won’t let you take particularly sharp nighttime photos. For most photographers (unless you already own the Nikon), it’s the better choice. Nikon’s FX cameras – and the full-frame cameras of other brands – are arguably the best tools on the market for nighttime landscape photography. [Check your camera's manual to see if your model has this feature —editor] The interval timer controls the span of time between exposures and the total number of exposures made by the camera for an orderly recording of images over the timespan you want the time-lapse to cover. It’s also light enough to carry along without a problem, which is not something you can say of the f/2.8 zooms. As you can see, there’s no shortage of options for nighttime photography. Because their specifications are nearly the same, the Tamron and the Nikon require essentially identical ISO values for a proper exposure at night. (One such program is Quicktime Pro, however there are also free software programs available that you can use too.) Move the light around during the entire exposure so you don’t end up with hot spots. “Often a single shot of stars can be beautiful,” says Deborah. It is quite sharp, even at f/2.8 in the corners, and is almost entirely free from coma. “This image, because it was shot in clear atmospheric conditions, allows the Milky Way to be seen.”. Kingham put the Nikon D7100 to the test to find out if its cropped sensor is worth considering as a viable choice for night shooting, especially when compared to the similarly-priced Nikon D600. It is not the sharpest of wide angle lenses on the market for photographing the Milky Way, although it’s certainly passable. Sure, other lenses have a wider aperture, but this one can render a sharp image from 1.16 meters (3.8 feet) to the stars in a single photo. This lens is very new to the market, but, at least on paper, it has the right specifications for nighttime photography. Any more time than that and the stars will begin to blur. Your suggestions / advice would be very useful. This image, because it was shot in clear atmospheric conditions, allows the Milky Way to be seen. For example, f/2.8 is not the ideal aperture for nighttime photography. In other words, you’ll be able to use a lower ISO with this lens than any other in this article, assuming that you shoot at its widest aperture setting on an FX camera. For time-lapse photography of the stars in the night sky, use an aperture of about f/5.6 if the moon is full, f/2.8 if the moon is not full. The main negative of the Tamron is its weight. They’re about a stop noisier than Nikon’s FX cameras, and they don’t have the same extensive lens lineup for star photography. “The subject will often determine if I pursue star trails or pinpoints of light,” explains Deborah. Z6ii vs. Z7ii which has better tonal gradation? Using a wide-angle or fisheye lens, you can also incorporate the foreground into your images. The Milky Way can be seen in this image. The Nikon D5600 lets you dial in shutter speeds of up to 30 seconds and has a Bulb mode as well for exposure times of practically any length, which is very good news if you are seriously interested in night photography. For time-lapse photography of the stars in the night sky, use an aperture of about f/5.6 if the moon is full, f/2.8 if the moon is not full. The D750 is amazing for night sky photography, the 18-35mm will be a little challenging due to the smaller aperture. Also known as the Rokinon 14mm f/2.4, this is one of the sharpest lenses we have ever tested for night sky photography (review coming soon), clearly beating the cheaper Samyang 14mm f/2.8, and even edging out Nikon’s 14-24mm f/2.8 (previously the king of sharp night sky photography). The 18-35mm zoom range is not particularly large, but it’s certainly welcome if you plan to do daytime photography as well. This lens doesn’t have quite as wide an aperture as a 24mm f/1.4, but that doesn’t mean you should overlook it. There are worse lenses for astrophotography, but there are far better ones as well. Although others can potentially challenge this reputation (such as Nikon’s 35mm f/1.8, discussed below), it certainly shows that the Sigma is a great piece of equipment. Regardless, set your aperture as wide as your lens allows. Although the larger sensor would be nice, the extra weight when I’m travelling isn’t. The faster aperture also potentially allows me to drop down a stop and increase picture quality. These days I'm active on Instagram and YouTube. The only issue is that $800 is still quite a bit of money to spend on a manual focus prime lens, so it is reasonable that not every photographer will find it worthwhile. At 12mm, it has a huge depth of field, even at the widest aperture of f/2.8. While not as sharp as the 14-24mm f/2.8 or 15-30mm f/2.8 at their widest apertures, this lens is a good choice if you want a nighttime photography zoom lens on a budget. Here’s the good news: with a 24-70mm f/2.8, you can take some very good nighttime photos as-is. You won’t get full-frame image quality, but you’ll be able to capture the stars and Milky Way better than with most other DX equipment on the market. The Samyang have serious problem with distortion and I can only use it for nightscape. Don’t let that discourage you from taking pictures at night. Everything I said about the 14-24mm f/2.8 rings true here – it’s one of the best compromises between depth of field and necessary ISO that you can buy. ISO Review: Capture the Night Sky with the ISO-less Nikon D750 | … Nikon 35mm f/1.8 ED (and other brands’ variants), 2.2. The Samyang is also $1600 less than the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8’s retail price, as well as around half the weight. Speedlights: while the shutter is open, press the Speedlight’s Flash button. The FX lenses listed above, for example, still tend to be good lenses for DX cameras. Shutter speeds ranged from 15 to 25 seconds. Think of it as a zooming, autofocusing version of the Samyang 10mm f/2.8 listed above – for an extra $200. Although the Nikon is a wonderful lens, you don’t need to pay $2000 to get a good 24mm f/1.4, so it is hard to recommend unless you already own it. Remember to use a shutter speed of about 1/15 second or faster since the moon actually moves pretty fast across the sky. Taking pictures of galaxies requires a tracking telescope because the earth moves during the long exposure time. High Dynamic Range (HDR): One technique is to take multiple shots, bracketing or varying the actual exposure time, and merge them as HDR which you can composite with the final image of the properly exposed sky. Each one has its pros and cons, and different photographers will find some lenses better than others for the work they do. However, some DX-specific lenses have the potential to work just as well, or potentially better. If you have a medium-range budget, the 20mm f/1.8 should be near the top of your list. That doesn’t give you much of a foreground. “I would always recommend using the manual exposure mode to avoid the exposure changing from one frame to the next which can cause an annoying flicker in the final time-lapse movie,” suggests Steve. Nature photography can thrill and inspire, and few natural scenes evoke more awe than that of the night sky. Although it’s not horrible, a depth of field from 5.4 meters (17.7 feet) to infinity is noticeably worse than other lenses in this article. (regardless of price or depth of field). Multimedia artists call this the “Ken Burns Effect.”. There’s a reason I excluded Nikon’s 16-35mm f/4.0 from the prior section: It simply doesn’t let in much light as other full-frame options. Stars Over Crazy Jug Point on the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona. There are many angles to astral photography but stay within the rules. I'm Spencer Cox, a landscape photographer better known for my macro photography! Use the Nikon D5600 like a pro. It’s sharp and has very low levels of flare, making for clean images at night, even when the moon is in your frame. Many of today’s Nikon digital cameras (DSLRs, Z series, Nikon 1 and COOLPIX models) feature an interval timer built-in. If you’re out shooting star trails, don’t forget that some of the individual exposures you take to stack together may also stand on their own as individual photographs. I’m going aurora hunting later this year so I’m looking for a lens for my D5600. I cover more than 20 lenses in this article, so it’s pretty extensive – hopefully, you’ll learn something new about the equipment you need in order to capture good star and nighttime landscape photos. As the widest-aperture zoom lens available for DX cameras, it’s no surprise that the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 made this list. Starting out at f/3.5 to f/4 is quite dim compared to say a 24mm f/1.4 or a 14mm f/2.8. Note: Before reading this article, in order to understand the “ISO score” and “full-frame equivalent ISO score” rankings, you’ll want to read my earlier article, which provides an explanation of what makes a good night photography lens. With other lenses, if you want a large depth of field, you’ll need to focus stack – not something that is easy, or sometimes even possible, when it’s dark. This isn’t an issue for most photos at night, since you’ll have to focus manually regardless of the lens you use. I wonder if this is a good lens for Night Sky photography? Not a bad lens by any means. Or, if you’re on a tighter budget, the Tokina 16-28mm f/2.8 should be high on your radar. Unfortunately, there are some issues. So it depends whether you intend to use this lens all the time for Milky Way photos or only occasionally. Sigma 35mm f/1.4 Art (and other brands’ variants), 1.15. Do you think a “Sigma 17-50mm f/2.8” be good to capture the Milky Way? Deborah found this to be the case with the first image. I light painted the dwarf cypress trees and the road for about 15 seconds. Or, if you want to save weight and use filters, Nikon’s 20mm f/1.8 is another good option. This image was shot on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, Arizona. Which do you think would give a better astro photo? (For example, I don’t cover any lenses longer than 35mm, but some people like using longer focal lengths to stitch nighttime panoramas.) With that in mind, let’s begin: This lens is well-known for its nighttime performance. And, because digital cameras let you see what you just captured, you can double check the exposures and make quick adjustments on the fly. As mentioned earlier, you can always try focus stacking, but, at night, that can be incredibly difficult. I can possibly invest in a new inexpensive lens, if needed. Other photographers – those who want a lens solely for nighttime photography – will find a lot of value in the Samyang 14mm f/2.8 lens. I don’t do this for every photo, though; it’s all a balancing act. If you want a large depth of field at night, as well as a general-purpose landscape photography zoom lens, the Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 and Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 are among the best options available today. The Sigma is made in Japan and feels solid as well as heavy . On the other hand, 14mm and f/2.8 is just about the ideal intersection of ISO performance and depth of field. Although both of these lenses have clear coma at f/1.4, either is still a good choice for nighttime photography simply due to the large aperture. I used to have a dx camera. Pete Saloutos creates unique, almost unworldly images of the night sky by incorporating the painting with light technique to illuminate the foreground. 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