Astro newbie

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theghostie

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Name
Paul
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Hi Everyone,

Would like to try Astro but I only have a 50mm Zeiss Planar 1.4, anyone think this would be any good for Astro?

Nearest recommended dark sky area from me is 25miles each way - so don’t really fancy a trip out of I am only going to get poor results

Saving for a Sony 20mm 1.8 but it’s a while off yet

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Paul
 
Depends on what sort of "astro"? You could shoot star trails. On the other hand to avoid stars trailing your shutter speed would be limited to about 10 seconds which would mean pushing up the ISO for things like the milky way.
 
You don't need to change your lens to get started, but make sure you have a tripod. The next two/three months mean light nights so not a good time to start in astro imaging. Starting in September the nights start to draw in and you can begin to get good wide field astro shots.

Not sure where you are based but if in the UK then Jupiter and Saturn will be low down looking South.
 
As I said elsewhere, the lens will be fine from an IQ & aperture point of view but you will get a limited field of view. You'll need to stitch a panorama. It's still worth it though for the experience & learning.

What part of the UK are you in? I'm in Bristol so usually shoot 51.5° to 50.5° & the Milky Way is possible throughout the summer if you work at it.
 
LeeRatters said:
As I said elsewhere, the lens will be fine from an IQ & aperture point of view but you will get a limited field of view. You'll need to stitch a panorama. It's still worth it though for the experience & learning.

What part of the UK are you in? I'm in Bristol so usually shoot 51.5° to 50.5° & the Milky Way is possible throughout the summer if you work at it.
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I am in Manchester, but also have a 5 week old, so getting out can be tricky liked your idea of getting out just to practice setups etc so think I will try over the weekend
 
theghostie said:
but also have a 5 week old, so getting out can be tricky
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On the contrary it's perfect, it's not like you'll be getting any sleep anyway by staying at home :p
So it's an easy choice, crying 5 week old or watch some stars?

theghostie said:
Nearest recommended dark sky area from me is 25miles each way - so don’t really fancy a trip out of I am only going to get poor results
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I live in London, I'd kill for a dark sky that's just 25 miles away. I have come back with poor results few times but it's all a learning experience in my opinion. No one got good at astro from day one, everyone will have gone through the poor results before getting the kind of shots you see posted online.

But with astro you can and you should try and do a fair bit of planning before hand. You can use apps like photopills to help with this (plenty of YouTube tutorials on this)

Good luck :)
 
If you can practice near home, then you should do that before planning any special trips. The first attempts are most likely to be disasters. Don't worry about this, it is just part of the learning curve.

The lens that you have is absolutely fine for getting started, and might the one that you stick with.

The sky contains some tiny objects (planets) where you want 3000mm lens, but it also can produce interesting shots if you image the whole sky.
For your first attempt, you could simply point towards Cygnus and try some 6 second exposures at various ISO settings with the lens wide open. See if you can pick out the Milky Way.
If you can, then you are on your way.

Good luck.
 
Don153 said:
Why are you asking?
Do you think that the field of view of your current lens isn't wide enough? Or are you worried that the lens quality isn't good enough?

In astrophotography, it is very easy to buy expensive stuff that you only use once.
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I have a 50mm zeiss planar 1.4 which I have been told is ok but that’s about it, the sigma would also be for landscape etc, thanks
 
Don153 said:
Why are you asking?
Do you think that the field of view of your current lens isn't wide enough? Or are you worried that the lens quality isn't good enough?

In astrophotography, it is very easy to buy expensive stuff that you only use once.
Click to expand...

Probably asking for opinions before he buys.

@theghostie The Sigma 20mm will be fine on paper but check reviews for astro performance - there are bound to be reviews on such a fast wide lens! Then it's a case of just the size and weight of it and if the extra cost of the Sony is worth it for you.
 
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