Full Frame Wide Angle Zoom for Astrophotography Recommendations?

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Stephen Hollingsworth
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Apologies for posting an equipment question in the photos section but I would like the opinion of fellow astrophotographers. (To make up for it I've attached a recent shot with my Samyang 14mm)

I own a Canon 6D and this year bought a Samyang 14mm f2.8 lens mainly to use for wide angle Milky Way shots. The Samyang has proved to be as good as I'd hoped (I have no problem reaching infinity focus like some people have complained about). However I find myself a bit restricted by the fixed focal length and already I'm looking for fast wide angle zoom. My other lenses are a Canon 24-105 f4 L and a EF 70-300 F4-5.6 IS USM which are fine for landscapes but too slow for astro.

If I had the money I'd run out and buy a Canon 16-35 f2.8 L mkiii but I'll have to win the lottery before that happens so I'm after suggestions for a good alternative. I have thought of buying another prime such as the Sigma 20mm f1.4 Art and maybe a nifty fifty to give me that extra focal length range but I often end up hiking a fair distance to locations and would like to keep the weight/bulk of my kit down so a zoom is preferable. I've also recently bought a Skywatcher Star Adventurer Mini for some tracking which already makes my kit feel too heavy. Something like a 15-35mm would mean I could sell the Samyang 14mm and carry only one lens (and maybe a 50mm for tracked shots).

Currently my options seem to be a choice between the Tokina 16-28mm f2.8 and the Tamron 15-30mm f2.8 (my preferred choice) both of which are heavy :(. I've got a feeling the Tokina suffers quite badly around the edges from coma correct me if I'm wrong.

So have I missed an option or should I just go for the Tamron? I'd love to hear opinions from owners of the Tamrons or Tokinas.

Col_Lake_Portrait1_Final.jpg

Sunken Trees, Colliford Lake, Cornwall.
Canon 6D, Samyang 14mm f2.8.
This is a blend of 2 stacked images. The sky is 14 x 20" exposures stacked in Sequator. The foreground is 10 x 60" exposures some of which were light painted stacked in PS.
 
I'm only looking on my phone but the image appears to be absolutely beautiful and you are obviously doing a lot right that is not down to the equipment anyway.

I think you have got 2 options really, either a sigma 35mm art which if you read up on focal lengths and apertures and light transmission this really is one of the best lenses out there, but you might need to make panoramic images with it...

Or, a curveball I've been thinking about is the sigma 14-24 2.8 apparently it's pretty good for Astro and you'd get the zoom...
 
If it's wide enough, it's maybe worth chucking the Sigma 24-35 f/2 into the mix. You could maybe also consider adding something like the Samyang 24mm 1.4 to your current lens and carry both rather than a zoom.

I've used the Tokina 16-28 but not the Tamron. I don't remember coma being a massive issue with the Tokina but in all honesty I've never been too critical with astro lenses in this regard. My experience is that they all do it to one extent or another so I've always just made sure it's not intrusive. I'll check some of my Tokina images tonight and see what they look like if it would help.

I really liked the Tokina lens but there are some drawbacks. Build and the clutch focus thing are great and it represents really good value. Downsides really don't relate to astro stuff but bugged me for other uses. Lack of filter thread (like the Tamron and most other wide+fast zooms) and it flares worse than any other lens I've used. I don't really mind flare too much generally but the tokina produces slightly odd rainbow stripes.
 
Thanks for the suggestions.

I seem to have missed the Sigma 14-24 2.8 maybe because I'd got it confused with the 12-24 f4. Anyway reading the review here https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Reviews/Sigma-14-24mm-f-2.8-DG-HSM-Art-Lens.aspx suggests its coma isn't great in the corners and that's something I'm really trying to avoid. I have to confess to being a bit of an OCD pixel peeper when it comes to star shapes.

I had the Tokina 11-16 when I had a Canon 50D and it was a great lens so I was all for the Tokina 16-28 until I read some reviews which suggested it suffered from coma and wasn't sharp at f2.8.

As for keeping the Samyang 14mm and getting another prime to compliment it that is something I'd like to avoid but I'm still considering. For now the Tamron 15-30 is looking like the best candidate and I'll just have to put up with the 1.1Kg it weighs!

Thanks again.
 
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