starting with astrophotography

Canon EOS 700D / Rebel T5i / Kiss X7i Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer 2i - WiFi Equipment Beginner Buying Advice
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Jonas Nottebaere avatar
Jonas Nottebaere avatar
Hello there smile

Recently I've been very intrested in astrophotography and i would like to start this as my hobby. But first i need to have some knowledge for some good gear that I need to start with. Currently i have a Canon 700D camera with a 35mm 1.4f and 50mm 1.4f lens. I've also looked at buying a sky-watcher star adventurer 2i wifi pro pack. But I think I won't have the right lensens to make some great pictures, can you guys recommend me some good lensens at around +- 500 euros?

Thanks! Clear skies smile
andrea tasselli avatar
andrea tasselli avatar
Your only real pre-requisite is access to really dark skies and you just need a tripod and a remote. Adding a star tracker widens your possibilities somewhat but I'll get my feet wet with some untracked shot of the night skies. For astrophotography you don't really need autofocus so you can use older lens that can be used with widely available adaptors for Canon DSLR like the one you have. I have no experience with Canon EF lens but I can vouch for Olympus OM lens, specifically the 135mm f/2.8, which can be used wide open. At the other end of cost is the Rokinon/Samyang 135mm f/2, which should be around 500 euros new. Again, this lens can be used fully open (but tricky to manually focus at f/2). Going for a even longer focal lengths the Nikon ED 300mm f/4 AF (the old one, not the new one) is a viable choice, or if you want to two lenses, again a Olympus 300mm OM f/4.5 (again, this a fully manual lens from the old days of emulsion photography but perfectly viable on a DSLR) which should come quite cheap.
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Pablo Petit avatar
Pablo Petit avatar
What I would recommend is either the Samyang 135mmF/2, an excelent lens for astrophotography, very sharp, fast and forgiving with its short focal lens, or a small APO refractor that you can probably find used for a decent price.
DSLR lenses get very expensive with large aperture and focal lenght and they do it mostly for feature useless in astrophotography, such as autofocus, being parafocal, zoom etc 

I've been on the same path as you, starting with a DSLR and a startracker. It's a good start that will enable you to take some good pictures and help decide if you want to get serious with astrophotography.
If you do, I really don't recommend buying DSLR lenses. As said, they will get very expensive for nothing and difficult to reuse if you decide at some point to buy a dedicated astro camera.


Clear skies
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andrea tasselli avatar
andrea tasselli avatar
Pablo Petit:
If you do, I really don't recommend buying DSLR lenses. As said, they will get very expensive for nothing and difficult to reuse if you decide at some point to buy a dedicated astro camera.


DSLR lens are useful on their own, for daylight photography that is. Try using one of those little refractors for that! And they can be used for dedicated cameras as well. With filters too. And modern lens are very, very flat over FF and old manual ones can be obtained for a pittance and they are pretty flat over the typical DSLR APS-C sensor size. And they are fast.
Rob Kiefer avatar
Rob Kiefer avatar
Welcome to this hobby. First a warning – be careful starting this hobby, you can get addicted very quickly!!! I started with the iOptron Skyguider Pro, my Nikon 800 and my f/5.6, 200-500 zoom. I was more interested in deep sky objects, so I needed a tracker. Results were surprisingly good right from the beginning, despite pushing the system to the limit (weight and exposure time). So, I would recommend getting a 70-200 and try it out at some astro-objects. If you find out that astrophotography is not for you, then at least you have a good zoom lens. Watch Astrophotography Kit Lens Challenge (Canon EF 75-300mm) - YouTube or Peter Zelinka YouTube and you will see what is possible with such a small setup. If you like the hobby, then you will learn very quickly the limitations and where you need to upgrade. And then the fun really starts... Good luck!
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AC1000 avatar
AC1000 avatar
Hi Jonas,

in my opinion you have already 2 good lenses for wide field imaging, 35 and 50 mm are suitable focal lenghts to start astrophotography with a tracker like the star adventurer, parts of the Milky Way for example are nice regions to begin with.

Here is an example what is possible with a cheap 50 mm lens and a modified camera:

https://www.astrobin.com/419792/?image_list_page=3&nc=&nce=

I suggest stopping down these lenses to increase image quality.

After gathering some experience with this simple equipment you can go for more.
Wish you much success.

Cs Harald
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Jonas Nottebaere avatar
Jonas Nottebaere avatar
Thanks for all the replies! You guys really helped me alot smile
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