Hello, I am looking for a budget lens that I can use to photograph deep sky objects that is compatible with my camera and isn't overpriced
budget lens
Hi Nikolaos,
I assume, you already have lenses for the X-T30 camera. Just use them. Personally, I am not used to the Fujifilm XF mount lenses, but that doesn't matter. The focal length is not as important as you might think. Without a telescope, you are restricted anyway and might not reach the deeper fields. So just use what you have. A wide field image with a wide angle lens can be as nice as a zoomed in view with a longer focal length. There are a lot of targets to find that fits the field of view of nearly every focal length.
However, going deeper is the dream of most of us. So a longer focal length might be the way to go. But as focal length increases, the problems you run into increase with it. (And obviously the number of subjects that are worth to photograph increases as well, which is really nice, I know)
In my opinion, every lens has its downsides. Lenses in general are not my favorite tool for different reasons. I own a collection of really expensive lenses and all my telescopes are way better for astro photography. But you can get great photos with nearly every lens, too. With faster optics you can save some integration time. But the quality wide open is usually limited. So you might want to step down a bit anyway.
In my experience, the difference between a lens and a small telescope is night and day. Telescopes are designed to do just one thing: produce good quality images while focused at infinity. Lenses, on the other hand, must be able to create good images from near to far. This is much harder to design and there are a lot of compomises to be made.
So my honest suggestion is:
Use what you have and create stunnig images of wider fields. While doing this, look for a small telescope and a really good mount (which is much more important).
Maybe this is not the answer you wanted to hear, but I truely believe this is the best way to go…
So clear skies and good luck…
Christian
I assume, you already have lenses for the X-T30 camera. Just use them. Personally, I am not used to the Fujifilm XF mount lenses, but that doesn't matter. The focal length is not as important as you might think. Without a telescope, you are restricted anyway and might not reach the deeper fields. So just use what you have. A wide field image with a wide angle lens can be as nice as a zoomed in view with a longer focal length. There are a lot of targets to find that fits the field of view of nearly every focal length.
However, going deeper is the dream of most of us. So a longer focal length might be the way to go. But as focal length increases, the problems you run into increase with it. (And obviously the number of subjects that are worth to photograph increases as well, which is really nice, I know)
In my opinion, every lens has its downsides. Lenses in general are not my favorite tool for different reasons. I own a collection of really expensive lenses and all my telescopes are way better for astro photography. But you can get great photos with nearly every lens, too. With faster optics you can save some integration time. But the quality wide open is usually limited. So you might want to step down a bit anyway.
In my experience, the difference between a lens and a small telescope is night and day. Telescopes are designed to do just one thing: produce good quality images while focused at infinity. Lenses, on the other hand, must be able to create good images from near to far. This is much harder to design and there are a lot of compomises to be made.
So my honest suggestion is:
Use what you have and create stunnig images of wider fields. While doing this, look for a small telescope and a really good mount (which is much more important).
Maybe this is not the answer you wanted to hear, but I truely believe this is the best way to go…
So clear skies and good luck…
Christian
As Christian mentioned, your money is probably best spent getting a mount first. Getting a mount will give you much better results than a new lens. Something like the Sky-Watcher 2i is the cheapest one I'd recommend. The Sky-Watcher GTi if you have a bit more budget to spend.
Well Written Concise
Samyang/Rokinon 135mm
All the Canon and Nikon lens will work on the Fuji via adapters so plenty to choose from.
Noah Tingey:
As Christian mentioned, your money is probably best spent getting a mount first. Getting a mount will give you much better results than a new lens. Something like the Sky-Watcher 2i is the cheapest one I'd recommend. The Sky-Watcher GTi if you have a bit more budget to spend.
This is such an apt reply and perhaps I will get some ideas / suggestions.
I own a Sony Full Frame camera and a 70-200mm F2.8. Took multiple 2 secs exposures to get my first Andromeda shot.
Dug in several YouTube videos and webpages, and decided to get myself a Sky-Watcher GTi.
My question is if this is a good mount or should I get a bit more advanced mount - which one?
Also, which scope can / should I go for?
Thanks a lot.
This is such an apt reply and perhaps I will get some ideas / suggestions.
I own a Sony Full Frame camera and a 70-200mm F2.8. Took multiple 2 secs exposures to get my first Andromeda shot.
Dug in several YouTube videos and webpages, and decided to get myself a Sky-Watcher GTi.
My question is if this is a good mount or should I get a bit more advanced mount - which one?
Also, which scope can / should I go for?
Thanks a lot.
I own the SA GTI as well as an EQ5 Pro and two EQ6(R) Pros. I think, the answer to your question is always quite difficult. It depends on you, your interests and your ambition to go deeper into this stuff.
All three mount types basically work the same. They all can do what I want and there is no huge difference in the basic functionality. However, they have three different goals in mind and with an increasing price, they handle different scopes in different ways. That's where you have to decide yourself.
The basic advice always is, If you try to do astro photography seriously, to spent as much money on the mount as possible. You typically get what you pay for and if you want to be future proof, you have to think this way. The mount was always my weekest part and now I know. There is no cheap solution if you want to get good quality images. But we can make some differences for you.
If you like to stay with your Sony cam and the 70-200 then buy a StarAdventurer GTI or similar. The GTI is nice, because it is motorized in both the RA and the DEC axis. This is very helpful and allows you to do all the real stuff in astro photography. I bought an Omegon 61/335mm APO Triplet telescope for this mount and it works well. But with filter wheel, camera, focuser etc. it might reach the limit of what the mount can handle for my taste. So an upgrade to a bigger scope is not recommended.
If you want to get bigger, you can buy an EQ5 like mount. Even better is the HEQ5 version. It can handle more payload and carries some slightly bigger scopes. My guiding is better with it, although it's not perfect. It took me quite a while to handle it well. The reason is the mechanics. But once it worked, I never had issues. It turned out, that I use this mount exclusively with my 71/350mm Quatruplet APO fully equipped with rotator, focuser, filter wheel, camera and so forth.
If you are really ambitious, then I would recommend something in the EQ6 class. These mounts can handle a lot of payload (usually 20kg) and you are quite future proof. These mounts work really well. You might look for harmonic drives like the AM5 or at least for belt driven ones. But they all are quite expensive. Quality has its price.
I don't want to recommend specific models. But everywhere you look, it seems that getting a class up in quality you have to double your expenses. The EQ6s are all i can afford at the moment. But they are really worth it.
Basically, I've given three advices. You have to decide for yourself in which category you want to place yourself. I know there is a lot of other stuff you will need. But most of us are sure the mount has the most impact on image quality. If you want to know which is the best mount, you may have to find some reviews and compare them yourself. I exclusively use Skywatcher mounts and they work for me. But I am sure, other mounts might work as good as mine.
Hope this helps...
CS
Christian
Helpful
That is such a comprehensive and appropriate information. Thanks a lot. This paints the picture really well.
I am going to base my decision to go for a particular kind of mount based off of this detailed post.
Thanks a lot 😊🙏🏻
I am going to base my decision to go for a particular kind of mount based off of this detailed post.
Thanks a lot 😊🙏🏻
Respectful Supportive
Noah Tingey:
As Christian mentioned, your money is probably best spent getting a mount first. Getting a mount will give you much better results than a new lens. Something like the Sky-Watcher 2i is the cheapest one I'd recommend. The Sky-Watcher GTi if you have a bit more budget to spend.
This is such an apt reply and perhaps I will get some ideas / suggestions.
I own a Sony Full Frame camera and a 70-200mm F2.8. Took multiple 2 secs exposures to get my first Andromeda shot.
Dug in several YouTube videos and webpages, and decided to get myself a Sky-Watcher GTi.
My question is if this is a good mount or should I get a bit more advanced mount - which one?
Also, which scope can / should I go for?
Thanks a lot.
To answer your question regarding which scope you should go for:
Someone here recommended a Rokinon 135 (also known as the Samyang 135... same lens, different branding slapped on it). This is a great first lens/scope. I still have & use mine even though I have much more expensive gear by now. Can buy it used for ~$300 last I checked. Example of one of my pics that I took with my Rokinon:
One nice thing about the Rokinon/Samyang 135 is that it's very popular for AP, and so it has a good ecosystem of accessories. Astrodymiumand nrStellar are two brands that make these accessories (disclaimer that I own nrStellar). That said, you absolutely do not need to buy a fancy kit just to use a Rokinon 135. Other than maybe a bahtinov mask (which helps you get accurate focus by hand), those accessories are upgrades, not necessities.
That all said, I definitely still recommend getting a mount first.
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Astrometry not working on my RGB image of M1
Hello. Astrometry isn't working on my RGB image of M1: https://app.astrobin.com/u/fcouma?collection=81951&i=4ssw9i#gallery Astrometry.net can't find anything. Strange.
Not relevant - focuses on astrometry software issues, not lens selection.