Affordable Lenses? (Sub 300)

Equipment Beginner Buying Advice
8 replies•305 views
Andromeda4482 avatar
Andromeda4482 avatar
Hello everyone, I've been deliberating a Astrophotography setup. Long term I will be making a nice telescope setup. But for the mean time, i want to get into the hobby. I have gotten a SkyWatcher Adventurer Pro Pack. But now I want a lens.

Originally I was looking at a Tamron 70-300mm. But was advised againts it. Due to its poor focusing. I've been trying to get a Samyang 135mm, but they are all £380+ for the Nikon F mount. I was also looking at vintage lenses. But I can't find any, that are worth the effort of buying conversions and modifying.

Any input would be great. Thanks. I also tried searching this site for users photos, to see if I could see a lens that I've not yet found.
astropical avatar
astropical avatar
The Samyang 135mm is ideal for AP. Perhaps you can locate one second hand.
Cheers
Robert
mkeschinger avatar
mkeschinger avatar
Always try to buy lenses second hand. Ebay, craigslist, etc. Astrophotography uses manual focus so don't worry about poor autofocusing lenses.. If you are going to use a multipurpose lens, get one that you will use more often. If it is JUST astrophotography, prime lenses are better. Samyang, rokinon are the same lenses, different names, but have a great following.
Best of luck!
dkamen avatar
dkamen avatar
You can't really beat the Samyang in terms of value for money.

Also it is an incredible lens overall, not just for AP.

The Nikkor 55-200 is considerably cheaper if you have a DX camera and its optics are excellent for a zoom, no aberrations to speak of but much slower than the Samyang.

Here is Andromeda with the 55-200 at 200mm f/5.6:

https://dktf.smugmug.com/Night/i-9qNg3vJ

And with the Samyang at f/2:

https://dktf.smugmug.com/Night/i-ghX3kBc/A

Both with Staradventurer, dozens of 30-45 second subs, high LP.

Cheers,

Dimitris
Die Launische Diva avatar
Die Launische Diva avatar
Hello! Buy the Samyang/Rokinon 135mm and invest some time learning how to take flats. Learn how to use a dedicated software for pre- and postprocessing. I know it's tempting but try to avoid Lightroom/Photoshop for preprocessing. Explore the galleries here and you'll discover many excellent astrophotos obtained with DSLRs, the Samyang, the Skywatcher StarAdventurer, and processed with dedicated astro software.

Good luck and Clear Skies!
Andromeda4482 avatar
Andromeda4482 avatar
The Samyang is in limited stock everywhere. I can't actually find any second hand (A real shame). The best I can do is £450 - which is what I will consider. Definetly going to check out that Nikor lens though, thanks for input everyone!
plroberto avatar
plroberto avatar
You may consider Jupiter 37A.
I'ts a vintage russian 135mm at only f3/5 max (but it has a nice 12 blades diafragm so you won't get diffraction pattern if you stop down)
It has an m42 screw mount, but you can remove the m42 screw and attach a dedicated Nikon adapter (called KP-A/N), or just a T2-nikon ring.
To replace the m42 screw, you only need to operate three screws. No need to disassemble the lens!
Search for "russian-a-mount-lenses-and-adapters" on the net for more information.
Just a warning: if you want to use a T2-Nikon adapter, you may have to try different ones and find one with a compatible diameter.
I already had a few cheap ones bought from *bay, and I tried. the first one was too large, the second one fitted just fine!

You can get the lens itself for about 50-70€, the dedicated KP/N adapter for about 25€ (or a few euros for a T2-nikon adapter)

Not the definitive lens, but it may wort a try just to get into the hobby

Cheers,
Roberto
Die Launische Diva avatar
Die Launische Diva avatar
The Samyang is in limited stock everywhere. I can't actually find any second hand (A real shame).
That probably says something about the quality of this lens ;)
andrea tasselli avatar
andrea tasselli avatar
While I'd agree that the Samyang is hard to beat, especially at that price, if you want a bit more of image scale (more magnification in layman terms) you may want to look into a Olympus OM Auto-T 300 f:4.5. Great lens, fully corrected to the width of an APS sized sensor at full aperture, fast enough and yet light enough for you rig. It can be found at 1/3 of a used Samyang 135 f/2. Just by a mount adaptor for the F-mount and you're done.

Beware of Russian lens though. The may be quite good but they may need tinkering around to get to work properly. I have two and both required me adjusting them.
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