What Is a Good Lens for Night Photography

What Are The Best Lenses For Night Photography?

Several years ago, nosotros posted an article titled "Recommended Lenses For Night Photography" that a lot of people found helpful.  Since and then, a lot has changed that affects the lenses my training partner Darren White and I nigh like to recommend as the best choices then I decided that this original commodity deserved an update with the latest information and recommendations.

Background

Every bit a night photography workshop instructor, I'm committed to getting great nightscape images.  And while we believe that the best images come from a combination of groovy composition, corking technique, and having an eye for  great image, having good gear certainly helps to make a deviation.  nosotros think the gear is secondary to these first three items but it does assistance.  We get a lot of questions from our students about what gear works best and and then we like to have some skilful answers for them.  On the arroyo to our workshops, nosotros oft get asked if we were to recommend one single lens, which one we would recommend to assistance students get the best shots possible.

On this question, I'one thousand quick to say that the older cameras and lenses are great for learning.  They assistance students see the divergence the techniques make which really helps them to learn.  That said, having a great lens (and body) go a long style in getting corking shots during the training allowing students to go home with great quality images to impress.  This is where an commodity similar this tin can requite our students (and others who are just interested in getting the best nightscape images possible) some communication on what to exercise.  The question "What should I become?" can be answered with a quick answer, but we call back it's far more helpful to give some background and to explain why we recommend certain lenses.

Original Article Released in 2013

By the way, I don't work for any camera body or lens manufacturer or retailer and I'k not influenced by them in whatever manner.  We draw from the experience of others we know (and trust) simply my suggestions primarily come from my ain experiences and personal preferences in using various lenses out in the field nether starry night skies.  Some of this article may audio similar nosotros're biased toward Sigma Corporation only that's simply because they work so well.  Just to be clear, as of today, I have no relationship with or bias toward Sigma or any other lens manufacturer and when a lens doesn't do well, I won't agree back in saying then.

What Did We Recommend In 2013?

My original article recommended Rokinon lenses (aka Samyang, Bower, and Pro Optic) in almost cases.  Equally an alternative to Canon & Nikon, we found them to produce similar image quality with a slight edge going to Rokinon.  And while they're not auto-focus lenses, when used for nightscape images, that'southward not a problem because we tend to apply manual focus at night.  That said, they are significantly less expensive than their Canon & Nikon counterparts.  And while some people knock them for their lighter weight use of plastic rather than metals, we volition say they've been enough tough enough for the challenge.  In-fact, I've seen a Rokinon hood absorb the impact of a fall, preventing damage to a Nikon D800!

Our recommendations weren't all Rokinon…  in some cases (like for a 50mm prime lens) we recommended a Canon/Nikon lens because those options were high in quality and reasonable in price (for the nearly part).  Information technology also helped in the case of the 50mm that Catechism/Nikon had options bachelor in either f/i.iv or f/1.8 apertures (with the f/1.8 beingness an peculiarly practiced value).

Equally a superlative choice, nosotros frequently recommended the Rokinon 14mm f2.8 (with the auto-discontinuity chip) followed by the Rokinon 24mm f/ane.4 lenses.  The two perform well on their own (when you get a expert copy) and these two focal lengths serve as corking compliments to each other.

What Changed Since The Last Article?

Non simply take companies released a lot of new lenses, but lens manufacturers nosotros didn't even mention before are now well worth considering.  Among the most meaning new additions is Sigma Corporation's release of their Fine art series of lenses.  This new line of lenses is very high in quality which means they can compete well with anyone from Rokinon to Canon & Nikon.  And at the risk of sounding similar a Sigma commercial, we think their lenses are fantastic for night photography.

At the same time, we've noticed a significant amount of variation in quality in the lenses sold past Rokinon (aka Samyang, Bower, and Pro Optic).  Every bit an example, 1 of the tiptop lenses nosotros used to recommend was the Rokinon 14mm f/two.8.  It's depression toll and broad bending perspective made information technology an bonny selection.  We've seen however, a lot of variation in lenses that people get.  First off, the focus band sometimes has a hard-stop right at infinity and sometimes not.  And when information technology's not, manual focusing is difficult because it doesn't do a skillful job of showing the stars as pivot-points when they're precisely focused.  Finally, we've seen quite a few of these lenses that simply did non capture a precipitous image.  Several years agone, this lens gave united states of america a lot of blindside for the buck only considering that our primary goal is to get a really abrupt, loftier quality paradigm, Darren and I both believe nosotros now have ameliorate options available.  Sure, price is of import, but when the quality of the Rokinon lenses vary so widely and they're overall not as skillful every bit the Sigma lenses, nosotros've establish that paying more for a Sigma (notwithstanding a reasonable toll, by the way) feels well worth the difference.

What Makes A Great Lens?

Hither are the factors we use to determine a lens we recommend from one we don't.

• Loftier Quality
  • How easy is it to manually focus (in the dark)?
  • How abrupt are the details?
  • Does the lens do a skillful job of minimizing unwanted artifacts like chromatic aberration and coma at the widest discontinuity setting or stopped downward slightly?
  • Can the lens capture a lot of details in a brusk amount of time with a wide aperture (i.e. f/1.4)?
  • Does the manufacturer consistently produce high quality lenses (without a lot of variation)?
• Feature Support
  • Does the lens back up auto aperture?
  • Does the lens give the camera body the ability to save settings and lens details in the image meta information?
  • Does the lens support the use of filters (on all but the widest of lenses)?
  • Does the lens fit on a diversity of camera mounts?  This isn't equally important to us in our own shooting but it is of import when it comes to recommending a lens to others - who may apply a variety of camera bodies and manufacturers.
• Purchasing Experience
  • Is the price reasonable?
  • Can we buy it from a U.Southward. retailer (i.east. B&H or Amazon)?
  • Tin nosotros rent information technology from Lens Rentals or other similar vendor?

We mention this final point (of renting) because nosotros often recommended to try a lens first - earlier investing in one.  In this case, having a lens available from a good rental facility (like www.LensRentals.com) makes this an easy option.  As an culling, we also similar taking advantage of B&H'due south 30 day satisfaction guarantee which gives me a hazard to become out and shoot and then to await closely at the results to make sure a lens is good enough to justify keeping information technology before my 30 day trial menses runs out.

It'southward also important to place what kinds of subjects you program to shoot - merely as we would exercise in daytime shooting.  If you're planning on meteor trails and long exposures, a good quality lens is withal needed but the wider apertures (i.eastward. f/1.8 or f/1.4) are not.  On the other hand, if shooting with shorter exposure times and then y'all can capture the stars as points of light is important, so we mostly recommend the brighter prime lenses with the wider apertures.

Delight also keep in-mind that shooting an f/1.4 lens broad open will oft pb to a lot of chromatic aberration and blackout in the corners and then we recommend stopping downwardly the aperture.  This tin vary from one lens to another simply we generally recommend shooting an f/i.four lens at f/2.0 to reduce the visibility of these artifacts and to too accept advantage of the lens' additional lite gathering capability.

What Lenses Were Tested? (And What Lenses Were Non Tested?)
We've tested a whole bunch of Nikon lenses, a few from Tamron and pretty much everything from Rokinon (aka Samyang, Bower, and Pro Optic).  We've also used and/or worked closely with people who've tested a lot of lenses from Canon.  Then over the past 2 years, we've worked a lot with lenses from Sigma.

Nosotros did not test lenses made for only one camera brand.  Every bit an example, I've heard some good things near lenses from Zeiss that fit just on Sony camera bodies merely since no i with a brand camera other than Sony can use them, we didn't accept them seriously.  That said, there may exist some good options hither (even if they are on the expensive side).  We but wanted to brand sure we apply and recommend lenses that our dark photography students can realistically use with their current camera bodies.

What Lenses Does Mike Accept In His Camera Purse?

Here are the lenses Mike has in his photographic camera bag as of today (for employ with a Sony A7RII and Metabones adapter).  As yous can run across, Mike is happy to apply prime number lenses for nighttime photography because they do a great task of capturing details in the dark of the dark thanks to their wide apertures.

• Sigma 15mm f/ii.8 Fisheye Lens
• Sigma 20mm f/1.4 Fine art Lens
• Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Fine art Lens
• Sigma 35mm f/one.4 Fine art Lens
• Sigma 50mm f/1.four Fine art Lens
• Canon 70-300 f/4.v-5.6 Lens

What Do We Recommend Most?

Summit Recommendation: Sigma 20mm f/i.4 Fine art Lens

We can sum up my experience by saying we simply love the Sigma Art line of lenses.  And among the lenses in that line, we like the 20mm f/1.four the best.  Information technology's piece of cake to focus, it produces super-abrupt images, the price is reasonable (peculiarly when compared with Canon & Nikon), and the lens quality is consistently very skillful.  The rest of Sigma's Art line is besides very good simply in that location seems to be a bit of a sweetness spot with their 20mm f/1.4.  As a issue, this lens has taken the spot as our peak recommendation over the Rokinon 14mm f/ii.8.

To compare the two, the Sigma 20mm f/1.iv is brighter, sharper, easier to use, and because the quality of manufacturing (and quality control measures) appears to be higher, we oasis't seen the variation in quality nosotros saw with the Rokinon.  That said it is more expensive and it's heavier but in our opinion, these trade-offs are well worth information technology.  One other departure that some may notice significant is the fact that the Sigma lenses are capable of auto-focus where the Rokinons are all manual focus lenses.  So from that perspective, their college price buys yous some additional capability that the Rokinons do not take.

I find the 24mm f/one.4, 35mm f/1.4, and 50mm f/ane.4 are also fantabulous for nighttime photography purposes and Sigma recently released the 85mm f/1.4 Art Lens equally well - although I don't programme to purchase that ane (for now).  All of these lenses (with the exception of the 85mm which we haven't used however) take the same strengths as the 20mm which makes them great for nightscape images.  You might likewise consider Sigma's 24-35mm f/2.0 Fine art zoom lens as information technology provides excellent quality in a zoom lens with a wide aperture that'south bang-up for nightscape shooting.

Best Lenses For Canon

Some More Great Choices

Certainly, the Sigma Art lenses mentioned above are not the only good lenses out there for night photography.  Here are some more options worth mentioning & considering.

Sigma 15mm f/2.viii Fisheye

Rokinon 14mm f/two.eight

Canon 24mm f/1.4

Nikon 14-24 f/2.8

Sony FE 28mm f/2.0

Tamron xv-30mm f/2.viii

Tokina 11-16mm f/two.8

Tokina

• 11-16mm f/ii.8 (not bad for cameras with crop sensors)

Concluding Notes

You may notice that the lenses we're recommending include links to see more data and potentially purchase them from B&H Photo Video - one of our favorite photo gear retailers.  These links include an affiliate id which allow us to earn a lilliputian committee on the sales of these items and helps us to go on funding costless manufactures similar this.  Of course you tin can ignore these links if you choose, but your support through your understanding and your patronage is very much appreciated.

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