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Old 09-08-2017, 07:53 AM
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gregbradley
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Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Sydney
Posts: 17,877
I have had several widefield lenses for MIlky Way widefield.

If your intention is a Milky Way bow nightscape then that needs a slightly wider lens.

If you intend to use a tracker or put your camera on a telescope mount then almost any lens will work depending on how wide you want to go. The wider the less resolution.

For widefield on a tripod and not tracked type Milky Way widefield choices seem to be:

1. Nikon 14-24 f2.8 very good, heavy, expensive and corner performance may have been surpassed now.

2. Zeiss 15mm F2.8 expensive not sure about corner performance.

3. Samyang 14 2.8 there are several versions of this lens now. There is an AF F2.4 version and a Premium quality version. Not sure if any different.
Samyang lenses are a lottery. A lottery you are likely to lose. They have no QC it appears and you often need to return and get a new copy to end up with a decent lens. I have had a 14 .28 that was useless and a 24 1.4 that was useless. Both had to be returned. I got a good 24 1.4 2nd time.

4.Irix 15mm F2.4 Firefly and Blackstone. The 2 versions are the same optically but the firefly is cheaper, lighter and made of polycarbonate. The Blackstone is mag alloy. The Firefly is the one I chose recently.
I will be testing it tonight so I can make a comment probably tomorrow.
Initial impressions are its well built. It has a click on the focus ring at infinity and I have read infinity is correct so that's helpful if true.

5. Sigma 35 1.4 Art and 14mm F1.8 Art. The 35 1.4 Art is about the only lens I have heard of that is useful wideopen at F1.4. Its 35mm though so not very wide. The 14 1.8 is probably the new king of widefield but its expensive at around AUD$1950.

6. Tokin 11-16 I have seen some good images with this one but come to think of it they may have been APSc lenses.

7. Samyang 12mm F2 for APSc. I have one of these for my Fuji XT2. Its a good cheap little lens, a fair bit of chromatic aberration wide open but correctable in processing.

8. Nikon has a 20mm F1.8 I think it is. A newish lens that I read was good.

9. Laowa 15mm F2. Just about to start shipping now after a long delay. To be proven, it may be OK but I would wait for in the field reviews. Its about US$649. They also make a 12mm F2 but I'd written that one off as too much perspective distortion and coma in the corners wide open. So unless you treat it like a fisheye and keep it level it would make stitching a panorama harder.

10. For a Sony camera the Zeiss Loxia 21mm F2.8. Pretty much a perfect lens, almost no CA or coma wide open and no distortion. But its 21mm.

11. Tokina Firin 20mm F2 It gets some good reviews. Not 100% sure. Its $1028 at Digidirect.

So for under $1000 potentially the irix 15mm F2.4 is about the best. I can post if my copy is any good or not. I did read a review between it and the Samyang 14 2.8 and it was better on several counts. Also in a DPReview comparison between the Sigma Art 14 1.8 and the Irix the Irix seemed as good or close to it from F2.4 on. So unless htt F1.8 is worth it there may not be too much of an advantage from the Art lens. The Art lens is also very large and heavy so it you do use a portable tracker like a Vixen Polarie it will still work but its now near the limit.

12. I used a Nikon 24-70 F2.8 often and it was fine at 24mm and F2.8. Of course its a workhorse lens and for me pretty much covers the range of focal lengths I would chose 90% of the time. 2nd hand probably more like $1400?

Greg.
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