Which lens to purchase.

[axle01 (Alan)]

I'm looking to get a new lens to shoot the stars, I'm looking at the Zeiss 21mm F2.8 and the Nikon 24mm F1.4, maybe the 14/24 F2.8,,,,,,,,so which one do i get.

[iceman (Mike)]

What camera will you put in on?

[axle01 (Alan)]

Originally Posted by iceman

What camera will you put in on?

Nikon d3s

[originaltrilogy (Petr)]

I had the Zeiss, took it back and bought Nikon 14-24 f2.8 for my D3.

[axle01 (Alan)]

Originally Posted by originaltrilogy

I had the Zeiss, took it back and bought Nikon 14-24 f2.8 for my D3.

Petr can you tell me what was wrong with the Zeiss.

[Meru (Michael)]

Try looking at pixelpeeper.com. They have really good sample images and you can choose lens/body combo and see what others have taken. If it's purely for stars and nothing else, just check out reviews and see the edge sharpness fully open since in the center they'd be similar.

The 24mm does have a bit of vignette and you might find yourself hard-pressed trying to lighten the edges up without showing too much noise from the ISOs needed for night shots. And if the stars are distorted at f/1.4 (Chances are they will be) and you end up shooting at f/2.8 or higher, not much gain from having such a fast prime in the first place. I find that shooting at f/3.2 on my 35mm + D800 is good enough, but if I was getting a dedicated lens for stars, I'd get a cheap 2nd hand zoom.

From my experience it makes life easier being able to zoom in and out when in the dark (Coming from a guy who shoots with nothing but his 3 primes!) and a cheaper lens means any dew or fungus damage will be easier on your wallet. Plus you probably won't need super wide apertures given the ISO performance of the D3S so another reason why a cheap, light f/3.5 zoom will be just fine. If I had the money to spare and would be shooting during the day too, then I'd vote for a 14-24. If you're still really keen on a fast prime, go wider than a 24mm and then that way you can always crop if needed. My 2c

Meru

[axle01 (Alan)]

Originally Posted by Meru

Try looking at pixelpeeper.com. They have really good sample images and you can choose lens/body combo and see what others have taken. If it's purely for stars and nothing else, just check out reviews and see the edge sharpness fully open since in the center they'd be similar.

The 24mm does have a bit of vignette and you might find yourself hard-pressed trying to lighten the edges up without showing too much noise from the ISOs needed for night shots. And if the stars are distorted at f/1.4 (Chances are they will be) and you end up shooting at f/2.8 or higher, not much gain from having such a fast prime in the first place. I find that shooting at f/3.2 on my 35mm + D800 is good enough, but if I was getting a dedicated lens for stars, I'd get a cheap 2nd hand zoom.

From my experience it makes life easier being able to zoom in and out when in the dark (Coming from a guy who shoots with nothing but his 3 primes!) and a cheaper lens means any dew or fungus damage will be easier on your wallet. Plus you probably won't need super wide apertures given the ISO performance of the D3S so another reason why a cheap, light f/3.5 zoom will be just fine. If I had the money to spare and would be shooting during the day too, then I'd vote for a 14-24. If you're still really keen on a fast prime, go wider than a 24mm and then that way you can always crop if needed. My 2c

Meru

Appreciate that Meru

[originaltrilogy (Petr)]

Zeiss 21mm was often not wide enough and not good at 2.8 for sky.
Okay for daytime, not so good for night.

Nikon is super sharp at 14 and f2.8 which is what I want. More sharp than primes even in corners.

Best lens I ever own.

[CapturingTheNight (Greg)]

If I could afford one, I would have the 14-24mm Nikon bolted to my Canon 5D MkII. Stunning lens for night scape work.

[DJT (David)]

Just reading this through and I thought I would share a recent experience on getting hold uber lenses to play with for nightscapes.

I just got back from a trip to kangaroo Island and I took my Canon D60a. As I dont have any Canon lenses (bar the nifty fifty) I rented a couple.

Lens renting was interesting. Rather than spending a Mozza on good quality lenses I wouldnt use much, the renting option was really neat. A good way to do a try before you buy as well, especially if you are looking at some seriously expensive bits of glass.

Now just need to convince the guy at Lenspimp he should carry a stock of vixen Polaries. as am planning a Hawai trip..

Sadly I only got a couple of hours over 3 nights due to weather gods and my focus was just a bit off but wow, really dark sites along with high quality lenses..well worth it.