Astrophotography f4 vs f2.8 vs f1.4 - - With DOWNLOADABLE IMAGES
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ค. 2024
- Today I am going to show you the practical difference between astrophotography photos taken with different apertures, from a kit lens aperture of f4 through to a fast prime lens aperture of f1.4. Also in the link below you have downloadable images so you can check them out for yourself.
Download the images to see for yourself here: bit.ly/2WbtyOl
Why you need a fast prime for astrophotography: • Why you need a fast pr...
The 500 rule: • The 500 rule - tested ...
To stack or to track: • To Stack or to Track -...
Stack your photos for much cleaner images: • How to STACK ASTRO PHO...
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Writing this in 2023 when the whole world's going into a recession and not everyone can afford a $2500 RF lens....I really appreciate your budget conscious approach. It's great to see some TH-camrs who are still down to earth and reasonable!
Thanks very much! It amazes me how much lenses are these days. I remember about 10 years ago buying the 70-200mm f2.8 from Canon and thinking £1500 was a lot of money ... and I only bought it because I was commissioned by a multinational company for a big campaign ... like you said, nowadays it is almost twice that!! 🙈
I'm definitely a frugal shooter and any way I can get something cheaper, I'll always do that. Now all my lenses are Tamron as they are much more budget friendly ...
Thanks for watching 😁👍
Thank you so much for the well explained tutorials on astrophotography! I'm always hyped for new content.
That's great to hear Yves! I'm glad you like them!! Lots more to come this year as well!! 😁👍
Excellent tutorial. It simplifies everything really masterfully. Thanks a gazillion.
Very cool to see the rotation of the earth during 15 the second exposure. Nice photos and nice tutorial. Thank you.
It is cool isn't it!...and over the course of the night, it's amazing to see how much further it moves over 8 hours or so...and even though it's been done before, I have a plan to make some timelapses of this of my own!! 😁
Thanks for watching 👍
Good advice, I often drop one to two stops even on fast lenses to improve image quality. I shoot both with Canon (FF) and Pentax (APS-C) with stacking and a tracker.
I have a Pentax K-1 and of course I use the amazing Astrotracer function for when shooting the stars. Last night, I went out to shoot comet Neowise and so I used my 80-200mm f/2.8 lens, fully zoomed at 200mm and manually focused with live view to have the comet tack on focus, but I then tuned my aperture to f/4 (to avoid vignetting) and dialled to ISO 400!!! thus I was able to take a 120sec exposure with Astrotracer! The result are amazingly sharp with very-very low noise and no star trails.
I'm taking my K1 out tonight to try the same thing.
Thank you for the clear explanations! Beautiful comparison of photos. :)
Thanks very much! 😁👍
I like how you spoon-feed the listener, great content!
Thanks very much. 😁👍
So much good content on your Channel ! Massive big up 👍👍👍 Greetz from Germany
Thanks so much!! I'm having lots of fun putting these tutorials together and it's great to hear they're helping!
Thanks for watching. 😁👍
Hey Mike. Thanks for the video. Really helpful. Cheers!
Great to hear Rahul!
Thanks for watching 😁👍
Another great video, Mike. When Jupiter, Saturn, Mars, and the Moon was in the sky together mid-April I tried doing some astrophotography again. I thought that light pollution would be way down. I was wrong and they were right over a major city from my house. I enjoyed it but the photos come out no where near as good as your test shots. Stay safe and sane.
Hey Lance,
Yes, shooting the moon is a tricky one as it is so bright! I much prefer it when there is a new moon and you can see the milkyway! It gets really dark but when your in a good location, seeing the milkyway with your own eyes is such an amazing sight...we have to drive way out of the city to get it though...about 2-3hours!! I just hope the curfew lifts soon so we can get some more of the milkyway season before it disappears for another year! You stay safe too my friend. 👍
This is a very nice video with good information and in a simple way.Thank you!!
Glad it was helpful Sujith! 😁👍
oooo you said iso the right way now!!! Nice :) Great video!! Hey Mike, I would suggest the 85mm f/1.8 for astrophotography. I started out on that before I got my 24mm GM, and I still use it quite often!! It's a great one to learn astro panoramas with, and you effectively end up shooting near medium-format images with the panorama, including way sharper images than you could get with a single exposure.
Haha!! I'm finally learning!! 😆
The 85mm is a great little lens isn't it. I've used it on a tracker but not on its own yet...maybe on the next trip to the dark location... 🤔
Thanks for watching. 😁👍
Interesting to see how big the difference between these is!
It is isn't it Niels! I've been meaning to do this one for a while and looking back at the images, it really is a huge difference...especially in iso levels!
Thanks for watching. 👍
You're very clear at communicating, thanks for the tutorial
Great to hear Andy!
Thanks for watching. 👍
I have a Tamron 10-24 and tried it recently along with my Sigma 18-35 1.8 Art lens. On the Tamron I set the ISO to 5000 and set the aperture to 5.6. Looks pretty good. That was the night of the 17th from Brian Head Mtn in Utah. Last night I took some pictures of Comet Neowise using a Sigma 24mm in Capital Reef National Park. I have a Canon M6 Mark II and I use EF and Pentax lenses.
How did you get on with Neowise? Unfortunately it isn't in the skies where I live at the moment...
Thank you for this video I’ve been wanting the answers to this question
Great to hear I could help Daniel!
Thanks for watching 😁👍
The best and the best video for explanation of astrophotography using dslr. Thank you
Thanks so much Mahmoud! 😁👍
Well explained. Thank you.
And thanks for watching Maggie! 😁👍
This is one of the best tutorials I've seen so far on TH-cam for explanation especially with the side by side comparisons. I've been experimenting with my phone as aperture goes as low as 0.95 and ISO upto 512000.
Chris Smith damn what phone do you have?
Huawei P40 lite
@@ChrisSmith-ql7og alright thanks!
Thanks so much Chris! Now that is a wide aperture!! How did the image come out with ISOs at 512000!?
Hi Mike haha I got carried away with the zero's. One to many. Meant to be 51200
Thank you sir. Very well explained.
No worries, and thank you for watching. 😁👍
I use a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens on my Canon crop sensor camera for astrophotography and get some pretty good results, especially when stacking.
Thanks for the video!
Great to hear Mike!! I used to have the tokina 11-16mm and even though the focal range is a little limited, it is a fantastic lens...and I bet it comes out great with some stacking.
Thanks for watching. 👍
Hey Mike, if you shoot Astro, you should try capturing milky way on Pentax K1 mkii. The astro tracer on it is really handy and lets you use lower iso numbers and a longer exposure without getting the star trails :) Also loved the video. Cheers
Thanks so much! Yes, I hear that function is pretty good...will have to try and get my hands on one to try out.
Thanks for watching. 😁👍
thx
And thank you for watching Omar! 😁👍
u teach so well !! thx alot
Thabks so much Ondy...and thank you for watching. 😁👍
This is pretty helpful. Gonna take a stab at some again this Friday again as I visit a location that's pretty dark at night, but i never know where in the sky is the best place to point my camera to try and capture a lot of detail.
Thanks!! For knowing which direction would be best, use stellarium or skyview free either as apps or as programs on your computer...this will show what is in the sky at the time you plan to go...or use photopills which is a paid app but will give you an augmented reality overlay on your cameraphone. I did a few videos on useful apps. This one is on photopills: th-cam.com/video/soxILPbOUsU/w-d-xo.html
And this one compares three different paid apps: th-cam.com/video/ooGmAX9oCCw/w-d-xo.html&t
I hope that helps. 👍
Good explaination, thanks. Soon will try to do this, but just with my kit ))
Thanks! It is fun to go out at night and get some images of the stars. 😁👍
Excelent tutorial... love it 💪🏽💪🏽🎉🎉
Thanks so much Kevin. 😁👍
Very well explained again.
Thanks so much Imran! 😁👍
thx so much, I appreciate this.
And thank you for watching. 😁👍
Shout out to the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 ART lens, too! I've had it for a few years and it makes shooting astro a breeze (even on my trusty and crusty 5D mk3). I mostly use it for events and architecture, though.
Can't wait what it can do on the R5 when it comes to astro 😲.
Oh yes, such a good lens. I've been wanting to get one for a while...
Don't be so hard on your 5dmkiii...they're still fantastic cameras. 😁👍
I bet it will be great with the r5! 👍
It's quite remarkable! The 5D3 is a classic, but I think three generations of camera technology is an adequate reason to upgrade :D. Especially for a full time professional!
I have Sony A73 bodies at my office work as the daily drivers, and while the tech is there, the user experience is severely lacking.
Great video, Mike. My 24mm F1.4GM is itching to get out for some astro photography. I know you are ready to go as well. I will make it to Dubai one of these days and will provide all of the necessary beverages to get you to take me out to shoot the Milky Way. We just have to get the world right first. Hope you are doing well, brother.
Thanks so much Stephen!! I bet it is!!! It's so frustrating not being able to get out under the stars!!
It maybe somewhere other than Dubai soon...🤔...so watch this space!! 😆... but wherever we are, you're always more than welcome to come and visit!! 😁👍
400th comment! My Sigma 24-70 might be not perfect for Astro, but it‘s great to know that it can still do a solid job here (24mm f2.8) next to all the daily stuff. I love having an always-on-zoom. Had considered the Sony 24-105, but the aperture and sharpness just don‘t cut it for me…
I have a Sigma 32mm that we took star pics with last night! It did very well and we didn't have the right back settings on the Sony A73 camera. My daughter gave me this lens and 3 others as she is a pro in Hawaii top ten!! I have a Nikon D5300 older camera also that I got a 10mm to 20mm wide lens I want to try for fun as well...used gear is so much cheaper!!
Brilliant, and to the point 👌🏼
Thanks Matt 😁👍
very informative video indeed Mike, thank you.
Thanks so much Moe! 😁👍
@@mikesphotography of course buddy , I hope your staying safe in these difficult times
Staying home, but missing the stars...cant wait to get out under the milky-way again...hopefully soon!
You stay safe too dude. 👍
@@mikesphotography yea I know the feeling mate , I am missing the stars and going out of photograph , staying home as well 👍👍
Oh,no Mike -you have wandered into the hotly debated high ISO=noise discussion recently sparked off by Tony Northrup! I am looking forward to actually trying out my 24GM lens for astro when I can travel to my dark sky location again. Patiently waiting until we can fly once more; in the meantime I have been taking city light night shots out of my window!!
Haha!! It's like dicing with the devil...😆... And with everyone in lockdown, it's the perfect time for it!!
The 24mm is fantastic, I have one on loan from Sony and I don't want to give it back!! 😆
As always thanks for watching. 😁👍
The Rokinon 14mm 2.8 is psycho sharp and one of my favorite UWA lenses
Nice! Sounds like you've got one of the best copies they've produced!
Sometimes their quality control isn't the best and a few are released with less than great sharpness... but when you get a good one, it is a fantastic lens!
😁👍
Great video!
Thanks very much! 😁👍
Sony's new 20 mm 1.8 looks like a great astro lens and is almost half the price of the 24 1.4 😍
Yeah, I'm trying to get my hands on that one!! 😁👍
In China, 20 mm 1.8 is just 15%-20% cheaper than 24 1.4, which make it not worth buying.
@@mikesphotography Just picked it up yesterday, going out to the desert next week for a week so I'll try out some astro and let you know how it goes!
@@venomfall how did it go
The 20 1.8 Sony is highly recommended 😀
mr Smith thank you for great tutorial
And thanks for watching Stanley. 👍
Interesting. Learned something new today
Great to hear it has helped Victor! 😁👍
i use that sony 24mm gm. love it.
It's a great little lens isn't it!! 😁👍
ISO is just a similar boost you give your image in post after it's been taken. So one might think that ISO is a part of exposure, it's really not. It all depends on how good your sensor is.
15 sec looks quite enough for stars to become trails. 5 sec with tracker and stacking is the best compromise.
Correct, in digital photography ISO is not actually part of exposure as it is only applied gain. Additionally different lenses will achieve their highest sharpness at different apertures.
you're referring to ISO invariance, not all cameras are ISO invariant. Nikon generally is, Canon generally is NOT. If you shoot at IS03200 on a Canon vs ISO100 and boost it 5 stops, the ISO3200 will look cleaner. Nikon generally will look the same whether its ISO3200 or ISO100+5 stop boost. Sony also tends to be ISO variant, Fuji tends to be ISO invariant.
@@rjgmedia6298 How good or bad the applied gain is for a given camera does not change how image sensors work. The sensitivity of the sensor is a constant value you can not change it as you do film by going from ASA50 to ASA400 or ASA1600. ISO on a digital sensor is applied gain and is not part of the exposure triangle no matter what a marketing department says their camera does not change the nature of light or the nature of image sensors.
zeroibis iso variant and whether a sensor is or is not is solely based on whether the gain is applied before or after the image is processed. Sensors that are invariant apply gain after the image is processed, which is why you can boost in Lr or any other program and achieve the same as shooting at a higher iso. If you don’t believe me, do it yourself. Take a canon and Nikon and shoot at iso3200, and iso100, and boost the iso100 picture 5 stops. The Nikon will be similar, the canon will not.
Does this mean that you can use a very low ISO and then enhance the RAW in post? I almost always apply some post editing so if this is the case I should err on the side of lower ISO.
greatly described!
Thanks so much Alfred! 😁👍
Another option I can think of is to continue using your kit lens and just buy a star tracker. That would allow a person to take multiple exposures of up to a few minutes long and then stack them.
Most definitely Bobby. I've got a video coming later in the year when I show that buying a tracker can be a cheaper option than a really expensive lens. I love using a tracker...really does free up being limited by the 500/300/NPF rule.
Thanks for watching. 😁👍
very good video, thank you
Thanks very much!
Good video mate. Currently using the new Samyang AF 18mm f2.8 and its a great all round lens for Sony and astro shots.
Awesome! I was wondering about the 18mm...glad it's helping getting some good results. 😁👍
@@mikesphotography Won UK mountain photo of the year using it so cant be that bad ;)
great video!
Thanks very much. 😁👍
Just got the Sony 11mm 1.8 for the Sony Zv-E10 and taking it to Zion next week. Thanks for the tips!
Excellent!! I bet that will be a great combo!!
Thanks for watching 😁👍
thank you so much.
Thanks so much!! This was a fun one to do. 😁👍
1.8 looks out of focus but less noisey. But thats cropped in. is the sharpness lost noticeable uncropped?
For a noob starting out in a bortle 6 back garden and a vintage 50mm f1.7 crop sensor taking shots of orion, would you recommend stopping down to 2 or 2.8 and what exposure and sub length would you suggest to match?
Thank you for this video! I own a canon eos 250d (crop) and use a 50mm 1.8 and get good results. But now I want to do better astro photos, but every time i go to the store I end up more confused... also some say better not to take a zoom objective but a fixed one...would you recommend a 1.2 or 1.4?
No worries, I hope it has helped.
I'd say go for as fast as you can afford. 1.4 will give you lots of light, 1.2 lenses are normally really expensive...also prime lenses are normally sharper and lighter.
With a crop sensor, maybe get a lens in the 12-16mm range for wide field shots.
I've just got the sigma 16mm 1.4 for my Sony a6600 which I'm looking forward to trying.
Off up to Northumbria soon and I'm taking my gear to have a go. Got a 6D and an older Sigma 28mm F1.8 to try also the old Canon 50mm F1.4. Going through a selection of videos like these taking notes. Fingers crossed.
Have fun Jason. The sigma 28mm f1.8 should give you some great results...the 50mm 1.4 gives some weird distortions wide open but if you close the aperture down a bit, it'll also work well. I did a video on shooting with the 50mm a while back. Check it out when you get a chance: th-cam.com/video/TCehnFt6ZV4/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for watching. 😁👍
@@mikesphotography Thanks for that! Yes the old 50mm F1.4 is a love or hate lens (I prefer the bokeh monster 85mm F1.8) Would have been nice for Canon to update it say 5 years ago but that will never happen now with EF mount finishing. Strangely the Yongnuo F1.4 is pretty darn good.
Great video Mike. My wife and I are off to Iceland for a week next March and i was looking for an extra lens to hopefully catch the Northern Lights. I shoot with a Canon EOS R and currently own the Canon 16-35, 24-70 and 70-200 all f4. I was looking at getting the Samyang 14mm f2.8 but then saw the Samyang 20mm f1.8. Which would you recommend out of the two?
Thanks Andy!
They're both great budget lenses, The 20mm f1.8 will let in more light, but the 14mm will give you more of the sky in your frame. A lot of the time with The Northern Lights, the lack of light isn't a problem as they can sometimes be quite bright compared to just a sky full of stars. They would both do a great job, so I'd say to look on Flikr for some shots with the 20mm and then the 14mm and see which framings you like best.
I hope that helps.
Thanks for watching 😁👍
Hey boss, thank you for this explanation. I'm into astro-timelapses and to make the parts of the Milky Way more noticeable on my kit lens, I had to push the ISO to 6400 @ f3.5 and 20 sec. exposure, and sadly I get a lot of noise on my image. Hopefully, the Tokina 14-20mm f2 that I've ordered will let me use a lower ISO and still make the Milky Way pop.
Cheers!
Thanks Jason,
Yes, for astro timelapses you do really need to control the noise more. A faster lens will help, and also don't be too worried about using longer exposure times. Becosue it is a moving sequence, you can bend the 500 rule a little more than usual.
Thanks for watching. 😁👍
@@mikesphotography Oh I see. I used 15 sec. exposure and not 20 sec. as what I mentioned earlier. I'll try to use 20 sec. and 25 sec SS and ISO 3200 on the next clear skies day and see if it improves and I'll compare it to the Tokina 14-20mm when it arrives. Thank you so much, cheers! :)
@@jasonyap1113 Jason - How's the Tokina?? I just ordered one as it's down to $360 on Amazon...figured why not!
If you don't have money to buy fast lens just make more shots and stack exposure in Sequator, DeepSkyStacker, etc
Love my Samyang 16mm f2. Got my eye on the rokinon 24mm f1.4 though.
Great to hear. I had the Samyang 24mm f1.4 and it was fantastic! 😁👍
Great video. Thanks.
I am just getting into astrophotography so I went and bought a used canon T2i along with a 18-55mm kit lens. A few weeks ago I took some shots of Neowise for stacking. I did the stacking with Deep Sky Stacker. But I do not have Photoshop, the price seemed pretty steep for someone that is just playing around. Is there any lower priced option for photo processing I can get?
Thanks Mark.
There are a lot of free photoshop alternatives out there...apparently Gimp is a good one to use and it is totally free. www.gimp.org/
I hope that helps. 👍
I can confirm that GIMP is a perfectly good option for someone who can not justify the cost of Adobe software
If you want to make a timelapse try using shotcut
OK so... 16-35 F4 IS (Canon L) or nifty 50 at F1.8. And thank you for good no nonsense information.
Both should get good images but very different looking ones.
With the 16-35mm f4 to get a very clean final image, take a sequence of shots and learn how to stack them together in post. 👍
Hey Mike! Quick question, my 18-55mm kit lens has awful very noticable astigmatism on the corners at f4. I recently bought a skyguider pro so im able to shoot at shutter speeds up to around 3 mins. Combining that and a higher f stop like f16 or even f22 makes out for much sharper stars and no astigmatism. From what i tested in a bortle 7-6 area, shooting at this high a f stop, as long as you have a long exposure, theres no problem. Is this a reliable technique or should i look into getting a better lens? Thanks for your help!
Hi Brandon,
The 18-55 is a great little lens, but not wide open, and this is why you're seeing the issues at f4. It's ok for general photography but not so much for a specific genre such as astro.
Most lenses nowadays at f8-f11 are really sharp!
I'd say to keep away from f22. This might reduce the sharpness a little due to diffraction. I only really ever go up to f16 at most whenever possible.
Another thing to look into is stacking. That will help you gather more data to build a better final image when done properly.
If you like tracking objects, I'd say to get a longer lens. When you get a good track, you can shoot andromeda, the horsehead nebula, Orion Nebula ... etc. And it can get pretty addictive!!
A faster lens will give you more light through the lens, but a tracker pretty much negates the need for this.
I hope that helps.
Thanks for watching 😁👍
Great explanation !
Question - I was going to take a stab at astro and have found a location fairly close to me with very little light pollution.
I currently own a Sony a7iii and a Sony 16-35 F2.8 GM lens. In your opinion would this be 'sufficient' for a 1st time attempt at astrophotography, or am I wasting my time and be better off renting a Sony 24mm f1.4 gm ?
Thanks for any advice, and I appreciate the video.
No worries at all.
The 16-35mm GM is a fantastic lens for astro.
F2.8 is just a good starting point to get decent results with a single image.
I have sold my primes recently and just use my 17-28mm f2.8 nowadays and still get some great photos.
Thanks for watching 😁👍
Hello Mike! What do you think about mounting an f4 lens like Sony 70-200 f4 on a light-sensitive camera like the Sony a7s series? Would that combination compensate for wide aperture loss and applying higher ISO without introducing noise to the image? And what do you think about the optical quality of Sony 70-200 f4 for landscape photography? Thank you very much!
Hi Mohammed,
For videography, that would work really well, but for photography, it wouldn't change the outcome at all...I have a video coming out soon explaining why there is no real difference between the A7S series cameras and the A7R series cameras with photography (Apart from resolution). The low light advantage of the A7S series of cameras is purely a video thing ... and it's all to do with pixel binning and line skipping of the larger sensor cameras and the lack of pixel binning with the A7S.
As for the optical quality of the F4 70-200mm, this is a fantastic lens for landscape photography especially when stopped down to f8. The only advantage of the faster f2.8 70-200mm would be when you are shooting in low light, handheld.
Thanks for watching 😁👍
Just what I want to hear Mike ..on my Z7 I have the 14-30 f4 and the 24-70 f2.8 S Lenses ..but the 20mm f1.8 looks Good but the 70-200 has to come first and the 20mm may never happen..what do you think. Trouble is currently you can only buy Nikon lenses for the Z Series ..I dont do adaptors ..so maybe wait for Sigma or Tamron to make a 20mm f1.8 ???
Thanks Peter.
Haha!! That's the age old question of every photographer...which lens to buy first?...my shopping list is so long. The best bet is to work out which one will benefit the photography you will do right now...get that one first and then save for the other one as soon as possible. 😁👍
Good video and so clear, thanks! One thing that always grates with me is “raising iso adds noise”. Please investigate since it’s the reduction in shutter speed and the closing of aperture that results in the increased noise...(it takes 5 mins to check this, by shooting 9 shots, varying only one of the 3 variables at a time-ss,aperture,iso). Thanks again.
Yes, it's the lack of light coming into the camera that actually increases the noise levels, however increasing iso amplifies this poor signal exacerbating how the noise looks in your image.
@@mikesphotography Thanks. What I’d love people to realise is, that increasing iso a stop, reduces quality less than closing down the aperture or cutting the shutter speed a stop...
What’s your opinion on using a speed booster/ Focal reducer for Astro ?
Cheers
I've never used one but if the speed booster increases the amount of light you can get to the sensor, then that's a good thing. 👍
QUESTION!!! At 04:17 into the video, in top left corner of the right picture you captures an odd multi-dotted horizontally aligned object... What is it?!?! I have caught it myself and I cannot find what it can possibly be if it is man-made!!!
Hi Lana,
That's a long exposure of an airplane. As the shutter is open for so long, as a plane goes by, the flashing lights are the dots and sometimes they have a fixed light as well, so that's the straight line in there. 😁👍
@@mikesphotography ahhh! Looks so different from regular airplane streaks! They are usually straight! 😅 But thank you! Mistrry solved!
Thanks for the video. Super useful. I am a beginner with a fuji xs10 and looking to buy my first prime lens... i would like to have the option to shoot astro and I'm looking at a Fujifilm XC 35mm f/2 lens... is this a big no no? I would like to add that i am not (and don't plan to be a professional photographer) thanks a lot :)
Hi Patrizia,
The 35mm f2 is a nice lens, but for astrophotography on the xs10, it will not be very wide, so you would struggle to get enough light into the camera without having the stars moving in the frame from the rotation of the earth.
I'd probably go for something wider, like a 20mm, as it would make it a lot easier to shoot the stars.
I hope that helps.
Thanks for watching 😁👍
How do you feel about the Tamron 35mm 1.4? Good value for the money and astrophotography in general? I read some really good reviews on it. Your take on this lens is more than appreciated.
The tamron 35mm f1.4 looks like a fantastic lens. I haven't used it but after watching Chris and Jordan's review on it (from DPreview), it looks like it would be a solid performer. 👍th-cam.com/video/_AHVGP_dEyA/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for watching.
The Sony A7iii is ISO invariant from ISO 640 upwards. Saying "lowering the ISO lowers the amount of noise" or "pushing the ISO to that level and the image will be noisy" is wrong I'm afraid. The ISO doesn't affect the amount of noise at all. And increasing the ISO doesn't increase the amount of analogue amplification either, the Sony A7iii sensor is a dual-ISO gain sensor, it only has 2 levels of analogue amplification, the various settings are then simulated using digital gain which is much the same as changing exposure in Lightroom. Try taking a shot at f/2.8, 20 secs and ISO800 and 12800 and then boost the ISO800 image by 4 stops in Lightroom and you'll see that they both have the same signal to noise ratio. The stuff about aperture is spot on though, wider apertures = more light = better signal to noise ratio. Can't beat a good fast prime
Hey Alyn,
You're completely right when it comes to the ISO, and the ISO invariability of the A7iii.
I was trying to keep it simple and was talking about cameras in general, but I should have spoken about iso invariability of the sony cameras...I wish I could have got my hands on a good old Canon DSLR so the talk about ISO's would have been correct...but only had an a7iii for this video.
Definitely can't beat a wide fast lens though...I've been trying to get my hands on the 20mm 1.8 but the guys at the sony office closed it down here the day before I could get it (damn virus)...now that was more than frustrating...as well as that, we have a nightly curfew so no astrophotography for us for the time being! 🤦🏻♂️
How's the lockdown in Wales at the moment?
@@mikesphotography it's a nightmare trying to teach to ISO to beginners now given that every camera behaves differently! My Sony 20mm review should be ready next month, it's such an interesting lens. Yeah still in full lockdown at the moment, most people being pretty compliant still too but I think we'll start relaxing things soon. Busting to get out!
Haha! Yep, when you get the "so how does ISO work?" and then "what about ISO invariant sensors?" You know it's going to be a long talk then...🤦🏻♂️
It'll be interesting to see your take on the 20mm...looking forward to it.
By the way, love your content dude, I'm Aberystwyth born and bred (although my accent has long gone) so I recognise a few of the locations when you're out and about in the mother land!! Keep up the great work. 👌
@@mikesphotography bloody hell would never have placed you as Aberystwyth! But it is the perfect presenters voice man not gunna lie. H that's awesome and likewise, love your channel!
Haha!! Yeah, the last time I was at home, one of my old friends though I was from London... And then he suddenly recognised who I was!! 😆
Thanks dude!! Well maybe next time I'm home...and the stars are out...we should go out and shoot. 👍
Great Video, thankyou for sharing your expertise.
I have a Nikon z6 with the 24-70 f4 kit. I would like to invest in a lens for astro photography. The Nikkor z 14-30mm f4 and the z 20mm 1.8 are around the same price. Do you know if the 20mm at f1.8 would perform better than the 14-30mm at 14mm f4 for Astro?
Alternatively a Z mount Samyang 14mm 2.8 is available at a third of the price. Would you advise the Samyang budget option to get the f2.8 aperture over the sharper Nikkor 14-30mm F4 lens. Would the reduction in sharpness by not using the Nikkor be outweighed by the extra stop in light the Samyang offers?
I would be grateful for your advice on this.
The 20mm 1.8 would give you the best results...cant beat a big wide open aperture.
Even though the 14-30mm is sharp, you'll still lose detail with the smaller aperture as there is so little light about at night.
The samyang would be OK, but I think you'd notice the drop in IQ.
I had the samyang 14mm F2.8 but I ended up using my 25mm F2.0 a lot more and shooting panos to make up for the tighter focal length.
Fast F/ numbers are only useful, when the sky conditions permit. Shooting objects like comets, that are still in a sky illuminated by scattered sunlight, would be fully saturated in an exposure of a second or two. Dropping down a few stops helps a lot in those circumstances, as well as reducing lens aberrations.
Most definitely Paul. It's a case of setting the camera to the subject and the lighting conditions you are shooting.
Thanks for watching. 😁👍
if i want to print astro shots for a wall poster home decor will i need to get even wider aperture than f2? i am looking at samyang 12mmf2 vs sigma16f1.4. which should i prefer? wider fov or brighter aperture? personally i really like samyang as the wider 12mm will also double up as a grat vlogging lens so i can hold the camera comfortably. camera is a6600.
Out of those two, I'd choose the 16mm f1.4 as it is a fantastic lens for astro. The samyang is ok but it does start to distort the stars towards the corners and these will be really noticeable in a wall print.
The other thing to look into is stacking. You could in theory stop the 12mm down to f2.8 and then take 20 shots of the same scene with dark frames as well, and then use a program like sequator or starry landscape stacker to get rid of a lot of the noise from your final image. This might be the better option if you need the 12mm for vlogging as well.
Thanks for watching 😁👍
I rarely shoot astro wide open. Stopping down just a bit greatly increases sharpness. I would much rather stop down and then stack to reduce noise personally.
Most definitely. Stacking really does clean up the finally image and when stacking, you don't need such a fast lens.
This is more aimed at beginners to give them a basic understanding of what different apertures will do for their images in single exposures.
Thanks for watching. 👍
I have a rokinon for wide angle, but I'm looking at getting a 70-200mm USM for deep space. Will the 4.0 vs 2.8 make a similarly big difference?
For deep space you will get better results with a tracker...and with a tracker when you align it properly, it wouldn't matter as you can take much longer exposures and stack them as well. 😁👍
Is a 50mm f1.4 is nice too for astrophotography ?
All things being equal would you rather have f2.8 without IS or f4 with is ? first for astro but also for everyday carry.
If your main passion is astro, then f2.8 without IS. In the daytime, there should be enough light about not to have to need IS for photography...then just keep the tripod with you for scenarios where you might need those slower shutter speeds.
Thanks for watching 😁👍
Hi Mike hoping you could help me in my choose of lens to shoot the milkyway, I'm turn between 20m f/1.8. Or the GM 24m f/1.4 ... Moneywise I was hoping to get away with spending the amount the 20mm is worth but if there's a huge difference in quality of lens I'm happy to go and spend more on the 24mm???
Hi Phil,
They are both fantastic lenses. If it's just for astro, I'd get the 20mm. It's just that little bit wider and a small difference in aperture compared to the cost.
If you're using it for lots of other types of photography as well, I'd say go for the 24mm as it is a useful focal length.
Thanks for watching 😁👍
@@mikesphotography Thanks heaps I already have the 16-35m f/4 but was prepared to buy another one if you said it was a lot better for Astro but now definitely will buy the 20 mm Thanks Heaps love you work.
What do you think about the Viltrox 24mm f1.8?
I haven't had a chance to use or look at the viltrox yet but it sounds interesting. 👍
is 15 seconds the maximum shutter speed before you start to get star trails, or can you go longer?
It all depends on what focal length you are using, what sensor size you have. Also, if you are a pixel peeper, you will inevitably see them much sooner.
I have shot the milkyway with a 30 second exposure and it looks great... but that was with the Canon 6D (full frame) and the 14mm samyang.
Thanks for watching 😁👍
So my 50mm 1.8 prime would be a decent choice for the night sky? Or at least a better choice then my 28 to 70mm 3.5? Ive been itchin to travle to a less light polluted area for a while.
Also, thanks for your lighting tips, I have been hanging lights up in mysterious ways to make it happen!
The 50mm would let in more light with the aperture, but because of the 500/300 rule, your shutter speed would be shortened. I'd take both and try them out. If you plan a whole night out, you'll have plenty of time to use them both and see which one works best for you. 👍
@@mikesphotography Thats a damn good point. I bet there are some great spots near your home too. Id love to see your work on that subject.
Also, Im really excited about the mix for this weeks episode. Dude, i cant stop listening to the music. Im feeling super proud.
With today`s sensor technology f4 issin`t that bad anymore. New FF cameras are capable of ISO6400 + without much of a threat to the quality. Also stacking is the real way to go, so it lowers the noise levels to the minimum.
The most important thing I would consider these days is low vignette and low distortions. The vignette with 1,4f lenses sometimes can be very severe amounting up to a 3 stops of light, that`s a very huge drop that is very hard to fix, because when you take a picture at ISO6400 with 3 stops darker corners, you need to increase that area exposure by +3 Ev that introduces a lot more noise, than shooting the same scene with ISO12800 using f2,8 lens that has less vignette effect and even so it gets hard to maintain the equal exposure through out the image in post processing trying to fix such huge light drop off in the corners. This is why a lot of guys forgetting Sigma 18mm 1,8f ART lens and sticking with Irix or Laowa or samyang that are slower but has less distortion and vignette.
It does depends on the camera, if you are using ISO invariant camera, the f numbers of the lens issint really a problem, because you can bump the ISO really high. But if the camera is older design, things will get trickier, so you will have too choose the right lenses carefully.
This is all true, but some people might want to produce single images of the stars and with the wider apertures, this is possible.
Thanks for watching 😁👍
Another option is using old manual legacy lens with adapters.
Definitely. You can get some really fast lenses when buying older ones. Thanks for the tip. 👍
So do I !
I have Sony ff camera but I use 70200f2.8 ef lens 40,000￥ while(instead?) 70200f2.8 fe lens 200,000￥
I currently have 12-40mm f2.8 pro lens now, but I'm going to buy 7-14mm f2.8 pro lens later. So no difference on anything else than the wider angle 😬 shooting mft here 😊
No worries, I used to shoot with the gh4 for a few years and they're good cameras! The wider angle will definitely give you a longer exposure time letting in more light, so that will definitely be a bonus! The 7-14mm is a really good lens as well so you'll definitely get some great shots with that. 👍
well, i was already impressed as i switched from a very cheap F1.8 (mainly for live concerts etc where i had barely light) to a "midclass" (300€ still not much for a good lens) F1.4 with USM. The Focus.... WOW, like day and night vs the 60€ F1.8s cheap slow and loud AF system. But the biggest impact was the F1.4.
With the F1.4 i can easily shoot in F1.8 to F3 and it does a lot better job than the F1.8, AF much more on point, bokeh looks slightly better on the 1.4 also (at F1.8!)
Seems like i should try out the fixed 50mm 1.4 lens for astrophotograhpy, as much this is possible with a regulat D-SLR without modifications on sensors filters
THat's great to hear. Stepping up to a faster, more expensive lens is always an eye opener...and for astrophotography, bigger apertures always help as there is so little light about.
Thanks for watching 😁👍
Have a kit lens 15-55 and 75-300 mm with the lowest f stop being 3.5. Just got into Astrophotography and was wondering should I get a 24MM 1.8 would it generate for better photos. Thanks.
A 24mm f1.8 prime would definitely give you a better single image. however, if you do a bit of research in stacking, you can also get a decent image with your kit lens.
I did a video on it a while back: th-cam.com/video/rEU9kPCwotM/w-d-xo.html Check it out when you get the chance.
Thanks for watching 😁👍
@@mikesphotography awesome! Thanks for the response definitely gonna check the video on stacking out 👍
Explain the statement, I use bright monitoring to frame up my shot? @ around 2:33
This video does just that:
th-cam.com/video/_vKTE1uFSwY/w-d-xo.html
👍
Hey Mike is it possible to shoot astrophotography with kit lens ? :)
Yes. Definitely. Look into stacking your shots as well as trackers. They are both great ways to get some fantastic shots with a kit lens, although a tracker will cost you a bit of money. 👍
Stacking is not allways the answer, you need a certain amount of photons to hit the sensor to change that zero (no light) to a 1 (light). So longer exposures allways is better then stacking.
Thanks for your feedback Adriaan. 👍
How wide a lens is really considered a sufficiently wide or fast? I currently have an Irix 15mm f2.4 that I got for landscape. It's not as wide or as fast as others you've mentioned.
It depends on what camera you use it with. For full frame, this would be wide enough...even though you can go wider. For a crop sensor, for the milky way, I'd probably go to either 12mm or 10mm.
Thanks for watching. 😁👍
@@mikesphotography Thanks for the reply- I know it's late as the video came out months ago. I'm now using a Sony a7III, so will give it a shot. I'll take a number of images and if no one comes out, I'll experiment with stacking.
I'm have Irix 15mm f2,8. It's good lens for astrofoto, much better than Rokinon 14mm f2,8.
I have the Noctilux 50mm .... good enough for it?
I think that should be just about ok...😆 although you might need a forklift truck to move it!! 😁👍
Eventho I Have couple of 1.4 lenses I never use them at F1.4... no matter how good and pricey the lens is it never Gives me proper results at F1.4... all lenses Have their peak performance and usually its F4.0 with these 1.4 lenses... noise is pretty easy to get rid of in post processing with stacking or tracking but the mistakes the lenses produce at their widest aperture are sometimes quite impossible to rectify at post processing. This is really something every beginner astrophotographers should know. F4 with kit lense compared to f4 with lens that goes down to F1.4 is remarkable. I know this tutorial is not about that but just saying :) Havent seen Any tutorials on that subject
Thanks for your thoughts Olli. Yep this one is to show what the faster lenses do, but you're right, they really do start to distort the image and give different kinds of aberrations depending on the quality of the glass in the lens. I do have a lot more astro tutorials planned once we are allowed to travel again and one similar to what you described is on the cards.
Thanks for watching 😁👍
What about Sigma 17-50 f/2.8 ? Please suggest.
That's a crop sensor lens, but will still be good for astrophotography. At f2.8, it will let in a nice amount of light to get a good image, and with a wide angle of 17mm, this should give you a lot of the sky in your shot. 😁👍
What will a 35mm lens with aperture f0.95 perform? (crop)
An f0.95 35mm will be a fantastic lens on a crop sensor camera, although your shutter speeds will be limited with that narrower focal length to around 8 seconds.
Thanks
As a beginner I am confused!! What is the difference between 14mm f/2.8 and 50mm f/1.8 for astrophotography? Is f/4 and above still good?
So they are two different things. You need to break it down into focal lengths and apertures. The 14mm is a wider angle compared to the 50mm...so with the 14mm, you will fit a lot more in to your photo. With the f number, this is the size of the hole that will be letting in light.
the f2.8 lens will let in less light compared with the f1.8 lens.
So the 50mm f1.8 will let in more light but will be a narrower field of view, so you won't fit as much in to your photo, whereas with the 14mm f2.8 will be a super wide photo but won't let in as much light as the 50mm.
Does that make sense?
I think the Tokina 11-16mm F2.8 is a good lens for astro or??
Yep, the tokina is a good one I used to have that with a Canon 60D...just be aware that it is a lens built for crop sensor cameras so it won't be great with any of the latest full frame cameras. 😁👍
I have the Tokina 11-20mm and something you should know is this lens give you huge chromatic aberration on the sides of the image and have a lot of distortion (so stars won't be round on the borders of the picture).
Ideally you want a lens that give you the opposite on both, for a cleaner image and a night sky with perfect white dot stars on the entire frame.
I'm not saying that you can't take astrophotography with it, I'm really happy with mine and got really great picture of the milkyway out of this lens, I just think it's something you should be aware of
Lens Rental is your friend.
Most definitely...
How details you are! I like you. What do you say about Sigma 16mm 1.4? Its amazing and probably can take great results.
Thanks very much Humberto!
It's funny you should ask...ive just picked up the 16mm f1.4 sigma for my a6600...and hopefully going out soon to test it out...seems like a solid little lens so far.
Thanks for watching 👍
@@mikesphotography Yeh exactly! I have a6500 and I´m buying the 16mm sigma to work with real state photography and video and some wide shots. Hope to get some nice shots of the sky.
@@mikesphotography Do you have something about Picture Profile? Which probably gets better results quality.
@@humbertofilms3758 i had it for a while and honestly i miss it lol even though i have a A7iii with tamron 17-28 & 28-75 check out my Milkyway photos on Instagram @bperezf
I'm looking to buy a lens to shoot the milky way. In your opinion is it better to go with 14mm f2.8 or 35mm 1.4 ?
For the milkyway, if you haven't shot it before, the easiest way is to get a 14mm f2.8. At a good dark location, you can get some great shots with that lens in one image... and if you want to reduce the noise in your shots even more, you can always take a sequence of images and then stack them in starry landscape stacker to get even cleaner shots. 👍
@@mikesphotography Thank you for your reply ! I did shot it a couple of time but I upgraded to full frame since then. If money isn't a factor: 14mm 2.8 or 35mm 1.4 is better in your opinion ?
I'd go for 14mm F2.8...but I much prefer wide filed shots...