canon 135mm f2 astrophotography canon 135mm f2 astrophotography

While they provide a very large flat field we noticed some CA. They were not however designed to be bokeh monsters though that was just a side effect of making them fast and people bought them for speed with bokeh being the afterthought so not Bokeh for the sake of Bokeh as he said. It is fantastically sharp, can make beautiful blurred backgrounds and bokeh, and is both light and inexpensive for what you get. Contrasty, saturated, nice colours. Both the 135 and 200mm Canon l lenses are winners IMHO. The only downside with that lens is that it is manual focus, which might not be suitable for photographing sports or children. This looks to be an excellent lens with fantastic results. Most of the available 135mm F2 lenses have a very short minimum focusing distance in relation to the focal length, creating a magnification ratio of around 0.2 - 0.25. I do not presume to further decorate the universe, and perceive them for what they are: interference. Flip on through what we found, and see how the lens performs in the real world in our sample gallery. Rokinon lenses are made in Korea, and so is the Samyang variation. No more inside shooting with flash! If you have the 1.8 version, way to go. You currently have javascript disabled. Of course headline central sharpness is great, that is what grabs headlines, always shot at f2: any 135mm lens is going to give similar results. I like fast lenses, and my Nikkor 105DC is my favourite. Large hood. My 24-70L needs to be stopped down to f5.6 to begin to match the sharpness of my 135L at f2.0 (the test shots were of the portrait of Andrew Jackson on a $20 bill). Nice article for beginners.It's all in the eyes of the beholder. Probably you could get a very similar image with a 85mm 1.8. The Rokinon 135mm F/2 ED UMC. My canon is clear modded and I use a an Astronomik EOS-clip L filter to block the uv and ir. I had both for a while. You just panned the subject for his photos and then turn around and needle thematic for looking into Ericsson. I really like how they augment my longer focal length scopes. In photoshop I love to zoom 200, 300 and even 400% to see the extreme details it is an absolutely amazing lens, great backround blur, great for low light weddings with available light. However, these APOs have a couple of drawbacks. However, they can be perfectly corrected with narrow band H-alpha or OIII filters. This allows for less aggressive camera settings for night photography such as using a lower ISO setting and shorter exposure. (purchased for $900), reviewed December 4th, 2006 Above $2500 cameras tend to become increasingly specialized, making it difficult to select a 'best' option. Youll never have to worry about losing your position just by touching the lens, but you can always tape the position down to be sure. Sme of the wide field are. On a full frame body, I rely upon this lens and it does not disappoint. Valerio, I sold my Canon Lens because in Nikon Lens there is a Defocus control option, very usefull in a daylight photos, as portrait. The background blur is amazingly creamy with this lens. This free website's biggest source of support is when you use these links, especially these directly to it at Adorama or at Amazon, when you get anything, regardless of the country in which you live. And you can even crop a 135 efl with today's sensors should you actually need it. Zeiss Jena or Oberkochen? Instead it means the style of rendering. The Rokinon 135mm F/2 ED UMC lens. I've tested some of the old Pentax 6x7 lenses with a friend. "Bokeru" is a verb, and it can apply equally to to optical and psychological effects, including the reduced mental clarity that can some with age. Great reach for street shots. Same thing as people mistake "shallow DOF" to blurry background. But If you want the "look" you get with a medium telephoto at f/2, hen all those negatives become irrelevant. Second of all, the incredible sharpness of the photo: I have owned many lenses, most of which I bought because they were supposed to have world-class sharpness, but the Samyang 135mm still stands out to me. Big F-value.Light. It may be superfluous to add, but it can't do any harm, that in astrophotography all shutter control must be done with a wired or wireless electrical shutter release swith. Not another article that promotes portraits shot with wide open lens and out of focus highlights in the background. Looking forward to allow purchasing the Canon 200mm f/2.8L II USM. Asahi Optical's Pentax KX was one of the first cameras with this lens mount, acting as a midrange model in the lineup. the EOS-clip filters are compatible with all EF lenses but not with the EF-s. It is by far the fastest focusing, best bokeh, and lowest light lens you will ever find. To fit the Heart and Soul Nebulae in a single frame requires an extremely wide field of view (compared to the magnification of most telescopes). The few occasions I use a 135 FL usually are landscape shots (where I have no use for f2) and childrens playing (where I need zoom and fast af). 10/10 (Editor's Choice) Check Price. Make sure to select your camera mount when checking the price (Check current price). It's small, light, cheap and extremely wide but is it any good? Deep-sky astrophotography is often associated with a camera and telescope, but the truth is there are a lot of great camera lenses for astrophotography out there. $218.00 for 7 days. I'm not a fan of the large hood. My only complaint about this lens is that the depth of the lens shade forces me to remove the shade in order to remove or replace the lens cap (my hands are fairly large). Im getting a samyang to use with my 60D. Also, when shooting the heart nebula, is the sky tracker a must or not required? etc.. Ron. It's not a bad lens, probably a great one, even if it doesn't seems really as sharp as a basic 85mm f/1.8 (used at f/2.8) , but it's a bad idea to work wide open if you don't need to. They create a beautiful, mesmerizing dreamscape in their photos, and their secret weapon, besides an impeccable sense for aesthetics, is the 135mm F2 lens. Whatever lens you pick in the end, you will make a great purchase. One is its size and weight, which requires a sturdy support on the telescope. (purchased for $860), reviewed March 9th, 2017 KevinS, in my experience stopping down dramatically improves image quality in terms of chromatic aberration, coma and astigmatism. Do I wish it were manufactured with metal? if you really want to get the best gym photos that can be taken, use it and enjoy what you will see. It is sharp but somehow not that analytic way as a macro lens. There was no reason to test any other because, when stopped down to 49mm, F6.1, this lens is simply perfect, comparable to any APO on the market. (Actually if I can live with the DoF I prefer it to my 85/1.2 too, as there is much less bonus colour.) The OP admits he limited experience with lenses other than what he has. Required fields are marked *. in the rain. But for me, the reason to get this lens is the Bokeh and DOF control. It could easily rival 'bokeh monsters lenses' at fraction of their price. Back in 1999, Sony released the F505, their first digital camera with a Carl Zeiss lens. Due to the weight, at times I didn't move my shooting position and just zoomed to a composition that worked. In excellent condition, this lens retails for around $200. Focusing should be done on moderately bright stars using the 10x magnified Live View. Part of it might be that they were designed for film photography and modern digital sensor are far more demanding in terms of optical quality. Chromatic aberration is almost eliminated in narrowband, so lenses with that problem may be fine performers. BTW, the 300-mm Tele-Tessar you describe -- what camera was it made for? There are times that making no comment at all is far more telling than posting negative - and sometimes offensive - ad hominem attacks on the author for daring to show some enthusiasm. Today I want to talk about another such lens design: The 135mm F2 lens. This way the focus will favor the red light which is more objectionable within a star image than a bit of blue. I have the Sony SaL 135F1.8 Zeiss Lens and think that is excellent. Moreover if we have a serendipitous moment regarding a new (or used) lens, that's a good thing. ", I'd no problem with that. Its a trade-off, and one that seems to surface time and time again in this hobby. My questions, for deep sky pics, should I get the 135mm lens or the RedCat 51 APO 250mm f/4.9 which you mentioned here as well? The Sadr Region in Cygnus, including the Crescent Nebula by Eric Cauble. Lior, I have done a lot of reading on modern zoom lenses. Show some humility and don't troll. I've missed shots at wide apertures because the DOF is so extremely thin. (purchased for $1,100), reviewed August 12th, 2009 Latter looks quite professional.. You can also find him as @mwroll on Instagram and 500px. How well do Fujifilm's film simulations match up to their film counterparts? Focal length is great. Because of chromatic aberration, no telephoto lens can be used at full aperture. Digital camera types . The finish and texture of the Rokinon 135mm F/2 is a step up from the 14mm F/2.8 I ordered a few years ago. It's not the most versatile lens, but it's very great for tight portrait shoots; background blur is creamy IMO; one of the best 'bokeh' lens. Samyang 85mm f1.83. After a three-year hiatus, we've been at the return of the CP+ camera show in Yokohama, Japan. Lenses with extreme sharpness and bokeh tend to be heavy. In this post, Ill explain why I think the Rokinon 135mm F/2 is the perfect addition to an arsenal of astrophotography lenses. This is a fully manual lens, meaning that it does not have autofocus, and you must manually select the f-stop using the aperture ring at the base of the lens. These lenses can be had on eBay in mint condition for around $70, and are probably the most price efficient optical instrument in the world. On FF I use this lens for both tight portraits and landscape shots. f2, very sharp, virtually without CAs, contrast, colour, lightwight, buildings. Is this Nikon already, Astro modified, without need for H alpha filters or any further modifications? Don't know what the young man uses as his camera, and if he has tried to keep the noise under control, or even tried to focus on the eyes of the mallard, or the cat (their eyes are not truly in focus). My copy is 12-years-old and still delivers at over 75 weddings a year. To prevent damage to the lens finish, apply nylon acorn nuts (or cap nuts) to the tips of the retaining ring's three alignment screws. A Canon 70-200L IS II at 200mm at f2.8 has all the same characteristics of the Canon 135L. One very popular lens for bokeh fiends is the Canon 85mm F1.2it can produce extremely creamy out of focus backgrounds. Prime means that this lens is fixed at 135mm, it is not a zoom lens that allows for focal length adjustments. My tests on it are described on http://pikespeakphoto.com/tests/canonlens135.html, i have never been a prime lens fan, just seems to leave you feeling trapped in a single dimension. I've owned nice SLR gear since 1976, and am normally a wide angle shooter this is my favorite lens, of all time. My Rokinon 135F2 on my crop body is fun to play with.. a budget lens with budget construction on a discontinued camera system.. but hey im just a ham and egger https://flic.kr/p/21nj82V, I had a Canon 135/2 for a while, but I decided I preferred the 100 L used not as a Macro but a normal lens (which my non-L USM 100 Macro was quite poor for). I disagree. Image quality, weight and value for money. From my purchase research, I found a consensus that stopping down optimizes sharpness but the diaphragm will make nine diffraction spikes when stopped down. It must not be confused with the much cheaper SMC Takumar, often deceptively advertised as SMC Pentax Takumar, which has the M42 camera thread, and is plagued with unextinguishable blue chromatic aberration. If you want to preview the image field you can expect with a particular camera sensor and lens combination, Stellarium features a useful tool. But you raise the exact point, that primes should be chosen with a 2x factor. I own Samyang 135 f2 for Nikon Mount and indeed it is incredible value lens. Here's what I see from the photographs:#1: Woman in traffic. This is great news if you like to photograph small things up close. Available Monday. Why take a step back from 250 to sit between the RedCat and the 24-105? I shoot dozens of weddings every year but the 135mm stayed in my bag a majority of the time; I just didn't find myself needing to use it. CP+ 2023: Sigma has announced it is bringing its trio of DC DN APS-C prime lenses to Nikon's Z mount: its first lenses for Nikon's mirrorless system. I love the lens for my modified Sony a6000! IS is useful in my f/4 zooms but I don't need it to hand-hold this lens. There are quite a few other excellent lenses out there, and nowadays, quite a few that can be used wide open. The Andromeda Galaxy using the Rokinon 135mm F/2.0 ED UMC lens. The Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM Lens makes an excellent indoor sports lens. In these situations, a portable, wide-field imaging rig wins. Your images have a chance at remaining sharper once critical focus has been achieved, but now you have lost the extra light-gathering power you wanted. I have just acquired my astrophotography set up thanks to all your videos and doing some research. I've done comparisons between my brand-new Samyang 85/1.4 and the old big Apollo 135/1.8 lens I had lying around, and the shots were for all practical purposes identical (exept, obviously, for the pixel count once cropped). Online since 2011, AstroBin is the #1 complete solution for image hosting of astrophotographs. Or just get a zoom that is 24-200mm and you are covered. The shallow depth of field present at its maximum aperture does indeed create a pleasing bokeh. I will say that at F/4 this lens is extremely sharp corner to corner when used on my 60Da. The 5D's larger pixels also make chromatic aberration somewhat lower at most apertures. Great looking lens, if you ever saw it from the front. I rarely shoot static landscapes or posed, composed images. Also, the newer and much more expensive 200mm F4 SMC Pentax with the K mount is decisively inferior, showing small but annoying red chromatic aberration. This lens provides all of these requirements. The foolproof image seems to be more a case of how a bright fuzzy cluttered moving background can completely detach from the offset dark subject matter and overwhelm it. Writer Anno Huidekoper takes a look at what this manual SLR can do and how it stacks up to its contemporaries. I cant decide whether to clean it up in processing or let it be. http://www.astrovale-f-2/index.html, Hi Lord_Vader, Mr Ericsson makes a very good point, and to go and dig irrelevant background info on him to discredit him is just well THAT is trolling. Canon EOS 60Da with the Rokinon 135mm F/2 lens. But for many of us, somewhere in between, are plenty of short to mid-tele lenses that will deliver solid service (in terms of subject separation) without carrying around still another kilo for the sake of more blur. (purchased for $845), reviewed November 16th, 2005 The 70-200L being a much more useful lens. Again, there's no context. So I feel I'm being cheated. It seems they are now quite comparable in quality to prime lenses. Film Friday: DPRTV reviews Fujifilm's Acros II film, Fujifilm launches Instax Mini 12 instant camera, DPReview March Madness, vote for your champions, Canon RF 16mm F2.8 STM sample gallery (DPReview TV), OM System M. Zuiko 90mm F3.5 Macro sample gallery, Live from Japan: Highlights from CP+ 2023, Retro Review: 24 years later, the Sony F505 is still pretty cool, Hands on with the OM System M. Zuiko 90mm F3.5 Macro, New FAA rules make it easier for recreational drone pilots to fly in restricted US airspaces, Leica marks James Bond's 60th* with a special edition D-Lux 7, Film Friday: A closer look at the Pentax KX, an original K-mount SLR, Blackmagic Design announces a new Studio Camera 6K Pro, National Geographic selects Pictures of the Year photo contest winner, Sigma brings DC DN APS-C primes to Nikon Z-mount, Panasonic Lumix S 14-28mm F4-5.6 Macro sample gallery, Tamron announces 11-20mm F2.8 ultra-wide zoom for Fujifilm X-mount, Film Friday: DPReview TV steps back in time to shoot APS film, Finer Points: Here's an easy way to improve video autofocus, DPReview TV: One simple fix to improve video autofocus, Head-to-head: Adobe Super Resolution vs. ON1 Resize AI vs. Topaz Labs Gigapixel AI, Waiting for the fishy in the little dishy by Gil Aegerter, Lava Lizard on Marine Iguana by ZimmWisdom. Helps me as a beginner a lot You got a criticism fine say it politely, and too the point. Of the 150 images I considered fit to publish, only 4 were made with the 135. I thought I would miss shooting at 200mm, but 135mm is long enough for most portraits and gives a decent amount of compression. Which is the better buy? When I was on my way home after purchasing my first 135mm lens (the Samyang/Rokinon one) I took a few quick snapshots just to try out the lens. I ordered this lens on Amazon, utilizing my Amazon Prime membership. I have an old 135/2.5 Takumar that is not bad at all, for the price. My goal for this article was to show some great example photos and share some ideas for projects this lens is a good fit for. The reason the 135mm lens was that it was the longest lens that would focus with a Leica rangefinder. The 135 L handles this well. Also, I used to have a Nikon 180/2.8 ED IF AF and 300/4 ED IF AF. Fantastic IQ & Bokeh. If you own an EOS Camera - It's a no Brainer, Buy one I do not think telephoto lenses would be suitable for use with your modified camera. The model I use feels solid and the barrel is constructed with metal. This is a very practical way to plan your next astrophotography project, and especially handy when using a wide field lens like the Rokinon 135mm F/2. Some of the primes have a special look to them, but only the 70-200 is indispensable. I found with the 70-200 made me lazy. It starts out very sharp at f/2.0, gets even sharper at f/2.8, and softens only slightly at f/11. #light_bulb I would disagree. Add To Cart. My copy has very stiff manual focus though and is quite heavy. Got it! (purchased for $899), reviewed March 19th, 2012 I use the word design, because although the available 135mm F2 lenses aren't the exact same optical formula, they share many important traits. Is it possible to get good results on a Baader filter modifed Canon 450D and a good telephoto lens, or do I need to get a good APO? I wanted to add my experience with some lenses that I thought worthy of being considered too, and some of the equipment that I have used. Exposure uniformity (vignetting) is also really excellent, reaching a maximum of 1/4 EV (on a camera with an APS-C size sensor) at f/2, and dropping to well under 1/10 EV at f/2.8 and above. (purchased for $725), reviewed March 26th, 2013 Based on my handful of experiences with this lens in the backyard, I have found these traits to hold true. The first example is good to show that you can take photos of persons in front of an ugly background without completely ruining the shot (important for people shooting events), the last one is the only one I really like (because of the color) but you could shoot this with any lens with short MFD. USM works so quickly and accurately, it puts my 24-70/f2.8L to shame. OTOH you can now get a 70-180 f2.8 zoom that weights virtually the same and is only a tiny bit longer (Tamron's on E mount, like 20mm longer than the AF SY or most other modern 135s), and there's lighter than ever 85/1.4s (eg Sigma's DN for L/E mount) that can achieve a very similar look while coming in at 600g, tho at an even higher price. I also find the other photos not very good. The lens is not weather-sealed, so you definitely dont want to leave your camera and lens (and your tracking mount!) The Rho Ophiuchi Cloud Complex by Eric Cauble using the Samyang 135mm F/2 lens. Whos Afraid of a Phantom: Istar Phantom 140mm F/6.5, that is? And yet this review is on front page of DPReview prompting me to go and buy this lens -- so surely it must be a professional , well grounded review, right? The presentation and hands-on look and feel of the 135mm F/2 lens is impressive considering the reasonable price of this lens. Include the Carl Zeiss in your research though, it might be an interesting lens for you, even if it is a bit pricey for what you get. Recently, the FAA announced that recreational drone pilots in the USA can request LAANC authorization to fly in controlled airspace at night. Yes, there is some sharpness added when stopping down to f4 or f5.6 but after that it doesn't get better. The images were collected using a Canon EOS Rebel T3i camera riding on a Fornax Mounts LighTrack II. Since i am totally new in this field, i would like to start with astrophotography but using my existing camera (Fuji XT-30). The Rokinon 14mm F/2.8 was the first lens I had ever used like this, and these aspects do not hinder the astrophotography experience whatsoever. Robert. Without the blurb I would have taken it as a 24 hour news studio shot with back projection or a cut and paste layer.The other stuff is really nice though. This is actually worse than just plain obsession with blur. Thats quite a jump from 135mm, so the camera body you use with this lens may change the types of targets you shoot. I mount it on my APS-C camera and the focal length literally becomes 216 mm, which is too tight. The flat lens hood design allows you to easily take flat frames with the Rokinon 135mm using the white t-shirt method or using a flat panel. The Canon 135mm f/2 is no less impressive on a full-frame camera. Could use a few updates. A higher-res Blackmagic Studio Camera just dropped. The extent of this influence lies mainly in photographer's perception and creativity.As all arts photography may serve given needs due to numerous reasons with the resulting integrity of the work not necessarily suggesting art.The photographic gear (from lens cleaning tissues up to s/w) is just the tool(s) of a photographer in order to produce its work. Touching the telescope, even ever so slightly, will introduce vibrations which will ruin the photograph. (Dpreview), Use the 500 Rule to find the Perfect Exposure Length for Astrophotography, Use a DSLR Ha Filter for Astrophotography, AstroBackyard | Astrophotography Tips and Tutorials2023, Optical Construction: 11 Glass elements in 7 Groups. Equipment used was an astromodified Canon 700D, Samyang 135mm f2, SkyTech Triband filter, Star Adventurer 2i, ZWO mini finder with ASI120MM, guiding with PHD2 and polar alignment using sharpcap. One of my very best lenses! Thanks for the fine article and the thought you put into it. I love this lens, The Sharpest Lens available for Eos cameras IMO Hate these presumptuous kinds of articles and headlines. (purchased for $970), reviewed March 17th, 2011 I have only owned my 135mm for less then a year, but already it is one of my top three most used and most fun lenses. Im so new to all of this so thank you for your insightful and educational posts. In the past, Ive covered a number of different lenses, from the Sigma 24mm F/1.4 to the Canon EF 300mm F/4L. 2 Dielectric Diagonals. (purchased for $900), reviewed April 15th, 2011 I liked the extra versatility of the zoom and the ability to shoot at 200mm. He has quite a breadth photos many of which are quite good. Unfortunately, standard photography lenses are generally poorly corrected for CA at the red end of the spectrum, relying on the human eye's poorer resolution in red than green or blue. Especially for beginning astrophotographers, who should first invest most of their finances into a good telescope mount, telephoto lenses are an excellent and affordable solution. But I would argue that a 135mm F2 lens produces even greater bokeh, thanks to the long focal length that compresses the background far more than the 85mm lens. I have heard others mention that this lens has a plasticky build quality, but I believe this aspect has been improved. The criterion I used in evaluating lenses was optical perfection with no reservations. I would never shell out hundreds of euros for a 135 prime let alone one with manual focus. It's an ideal portrait lens. There's just nothing there. - in my subjects' skin. Testing on an EOS-5D, we see that it's sharpness is almost as good wide open in the corners as on the EOS-20D with its smaller sensor. don't get me wrong; this lens will take great photos, but the 'flatness' i was getting in my photos nearly had me give up 25 years of hobby photography. Round one of polls are now open, pick your winners and share your voice. I hope that this post has provided some practical insight into a popular camera lens for astrophotography. Agreed. It is a heavy lens. Olympus 4x Optical Zoom f/2 Lens; 25-100mm (35mm Equivalent) Show More. After the first exposure in M mode, the camera throws an error saying Error please press the shutter button again. f1.4 was a necessisty rather than a creative luxury. Built quality is wonderful, focus ring is well-damped. Canon CR-N700 4K PTZ Camera with 15x Zoom. The screws should be set sufficiently tightly to prevent shift, yet not so tightly as to interfere with fine focusing. When I got home and loaded the photo into Lightroom I was blown away by two things. He loves photography, and runs a YouTube channel with tutorials, lens reviews and photography inspiration. Canon 60Da DSLR and Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 L2 lens at 135mm, f/3.2. The lens is available on eBay for around $200. This lens is available on Amazon for most camera bodies. Some people like these, and consider them decorative. With no general agreement about what Bokeh is it is little wonder that there is so much argument and disagreement. Then you should have tried the 180mm nikkor ED, the old one, which is the favorite tool of a lot of astrophotographers. Jordan's twin brother Gordon is back to review the cinema-focused Canon EOS R5 C! Several functions may not work. Otherwise this lens is absolutely incredible. The moment I tried the Samyang 135mm F2 for the first time after purchasing it, I immediately felt that it was a very special lens. (purchased for $899), reviewed December 9th, 2006 I wish every lens was this good!! Why so salty? Here is a short list of great astrophotography targets to shoot at 135mm with this lens: Below, is an incredible example of the types of projects possible with the Rokinon 135mm F/2.0 lens. The Precious - sharp images, fast focus, perfect weight, reference-quality build. The 135mm f2.8 in particular can take amazing photos of the brighter deep sky objects with about 1 second time . Nice image, andysea. Let's dig in. As you know, camera lenses come in varying focal lengths, apertures, and optical quality. You currently have javascript disabled. I recommend the author change the title of his article from "The Best Telephoto Lenses." to "Some Inexpensive Telephoto Lenses I Have Tested" The original title generates a claim and expectation in the reader that his article can't support that leads to reader frustration and just more questions; why didn't you test this one or do this etc. I think the readers would welcome contributions from other members' experiences. $399 00. The image shown below covers 4.96 x 5.98 degrees in the constellation Cassiopeia. At a local amateur soccer game using the 135 f/2 the action was almost always too close, or too far away. The spec sheet for the Rokinon 135mm F/2 boasts a number of qualities, with the ones listed below being the most important when it comes to night photography and astro. To see even more example photos using the Rokinon 135mm lens (or Samyang branded version), go ahead a perform a search on Astrobin or Flickr, with the appropriate filter. A Bargain, very competively priced The 135mm focal length is absolutely perfect for the Heart and Soul Nebulae if youre using a crop sensor DSLR camera. I got mine for $60.00 on Craigslist but seen them on eBay for $100 and less all the time. I just purchased a very lightly used Canon 200mm F2.8L II USM for $620 from a great online dealer and can't wait for an opportunity to try it out with my Astronomik CLS clip on a T4i at a dark site. Sharp wide open, wonderful bokeh, fast AF in dark conditions. Are you really using 135 a lot? This makes me feel I shall take the Zeiss 85F1.8 off my A6000 or maybe NOT, it's just another hype article about "A" lens.