Wide angle for Nikon

If you would like to post, you'll need to register. Note that if you have a BCG store account, you'll need a new, separate account here (we keep the two sites separate for security purposes).

Winston Churchill (Sir)

Winston Churchill (Sir)

Well-known member
Supporting Member
Marketplace
Member's gallery
I need some feedback please

I am looking for a wide angle for doing astro photography - (FX) (Propably between 8 or 12mm)
I can't see myself using it for landscapes - so it will have limited use., so it should fit my needs price wise as well.
I do own a 16mm Nikon Fisheye - and have used this before

What is available that you know of?

Lawoa 10mm? I believe the's much better than the 12mm older lens

Samyang - ? I have not seen any in South Africa for Nikon mount
Sigma Art - no Nikon mount

Am I p*ssing in the wrong pot here or does anyone have an idea?
 
Member's gallery
Hi Elsa
I have 15mm f2.8AIP and 21mm f2.8AIP, both Zeiss Distagon, which I scored Used a few years ago. Many were offloaded by their owners apparently upgrading to the newer Milvus. These are all MF, as AF is irrelevant to UWides for landscapes. Very well built. I used a dremel to cut the integral lenshood petals off the 15mm, to attach filters (based on NiSi 150 system)

Useful guide for southern hemisphere https://www.outdoorphoto.co.za/blog/astrophotography-news-2024-south-africa/

Ratings - https://photographylife.com/best-wide-angle-lenses-nikon

This is a practical overview, albeit 2018: https://coldsnapphotography.com/what-is-the-best-lens-for-shooting-night-skies/

More wormholes to get lost down......

photographylife.com

What Makes a Good Night Photography Lens?

photographylife.com photographylife.com

photographylife.com

The Best Night Photography Lenses for Nikon Cameras

photographylife.com photographylife.com

photographylife.com

Comparing 5 Top Wide-Angle Astrophotography Lenses

photographylife.com photographylife.com
 
Last edited:
Member's gallery
Winston Churchill (Sir) said:
Samyang - ? I have not seen any in South Africa for Nikon mount
Click to expand...
Also look for Rokinon/Bower as these are all the same lenses as the Samyang with different branding.

Personally I really like the Samyang/Rokinon 14mm f/2.4 SP lens. It's very well corrected for astro uses (low coma, low astigmatism) has a very good mechanical manual focus ring which is great for pre-focusing and taping the focus ring to help with night shooting and personally I find 14mm wide enough for most wide field astro-landscape work and you can always pano stitch a few images if you want a lot wider field of view.

I liked their f/2.8 lenses that came before but the upgraded SP lens is really nice.
 
Member's gallery
DRwyoming said:
Also look for Rokinon/Bower as these are all the same lenses as the Samyang with different branding.

Personally I really like the Samyang/Rokinon 14mm f/2.4 SP lens. It's very well corrected for astro uses (low coma, low astigmatism) has a very good mechanical manual focus ring which is great for pre-focusing and taping the focus ring to help with night shooting and personally I find 14mm wide enough for most wide field astro-landscape work and you can always pano stitch a few images if you want a lot wider field of view.

I liked their f/2.8 lenses that came before but the upgraded SP lens is really nice.
Click to expand...

How's the Z 10-24 S for this? Never attempted, but I'll be in one of the darkest corners in the Weatern Hemisphere next week, thinking about trying.
 
Member's gallery
Nimi said:
How's the Z 10-24 S for this? Never attempted, but I'll be in one of the darkest corners in the Weatern Hemisphere next week, thinking about trying.
Click to expand...
I'm not familiar with a Z series 10-24mm S lens. Are you referring to the 14-24mm f/2.8 Z lens?

I'd assume the 14-24mm f/2.8 Z lens would be quite good though I haven't seen a review that includes coma and astigmatism both of which are important for astro photography to keep stars as pinpoints.

I'd get out and shoot with it and expect great results but I haven't shot astro with that lens nor seen a review that honed in on astro relevant characteristics though I'm sure it's sharp and well corrected and probably a great wide field astro lens.

Personally I don't love electronically focusing lenses for night work as I can't just pre-focus in daylight for a sharp, near-infinity focus and then tape that into place and forget about it while out shooting in the night. But I have shot astro with focus by wire lenses and it can certainly work though it can take a bit more care not to accidentally bump the focus and it may take a periodic refocus on a bright star or planet if you do accidentally change the focus while out working at night.

But if it's a lens you have I wouldn't hesitate to get out and use it if you're in a good dark sky location. It's likely great for that kind of work.
 
Member's gallery
DRwyoming said:
I'm not familiar with a Z series 10-24mm S lens. Are you referring to the 14-24mm f/2.8 Z lens?

I'd assume the 14-24mm f/2.8 Z lens would be quite good though I haven't seen a review that includes coma and astigmatism both of which are important for astro photography to keep stars as pinpoints.

I'd get out and shoot with it and expect great results but I haven't shot astro with that lens nor seen a review that honed in on astro relevant characteristics though I'm sure it's sharp and well corrected and probably a great wide field astro lens.

Personally I don't love electronically focusing lenses for night work as I can't just pre-focus in daylight for a sharp, near-infinity focus and then tape that into place and forget about it while out shooting in the night. But I have shot astro with focus by wire lenses and it can certainly work though it can take a bit more care not to accidentally bump the focus and it may take a periodic refocus on a bright star or planet if you do accidentally change the focus while out working at night.

But if it's a lens you have I wouldn't hesitate to get out and use it if you're in a good dark sky location. It's likely great for that kind of work.
Click to expand...

Yes, thanks, still under-caffeinated. I'll give it a try.
 
Member's gallery
I am waiting and it is a long wait, for the Loawa 10mm fx. Think it is at the moment the only real option @ 10mm. Auto AF for Nikon and Sony and manual for Canon
 
Last edited:
Member's gallery
I have not done astrophotography yet but I want to speak up for the Z 14-24mm f2.8 in general.

I see this is on the favored list for astrophotography per National Parks at Night.

I can also attest that you will get a lot of general use out of this lens. It is one of my most favorite lenses and I typically bring it along on most shoots even if I am mainly going birding.

It is part of the "holy trinity" of S class Z f2.8 zooms all of which are noted for superb IQ.
 
Member's gallery
wotan1 said:
I have not done astrophotography yet but I want to speak up for the Z 14-24mm f2.8 in general.

I see this is on the favored list for astrophotography per National Parks at Night.

I can also attest that you will get a lot of general use out of this lens. It is one of my most favorite lenses and I typically bring it along on most shoots even if I am mainly going birding.

It is part of the "holy trinity" of S class Z f2.8 zooms all of which are noted for superb IQ.
Click to expand...
Absolutely without question NOT in my budget. The Laowa 10mm is about a third of the price.
I had the F mount version and simply never used it more than once a year. It doesn't fit my shooting style, although it was a really really good lens.

I want to spend as little as possible (for a good quality lens) - must be as small as possible (in terms of size) to be used just for the stars - which I might do once or twice a year
 
Member's gallery
Why do you need wider than 14mm? If 14mm, size, weight and ftz is not a problem for you, look at a used sigma art 14mm f1.8. ODP pretoria has two used in stock (R12k & 14k ea) - so 600-700usd). This lens usually goes for around 1000usd used, so looks like a bargain for the price.
Also has AF vs lot of other options like samyang xp 14mm f2.4 is mf only and was R22k when last listed in za.
edit - no personal experience, but lens has great reviews for astro work

alynwallacephotography.com

Photographing the Milky Way handheld. Testing the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art

Sigma Imaging UK recently short-loaned me their 14mm f/1.8 Art lens to take out under the dark skies of Wales and see what I thought of it from an astrophotographer's viewpoint. With a night-long forecast for clear skies just before the new moon I headed to the Elan Valley in Mid Wales to t
alynwallacephotography.com alynwallacephotography.com
 
Last edited:
Member's gallery
Bennvdm said:
Why do you need wider than 14mm? If 14mm, size, weight and ftz is not a problem for you, look at a used sigma art 14mm f1.8. ODP pretoria has two used in stock (R12k & 14k ea) - so 600-700usd). This lens usually goes for around 1000usd used, so looks like a bargain for the price.
Also has AF vs lot of other options like samyang xp 14mm f2.4 is mf only and was R22k when last listed in za.
edit - no personal experience, but lens has great reviews for astro work

alynwallacephotography.com

Photographing the Milky Way handheld. Testing the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 Art

Sigma Imaging UK recently short-loaned me their 14mm f/1.8 Art lens to take out under the dark skies of Wales and see what I thought of it from an astrophotographer's viewpoint. With a night-long forecast for clear skies just before the new moon I headed to the Elan Valley in Mid Wales to t
alynwallacephotography.com alynwallacephotography.com
Click to expand...
Looks good - thanks for the reminder - I was going to give ODP a call to see what they had
The Art lens though has a tulip and won't fit my filters
I might borrow a 14-24 for the weekend away for shooting the stars. And I have been offered to try a Laowa 10mm from a friend who will be there too
 
Member's gallery
spamalot1950 said:
If you limiting it to astrophotography, have you considered shooting in DX with a Tokina 11-16 or 11-20? For the money (under $400 USD), the 11-16 is a great lens, It doesn't disrupt the household budget at all.
Click to expand...

The Tokina 11-20 is pretty good all around. We have one and while we mostly use it for bands and other events, I've tried it with astrophotography since it was handy. Gave good shots, probably even better if I hadn't just grabbed just to see what would happen.
 
Member's gallery
I'm using the 20mm 1.8 Z Nikkor, allows 25 second exposures safely. SUPER wow lens! I'm passing the 14-24 (used it for a dozen years on AF-S D mount) and soon will buy the 14-30 f4 which will allow longer time exposures.
I have used Samyang and Rokinon 14mm 2.8 in the past, just was not to my liking.
 
Member's gallery
MrFotoFool said:
@Winston Churchill (Sir) Unless I missed it, I did not see what mount you are using. Z mount or F mount?
Whichever is the case, I usually find it easiest to start with B&H website and select the mount and select wide angle in the filters and then I will see everything that is available (and read the posted reviews).
Click to expand...
it will be for my Z9 - but I do have an adapter for a F mount lens
thank you for the tip - very useful
 
Last edited:
Member's gallery
Winston Churchill (Sir) said:
I need some feedback please

I am looking for a wide angle for doing astro photography - (FX) (Propably between 8 or 12mm)
I can't see myself using it for landscapes - so it will have limited use., so it should fit my needs price wise as well.
I do own a 16mm Nikon Fisheye - and have used this before

What is available that you know of?

Lawoa 10mm? I believe the's much better than the 12mm older lens

Samyang - ? I have not seen any in South Africa for Nikon mount
Sigma Art - no Nikon mount

Am I p*ssing in the wrong pot here or does anyone have an idea?
Click to expand...
Never been a fan of the Samyang but Leowa see, to be sharp and well made ... 🦘
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top