Light stars

T

Tony_T

New member
Hi, everyone, I'm a new member, and long-time Nikon user. Currently use a D800E with a 24 - 85 lens, with a D7000 back-up body with a 16 - 85 mm lens. I also use a D5200 for those times I want to get close to the ground using the swiveling screen.
I am constantly disappointed with the lenses I use not producing good light stars. I have a 3rd party Tokina lens that really does produce good stars.
I would really appreciate any feedback that would help me with my Nikon lenses.
 
hark

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Hi and welcome, Tony. I've never done astrophotography, but what I've learned from this forum is faster lenses such as f/1.4 to f/2.8 work better. Because they are faster, more light hits the sensor than variable zoom lenses offer. And when more light hits the sensor, the stars show up more prominently. If you leave your shutter open too long, you will create star trails. That's why faster lenses work better. And usually wider focal lengths such as 14mm (on FX at least) seem to be pretty popular.

You might want to read through this thread and notice the lenses or focal lengths used. It might help narrow down choices for lenses. Some people have had terrific images with a Rokinon 14mm lens. It's manual focus - but you should be focusing manually to get the best results. With any lens, you'd want to find the best infinity focusing spot on the lens. Be sure to read post #4 in the thread below which explains how.

https://nikonites.com/low-light-and-night/25104-post-your-milky-way-shots.html#axzz5rtmuX7RW
 
Needa

Needa

Senior Member
Challenge Team
hark said:
Hi and welcome, Tony. I've never done astrophotography, but what I've learned from this forum is faster lenses such as f/1.4 to f/2.8 work better. Because they are faster, more light hits the sensor than variable zoom lenses offer. And when more light hits the sensor, the stars show up more prominently. If you leave your shutter open too long, you will create star trails. That's why faster lenses work better. And usually wider focal lengths such as 14mm (on FX at least) seem to be pretty popular.

You might want to read through this thread and notice the lenses or focal lengths used. It might help narrow down choices for lenses. Some people have had terrific images with a Rokinon 14mm lens. It's manual focus - but you should be focusing manually to get the best results. With any lens, you'd want to find the best infinity focusing spot on the lens. Be sure to read post #4 in the thread below which explains how.

https://nikonites.com/low-light-and-night/25104-post-your-milky-way-shots.html#axzz5rtmuX7RW
Click to expand...

Not sure this is what the OP is looking for. Thought he might be looking for information on producing the star like appearance around a light source that you get using a small aperture. Maybe he will stop by and let us know.
 
Last edited:
hark

hark

Administrator
Staff member
Super Mod
Needa said:
Not sure this is what the OP is looking for. Thought he might be looking for information on producing the star like appearance around a light source that you get using a small aperture. Maybe he will stop by and let us know.
Click to expand...

Ahh...I see what you're saying. Here I assumed he meant stars in the sky not creating stars from light sources.

I'm not entirely sure, but I think part of it has to do with how the aperture blades are shaped. Some older lenses tended to be very good due to their designs, but when newer designs changed the shapes of the aperture blades, it became hit and miss. Using a wide angle lens and stopping down to the smallest aperture will show whether or not a lens can produce decent results. My Nikon 18-35 f/3.5-4.5G does a great job with this. Keeping the focal length wide and stopping down is the best way to tell. Telephoto lenses don't work nearly as well as wide angle primes or zooms.
 
Horoscope Fish

Horoscope Fish

Senior Member
Tony_T said:
Hi, everyone, I'm a new member, and long-time Nikon user. Currently use a D800E with a 24 - 85 lens, with a D7000 back-up body with a 16 - 85 mm lens. I also use a D5200 for those times I want to get close to the ground using the swiveling screen.
I am constantly disappointed with the lenses I use not producing good light stars. I have a 3rd party Tokina lens that really does produce good stars.
I would really appreciate any feedback that would help me with my Nikon lenses.
Click to expand...

Assuming you mean stars like this...

Star Filter.jpg


The simple solution is to use a Cross Screen filter (aka "Star Filter"). Though I've never used one, I've seen them in 2x, 4x 6x (less common for some reason) and 8x.
 
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