Are you using the right lens for landscape astrophotography? The traditional goto lens for landscapes used to be a 16-35mm or there, as long as it has a maximum aperture of f/2.8, it can double for night duty. But with the advent of mirrorless cameras and smaller, lighter, cheaper lenses, what options are there, and what would a professional astrophysicist use?
In this video by Alyn Wallace, he shows us the three lenses he uses to capture those beautiful astrological landscapes. Nor does he waste time getting to the heart of the video, in the first seconds we know his astrological “divine trio” consisting of a 14mm f/1.8, 24mm f/1.4 lens and 50mm f/1.4. What follows from the reveal is a detailed explanation of why each lens is included in its kit and the specific use of each. For example, 14mm and 24mm work well together because what 14mm captures in one frame, he can choose to take a triple panorama with 24mm and increase resolution and detail.
As someone who hasn’t yet converted to a mirrorless camera, weight is a treasure in my camera bag, and I’ve always been drawn to higher quality zoom lenses like the 16-35mm f/2.8, 24-70mm f/2.8, and 70-200mm f/2.8. That trio of lenses has always served me well when shooting landscapes. But after saying that, I’m really impressed with the sharpness and fidelity of the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 when I used it in Death Valley years ago. I also don’t like panoramas, so the idea of using a 24mm focal length to do a rather small three-pane panorama never occurred to me. Still, this video made me question my kit and opened my eyes to different possibilities as I got more involved in astrophotography.
