canon 135mm f2 astrophotography

Bokeh is buttery smooth, best you can get from a 135mm. An update to the Mini 11, the new camera adds parallax correction capabilities, automatic flash control and a multi-function twist lens. A tiny bit of fringing, but that would only be noticed by pixel-peepers. Even if I wanted a 135mm lens (and the 70-200mm f/2.8 is more versatile) it would be the Nikon 135mm f/2 DC lens. Andysea, those are great images on your website. This new, affordable wide zoom for L-mount is capable of some excellent landscapes. I do not think telephoto lenses would be suitable for use with your modified camera. Find out what happens when Chris shoots some very expired APS film using old Canon and Nikon cameras. Does the bright star reflection bother you? I cant wait to try this lens out during the winter months on some wide-field targets in Orion. Still, what a time to be an enthusiast/photog, so many nice options. Some people do not like this and consider Bokeh to refer only to the rendering of out of focus points of light. I owned this lens for a long time, then traded it for the 70-200 2.8IS II. And if you want autofocus, I would recommend the Canon 135mm f2.0L, which is incredibly light for its performance at just 750g. Whos Afraid of a Phantom: Istar Phantom 140mm F/6.5, that is? FULL FRAME TELEPHOTO 135mm F2.0 As I posted on the Petapixel variant of this article, cropping a 85/1.4 shot to a 135mm-equivalent FoV gives you approx. As a complete beginner in Astrophotography should I buy Rokinon 135mm lens or Canon EF 75-300mm lens with Canon EF 50mm lens? Plus it is harder to attach than other lens hoods. Please ride off on the same horse you rode in on. Preaching to the choir! 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. Most small refracting telescopes start in the 300 to 400 mm focal length range, and even these are classed as widefield telescopes. The Rokinon 135mm F/2.0 ED UMC is one of the most affordable and practical lenses for astrophotography on the market. After several years off, the venerable magazine has held a public open call photo contest and selected nine finalists and one winning image for its 'Photos of the Year.'. For DPReview, it's also an opportunity for a good old-fashioned camera fight. Overall, spectacular lens. $218.00 for 7 days. My work requires auto-focus. Amazing sharpness wide open at F2.0 and the focus ring is nice and firm not tight you don't really need to tape it down for astrophotography. It's Film Friday, so let's take a look back at the film format that gave APS-C sensors their name! The full name of this lens is the Rokinon 135mm F/2 ED UMC, with "ED" standing for extra-low dispersion, and UMC referring to the "ultra multi-coated" optics. When you shoot a 135mm F2 lens at F2, your subject will stand out in this beautiful way, often without much work needed from you as the photographer. :). I just love the lightning fast & accurate focus of this lens. Focal length: 135mm Maximum aperture: f/2.0 Lens construction: 10 elements in 8 groups Angle of view: 18 degrees Closest focusing distance: 3 feet Focus adjustment: Rear focusing system with USM Mount: Canon Filter size: 72mm Dimensions: 3.2 inches in diameter and 4.4 inches long Weight: 1.7 pounds Warranty: 1 year See more I find 400gm as the tolerable weight limit for a lens on my panasonic gx85, and I am guessing following telephoto lenses would satisfy the itch to get good bokeh shots, 1. Beautiful portrait lens. 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. 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. I really don't want to count all the pores - and the hairs coming out of them (eeeew!) (And cost less too). The Canon 135mm f/2 is no less impressive on a full-frame camera. Lensrentals.com - Rent Lenses and Cameras from Canon, Nikon, Olympus Using a Canon EF 24-105mm Lens for Astrophotography - AstroBackyard I have been following your work both on YT and here from Japan for a while. When stopped down to 49mm it really is indistinguishable from an APO, except it shows red chromatic aberration with modified cameras even with the UV/IR block or CLS-CCD filter. Defocus control enables the photographer to use an aperture of f/4 for the subject and to adjust the amount of background blur or the amount of foreground blur. http://www.idyll.com/laneysat I had of course heard that this lens is supposed to be very sharp, but I had never before had such a full blown "wow" experience when reviewing the sharpness of a lens. Build quality: excellent. The Nikon D810A, however, is modified for astrophotography out of the box. Now, I have to admit that up to this point, it sounds a little too good to be true. Any experience with this camera and would this lens be a good fit? Contrasty but not harsh. I own a 135 since the film days (because you "had to have one" and could not afford much else), still have the zeiss Jena f3.5 M42 and even jumped for the zeiss f2.8 for my yashica when they were sold for next to nothing. Agreed. We were very impressed with X-T5's 40-megapixel APS-C sensor, check out some full resolution images! Digital Cameras & Digital Camera Kits | Camera Gear | B&H You get what you get.#4: Cat in Underbrush.That's pretty good.#5: Woman with Blanket.It's like a snapshot. 24/28mm, 50mm, 100mm, 200mm. Some people like these, and consider them decorative. 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. Very sharp even at f2, build quality, price, weight, autofocus is fast, bokeh, No IS, flare, autofocus isn't quite as consistent as some newer lenses, focus speed, image quality, predictability, Image quality, build like a tank, focus ring, weight. It improves slightly stopped down. Personally, I can't stand these circles, and I see them as VERY distracting.Lots of fads come and go, and this is just another one of these fads that some photographers are obsessed with. In this post, Ill explain why I think the Rokinon 135mm F/2 is the perfect addition to an arsenal of astrophotography lenses. To achieve creamy bokeh, a lens should have a wide maximum aperture and a long focal length. Another example is the 100mm (or sometimes 90mm) F2.8 macro lens. 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. http://www.idyll.com/laney2014 Samyang/Rokinon 135mm F2 for Astrophotography: Review & Imaging Tests You're right, but a headshot is exactly where I want to see all those megapixels I bought put to use! Several days ago another member posted a stunning telephoto image of the Snake Nebula, Barnard 72, taken with a Canon lens which costs $12,000. It just doesn't get any better than this! The only downside with that lens is that it is manual focus, which might not be suitable for photographing sports or children. To remedy this, I reduced the star size in post, and I started shooting at F/4 to really tighten things up. Im a newbie at astro.. and photography in general really! Wonderful, smooth bokeh. So, let's see where it falls short of perfection: There's literally no story!#6: Purple Flower.The isolation works because it's the only color. The extremes are 2 and 22. 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. This is a stunning lens, clearly one of the very best lenses that Canon produces, this is in the same world class as the 35 1.4, 85 1.2 L lenses. Weight. I would like to make this work with the Nikkor 180mm ED (i.e., what I have versus what I cannot havelol). 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. It actually makes my eyes water as I try to resolve how bad the blurriness is. Camera tech for video has come a long way in recent years, with faster autofocus, subject tracking, eye tracking and smarter lenses that stabilize the frame. Is this Nikon already, Astro modified, without need for H alpha filters or any further modifications? 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). It's a technical review about a couple of lens attributes. They just wanted to increase their joy from photography. In excellent condition, this lens retails for around $200. the lens is built strong, very strong. If this was used to shoot video you would think that the first image was using a green screen. My point is that we must never lose the joy of photography. parts of your main subject extend beyond the DOF range it will never look flat. All content, design, and layout are Copyright 19982023 Digital Photography Review All Rights Reserved. So now your 42Mpix A7rII is only a 10.5Mpix. Interesting that ancient, low-tech (no ED glass, no special coatings) non-apo telephotos could produce decent results compared to something modern. It really is about talent, creativity, and vision, not gear. I think they are an outstanding value for any wide-field astrophotographer, and are particularly suitable for newcomers. 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. (purchased for $650), reviewed June 6th, 2008 You will never be able to beat this lense, believe me, i have tried them all. One is its size and weight, which requires a sturdy support on the telescope. However, when my Canon "L" lenses are used at f8 they are all very sharp and the 135L does not blow the others away. The 70-200L being a much more useful lens. Perhaps I missed it, but did you use a clip-in light pollution filter with your 60D and this lens? Have you ever come across this phenomena? DPReview March Madness, round one - vote! To achieve creamy bokeh, a lens should have a wide maximum aperture and a long focal length. The images were collected using a Canon EOS Rebel T3i camera riding on a Fornax Mounts LighTrack II. Here are our top picks for the canon lenses for astrophotography. Recently, the FAA announced that recreational drone pilots in the USA can request LAANC authorization to fly in controlled airspace at night. What's the best camera for shooting sports and action? While there are certainly pricey 135mm F2 lenses out there (such as the aforementioned Sigma 135mm F1.8 Art, or the Carl Zeiss 135mm) there are a couple that give you extreme value for the money. (purchased for $845), reviewed November 16th, 2005 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. The Rokinon 135mm F/2.0 includes a lens hood, lens pouch, front and rear lens caps, and a 1-year Rokinon manufacturer warranty. We revisit a classic DPReviewTV episode in which Chris Niccolls and Jordan Drake shoot a few rolls of Fujifilm's Acros 100 II, and a few frames on the X-T3 in Acros film simulation, to find out. I love the lens for my modified Sony a6000! It's bokeh is comparable to the 85mm 1.2 but IMO not as nice. etc.. Ron. If you have pictures taken using the Rokinon 135mm F/2 lens, please feel free to share your results in the comments section (links to Astrobin, Flickr or your personal gallery are fine). No telephoto lens I tested, nor my TSAPO65Q, was suitable for use with a DSLR "clear glass" modified to include deep red and IR. They are by nature designed to compromise by magnification and distance, and are therefore not optically optimized at any single setting. Unfortunately it is not manufactured in a multicoated version, and produces prominent internal reflection artifacts on very bright stars. Both the 135 and 200mm Canon l lenses are winners IMHO. The California Nebula. My first photo of the night sky is of Comet NEOWISE, however I know its not the best photo I could capture. The author's recipe for a good photo is:1) Just shoot blindly, with no regard to what's in the frame, because the lens will blur away everything on the background.2) If (1) does not work, just head on to https://www.bhphotovideo.com, download a jpg of the lens you were using, and photoshop it on top of the taillaits of the passig car that didn't get blurred out enough.3?) The Best Telephoto Lenses for Astrophotography. It has just a hint of chromatic aberration on very bright stars and, if highly enlarged by 400-800%, the stars in the very corners barely begin to show a touch of astigmatism. modest cost for "L" series, wonderful optics and fast speed, nitpicking, but not a circular aperature and no weather sealing. The CA is pretty low wide open and it rivals my 200mm L lens. What I see is a photographer who should maybe instead stick to the kit lens, and learn composition first. Sharp but smooth at the same time. Your Baader filter passes 420-680nm and, in theory, a good APO should be able to focus that part of the spectrum with no chromatic aberration. You may need to stop down to control star bloat, and thats exactly what Ive done with this 135. So so far the best that I have used are the 200f2.8L and the 400f5.6L. Manual focus on wide angle lens, for landscapes, ok, if you have a reliable manual focus system, which Samyang, at least in my mount, does not have. The best 200mm lens is precisely the older 200mm F4 SMC Takumar, which comes with the M42 camera thread, and requires the M42-EOS adapter. Canon EF 135mm f/2 L USM lens. How good it is? - Cloudy Nights This is huge for me, as it allows me to be much more nimble with getting the right composition and angle. It's March, and in America that means it's time to start arguing over which college athletics team is the best at basketball. here some information (sorry only in italian) http://www.astrovale-usm/index.html If you can afford it buy this lens, you will love it. The F/2.0 maximum aperture of the Rokinon 135mm lens offers a chance to collect a serious amount of signal in a single shot. Explore the sky, try frame some targets and see what works well with your DSLR and lens combination. It's an ideal portrait lens. Tack sharp at f/2. I am telling them - don't! Really like the large focusing ring. http://www.idyll.com/135. It starts out very sharp at f/2.0, gets even sharper at f/2.8, and softens only slightly at f/11. Just plain black plastic (no interior felt as in newer lens hoods). Do I wish it were manufactured with metal? Not only does the Rokinon 135 add additional reach, but I can also now shoot at F/2, instead of F/4 on the Canon. In 3 months I got loosy focus ring. Since i am totally new in this field, i would like to start with astrophotography but using my existing camera (Fuji XT-30). @juksu - you're such a hypocrite. (purchased for $1,625), reviewed January 27th, 2010 Crazy fast AF! I need fast auto-focus, predictable focus lock and natural, vibrant color rendition. The 135L is half the weight of the 70-200 2.8IS. (purchased for $1,000), reviewed January 1st, 2007 I guess thats where practice will come in handy. The lens has 14 stops when turning the aperture. Take care not to confuse this lens with the 200mm F4 SMC Takumar 6x7 which has a different optical configuration, and which I have never tested. Olympus 4x Optical Zoom f/2 Lens; 25-100mm (35mm Equivalent) Show More. Have not used a 70-200 since. p.s. There is no doubt that the 135L deserves it excellent reputation for image quality. Let's the games begin! 135mm f2 vs 200 f2.8 primes? - Beginning Deep Sky Imaging - Cloudy Nights I have a vintage Nikon135mm f/2.8 AI-s which produces virtually the same bokeh and weighs a quarter of this or any other 135mm AF lens. Prime lenses are typically lighter as they do not need the additional glass and mechanics required to zoom at varying magnifications. Reg. thanks for the tiring patronising lecture and then agreeing with me. I agree to some extent with many of the critics of the article and disagree with much of its content, but I also have respect for the the author's right to express those opinions. Image quality, weight and value for money. I have found myself shooting wide open almost all the time. In this buying guide we've rounded-up several great cameras for shooting sports and action, and recommended the best. Great question Scott I think it depends on the image. f1.4 was a necessisty rather than a creative luxury. I cant decide whether to clean it up in processing or let it be. Instead it means the style of rendering. Lagoon and Trifid wide field IC1396 nebula in Cepheus - wide field image. At least not in my camera (Sony A6000), the focal length in a crop sensor does not make it very suitable for portrait, the photo detail is something else, but without AF that type of photography with that focal distance and at least 80 cm of the subject it requires too much dedication, with how comfortable the DMF approach mode is for that type of photography Also in my mount it does not have any communication with the camera (it does not have a chip, it only has it for Nikon). Standards have risen in recent years. I love this lens, The Sharpest Lens available for Eos cameras IMO I found this highly restrictive for shooting indoors where there was seldom enough distance between me with my camera and my subject(s). I'm enjoying the Sigma Art 135mm - it's notably sharper than the Canon (which I owned at the same time), and it's f/1.8 instead of f/2. sigh, overdone bokeh and centre sharpness bear little relevance to the art of this hobby. Nevertheless, it performs excellently on most star fields, and is too cheap not to acquire. When coupled with my Canon DSLR camera, the entire system weighs just over 3 pounds. If you want to preview the image field you can expect with a particular camera sensor and lens combination, Stellarium features a useful tool. I have compared many times my 135/2 against my 100/2.8 and there is a big difference. Touching the telescope, even ever so slightly, will introduce vibrations which will ruin the photograph. I think the readers would welcome contributions from other members' experiences. Lenses with extreme sharpness and bokeh tend to be heavy. Wonderful image quality, lots of detail, contrasty, subject separation, fast and accurate AF, bright viewfinder, solid construction, unobtrusive in use, No weather sealing, makes all my other lenses look poor (even the 'L' zooms that, when I first got them, imagined could hardly be improved on). The lens hood is not petal-shaped, which is great news for those using this lens for astrophotography. This article was originally published on Micael's blog, and is being republished in full with express permission. When attached to a DSLR camera with a full frame sensor, the lens offers a massive 15.5 x 10.6 field of view, or 18.8 across the diagonal. Pleiades (M45) Orion Nebula (M42) Carina Nebula (shown below) North American Nebula; Heart and Soul Nebula (IC 1805 / IC 1848) Its fast f/2.0 maximum aperture is effective in low light and enables shallow depth of field control. This has several advantages from less demanding tracking accuracy, to being able to use a lower ISO setting. I would love to see his test images. ", I'd no problem with that. I should mention that I have only tested this full-frame lens using my astrophotography DSLRs, all of which are crop-sensor camera bodies. If you want the best possible image quality, and you must have autofocus, and you don't care if it is a bit heavy (maybe you need it for studio use), buy the Sigma. Super sharp from f2. The OP admits he limited experience with lenses other than what he has. If you can tolerate vignetting, there are many normal 35mm lenses that are great wide open. Rokinon 135mm F/2 Lens for ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY. Now I wonder why people are never happy even on 3rd day of a new year :) Come on guys just think "Micael Widell" was working over holiday period to publish this free article ;). 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. But I sold it and went back to using a 70-200 (alongside a 24-70). its useful to keep in mind these bokeh circles are the result of light sources bright lamps from autos Christmas lights streetlamps etc and are seriously overused in articles on lenses with strong subject\ backround seperations, they approach parody in the way they characterise subject separation, for most purposes and in most portrait situations its less highlight dominant backrounds that grace a photo. I took a few shots with the lens on my way home after buying it. Sometimes though, we stumble upon a great lens design which is strong in all three. 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. In this review, however, I am using the lens on a crop sensor (APS-C) Canon EOS 60Da, which puts the field of view at 12.4 degrees. Panasonic 35-100mm f2.8. Olympus 75mm f1.82. Hi Trevor, I've owned a few L lenses and while their USM motors have always been quick to snap in focus, this 135mm is on a different level. The full name of this lens is the Rokinon 135mm F/2 ED UMC, with ED standing for extra-low dispersion, and UMC referring to the ultra multi-coated optics. Also, accurate guiding is essential. 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. But even better BOKEH is the SAL-135F2.8F4.5 STF (Smooth Trans Focus ) which has even better BOKEH, albeit a manual focus lens. 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. My guidescope is a 5in F5 Jaeger's achromat with a 2.3x Barlow, and a 9mm illuminated reticle eyepiece. "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. lol, nice images, and i nearly bought this lens myself a few years ago. Back in 1999, Sony released the F505, their first digital camera with a Carl Zeiss lens. Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM Lens Review - The-Digital-Picture.com 6 Reasons I Love the Canon 135mm f/2 Lens - YouTube It's just "girl" in front of blurriness.#2: Plants on a pond.It's okay. We have come to accept that most lenses are strong in only one or two of these three factors, that I personally focus on when researching lenses to buy. The colder temperatures will make DSLR astrophotography much more practical, and there are plenty of great targets to choose from. The shot of the cat could certainly be improved through cropping, though. This way you get both lenses with only one! It is fantastically sharp, can make beautiful blurred backgrounds and bokeh, and is both light and inexpensive for what you get. As you'd expect from a premium prime lens, both maximum and average chromatic aberration is very low across the aperture range, with the maximum CA on the order of 0.02% of frame height regardless of aperture. 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. They're heavy, and expensive, but you can carry one lens instead of three, and can vary the compression and field of view to a significant degree - from nearly normal, to long portrait focal lengths. If canon puts an IS on this lens, it would be perfect! Perhaps you have seen the photos of masterful Russian portrait photographers such as Elena Shumilova or Anka Zhuravleva.