We've selected a group of cameras that are easy to keep with you, and that can adapt to take photos wherever and whenever something memorable happens. Focal length is great. 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. In fact, it might be fun to try! What I am trying to avoid is spending another $1,100 on a quality APO, and instead using my existing Nikkor 180mm ED lens with a Baader-modified Canon 450D that I just obtained. You're sour grapes man, you wish it were you who wrote the article. Bokeh == Visual character of the lens optics to render light and color mixing together. The clip-in Astronomik 12nm Ha is one of their most popular filters ever and for good reason! Lenses with extreme sharpness and bokeh tend to be heavy. Samyang should definitely make 135 f2 with the same optical formula and AF for Sony EFF and also Nikon F plus Canon EF mount if possible. This thing is a beast in comparison. Target for bortle 9 astrophotography? - Beginning Deep Sky Imaging And they like circles (no ellipses or polygons) and smooth colour (no hard edges, no onion rings). The sigma 150mm f2.8 tests very well, zeiss 135mm apo sonnar, and leica 180mm f3.5 apo all proven performers on star tests. That's a cheap, fun date for AP. Really, just an amazing lens, easily worth the $800-900 it commands on the street. I loved the Nikon 80-400G for a year, or so, and then found everything with it wrong, and got rid of it. As you can see, the magnification of the lens used will dictate the type of projects you shoot. Does this work well with any of the 1.4x / 1.7x / 2.0x Teleconverters (extenders / barlows)? No telephoto lens, and no apochromat, is sufficiently corrected to accomodate such a wide spectral range. I do not like this. 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. One very popular lens for bokeh fiends is the Canon 85mm F1.2it can produce extremely creamy out of focus backgrounds. Digital camera types . There is no doubt that the 135L deserves it excellent reputation for image quality. But again i am just at the beginning and i also do not want to use now a telescope. A Canon 70-200L IS II at 200mm at f2.8 has all the same characteristics of the Canon 135L. 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). Really excels as indoor sports lens on a crop camera. 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. Agreed. If canon puts an IS on this lens, it would be perfect! It is harder work than using a zoom lens, and some shots I just cannot get at all (cannot get close enough, or far enough way) but the shots I do get are so much nicer looking than I get with any other lens that for me and my goals it is a fair trade off. (purchased for $900), reviewed December 4th, 2006 The difference between modern and old telephoto lenses is probably similar to the difference between my APO and an old Jaegers 5in F5. The Bokeh includes as well all that is in the focus, but mainly talked about how it comes visible in out of focus areas. And in their task to get that blurry background, they most often throw their main subject out of focus and/or to focus for anything else in the photograph that would make it, and end results are just "gear porn". Not too heavy. 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 is worth of it's price?Any links to astrophotos with this lens?Thanks. wew.. Below, are a few examples of astrophotography images Ive taken with lenses of varying focal lengths. But in the rush to make hybrids why are aren't we giving video shooters the tools they need? As you know, camera lenses come in varying focal lengths, apertures, and optical quality. Oh and it's stabilised. If you own an EOS Camera - It's a no Brainer, Buy one In this buying guide we've rounded-up several great cameras for shooting sports and action, and recommended the best. You currently have javascript disabled. The OP admits he limited experience with lenses other than what he has. 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. 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. 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. p.s. Got it! Rokinon FE14M-C Lens. If I got this lens, would it make more sense long term to get the Canon mount with a E mount adaptor so I could fit it more easily to a dedicated astro camera later? Hey Trevor, great article! Used with a FF body the DOF can be unforgiving, but if you nail focus the results can be magnificent. Rokinon 135mm F2.0 ED UMC Telephoto Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras 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. Round one of polls are now open, pick your winners and share your voice. I bought this lens after reading your great review for my Nikon D5300. Also Nikon DC 135mm f/2 is a great lens, a little better than 135mm Canon Sure, that would be swellbut it doesn't matter with regard to how it performs. If you are a Nikon user, of course have a look at the Nikon AF Nikkor 135mm f/2D DC and compare it to the other lenses mentioned in this article. But If you want the "look" you get with a medium telephoto at f/2, hen all those negatives become irrelevant. I haven't seen compassion with the excellent Zeiss lens you quote (That BTW costs at least 3.5-4 times, yet a good comparison as similar to Zeiss, Samyang believes in providing the exceptional Image Quality, with Manual focus) but compare with Canon's L 135mm F2.0, that by many reviews, is considered as one the best Canon lenses ever made (Not . At the other end of the aperture range though, the 5D's larger pixels actually help matters, as the softening starts later (it's very sharp even at f/16), and is noticeably lower at f/32. All of them are extremely sharp and produce mouth-watering bokeh, and all of them are reasonably priced for what you get.". With a rounded 9-blade diaphragm, shallow depth of field imaging will be rendered with pleasing out-of-focus highlights. An h-alpha filter would still be useful for your D500, but much more so if it were modified! It focuses within a blink of an eye, instantly. I'm thinking a modern (but expensive) Nikon 200mm f/2.0, 300mm f/4 or f/2.8 or a Borg telephoto/telescope would all be very good. "That is why when SLRs came along the 200mm became the big seller and the 135 was largely forgotten"Did you notice that this 135mm F2 lens on an APS-C camera is more or less equivalent to a 200mm F2.8 lens on an FF camera ?So this lens can be seen as the 200mm F2.8 lens for APS-C camera users. Add To Cart. It is good to know that the 200/4 SMC Takumar is good. Jordan's twin brother Gordon is back to review the cinema-focused Canon EOS R5 C! Canon EF 135mm f/2 L USM lens. How good it is? - Cloudy Nights 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. If you have the 1.8 version, way to go. (purchased for $900), reviewed November 2nd, 2015 never mind.. confirmed from others that F19 is indeed the one that is excluded on this lens! When i just judge by the indicator line as i click through, it seems like its 19 that gets skipped wondering if there is anything more definite? this lens typifies modern design being confined to sharpness, colour & bokeh. Sharp but smooth at the same time. Well, if you consider downloading a lens image from https://www.bhphotovideo.com, and photoshop it on top of my photos to cover mistakes, and demonstrate sharpness of a lens with a jpeg that is way oversharpened; if you call knowledge that "the long focal length compresses the background" , If you call blurr a bokeh just because it sounds better, and so on 1000 words would not be enough to point out what a mess this review is Then you are right, I absolutely do not know as much as he does. A specialist lens, at best, though I did enjoy the cat image. However, I am convinced that its large aperture and fast F ratio would perform exceptionally well in three color or narrow band H-alpha and OIII photography. The cat is a case for the bit bucket i my opinion - it has no composition, a distracting background and a random parts of the body in focus - the same picture made with a smart phone could not look worse. One is its size and weight, which requires a sturdy support on the telescope. The lens hood is not petal-shaped, which is great news for those using this lens for astrophotography. I have done a review comparing the sharpness and quality of bokeh to the Canon 70-200 2.8. parts of your main subject extend beyond the DOF range it will never look flat. The only downside with that lens is that it is manual focus, which might not be suitable for photographing sports or children. thank you for that great review and also the explanations. And because you can shoot between F/2 and F/4, plenty of light reaches the sensor in a relatively short exposure. http://www.flickr.com/photos/tbrigham/314771597/ But first, there are several general rules which must be understood. The RedCat is deeper at 250mm, and after that, youre into 300-400mm territory which pulls galaxies and nebulae even closer. This lens is one of canons finest lenses i have ever used. In between interviews with executives of the major companies, Dale Baskin took to the show floor to bring you this report. I love this lens, The Sharpest Lens available for Eos cameras IMO When I got home and loaded the photo into Lightroom I was blown away by two things. This lens is available for several camera mounts, including Nikon, Sony, Pentax, Samsung, and Fuji. I hear great things about the Canon 200/2.8 L but do not have one. Because of chromatic aberration, no telephoto lens can be used at full aperture. A camera tracker (or star tracker) is necessary for long exposure deep-sky astrophotography, but a compact model such as the iOptron SkyTracker or Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer will do just fine. It starts out very sharp at f/2.0, gets even sharper at f/2.8, and softens only slightly at f/11. http://www.idyll.com/laneysat Yep the speed wars in the 70's that gave us all these bokeh monsters were all about the fact that its hard to get usable images in poor lighting when your film was stuck at iso 80 (or even 400 when you were pushing it). I stopped reading after the part where someone I don't know told me I "should" be doing something. Diffraction from the cheap EF-s kit zoom lens was uneven. Please re-enable javascript to access full functionality. Here's what I see from the photographs:#1: Woman in traffic. Deserves to be in the camera hall of fame. Canon 300/4 ED IF AF (non-IS) It's bokeh is comparable to the 85mm 1.2 but IMO not as nice. One of Canon's best lenses for a reasonable price. The aperture ring is marked with each f-stop, and you need to manually click through F/2 F/22 and watch the blades do their work. With the 135 I imagine I'd have to get up on the roof. How about the sigma 50mm f1.4 Art? If this was used to shoot video you would think that the first image was using a green screen. 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. I think they are an outstanding value for any wide-field astrophotographer, and are particularly suitable for newcomers. The Samyang 135mm f/2 lens is very wide in astrophotography terms. Sure, if you scroll through his page there are quite a few lens tests on starshttps://www.flickr.chotos/ytoropin/, Community Forum Software by IP.BoardLicensed to: Cloudy Nights, Article: The Best Telephoto Lenses for Astrophotography, This is not recommended for shared computers, Review of Explore Scientific First Light 8, COUNTING SUNSPOTS WITH A $10 OPTICAL TUBE ASSEMBLY, Hubble Optics 14 inch Dobsonian - Part 2: The SiTech GoTo system, iStar Opticals Phantom FCL 140-6.5 review. Rain or shine, it's hard to find a camera that does all the OM-5 can for the price. Also type the lens you are interested in into the search window on Astrobin to see examples shot with that lens. But even better BOKEH is the SAL-135F2.8F4.5 STF (Smooth Trans Focus ) which has even better BOKEH, albeit a manual focus lens. Although if Bokeh and sharpness is your thing and you can live with MF the Laowa 105mm f/2 Smooth Trans Focus (STF) is amazing. In fact, a light-weight 200/2.8 seems more interesting to own (e.g., the Minolta 200/2.8). If you want the best value possible for your money, and can survive without autofocus, buy the Samyang. The California Nebula. Reducing aperture with the built-in aperture iris interferes with the light path, and results in eight diffraction spikes around bright star images. They create a beautiful, mesmerizing dreamscape in their photos, and their secret weapon, besides an impeccable sense for aesthetics, is the 135mm F2 lens. 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. Pocketable. The Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM Lens makes an excellent indoor sports lens. The 135mm focal length is absolutely perfect for the Heart and Soul Nebulae if youre using a crop sensor DSLR camera. Latter looks quite professional.. Nevertheless, it performs excellently on most star fields, and is too cheap not to acquire. The Olympus Zuiko 180/2.8 and 100/2.8 impressed me in the 1980s, but in the digital era they are not so sharp. Some people like these, and consider them decorative. If you must have autofocus, and care about weight, buy the Canon. (purchased for $1,625), reviewed January 27th, 2010 for sample photos and video tour, This is simply the best Canon prime lens that I have tested. If so, which one? It's gross, all is a matter of balance and the perfect one, given you want sharp and fuzzy elements in your picture, is in the blend, and the way details seems to disappear gracefully (while keeping a level of readability). It's small, light, cheap and extremely wide but is it any good? image quality wise it is by far one the sharpest lenses ive ever used. There are a total of 8 stops actually written on the lens. Everyone assumes their definition is the "true" one. Since i am totally new in this field, i would like to start with astrophotography but using my existing camera (Fuji XT-30). I got mine for $60.00 on Craigslist but seen them on eBay for $100 and less all the time. Samyang 135 f/2 ED astrophotography modifications - astrojolo 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. Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM Lens Review - The-Digital-Picture.com This article was originally published on Micael's blog, and is being republished in full with express permission. Not only does it let you travel light, but impressive wide field projects are often more successful when captured under a dark sky. Contrasty but not harsh. f2, very sharp, virtually without CAs, contrast, colour, lightwight, buildings. I love the lens for my modified Sony a6000! Must have if you're serious about portraits. Available Monday. The 135mm f/2.0 ED UMC Lens from Samyang is a manual focus telephoto prime lens useful for portraiture and most telephoto applications. If you aren't completely set on the 135mm, the 200mm f/2.8L is a fantastic lens and i think its less expensive than the 135mm f/2L. Otherwise this lens is absolutely incredible. Please send your photos of the Andromeda galaxy. A lot of lenses today are better than anything money could buy in 1980. Do you expect me to gawk? (purchased for $890), reviewed July 17th, 2006 I got many great shots from this lens but also missed ton of shots due manual focus only. My Canon EOS 60Da with the Rokinon 135mm F/2.0 mounted to a Fornax Mounts LighTrack II. But you just know that there is the professionalism that is lacking here -- and the writer's Instagram page confirms that. Target for bortle 9 astrophotography? (on a full frame camera)Wonderful lens for some portraiture applications, sporting events and candids at a party or event. I have found myself shooting wide open almost all the time. Of course, when it comes to astrophotography, this can create some challenges as well. 1. Thanks.. Also, I used to have a Nikon 180/2.8 ED IF AF and 300/4 ED IF AF. (purchased for $900), reviewed December 14th, 2006 Canon 135mm f/2 L Review - Ken Rockwell however i started to realise how every subject might actually be a cardboard cutout being photographed. The Rokinon 135mm F/2.0 includes a lens hood, lens pouch, front and rear lens caps, and a 1-year Rokinon manufacturer warranty. I enjoied the use of this lens many years before the DSLR. The lenses I selected are all affordable prime lenses, easily available on the second-hand market, and adaptable to the EOS system. The flawless image quality is only half the story though. I am a complete amateur at photography in general and this is all new to me so thank you for all the information and videos. Still, what a time to be an enthusiast/photog, so many nice options. But that 10Mpix is more than enough to make a very good A3-A2 size print, but your technique needs to be very good as even slight misfocus is even more visible and the rendering faults as well. I typically shoot with Canon lenses, but the potential for low light photography (whether thats astrophotography or the ability to film at dusk) caught my interest. Above $2500 cameras tend to become increasingly specialized, making it difficult to select a 'best' option. The main problem with the old lenses is spherical aberration and colour error, especially pronounced on digital sensors. From my experience, the toughest test on a lense is its ability to function wide open. Off topic, Together they still weight less than any modern 135mm :>. Better than nothing I guess, would depend on how much it raises the price. I found this highly restrictive for shooting indoors where there was seldom enough distance between me with my camera and my subject(s). Sure, the Nifty 50 is an incredible value (and a LOT cheaper), but the 135mm puts you within range of some of the best astrophotography targets in the night sky. Also, when shooting the heart nebula, is the sky tracker a must or not required? 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). I have heard others mention that this lens has a plasticky build quality, but I believe this aspect has been improved. Selecting between it and the 200mm Takumar was not an easy choice but, in the end, I chose the Takumar because it seemed to have slightly better contrast. From far to near, the AF is instantaneous. The image below highlights the creative freedom this lens provides. f/2, fast-accurate-silent focus, (relatively) small & light, super sharp!! My copy has very stiff manual focus though and is quite heavy. I was very happy for this reason to eventually get a full frame DSLR in 2007 and sell the 85mm lens and buy a 105mm one to replace it. I would love to see his test images. For example, the legendary Canon 85mm F1.2L weighs in at 1025g, and the Sigma 85mm F1.4 Art isn't too light either at 1130g. I have had a blast with a samyang, but a used 135mm f2.8 is VERY . However, for $15 I also bought an old Tamron Adaptall 2, 135 mm f2.5. 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? 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. The Rokinon 135mm F/2.0 ED UMC is one of the most affordable and practical lenses for astrophotography on the market. The other one is the inevitable and persistent regret that, because of chromatic aberration, the full 75mm aperture of this beautiful lens can not be used in full visible spectrum photography. I am still very proud of some of the photos I shoot with a Pentax O450 15 years ago - a good smartphone camera today is at least as capable. Yuri toropin tests a bunch of lenses on Flickr which is a great source. Sure, not all 135mm lenses are lightweightSigma's new 135mm F1.8 is rather heavy at 1130gbut if you look at the Samyang 135mm F2, which is pretty much flawless optically, it weighs only 830g. But like a glitch in the matrix, an anomaly that shouldn't exist, you can get the Samyang/Rokinon 135mm for as little as $430 brand new. It actually makes my eyes water as I try to resolve how bad the blurriness is. AHAB. 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). What's the best camera for shooting sports and action? I think youll find that this lens is behind some of the most amazing wide-field astrophotography images online! Check out some of the photos he took. 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. SIx months on from buying it this has become my favourite lens ever, beating my previous favourite (Leica's 4th version of the 35mm Summicron for its M-series rangefinders). At under 900USD, it's a steal. Maybe try a 400mm f/2.0 to see it that one's got enough blur. Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM Review - Imaging Resource @juksu - you're such a liar. One way to combat potential soft images and chasing perfect focus all night is to stop the lens down to F/2.8 or even F/4. The full extent of the relationship between Rokinon and Samyang is unknown to me, but the packaging on my lens says Technology by Samyang Optics. Beware others critical comments here about how flat these images look, the author has chosen specific topics and viewpoints to highlight f2 with this lens, so see the wow review for what it is please and the negative comments need placing in context. The version I have has the mount for Canon EOS camera bodies, but there are several different lens mounts available on Amazon. I wish every lens was this good!! Fast focus, Super sharp, Well built, Awesome for low light. Some APOs can be fitted with pricey telecompressors, but those invariably result in vignetting and coma. As it is it is earns a 9. (purchased for $900), reviewed April 15th, 2011 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. 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. On FF I use this lens for both tight portraits and landscape shots. One of my very best lenses! After the first exposure in M mode, the camera throws an error saying Error please press the shutter button again. To shoot indoors under typical gymnasium lighting, you often need f/2.0 or wider to get a shutter speed high enough to stop the action. Because it's an L-series lens by Canon, you can be sure that the image quality and performance of the 24-105mm meet the demanding aspects of astrophotography such as focus and star quality. Now I have only the Nikon but I can try to take a photo of the same subject fully open I've missed shots at wide apertures because the DOF is so extremely thin. I just wish this lens had IS for low light and portraits with flash. Yes, it is about the same as 85mm f/1.4 blur factor is 60mm, while 135mm f/2 blur factor is 67mm. Definitely now on my to-buy list. I hope that this post has provided some practical insight into a popular camera lens for astrophotography. I am no stranger to the full manual control of this lens, for both aperture and focus. I took a few shots with the lens on my way home after buying it. 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. Thanks, This is so annoying that I intend to replace the Canon lens cap with a Tamron cap. When the aperture is stopped down to 37mm using step-down filter rings, this lens produces incredibly tiny pinpoint star images from edge to edge. Canon 135mm is a great lens. Such "full spectrum" cameras are somewhat more sensitive in the ultraviolet, but much more sensitive in the deep red and infrared. The images were collected using a Canon EOS Rebel T3i camera riding on a Fornax Mounts LighTrack II. In fact, in my test shots, I noticed that the red channel was a little softer than green and blue. Add To Cart. It seems they are now quite comparable in quality to prime lenses. if you compare images taken with this lens to those from a 105mm f1.8 ais or a cosina 125mm and you'll see what i mean. Valerio, Electronically Assisted Astronomy (No Post-Processing), Community Forum Software by IP.BoardLicensed to: Cloudy Nights, DSLR, Mirrorless & General-Purpose Digital Camera DSO Imaging, This is not recommended for shared computers, Back to DSLR, Mirrorless & General-Purpose Digital Camera DSO Imaging, Buckeyestargazer 2022 in review and New Products.

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