I picked a cheap lens for the Perseids and now I'm kicking myself!

Had to choose between my $800 telephoto and a $150 wide-angle for the meteor shower, and I went cheap. The shots are so grainy you can barely see the streaks, anyone have a good budget lens that actually works for night sky stuff?

3 comments

3 Comments

elizabeths511mo ago

My old Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 was a game changer for under $300. It's fully manual, but after a few tries I got way cleaner Milky Way shots than with my kit lens. Sarah_patel25 is right about the buy cheap thing, but this one is the exception that proves the rule for me. The wider aperture just lets in so much more light, which cuts down on that grain you're seeing.

sarah_patel251mo ago

Classic case of "buy cheap, buy twice" for astro stuff. Bet those grainier than my grandma's homemade bread.

tara7931mo ago

My first astro shot looked like it was taken through a screen door in a sandstorm. Honestly, I spent months blaming my camera before I admitted the lens was just bad glass. Sarah's grandma's bread line is too real, some of that cheap gear just bakes the noise right in. Tbh it's not even about the price tag all the time, it's about finding the right tool that actually lets the light in. Elizabeth's point about that Rokinon is spot on, sometimes you just get lucky with a budget find that works.