Lets discuss lenses for Canon R series Night use.

[Ben Egbert]

Lens for R5, specifically for shooting night sky’s and milky way.

Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8L IS USM Lens 3682C002 B&H Photo Video

$2295, overlaps the 11-24 f4 which I already have, but which is too slow for night.

Venus Optics Laowa 15mm f/2 FE Zero-D Lens for Canon RF VE1520RF (bhphotovideo.com)

$849. Fast, low cost has good reviews. It would be a special purpose lens.

Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art Lens for Canon EF 450954 B&H Photo (bhphotovideo.com)

$1599, fastest and widest of the lenses in this list, but only available in EF mount. I do have an adaptor however. Lots of money for a single purpose lens.

Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 Lens for Canon RF RF14-C B&H Photo Video

$399. Low prices MF and needs special settings in camera (set to fire without lens). Pretty good optics, might be ok for this special use.

Rokinon AF 14mm f/2.8 RF Lens for Canon RF IO14AF-RF B&H Photo (bhphotovideo.com)

$629, AF version of the above lens, mostly good reviews, no issues with camera recognition.

 

[Jameel Hyder]

I’d add the following to the list.

Rokinon 24/1.4. MF fast. Similar considerations as the MF 14/2.8

Rokinon 14/2.4. Better build and faster than the 2.8 version and has auto aperture.

for purely Astro imaging a pair of Rokinons (14/2.8 and 24/1.4) is what I use. For other landscapes I use the 16-35/4. When I bought the 14/2.8 the 2.4 version was not out yet. Today I might go for the 2.4 instead.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Rokinon SP 14mm f/2.4 Lens for Canon EF SP14M-C B&H Photo Video $749, only in EF mount.

Having the 24-70 f2.8 I am not looking at that FL for night stuff. But you offer good options.

 

[JimFox]

Is the Rokinon 14mm f2.4 still available? When I tried to look it up on Amazon before Christmas it wasn't listed in any of my searches.

I don't know about the new Rokinon/Samyang AF 14mm f2.8 as it has a new build, so hopefully it's more robust then the Rokinon 14mm f2.8 non AF. The optical quality of the manual focus Rokinon 14mm f2.8 I found to be awesome. I owned it for a while and used it at night. It did take me ordering 3 copies before I got one that wasn't decentered. And the good one I finally got worked great until I was up in Glacier shooting the stars up in the Hanging Valley by Logan's Pass and I found out it had somehow got decentered on it's own. So that's the only thing to be concerned with the manual focus version. Be sure to buy the extended warranty when you buy it, and you need to test it and keep an eye on it for it's decentering issues.

The Laowa at 15mm I have read good things about. Of course I wish it was 14mm. You would think 1mm wouldn't make that much difference, but it does to me at least. But being f2 instead of f2.8 is pretty huge, that's a lot of extra light at night.

Of your list, of course the Sigma 14mm f1.8 is by far the best, and of course I am biased since I have it.

But, since it is really expensive, my 2 picks if I were to buy one would be the Laowa 15mm f2, and then AF Samyang 14mm for RF mount.

I think having it be the native mount is huge. While adapters can be used, and hopefully your adapter is trouble free (they aren't always), I think being able to get the native mount is totally preferred and for me, desired.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Thanks for weighing in Jim. I was also leaning towards the Laowa. I don't find a 14mm Samyang in RF mount. But I looked at B&H. Maybe I will do another search.

My adaptor is made by Canon and is pretty robust, but I agree I prefer native mount.

 

[Ben Egbert]

I missed it, here it is from B&H at $599 this is now in the top two.

Samyang AF 14mm f/2.8 RF Lens for Canon RF SYIO14AF-RF B&H Photo (bhphotovideo.com)

 

[Jameel Hyder]

Rokinon SP 14mm f/2.4 Lens for Canon EF SP14M-C B&H Photo Video $749, only in EF mount.

Having the 24-70 f2.8 I am not looking at that FL for night stuff. But you offer good options.

Re the point about 24mm - 2.8 on a 24mm is not the same as 2.8 on 14. You would need a much higher ISO with 24mm/2.8 than 14/2.8 to avoid stars streaking. Often times I find 14mm too wide relative to the foreground and so I reach for 24mm for that.

 

[JimFox]

I missed it, here it is from B&H at $599 this is now in the top two.

Samyang AF 14mm f/2.8 RF Lens for Canon RF SYIO14AF-RF B&H Photo (bhphotovideo.com)

That’s good. I would lean towards the Laowa I think unless the AF is important. F2 vs f2.8 is quite a bit. Faster is better at night.

I wish the Laowa was offered in a regular Nikon Mount, but it is only in the new Nikon Z mount.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Re the point about 24mm - 2.8 on a 24mm is not the same as 2.8 on 14. You would need a much higher ISO with 24mm/2.8 than 14/2.8 to avoid stars streaking. Often times I find 14mm too wide relative to the foreground and so I reach for 24mm for that.

I hear you Jameel, but I can only swing one specialty lens.

 

[Ben Egbert]

That’s good. I would lean towards the Laowa I think unless the AF is important. F2 vs f2.8 is quite a bit. Faster is better at night.

I wish the Laowa was offered in a regular Nikon Mount, but it is only in the new Nikon Z mount.

Hmm, I will take this under advisement. Can you get a single image MW with say 1/4 moon and f2 at around ISO1600?

 

[Kyle Jones]

Is the Rokinon 14mm f2.4 still available? When I tried to look it up on Amazon before Christmas it wasn't listed in any of my searches.

I don't know about the new Rokinon/Samyang AF 14mm f2.8 as it has a new build, so hopefully it's more robust then the Rokinon 14mm f2.8 non AF. The optical quality of the manual focus Rokinon 14mm f2.8 I found to be awesome. I owned it for a while and used it at night. It did take me ordering 3 copies before I got one that wasn't decentered. And the good one I finally got worked great until I was up in Glacier shooting the stars up in the Hanging Valley by Logan's Pass and I found out it had somehow got decentered on it's own. So that's the only thing to be concerned with the manual focus version. Be sure to buy the extended warranty when you buy it, and you need to test it and keep an eye on it for it's decentering issues.

The Laowa at 15mm I have read good things about. Of course I wish it was 14mm. You would think 1mm wouldn't make that much difference, but it does to me at least. But being f2 instead of f2.8 is pretty huge, that's a lot of extra light at night.

Of your list, of course the Sigma 14mm f1.8 is by far the best, and of course I am biased since I have it.

But, since it is really expensive, my 2 picks if I were to buy one would be the Laowa 15mm f2, and then AF Samyang 14mm for RF mount.

I think having it be the native mount is huge. While adapters can be used, and hopefully your adapter is trouble free (they aren't always), I think being able to get the native mount is totally preferred and for me, desired.

It is still available: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=rokinon sp 14mm&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ps

For me with price/performance it is easily the best choice for a dedicated wide astro lens. The corners are better than your sigma and it costs half as much. It is still plenty fast as well. It is a much better lens than the Samyang/Rokinon 14/2.8 lenses.

For what it is worth, I'm bringing 3 lenses with me as I head back to Montana:
Rokinon SP 14/2.4
Samyang 24/1.4
Tamron 35/1.4

All require the EF/RF adapter but that doesn't bother me at all. I actually prefer EF lenses since I can use them on both my R5 and on my Panasonic. The other great astro choice is the Tamron 15-30/2.8. Great wide open and no coma. It is big and heavy though

 

[JimFox]

Hmm, I will take this under advisement. Can you get a single image MW with say 1/4 moon and f2 at around ISO1600?

You know me Ben, I am all about single image night shots. So for sure you should easily be able to do a single image under those conditions. Depending how late into the night you shoot you could bump the ISO to 3200, but that shouldn’t be an issue.

 

[JimFox]

It is still available: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?Ntt=rokinon sp 14mm&N=0&InitialSearch=yes&sts=ps

For me with price/performance it is easily the best choice for a dedicated wide astro lens. The corners are better than your sigma and it costs half as much. It is still plenty fast as well. It is a much better lens than the Samyang/Rokinon 14/2.8 lenses.

For what it is worth, I'm bringing 3 lenses with me as I head back to Montana:
Rokinon SP 14/2.4
Samyang 24/1.4
Tamron 35/1.4

All require the EF/RF adapter but that doesn't bother me at all. I actually prefer EF lenses since I can use them on both my R5 and on my Panasonic. The other great astro choice is the Tamron 15-30/2.8. Great wide open and no coma. It is big and heavy though

Well that’s a great commendation for the Samyang 14mm f2.4 Kyle. I have toyed with getting a 2nd 14mm.

You make a good point about the flexibility of buying for the old mount. In a few years if I do buy one of the Nikon mirrorless I think though I would buy native lenses as at point my goal would be to transition from the Nikon F mount to the Z mount. I wouldn’t want to be stuck with using an adapter forever. But... who knows, I still haven’t won the lotto, so I am not very good on seeing into the future.

 

[Kyle Jones]

I just leave the adapter on the camera and swap lenses normally. I'm using the CPL adapter which let's me use one filter with any lens - including bulbous front elements. I got the clear filter for Christmas so now I can pull out the CPL for shooting at night.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Been doing some more reading, The Laowa has no communications with the camera. I had this issue with a Ziees lens once and never again.

Still liking the Samyang F2.8 af. And the Rokinon f2.4

 

[Ben Egbert]

Question for Kyle. Did you gave issues with the Rokinon 14 f2.4 decentering? Do you normally shoot at f2.4 for Milky Way? Or do you stop down?

How do you test for decentering?

How easy is it to Focus? Do you use the three triangle focus guides in the R5?

I am thinking of pulling the trigger tomorrow because there is a $259 off sale that ends tomorrow night.

@Kyle Jones

 

[JimFox]

With that sale, pull the trigger Ben. Kyle has already said it’s a great lens.

To test for decentering it’s pretty easy. Shoot wide open, and focus on the center while aimed at a test chart. ( I usually tape 5 charts on a blank wall. 1 in the center and one chart placed in each corner.) if it’s decentered, one of the sides or corners will be really out of focus while everything else is on focus. I will also focus on one of the edges, left or right, and then make sure all 4 corners are equally in focus.

if your shoot wide open, there will probably be slight corner softness, but all 4 corners should be equally soft. When a corner or edge is decentered the out of focus is pretty distinct.

 

[Kyle Jones]

I shot a brick wall to test for decentering. The build quality of the 2.4 is much better than the 2.8 and I haven't heard of it having the same kind of decentering problems, but of course I only have one lens worth of experience myself.

I normally shoot that lens at 2.8. the center gets brighter at 2.4 but the edges not so much due to vignetting. For what it's worth, when I had the 2.8 version I always stopped that down a little as well.

Focusing at 14 mm is pretty easy. Pretty much everything is in focus anyway. I checked the infinity mark on mine and it was accurate. Sometimes I depend on that and sometimes I zoom into live view and focus that way.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Thanks Guys, much appreciated. I live in a group of homes that are made of brock, so brick walls are easy to find.

 

[Ben Egbert]

Ok, it's on order. I hesitated a bit and checked out the reviews of the Laowa. Users stop down to f2.8 and it has no communication with the camera. But it is an RF mount while the Rok 24 f2.4 requires an adaptor. I have the regular adaptor plus the polarizer adaptor to which I could a an ND grad. So this will work on both my cameras.