Could go for some advice on DSLR lens. Almost all of my photography that I do it at night, when I have free time. I really would like to do a little bit of astrophotography. I saw that canon released a new lens today, 10-18mm, but the downside is the F stop ,4.5-5.6. Anyone have experience with the Tokina 11-18mm f/2.8? I am thinking of pulling the trigger in a day or so.

Why the hang up with the F stop? If you're shooting with a tripod its just a marginally slower shutter speed? Can you be more specific about what you like to shoot at night?

The upside of the slightly slower lens is that it will very likely be lighter. If you ever intend to walk around with it, could be a factor.

Lets put it this way: if you can afford the better F stop, do it. You'll be thankful you dished a little extra when you're not dissatisfied later because of its lack of ability. That is unless you have a dedicated purpose for it and won't ever need to stop that low, which you may not doing night shots.

:iagree:

It's why I saved up my pennies and bought 2.8 glass. It is heavy, but I don't take it rock climbing either.

If you're wanting to shoot at night, you'd be shooting a relatively small stop I'd think. i.e. f16ish.

Took some pictures for Michelin before cars and coffee this past weekend... here's one:

http://jpmcgphotography.smugmug.com/...MG_2690-XL.jpg

My ultimate goal would be to capture some pictures of the milky way but it is something that I'm going to need to work up to. The basic fundamentals of trying to get pictures of stars or the milky way is to capture as much light as possible before the rotation of the earth becomes evident in your photo. I know I could use a barn door setup along with the higher f stop number for longer exposure but really don't want to get specific equipment for one application.

Anyone have experience with the Tokina 11-18mm lens?

The key to getting good astro shots IMO depends far more on having a dark sky than on your lens. A sturdy tripod and a remote trigger (wired or not) can get you great shots with just a kit lens if you can get as far away from city lights as possible. If you're keen on getting something though, I've been using a 28mm f/1.8 lens and that extra bit of aperture does add some flexibility, but can be spendy:



Admittedly, I did not use my kit lens to take the shot above but I very easily could have since I was way out in the sticks with effectively zero light pollution. Pic info: ISO800, f/1.8, 10 sec exposure on a crop sensor Nikon D5000. I was experimenting with how much I could get with such a short exposure, normally I'd run around f/2.8-3.5 for 20-30 seconds since the stars will be more pin-pointy after longer exposures than if the aperture is wide open, based on similar lenses I used back when I shot 35mm film, that Tokina lens should get you what you're after if it's got good glass. With an 11-18mm range, you can probably go as high as a minute at 11mm before the stars start to trail noticeably.

I was browsing through some of my old material and found this gem. There is nothing I love more than a super shallow DOF and off camera lighting. Shot this with my 7D w/ 85mm 1.8 (super sharp lens) and speedlights at a damn near pitch black industrial park. Some of you may remember her from on here as Bri7Synyster. We're getting hitched in Cancun on Sept. 1st, can't wait! I'll have to post some shot from there, its supposed to be beautiful.

http://i236.photobucket.com/albums/f...psf7658bad.jpg

I'd wondered what happened to her, it sucks that we're only a few hours away from each other and we've still never met.

Very nice shot though, I'm envious of your gear and mad skills. :tup:

Zdayz 2014!!

I screwed up here. I took this during a little shoot with my wife and the Z, but there was some old pervert standing 20' away leering at her the whole time, so I was trying to get some quick shots and get her done cause she was feeling uncomfortable. Anyway, I forgot that my iso was on like 1000 so the pics came out kinda gritty :(


http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/07/02/u9ema8yj.jpg

Zdayz 2014!!

Yeah I know man! One of these days! Nice pic, next time snap one with the tree line exposed properly and overlay them, it'll be perfect!

Good tip, thanks. I lightened up the trees in LR with the shadow slider but honestly I liked the darker look. I'll try that out next time though.

Zdayz 2014!!

Huck
Nice photo above. Where is that located? Looks like a nice place to take some pictures. Also, we should try and get a cruise together in a few weeks once I am back. Just let me know.