Are my Lenses ok for Astrophotography? (I'm a newbie)

[Jaime]

Hello to all,

 

I am a total newbie to Astrophotography. My camera is a Canon EOS 5D Mark IV DSLR. I have some very basic skills with manual shooting using Aperture, ISO and Shutter Speed adjustments. But up until now I've only delved into Landscape and Cityscape photography. At this time I have only the three following lenses. Are any of these good for beginner Astrophotography? If not, can someone please suggest a few decent starter lenses? Thank you. 

 

1. Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM Standard lens

2. Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM Standard lens

3. Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 USM Zoom lens    

 

Regards,

Jaime

[TerryMcK]

Hi Jaime. Your 50mm lens is great for very wide field astrophotography, milky way shots for instance, as it is a prime lens. The others are not so good as they are zoom lenses. More glass equals less clarity when it comes to astrophotography. Stars do not appear round from corner to corner of the frame with zoom lenses or exhibit unusual artefacts.

If you are sticking with conventional lenses the Samyang 135mm F2 ( AKA Rokinon 135mm F2 in North America) is revered by a lot of astro people. It is not cheap though.

[Galileo]

 

Also with a zoom lens (as i experienced)  unless you're at the end of the zooom range, I always seemed to disturb the zoom setting accidentally when focusing in the dark then it's impossible to reset it. I resorted to fixed lenses for a period which were immune from the problem and are generally faster.