Lens Recommendations for Sunset and Moon Photography

[_abbey]

Hi!! I am very new to this. I am wanting a lens where I can really zoom in on the sun during a sunset and the moon! I have a rebel t8i. The cheaper the better lol! Than you in advance! 

[_abbey]

Awesome pictures!! I should have clarified I was talking about the sun on the horizon! I apologize. 

[_abbey]

Would you suggest getting a lens that has more of a wide angle? I shoot mainly sunsets! I really want to get into taking pictures of birds and other animals while hiking! I love taking pictures during sunset at the beach too. 

[kvbarkley]

The kit lens is probably wide enough for now (and panoramas are also an option for landscapes that are a bit wider), and if you add the 55 - 250 EF-S you can get pretty close-in images of wildlife. If you find that you consistently want just a bit wider at the short end, and a bit more reach at the long end you can look into getting other (more expensive!) lenses.

It is hard for us to judge what *you* want to take pictures of. The best way is to use what you have, note any deficiencies, and plan to remedy them.

I like to be ready for anything. My walking around lens is the 18-135 which works most of the time (I have never felt the need to go wider than 18mm). In my bag, I have my 70 - 300 II and my late, great EF-S 60 macro for bugs and such. If I think I need it - I don't always have it with me -, and I use it when we go to National Parks, Air Shows and moon/Sun/planet closeups, I have my Tamron 150 -600.

[kvbarkley]

And when you say the moon, do you mean a closeup of the moon as in the other images or the moon as a thematic element as here:

[_abbey]

I mean a close up of the moon! But this is an awesome picture! 

[_abbey]

Awesome thank you so much!! This was very helpful!! 

[wq9nsc]

Abbey,

For fairly close photos of the moon, you need a pretty long telephoto and none of them are really cheap but I have been highly impressed with the Sigma 150-600 "contemporary" I picked up last month.  I have several expensive Canon L series primes but I wanted a single fairly light and versatile lens for some longer hikes and I decided to try the Sigma and I was far more impressed than I expected.  It is currently under $900 at B&H and worth serious consideration if you can fit that into your price range.  Buying good quality glass is the best decision you can make in photography because a poor quality lens is a big handicap while good glass bought now will still serve you well with future camera body purchases.

I haven't done any serious lunar photography with the Sigma yet but while I was shooting a crop duster finishing up near sunset yesterday, I took a few photos of the moon while the sun was still up above the horizon and even under those conditions it did a nice job.  The first photo is of the moon using the Sigma 150-600 @ f6.3, 1/800, ISO 800 with a Canon 1DX II body.  The sky was still far too light for a good photo of the moon but I was curious how the Sigma would do and grabbed a couple of images.

The second image comes from a week ago when I was shooting a couple of Bel Jet Ranger crop dusting helicopters.  I planned to primarily use my 1DX III with Canon EF 800 f5.6 for that shoot but I brought the Sigma 150-600 on a second body and used it for quite a few shots.  This is one of the captures with the Sigma as the copter was making a pass over the corn.  Shot at f5, 1/640, ISO 125.  The Sigma did a great job of quickly capturing and holding focus.

The final two images are lunar photos under good conditions using very expensive glass, the first with the Canon EF 800 f5.6 and the second with a Celestron CPC 1100HD telescope.   I look forward to testing the Sigma under similar conditions this winter and I expect, given the results from it on closer objects, that it will do extremely well.

Good luck with your choice!

And on edit, I added a fifth image which is a photo of the moon caught during dusk tonight with the Sigma 150-600 @600mm, f6.3, 1/125, ISO 160 with a Canon 1DX II.

Rodger

1DX II Sigma 150-6001DX II Sigma 150-600Canon 1DX III with EF 800 f5.6

Canon 1DX III Celestron CPC 1100HD

[AtticusLake]

Hi Abbey,

I understand what you mean; however you still need to be very careful.  I know Trevor's pictures are stunning, and they well demonstrate that it is possible to take lovely Sunset pictures.  However, the combination of an optical viewfinder and a tele lens is still potentially very dangerous, any time the Sun is visible.  You just can't know how clear the atmosphere will be on any given day.

My strong advice is don't look at Sun through the viewfinder; use live view, and compose your shots on the external LCD screen.

https://cam.start.canon/en/C002/manual/html/UG-01_Preparations_0130.html

[_abbey]

Awesome pictures!! Thank you so much for your help!

[ebiggs1]

Your Rebel T8i and the kit lens that came with it are all you need for sunsets and sunrises. You are all set there. It is always best to be safe but a red Sun isn't usually dangerous. Use caution though.

For dramatic photos of the Moon you need all the focal length you can get. This makes one of the 150-600mm super zooms form Tamron or Sigma a great buy. You also need a top quality tripod otherwise don't even think or consider a Moon shot. A good tripod is going to be expensive so get ready for it. Probably over $200 bucks.

There is always the used market for these items. A good top quality tripod rarely wears out so a good used buy.