Milky Way Lens

[LuckyJames]

Advice please. I have an opportunity to spend a couple of nights in Portal, AZ whiich is a Bortle 1 dark site during new moon. I plan to do some milky Way photography. Here is what I have. Canon Rebel T7, Canon 24mm F2.8 lens, Ioptron Sky Tracker and intervalometer. I have a small budget for an additional lens. Would appreciete guidance on the suitabilty of the following, and if you think they would be an advantage over the Canon 24mm bearing in mind that this is a crop sensor and 24mm really means 38mm...  

Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 IF ED UMC Lens, Rokinon 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS Lens, Canon EF-S 10-18 f4.5-5.6 IS

Also appreciate any other thoughts in the under $500 ish price range.

[Waddizzle]

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@LuckyJames wrote:

Advice please. I have an opportunity to spend a couple of nights in Portal, AZ whiich is a Bortle 1 dark site during new moon. I plan to do some milky Way photography. Here is what I have. Canon Rebel T7, Canon 24mm F2.8 lens, Ioptron Sky Tracker and intervalometer. I have a small budget for an additional lens. Would appreciete guidance on the suitabilty of the following, and if you think they would be an advantage over the Canon 24mm bearing in mind that this is a crop sensor and 24mm really means 38mm...  

Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 IF ED UMC Lens, Rokinon 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS Lens, Canon EF-S 10-18 f4.5-5.6 IS

Also appreciate any other thoughts in the under $500 ish price range.

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I think your 24mm f/2.8 can do a fine job.  The one problem with it is that it is an STM, which means it focuses by wire, and pre-focusing the lens during daylight hours becomes problematic.  It won't retain the focus setting when you turn off the camera, and you cannot mark the spot on the focus ring.  The focus ring does not have a mechanical connection to the focusing gears.

Out of the lenses you listed, I think the full frame Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 Manual focus is the best choice.  The Rokinon 10mm is a fisheye, and perhaps even a little too wide.  For that matter, the 14mm could be a little on the "too wide" side, because it will definitely capture some of the landscape, not unless you point it straight up.  The Canon EF-S 10-18mm is another STM lens, so it will have the the step of focus ring that is electronic, not mechanically connected to the focusing gears.

However, if you are using a Sky Tracker, you definitely want to use good tripod and head.  I would recommend evaluating your tripod rig, too.  You would want something that would not shake in a breeze, or be blown over by a gust of wind.  

Adding any type of hanging weight does not work well because the wind will blow that, too.  Use weights that attach to the legs, if any.  I do not like weights because it is more stuff to carry.  I would rather carry a 5 pound tripod, than a 3 pound tripod and 5-10 pounds of weight.

Most travel tripods are not up to the task.  In addition, you may also want to consider a leveling base adapter too.  

[LuckyJames]

Thank you for the advice. I will get the Rokinon lens. I am confident that my Geekoto tripod is up to the job, I have taken some tack sharp night sky shots with 2 minute exposure in the Bay Area. I also have some Neewer triangular leg slings that weigh nothing and I can load with sand or stones in situ. Appreciate your expertise.

[Waddizzle]

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@LuckyJames wrote:

Thank you for the advice. I will get the Rokinon lens. I am confident that my Geekoto tripod is up to the job, I have taken some tack sharp night sky shots with 2 minute exposure in the Bay Area. I also have some Neewer triangular leg slings that weigh nothing and I can load with sand or stones in situ. Appreciate your expertise.

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If you are already getting good results, then why the lens upgrade?  BTW, I do think the Rokinon 14mm would mist likely improve image quality in your images, but it sounds like you are already getting tack sharp images.  You could be seeing atmospheric effects associated with the Bay Area, not actual lens deficiencies.  

BTW, I looked up Geekoto tripods.  I found the Geekoto CT25 Pro Craftsman at B&H.  It seems like a decent set of legs for shooting stills with gear, weighing in at up to 3 lbs or so.  I would think your Sky Tracker could weigh that much alone.  If you want to capture single long exposures, then it would probably work.  I don't know about multiple long exposures, back to back.

I don't know about the head, either.  They do not say a word about the head, just the lens plate bracket  I cannot be sure that the head is even interchangeable, but I would assume that it is.  

I would definitely want to replace that head, if at all possible.  It does not seem to have a friction adjustment, which stops the camera from flopping like a fish out of water the moment you loosen the main knob.  Ball Heads are not very useful, or even safe to use, without a friction adjustment.  If this is your experience, then I strongly recommend you change the head.

I still recommend using a leveling base adapter between the tripod legs and the Sky Tracker.  I recommend one by Oben or Sunwayfoto.  I have not used Oben, but they seem to be popular.  The Sunwayfoto models are built like tanks/. They have very heavy damping, which is ideal for heavy gear.

[LuckyJames]

I have the Geekoto X25 Defender. Do you have recommendations for a replacement for the ball head? I have experienced the infamous "fish flop" first hand, but I have learned to anticipate it. Wouldnt mind an upgrade though.

[Waddizzle]

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@LuckyJames wrote:

I have the Geekoto X25 Defender. Do you have recommendations for a replacement for the ball head? I have experienced the infamous "fish flop" first hand, but I have learned to anticipate it. Wouldnt mind an upgrade though.

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Can the head even be removed and replaced?  At a glance, it does not seem like it could.  If so, Benro B2 from B&H Photo.

[LuckyJames]

Well I got the Rokinon 14mm f / 2.8. Thanks for all the guidance. Here is my first effort with an Ioptron sky tracker at Cave

Creek Canyon is far SE AZ.

[ebiggs1]

[ebiggs1]

IMHO, the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 IF ED UMC Lens is a good choice. The very fast and extremely good Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art lens is my choice. I have a friend that does major astro work and he uses the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L USM III.  It exceeds your stated budget by several times, though.

If I were to decide to shoot the MW for a special chance or situation I would buy the Siggy Art.

[ebiggs1]

Ooops, forgot to mention the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art lens exceeds your budget by quit a bit also. But it is a fantastic lens.