Canon Rebel T7 EOS 1500D

[Ash89]

I bought the bundle and it came with some lenses I'm still learning them but I wonder if the telescope lens that came with can take pictures of the night sky if not I was wondering what lens do I need to get to take pictures of the night sky with stars any suggestions

[ebiggs1 · Accepted solution]

"If by "telescope lens" you mean a gizmo that screws on to the front of a regular lens and converts it into a "telescope", then do yourself a favor and toss the gizmo into the garbage.  If your camera came with other types of screw-on conversion lenses like macro or wide angle, then toss those things into the garbage, too."

Do that if you bought a camera package or kit from Amazon (some other places have them too but usually Amazon).  If that is what you did you got took.  The best thing to do now if you can't return it is to not use it.  Cut your loss right now.  These screw on adapters can damage the real Canon lens.

For night sky take a good look at this lens. It is reasonably priced for what it can do. Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 IF ED UMC Lens For Canon. You will need a good tripod, too.  If you got one in that package it is junk.

Sorry but we see this stuff all the time here.

[Ash89 · Accepted solution]

Then telescope lens It doesn't start with a G it starts with a T I don't remember the name of it but someone told me it's a really good lens for taking picture of the moon not much for the night sky

[Ash89 · Accepted solution]

Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera with EF 18-55mm with EF 75-300mm Double Zoom Kit Bundle with 500mm Preset Telephoto Lens, 32GB Memory Card, Tripod, Paintshop Pro 2018 and Accessories (10 Items)

This is what I bought everything that's in there I bought it came with

[Link removed per forum guidelines. Replaced with screenshots of what was found at the link's destination]

[Waddizzle · Accepted solution]

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@Ash89 wrote:
Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera with EF 18-55mm with EF 75-300mm Double Zoom Kit Bundle with 500mm Preset Telephoto Lens, 32GB Memory Card, Tripod, Paintshop Pro 2018 and Accessories (10 Items)
[ LINK DELETED ]

This is what I bought everything that's in there I bought it came with

---

Oh, one of those.  That type of lens is very good at teaching you how to use a tripod.  I had the 650-1300mm version.  I bought an eyepiece for it, so that kids could use it like a telescope to look at the Moon.  That bit of excitement wore out pretty quickly.

Those lenses require a very stable tripod, and a T-Mount adapter.  The tripod foot tends to have a little slack and play in it.  It may wobble just enough when you are focusing that the Moon may move around the frame.  It will look like an earthquake is in progress.

The "Preset" part of the name means that the aperture is fixed, probably at f/8, and cannot be adjusted.   This is fine for taking shots of the Moon.  Use manual mode, set your shutter at 1/200 and ISO at 100.  Use the 10-second shutter delay time.  If that camera model has shutter lockup, then use that, too.  Use those exposure settings no matter what phase the Moon is in.

I wound up with some images of the full Moon that were not half bad.  It was hard to focus because the focus ring's "throw" was only 1/4 of a full rotation.  If the focus ring had 1/2 to 3/4 rotation, the lens would be MUCH easier to focus.  The only saving grace is the narrow aperture creates a deeper depth of field, so focus does not need to nailed spot on.  Practice focusing on really distant objects during daylight, and place some tape on the focus ring.

Your biggest enemy will be time.  The Earth and the Moon are both in motion.  Once you get the Moon centered in the frame, it can move completely out of the frame within a minute or two.  Now you have to readjust tripod, which I hope has a VERY good head on it.  

Many tripod heads suffer from what is known as "backlash".  This means that the position of the head may shift ever so slightly as you fully tighten it down.  This is not much of an issue with smaller, lighter cameras and lenses when you are aiming horizontally, which means the center of the weight is over the center of the head and tripod.

When you tilt the camera and lens toward the sky, suddenly the weight is off-center and backlash can become more pronounced.  The heavier the load, the worse the backlash becomes.  If you are using a ball head, you want one with a friction adjustment because this can help minimize backlash, and those that have it tend to be better built, too.

[Ash89 · Accepted solution]

Thank you

[jrhoffman75]

Typically you would want to use the wide angle lenses for night sky photos since you want to capture a lot of stars/sky area.

You could use the telephoto lens for selective shots of the moon.

Google "astrophotography for beginners"

[Waddizzle]

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@Ash89 wrote:
I bought the bundle and it came with some lenses I'm still learning them but I wonder if the telescope lens that came with can take pictures of the night sky if not I was wondering what lens do I need to get to take pictures of the night sky with stars any suggestions

---

If by "telescope lens" you mean a gizmo that screws on to the front of a regular lens and converts it into a "telescope", then do yourself a favor and toss the gizmo into the garbage.  If your camera came with other types of screw-on conversion lenses like macro or wide angle, then toss those things into the garbage, too.  

Conversion lenses are bad for a couple of reasons.  First, the image quality is terrible.  They tend to "focus" in the center of the. Image, but quickly go out of focus as you move toward the edge of the frame.  Second, and most importantly, they are FAR to heavy to mount on to your lenses.  The added weight will strain the AF motors in the lens and destroy them.

The best tool to have to take pictures of the night sky is a good and solid, robust tripod.  Taking a picture of the night sky will typically mean a long exposure on the order of several seconds.  During the time when the shutter is open for several seconds, you do not want the camera to budge, not in the least.  Otherwise, you will get smeared stars.

You would want to use a tripod made of metal, not plastic.  You want a tripod that will not shake or vibrate in a breeze or a wind gust.  If a tripod came with your camera, I doubt if it is up to the task of astrophotography.   

As for what lens to use, tell us what lenses you have, which mount directly onto the camera only. The most common "kit lens" for that camera is some version of the ubiquitous EF-S 18-55mm lens.  You most like wil want to use the lens at its' shortest zoom setting, 18mm, which affords you the widest aperture setting, f/3.5.  You will get the best results with a wide aperture, wide angle lens when shooting the nightscape shots.

Whatever lens you use, you will want to shoot with the camera in M mode on the camera dial.  If you are not familiar with using M mode, then you have some homework to do ahead of you.  Using any of the automatic Basic shooting modes to photograph the stars will fool the camera into wanting to overexpose the capture.  

Finally, capturing the night sky is not quite as simple pointing and shooting.  A number of factors play a role in getting the best end results.  The most major factor is your shooting location, which will determine how much light pollution is in the night sky.  the further you are away from urban areas and city lights, all the better.  

I have already touched on what lens to use, and the need for a professional grade tripod.  The actual camera body that you use does not play as large of a role as one might initially think.  Almost any digital camera sold today can do an adequate job when given the right set of conditions.  

How you process the images after tmages after you take them is the final piece of the puzzle.  Post processing is creates a great photo.  Do you need to do a lot of image processing to create a good photo?  No, but doing a little touch up will greatly improve the final result.

[Waddizzle]

Here is a good introduction to astrophotography video produced by Canon Australia.

https://youtu.be/_kC1nKlIPU0 

[Ash89]

Omg thank you so much

[ebiggs1 · Accepted solution]

"If by "telescope lens" you mean a gizmo that screws on to the front of a regular lens and converts it into a "telescope", then do yourself a favor and toss the gizmo into the garbage.  If your camera came with other types of screw-on conversion lenses like macro or wide angle, then toss those things into the garbage, too."

Do that if you bought a camera package or kit from Amazon (some other places have them too but usually Amazon).  If that is what you did you got took.  The best thing to do now if you can't return it is to not use it.  Cut your loss right now.  These screw on adapters can damage the real Canon lens.

For night sky take a good look at this lens. It is reasonably priced for what it can do. Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 IF ED UMC Lens For Canon. You will need a good tripod, too.  If you got one in that package it is junk.

Sorry but we see this stuff all the time here.

[Ash89 · Accepted solution]

Then telescope lens It doesn't start with a G it starts with a T I don't remember the name of it but someone told me it's a really good lens for taking picture of the moon not much for the night sky

[Ash89 · Accepted solution]

Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera with EF 18-55mm with EF 75-300mm Double Zoom Kit Bundle with 500mm Preset Telephoto Lens, 32GB Memory Card, Tripod, Paintshop Pro 2018 and Accessories (10 Items)

This is what I bought everything that's in there I bought it came with

[Link removed per forum guidelines. Replaced with screenshots of what was found at the link's destination]

[Waddizzle · Accepted solution]

---

@Ash89 wrote:
Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera with EF 18-55mm with EF 75-300mm Double Zoom Kit Bundle with 500mm Preset Telephoto Lens, 32GB Memory Card, Tripod, Paintshop Pro 2018 and Accessories (10 Items)
[ LINK DELETED ]

This is what I bought everything that's in there I bought it came with

---

Oh, one of those.  That type of lens is very good at teaching you how to use a tripod.  I had the 650-1300mm version.  I bought an eyepiece for it, so that kids could use it like a telescope to look at the Moon.  That bit of excitement wore out pretty quickly.

Those lenses require a very stable tripod, and a T-Mount adapter.  The tripod foot tends to have a little slack and play in it.  It may wobble just enough when you are focusing that the Moon may move around the frame.  It will look like an earthquake is in progress.

The "Preset" part of the name means that the aperture is fixed, probably at f/8, and cannot be adjusted.   This is fine for taking shots of the Moon.  Use manual mode, set your shutter at 1/200 and ISO at 100.  Use the 10-second shutter delay time.  If that camera model has shutter lockup, then use that, too.  Use those exposure settings no matter what phase the Moon is in.

I wound up with some images of the full Moon that were not half bad.  It was hard to focus because the focus ring's "throw" was only 1/4 of a full rotation.  If the focus ring had 1/2 to 3/4 rotation, the lens would be MUCH easier to focus.  The only saving grace is the narrow aperture creates a deeper depth of field, so focus does not need to nailed spot on.  Practice focusing on really distant objects during daylight, and place some tape on the focus ring.

Your biggest enemy will be time.  The Earth and the Moon are both in motion.  Once you get the Moon centered in the frame, it can move completely out of the frame within a minute or two.  Now you have to readjust tripod, which I hope has a VERY good head on it.  

Many tripod heads suffer from what is known as "backlash".  This means that the position of the head may shift ever so slightly as you fully tighten it down.  This is not much of an issue with smaller, lighter cameras and lenses when you are aiming horizontally, which means the center of the weight is over the center of the head and tripod.

When you tilt the camera and lens toward the sky, suddenly the weight is off-center and backlash can become more pronounced.  The heavier the load, the worse the backlash becomes.  If you are using a ball head, you want one with a friction adjustment because this can help minimize backlash, and those that have it tend to be better built, too.

[RobertTheFat]

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@Waddizzle wrote:

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@Ash89 wrote:
Canon EOS Rebel T7 DSLR Camera with EF 18-55mm with EF 75-300mm Double Zoom Kit Bundle with 500mm Preset Telephoto Lens, 32GB Memory Card, Tripod, Paintshop Pro 2018 and Accessories (10 Items)
[ LINK DELETED ]

This is what I bought everything that's in there I bought it came with

---

Oh, one of those.  ...

The "Preset" part of the name means that the aperture is fixed, probably at f/8, and cannot be adjusted.   This is fine for taking shots of the Moon.  Use manual mode, set your shutter at 1/200 and ISO at 100.  Use the 10-second shutter delay time.  If that camera model has shutter lockup, then use that, too.  Use those exposure settings no matter what phase the Moon is in.

...

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Is that really what "preset" means these days? It used to mean a lens that doesn't stop down automatically when the shutter button is pushed; i.e., it doesn't let you preview the scene at full aperture without having to set it back for the shot. That doesn't make any difference, of course, if you're going to shoot at full aperture anyway (which is very likely the case with an f/8 lens).