Astrophotography Lens - Tokina 11-16mm

<p>Hi Guys,</p>

<p>I need to buy a wide angle lens for star trailing - astrophotography... and do not have big budget maybe same value as my 550d max. I need something quite sharp at infinity. After a thorough research and reviews reading it all came down to the tokina 11-16mm. Would you guys recommend me that? is it good enough for the milky way?</p>

<p>That lens should be fine, I don't think the lens is overly critical if you stop down a little. There are more important issues, like a dark sky and stacking to reduce noise.<br>

<a href="http://www.jamesvernacotola.com/Resources/How-To-Photograph-Star-Trails">http://www.jamesvernacotola.com/Resources/How-To-Photograph-Star-Trails</a></p>

 

<p>For (long) star trails, I'd not rule out a fish-eye - although a rectilinear ultrawide is probably a more generally-useful lens. The fish-eye is nice for meteor spotting, too. Stopped down a bit, I'm sure you'll be fine with any of the lenses short of an optimistic super-zoom - it's only if you're trying to take images without trailing and without using a motorized mount that you have to start worrying about performance at wide apertures (I've done this, and it's definitely the wrong solution to the problem). The main benefit I've seen to a bigger aperture for star trails is that it makes it easier to focus. Good luck - I envy you being somewhere where the sky isn't orange!</p>

<p>The Tokina is an excellent lens all around, and the f/2.8 aperture is quite useful in astrophotography. Especially when trying to capture the Milky Way without using a motorized mount. f/2.8 means a lower ISO with less noise, or more stars and detail captured. I highly recommend this lens for astrophotography.</p>