4 ms·

Of course. There's no reason you need the latest & greatest autofocus glass just to shoot stationary-ish celestial objects, that's for sure. And, that is one

Of course. There's no reason you need the latest & greatest autofocus glass just to shoot stationary-ish celestial objects, that's for sure. And, that is one good thing about lenses, too: old lenses can keep on chugging literally for decades with little more attention than proper storage and some basic cleaning every once in a while. I don't do astro, but I do shoot macro shots of stationary objects every once in a while. My workhorse lens is an older 105mm Nikkor (https://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/105mm-f28.htm https://www.kenrockwell.com/nikon/105mm-f28.htm) that you can get in excellent to mint condition for little enough money that if it breaks or you drop it or something, you can just buy a new one. It's truly a nice piece of glass, even though it doesn't autofocus with my body or auto-meter. It's every bit as sharp as Nikon's newest version of the same lens (https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/424744-USA/Nikon_2160_105mm_f_2_8G_ED_IF_AF_S.html https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/424744-USA/Nikon_2160...), at 1/3 the price (or less), and without features I don't particularly need shooting stationary objects. You can even shoot a decent portrait with it, if you're not bothered by the lack of autofocus. Turns out there are lots of opportunities to save a little money if you don't care about having a fast lens to autofocus on a moving subject. :-) I spent more on my copy stand and stabilization equipment than I did on glass, and that was 100% the right thing to do. If I had to share some takeaways from my experiences buying and using my DSLR + other equipment, I would say to focus on what you actually need, don't worry about getting the latest and greatest, and definitely consider used equipment. Following those principles, I got myself a couple of nice macro lenses, a D3400 body, a Kaiser copy stand, a lighting setup, and the cables & software to drive all of that, for around or maybe a little more than $1000. And, it works great & serves my needs just fine. Had I gone with brand new and current model stuff, I'd probably be well over double that.

dheera 5y ago
Yes definitely. I own only manual focus lenses, and most are used old lenses and of terrific optical quality. I hate autofocus. I understand its use for wildlife, sports, and war zone journalism, but that's not what I do. I shoot a lot of astro, landscapes, and some portraits, and I have time to compose and shoot for all of these, and I don't want some gadgetry between my hand and the glass doing its own thing. There is good modern glass available, but it's not the stuff sold to consumers at consumer prices. In the consumer price range I've consistently seen better glass in used old lenses from the 70s to 90s. Before that it starts to fall off rapidly due to lack of anti-dispersive elements and good coatings, but there are still a few odd gems here and there from even before then. Oh and as a bonus, with manual glass I'm not tied into one ecosystem. I own about 5 or 6 brands of lenses; I can freely change my camera body brand and just buy some new adapters.

dheera 5y ago

Yes definitely. I own only manual focus lenses, and most are used old lenses and of terrific optical quality. I hate autofocus. I understand its use for wildlife, sports, and war zone journalism, but that's not what I do. I shoot a lot of astro, landscapes, and some portraits, and I have time to compose and shoot for all of these, and I don't want some gadgetry between my hand and the glass doing its own thing. There is good modern glass available, but it's not the stuff sold to consumers at consumer prices. In the consumer price range I've consistently seen better glass in used old lenses from the 70s to 90s. Before that it starts to fall off rapidly due to lack of anti-dispersive elements and good coatings, but there are still a few odd gems here and there from even before then. Oh and as a bonus, with manual glass I'm not tied into one ecosystem. I own about 5 or 6 brands of lenses; I can freely change my camera body brand and just buy some new adapters.