Hi Michael... I saw your video and didn't find an affiliate link to "contribute" but found another way to thank you for your excellent review and full setup use and demo. I just purchased the lens, I kind of already knew it's iconic for wide field in the astro world and I hope I'll enjoy it as well for astro, but not only. I'm still a novice in astro DSO. If you have the time for an insight, do you think that this will be enough focal length on an APS-C for attempting Rho Ophiucci ? Best and clear skies...
Thank you so much for supporting my work on "Late Night Astronomy"! You have chosen a great lens that really changed the game for me in terms of astrophotography with my DSLR camera. Rho Ophiucci will be framed nicely using the 135mm with an APS-C sensor. It's too far south in the sky for me to get images from my location but if the sky is dark enough you should get some great images of it. As you explore my channel, please let me know if you have any other questions on tracking mounts, light pollution filters or any other gear that can help you get further in this hobby! Thanks again and clear skies!
@@alanalain4884 Hija Alan, to calculate any field of view you can use Stellarium. It's freeware, and really easy to use; after installing and running it, just use the settings in the top right corner to enter Sensor and Telescope/Lens details, exit those settings, and then enter Sensor View. Voila, any target can be planned in advance...
I got this lens before there were any Sony lenses I could afford for my sony a6000. No more than 3 months after getting it, Sony announced the 85mm f1.8, which I purchased. I have since not used the Samyang/Rokinon 135mm F2. But now that I have watched your video, I am thinking about learning and using it for astrophotography.
Haha, we've all been in that position with our significant other! You have made a great choice with this lens. I'm processing a shot of the Pleiades I got tonight and am so impressed by the sharpness of this lens. Please stop back by to let me know what you think of it once it comes in! Take care.
I appreciate you taking the time to give me some feedback. Let me know if you have any questions and stop back by to let me know how you like it if you end up picking it up.
@@n8vjefe The app shown in this video is SkySafari 6 Plus for the iphone. For my current setup, I have to manually frame the image when I am out in the field imaging.
Very nice review! I struggled with mine in getting focus with my 533MC Pro Astro cam and filter drawer. I removed the hard limit for infinity focus and rotated the barrel all the way to the left and retightened screws.
I received mine from ebay today for 265 dollars and it had the same issue. I also had to remove the hard stop to achieve infinity focus. I suspect that is why my mint copy was available at that price.
I just bought one under Rokinon and I don t know anything how is going to perform, but thank you to your detailed explanation. unfortunately I live in the city and for stars photography won t be good and I have a Nikon D3200. So I will use it for most of the time during Sundowns. I m really new to photography. I also have a 50mm lens af S and 40mm af S.
This is a great video! I wasn't sure if this lens was compatible with my nikon d3400 which is crop sensor camera. Thanks for the clarification, clear skies.
@@LateNightAstronomy I just bought it on Amazon today. Can’t wait to check it out. Will you be covering other deep sky stuff like the M31, other galaxies, nebulae, etc? Looking forward to it.
Nice channel. I just got the Rokinon 135mm (same thing). I'm running it on a Canon 60D with an L-Enhance clip-in filter. I've been doing long subs up to 3mins at ISO 800 and they are almost entirely a bright blue. I don't know how much of that will come out in post processing, or if I need to decrease my exposure time and/or ISO. Unfortunately I live in a red/white zone. I plan to take it to a dark site soon and try again.
I appreciate you saying that about the channel! I have not used clip in-filters with my DSLR for light pollution. Some people swear by them and others swear at them. One common thing I've heard is that color correction is a necessity in post processing as you mentioned. Also, sometimes those filters require you to stop your lens down to f/4 or slower in order for them to work properly. You might want to check on that as well.
Hi Michael Just purchased the 135 samyung for my canon 600D mounting on a MSM tracker with a benro geared head to give extra stability in Western Australia
You are going to get some incredible images with that equipment under your gorgeous southern skies! Please keep me updated on your progress through youtube and instagram!
Thanks so much and I'm glad you enjoyed the video. My SL2 is stock. Unmodified is the way to go but I also use this camera to film my videos and take pictures of the family.
I appreciate that. For such a short amount of exposure time I was really pleased with the final results. Shows off the light gathering ability of an F2 lens. Keep up your great work with mobile phone astrophotography and clear skies.
Great video. I'm looking at buying one of these to attach to a cooled astro camera ( Hypercam 26c). Is there a better mounting system Sony/umc to allow more back focus for things like 2" filter wheels/holders?
Good question. I had read on several camera forums and DSLR astrophotography reviews that the most effective ISO for my camera that gives the best dynamic range is 400. Anything less or more than that doesn't really help with the signal to noise ration in relation to my sensor. I do sometimes use iso 800 for fainter nebulae but on most nights my sensor and light pollution put me at iso 400.
Isn't that always how it is after we make a big purchase! In my opinion, this is the perfect setup for our tracking mount. I am able to keep virtually every frame. You could push the SkyGuider Pro to 300 or 400mm for sure but the frames you would have to throw out would definitely increase depending on your exposure time. Clearer skies to you soon and let me know how things go for you!
Really like your website. A lot to learn. I have a Canon t3I and a Canon 6d. I like both of these cameras 1of these cameras I want to have modified which one would be best? The 6d is a great camera but I know the t3I workings better. But wanted to write to say you have good and very informative videos.
I really appreciate your comment! I wish mine DSLR was modified but I also use it to shoot my RU-vid Videos! Best of luck with your future imaging and clear skies!
Why do people say that a crop sensor will 'get you in closer' compared to a full frame sensor. It doesn't. It effectively does what it's name suggests- i.e. it just crops your image compared to a full frame sensor without any other discernible change or improvement in any way whatsoever. It is misleading to suggest it gets you in closer, which only a longer focal length lens or telescope will do. An APS-C crop sensor is just a smaller sensor and hence cheaper and typically housed in a smaller/lighter camera as a trade off.
That's a fair point. APS-C is sometimes preferred by nature photographers and astrophotographers depending on what you are attempting to shoot and the budget that you are able to work with. I do prefer the additional crop built in for what I normally shoot to "get a bit closer" while keeping my pixel count, but as you said, the same effect can be done with a full frame at a different focal length.
Isn't stacking almost entirely wasted on 20 second exposures? shouldn't it be a series of 1/4s exposures. And is 135mm even zoom enough to be affected by atmospheric shimmer?
From what I've read the stacking is what helps with the signal to noise ratio of the final image. Stacking 20 second exposures has worked well for most of my images as anything beyond 20 seconds gets washed out by light pollution!
You don't mention the issue of infinity focus that I've seen all over and with my own lens which would not go all the way to infinity. I first tried daytime pictures and the far mountains were just not at that point. Going to do the mod. Did you have the same problem?
I've never had trouble with that on my cropped sensor Canon SL2. It gets close to infinity but acheieves a sharp focus just before that point. Thanks for pointing that out.
I got this lens mainly for portrait photography when it just came out, for the canon mount. Since then I've used it for astro on sony cameras, and I've just converted (myself) a canon 1200D to full spectrum. This is one of the lenses I intend to use on the canon. Are you sure about the ISO you used for the shots? 200? it seems too low even for 20 seconds exposure at F2. Also, with such a low ISO I didn't think you'd need to many black frames/bias. Do you have any other recommendations as to what constallations/nebula to shoot with the 135mm on a crop sensor? Jacob
Great question and good point! I've settled on using ISO 400 now for most of my images for the reasons you mentioned above. I've got a video series out on the best deep sky objects for most months of the year and almost everything in those videos was captured with this setup!
@@LateNightAstronomy Thanks for the quick reply! I assume the histogram is strongly on the left side if you are using such low ISO and relatively short capture times? I saw the winder targets video and the area around Orion's Nebula looks promising. Would the Veil Nebula be also visible in the winter? (November+) I really want to try and find a rice red-rich nebula and see what a full spectrum camera can do with it.
Hi Michael, I am new to Astrophotography and have acquired the Samyang F2.0/135mm lens to assist with the new hobby. From your video, specifically the DSO images, can you tell me how you are getting the close up images, for example, are you simply zooming into the image after it is processed? P.S. Thanks for your other videos, they are definitely helping with my first steps in AP
I've got a series of tutorial on how I took these pictures in the "Astrophotography" playlist. My camera is 24 megapixels so I will crop and zoom a bit to bring out more detail for these videos.
@@LateNightAstronomy 10 year old purchased used coffee grinder style Sirius-EQ...not exactly portable but I have to make it work. Been using cheap lenses: 75-300 mm 4-5.6 (bad coma issues), an EFS 55-250mm. Finally realizing, like you, that a good fixed lens with aperture wins. ($$$, ugh).
@@astrodad656 I shot for about a year using the EFS 55-250mm zoom lens. You are right about the coma issues but it still produced some nice images for me. The money for all of this does add up quickly. This was my big purchase of the year for astronomy. So far, it's paid off!
I will get my Samyang today. I will use it with my Nikon D5600 and star adventure 2i. I live in bortle zone 5 would F2.8 and 800 iso be a good setting? I was thinking of taking 30 to 45 sec subs
It depends on the object and the camera you are using but that should like a decent starting point. I shoot most objects at F2.8 and ISO 400 on my canon SL2 but each camera sensor does iso a bit differently.
@@MrGeert1972 See if you can find a website that dives deep into your DSLR to see if it has an iso sweet spot. For mine, that is ISO 400, but I sometimes will shoot at 800.
Hey mate, I’m looking at getting the lens for a canon EOS 450d and I was wondering about the quality of the image from the pair. I was also wondering about how good the photos are without stacking and editing, as I don’t have a star tracker (yet). Thanks heaps for the video, it was really helpful.
It should fit just fine with a Canon EOS 450d. I'm worried that you wouldn't really get much use out of it without a tracking mount though. If you're looking to get into astrophotography and do things like landscape shots or star trails I would maybe point you towards an EF50mm lens. I've got a review of the SkyGuider Pro if you are looking to make the leap into a tracking mount though.
Funny that you mention "NOT stacking..", because without a tracker you'd be mucht better off WITH stacking. Taking very short exposures, say only a second long, and stacking those, will give you a better result with this lens than not stacking or tracking.
Hi sir. Thank you for the video! Can I ask you what is the diameter of the fixed non-rotating section of the lens where you can install lens collar (section between aperture and focus rings)? I plan to buy this lens and a collar ahead of time.
These images are amazing I’ve been looking at this lens for a while will it’s weight be ok for use with my iopton skytracker pro my main camera is the canon eos 200d, my current lenses at the moment are canons pancake lens, the nifty 50 and the canon 85mm 1.8.
Thanks for such a kind comment. You should be good on the weight for the skytracker. It's weight limit is around 6.5 pounds and with your current camera and this lens it looks like you will be around 3 pounds. That shouldn't strain the motors too bad.
Does anyone know how to get a lens ring to put the weight on the ring and not the camera. I like the balance and don’t want to put too much weight on my flange.
great video,i have just tried mine on the orion, i have a canon 250D,which has the same pixels as the canon SL2,i was wondering what your bortle scale is, i am in bortle 6, and was shooting at iso 800 F4 at 60secs,but came out way too bright,is 60secs too long with this type of lens??
Glad you enjoyed the video a good question. I'm under bortle 5 skies. This is an educated guess on my part, but I would look to lower your iso to 400 and shoot the Samyang 135mm one stop down at F 2.8. Under your sky and those settings my guess is you might end up with useable exposures for post processing between 15 and 30 seconds.
Hi, I got recommended to image this with a canon eos t7 rebel. Would this be a good choice for this camera? I honestly would take anything else that provides more sharper images but is this one alright for that camera?
The T7 is very similar to the Canon SL2 I image deep sky objects with. I'd say you are on the right track for getting equipment to get you into astrophotography. Check out my astrophotography playlist for some more videos if you are interested.
If your budget allows it I would encourage you to go with the 135 f/2. It has changed the game for me in regards to sharpness and exposure lengths for astrophotography.
I'm glad you enjoyed the video. For this image I stacked 100 separate 20 second exposures to 32 minutes of data. I can normally go up to 60 to 90 second exposures on the SkyGuider pro with accurate tracking.
@@KGCA2 Yes, a good number of people will still by used T3's for astrophotography. Do you own a tracking mount? Check out a video I did recently on the best DSLR settings for astrophotography and let me know if you have any more questions!
there's a 'video' lens from Samyang 135mm T2.2 which as far as I can see is ovviously a little slower and doesn't have indexed f stops but is £60 cheaper where I live. does anyone have experience of this lens? is it the same apart from the differences I mentioned? hoping someone can enlighten me
I believe that lens is geared more towards shooting video. I would go with the F2.0 version with indexed f stops if you are looking for a long term astro purchase.
@@LateNightAstronomy No. The filters (77mm) are expensive and limited. I returned it. I thought that it was possible to mount a filter behind the lens, like with a telescope. It turns out to be just a camera lens.
@@LateNightAstronomy I think that I found an answer. If I get the QHY533M with 7 filter wheel, they have a ring that will mount this lens directly. The lens needs to be set up for Canon DSLRs. There is an adapter ring sold separately. I saw it in a video a few days ago, but now I can't find it again.
I bought a Rokinon F2.2 135mm ed umc mistakenly thinking it was the F2 135mm. Will I be ok with this lens? I am using a Cano 70D Astro modded by Spencers - Visible + H-Alpha Any thoughts on ISO with these filters? Thx Mike
I honestly am not to sure. Could you provide me a link describing the product and it's specs? ISO will vary from camera model to camera model. ISO 400 to 800 is the sweet spot for my Canon SL2.
@@LateNightAstronomy I was just considering Stellarium. It states it offers more than SkySafari but Skysafari offers a lot. I am so torn. Thank you for the quick response.
@@n8vjefe I have stellarium on my PC and find it useful as well. I'm sure you will be pleased with either one. Let me know which one you go with and how it works out for you.
@@LateNightAstronomy Well, I came across www.blackwaterskies.co.uk/imaging-toolbox/ Seems good enough for getting an idea of lenses and scopes and inputting custom info. Thank you for the video & replies!
Yes, just make sure you buy the version that is designed to fit with your camera. A friend of mine uses it with a Sony Mirrorless camera and gets great results!
From what I've read it works well for landscape photography and portraits as well. It is a manual lens, so it wouldn't be a good choice for fast moving things like sports.
@@leixlbuhaymontealto1621 As long as you nail the focus you will get pin point stars across the entire field, especially if you are shooting on a cropped sensor. I have read that as well about this lens compared to the Canon 135 and it also costs a good deal less.
@@leixlbuhaymontealto1621 You've got the newer version of my camera. It's a great one to use to get into imaging. Best of luck and let me know if you any questions about things along the way.