[MossyRocks]

Can´t go too wrong with Samyang 14mm. Pricing is also, well, cheap

It is cheaper than the Laowa 12, and had I not found a good deal on my barely used Laowa 12 from another forum member I would likely have gotten the Samyang 14. Both lenses are very well regarded in the astro community however I would put the Laowa 12 ahead because of the lower distortion which produces better results when stacking which can be important.

Those are some nice aurora shots. I still haven't managed to make it far enough north when they have happened to capture them. I do know a good spot that is nice and dark but it is a 3 hour drive.

[ediewedie]

Another lens, and the one I use, is the Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D. In addition to everything you mention it also has very low geometric distortion so if you are going to be stacking shots you will have basically no issues and no artefacts.

Here is an image I took last year with it wide open and my first ever try at shooting the Milky Way:

Gorgeous!

---------- Post added 06-22-21 at 03:26 PM ----------

Can´t go too wrong with Samyang 14mm. Pricing is also, well, cheap

Wow! Great pics!

---------- Post added 06-22-21 at 03:34 PM ----------

Thanks for all the great advice!
This summer I'm practicing night sky photography & figuring out settings & working in the dark.
Mosquitos just an added benefit!

[ediewedie]

Another lens, and the one I use, is the Laowa 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D. In addition to everything you mention it also has very low geometric distortion so if you are going to be stacking shots you will have basically no issues and no artefacts.

Here is an image I took last year with it wide open and my first ever try at shooting the Milky Way:

Awesome pic!

[Sagitta]

We don't get aurora enough here for me to have *too* much to compare with, but here are some of what I've managed. Not with the K-70, but older cropped Pentaxes. My personal go-to (out of what I own) would be the 10-20mm, or if I ever get the chance, maybe my 35mm f/1.4. Wider is definitely better.

Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 (constant apertured)


50mm f/1.7 (not sure which, but probably my plastic fantastic Sears 50). I had no idea what I was doing at this point in my digital photography adventures.

[cdd29]

This was an early attempt at northern lights w/ K-1, Tam 28-75. 20 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200. Also the first time I learned about Newtonian rings, haven't used a UV filter since.

[ZombieArmy]

I'd recommend steering away from the samyang 14. I went through a number of copies and couldn't get one without decentering issues. The laowa may have better QC than samyang.

The bigma 10-20 is also a good option that I ended up going with, from reviews I've seen the coma isn't too bad.

[Sagitta]

I'd recommend steering away from the samyang 14. I went through a number of copies and couldn't get one without decentering issues. The laowa may have better QC than samyang.

The bigma 10-20 is also a good option that I ended up going with, from reviews I've seen the coma isn't too bad.

I absolutely love my Sigma. It's my go-to, and couples with the astrotracker, you can really make the sky pop. I tend to even stop it down a peg or two - at 10mm, tracking with it is easy. Then again, at 10mm you don't really *need* to track.

[Pål Jensen]

The Pentax DA* 16-50/2.8 works well for auroras. Here with the K-3