[Edward Brock]

I hope this is the right place to start this.
I'd like to maybe open up a Can of Worms with this question.
I'm sure there are Many, Many combinations and preferences.
For Night or even Real Low light photography which camera
and which lens do you prefer OR think does the best job?
I am just starting to give it a try with my K-70 but have not
completely settled on a lens. 20-40 Limited? 50 DA star?
I'm going out tonight with an old 50 that I had on my ME Super
just to see what happens.
Any thoughts or suggestions ?

[UncleVanya]

Look on YouTube for the nighttaxians.

[photoptimist]

Between the stellar high-ISO performance of the last decade's worth of Pentax bodies and SR for hand-held slow shutter speeds, just about any lens can be a champ at night photography. Heck, it's possible to do hand-held astrophotography although it might take a few tries to get a decently steady image.

The best tip is to practice stabilized shooting (a stable stance, good grip on the camera, controlled breathing, and the use of anything in the environment to help hold the camera still).

Digital shots are almost free so testing different slow shutter speeds and learning how slow you can go is simply a matter of trying it and chimping the results.

Have fun!

P.S. The only restrictions on lenses for night photography arise if you want super sharp stars. You might do some quickie tests of all your lenses to see which ones do a decent job on the night sky.

[hcc]

In dark places, I would tend to choose a fast lend (eg f1.4) if I work hand-held. Slower lenses would require long exposure times, often incompatible with handheld photography. More, I use MF to limit/prevent AF hunting.
There are many excellent Pentax fast primes incl. (relatively cheap) MF lenses. My fav is the Voigtlander Noton 58mm f1.4, but I may be biased...
Hope that the comment may help.

[Roadboat24]

I like Night photography. I use a Pentax K1 with the SMC Pentax-DA 50mm F1.8., on a tripod.
They say the 50mm1.8 isn't a ff lens but I have no trouble with it.

[robgski]

Look on YouTube for the nighttaxians.

There are several nightaxian posts here on PF, and in the groups.

For the most part, night photos are more about technique, and your preference in subject and composition, as well as tolerance for noise, or use of noise reduction software.

FWIW, I really liked using a Rokinon 8mm on APS-C for night sky photos. Otherwise, I’d use anything between 17 and 50mm on my K-1.

[UncleVanya]

There are several nightaxian posts here on PF, and in the groups.

Agreed. I was lazy.

[jgnfld]

The K-70 has very good performance at higher ISOs and longer exposures...

Here, for example, is my screensaver(!) picture taken hand held w/ the 16-85mm lens at 53mm, f4.5, ISO 3200, 1/25sec:

[Bob 256]

The K-70 has very good performance at higher ISOs and longer exposures...

Here, for example, is my screensaver(!) picture taken hand held w/ the 16-85mm lens at 53mm, f4.5, ISO 3200, 1/25sec:

You cheated - you could only do that good a shot with a cat.

---------- Post added 05-15-2023 at 10:20 AM ----------

I hope this is the right place to start this.
I'd like to maybe open up a Can of Worms with this question.
I'm sure there are Many, Many combinations and preferences.
For Night or even Real Low light photography which camera
and which lens do you prefer OR think does the best job?
I am just starting to give it a try with my K-70 but have not
completely settled on a lens. 20-40 Limited? 50 DA star?
I'm going out tonight with an old 50 that I had on my ME Super
just to see what happens.
Any thoughts or suggestions ?

I've shot some handheld images with my K-1 and its 55mm f1.4 FA lens in conditions where I couldn't see what I was shooting. These required some post processing to bring up the image but they were totally usable. A lot depends on how much motion you have in your subject.

[jgnfld]

You cheated - you could only do that good a shot with a cat.

...

I once took a quite clear 15 SECOND exposure of her from a camera placed on a chair arm and it was basically just as clear! Cats really can stay still!

Do note the hind leg movement in the posted pic. :-)

[Buntzbooze]

I like using my K70 handheld at night with a standard prime like my FA 28mm 2.8. Better still is the K1 with the same lens, or the FA 50mm 1.7. The full frame camera has a bigger and brighter viewfinder, the AF is a bit more effective in low light and the image stabilisation plus better grip allow for sharp exposures at very long shutter speeds.

[Edward Brock]

I like Night photography. I use a Pentax K1 with the SMC Pentax-DA 50mm F1.8., on a tripod.
They say the 50mm1.8 isn't a ff lens but I have no trouble with it.

Those are Very Kool... Where is that?

---------- Post added 05-15-23 at 12:32 PM ----------

The K-70 has very good performance at higher ISOs and longer exposures...

Here, for example, is my screensaver(!) picture taken hand held w/ the 16-85mm lens at 53mm, f4.5, ISO 3200, 1/25sec:

If that car were any more happy it'd be Totally Spoiled.

[gaweidert]

I like Night photography. I use a Pentax K1 with the SMC Pentax-DA 50mm F1.8., on a tripod.
They say the 50mm1.8 isn't a ff lens but I have no trouble with it.

Those are excellent shots. I have to disagree with you about the lens though. Your shots do look a little dark in the corners.

[Roadboat24]

Those are Very Kool... Where is that?

Wild Horse West is located approximately three miles from Lake Pleasant on the south east corner of Carefree Hwy and Lake Pleasant RD (99th Ave).


Phoenix Arizona Temple, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,5104 West Pinnacle Peak Road Glendale AZ

---------- Post added 05-15-23 at 01:58 PM ----------

Those are excellent shots. I have to disagree with you about the lens though. Your shots do look a little dark in the corners.

Thank You.
They may be a 'bit' dark in the corners, I don't have a problem with it.


Seriously, I started using the SMC DA50 f1.8 (nifty fifty) as a 30 day project (One lens for thirty days). I liked it so much I pretty much use it exclusively.
I was always a bit disappointed with my Samyang 20mm f1.8 and Pentax 24-70mm f2.8. The 50mm f1.8 gives me a much better image quality.

If I want a wider angle of view I shoot a three frame vertical panorama.
Of my others lenses, only the DA* 300mm F4 and the D FA 150-450mm F4.5-5.6 are better. Although the D FA 100mm f2.8 macro comes close.

[kypfer]

My low-light lens of choice for very many years was my EBC Fujinon 35mm f/1.9 in screw-mount … mostly 'cos it was the fastest 'general-purpose' lens I had.
Inevitably, as my cameras have got more sensitive, maximum aperture has become less of an issue, also I've been fortunate enough to accrue a couple of 28mm f/2 lenses (Vivitar and Petri) which also serve very well, though they do show coma if used for "astro"