New to Photography. Got a few setup questions

[Embed]

Hey,

I'm looking to get into some basic astro photography, I don't have thousands of pounds to spend but I have a few questions to start with.

Primarily I'll be looking to take lunar shots so I'm currently trying to determine the best 300mm lens in my price range. I want to get a lens because I'll use it for other photography too. I have a Canon 600D with a kit 18-55mm lens and a 40mm pancake lens. Do any of you have experience with either of these lenses?

Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM
or the
Tamron SP AF 70-300 F/4-5.6 Di VC USD

For lunar shots, do you think a 300mm telephoto lens is good enough, should I look into teleconverters? Perhaps a 1.4x or 2x?

Telescope wise I have a Nikon ED50, does anybody know of an adapter for Canon EF mounts?

Budget wise I looking at £400. Any suggestions, tip, ideas would be great Thanks!

 

[D.P.]

300mm Wont fill the moon on the frame.

However, you can't and should use TC on lenses that are not designed for them, which infused any of the 70-300mm lenses. Most lens-tc combos wont even physically fit for those lenses, and even if you do get them to fit without damage the results are simply not worth it, you will get better results without the TC and upsampling the final image.


A 300mm F/4.0 will take a TC quite nicely and would be my recommendation.

 

[Janesy B]

300mm isn't long enough, the Tamron is good but I don't think I'd stick a 2x TC on it, seeing as it's not designed for that.

A 300mm F/4.0 will take a TC quite nicely and would be my recommendation.

Only three times the budget, well done.

Sigma 150-500mm f5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM would be the best fit, but it's a bit out of budget and getting a good copy is hit and miss.

 

[D.P.]

300mm isn't long enough, the Tamron is good but I don't think I'd stick a 2x TC on it, seeing as it's not designed for that.



Only three times the budget, well done.

Sigma 150-500mm f5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM would be the best fit, but it's a bit out of budget and getting a good copy is hit and miss.

It is not 3x budget, 2 minutes on ebay and I see a Canon 300mm F/4.0 L for $600, so 365 quid, well under the 400 pound budget. This exludes the TC which I assume the OP has a separate budget for.


No need to buy the newer version with IS for this type of work, the lens will be planted firmly on a tripod for the moon.

 

[Embed]

Thanks for the replies guys, still a bit of head scratching to be done I think.

Ideally I should be looking for a 500mm so that I can fill the frame, even on an APSC sensor?
That 150-500mm sigma does look nice, as does the canon 300mm L but trying to find one that isn't going to break the bank is a toughy.
I've been keeping an eye on ebay for 2nd hand lenses but everything is starting at the very high-end of what I could afford. Are there other recommended sites for used lenses?

Should I just save up for a bit longer so I can afford something more high-end or is one of the 2 original tele lenses I asked opinions for in my initial post going to fit the bill?

Thanks

 

[AHarvey]

if you want lunar shots, you might be better looking at a telescope + DLSR adapter for the same price, would give you more reach.