Canon 50mm 1.8 manual focus

Hi everyone I am new to forums so not sure if I'm using this right or not but I have just recently brought the canon 50mm 1.8 for low light shooting I am having awful trouble trying to get it manually focused especially for Astro photography any tips on how to do this or what other brand lenses can I use in a canon 1100d for low light shooting thanks in advance

Kellytully23 wrote in post #18503978
I am having awful trouble trying to get it manually focused especially for Astro photography any tips on how to do this

Turn off AF on the lens physically.
Manually set the camera settings to Manual, F1.8, ISO 6400+ (just to start).
Turn on Live View.
Point it at a bright star.
Press the magnification glass button twice, to get to 10x magnification.
Make sure that bright star is in your FOV on the LCD so you can see it, magnified 10x.
Gently adjust manual focus back and forth through the star until you obtain best critical focus.
Leave lens parked there.
Take a test shot.
Adjust exposure as needed.

Very best,

If it's the II version, strips of painter's tape to create friction and keep the focus from shifting. Then use MalVeauX's technique. Do remove the tape before setting the lens to AF.

The mkiII is probably the worst of any auto focus lenses when used in manual mode. It barely has a focus ring and it not smooth at all. Just do your best.

Thank you so much for your advice very helpful I'll try it tomorrow night, one more question Iv heard that you can use other brand lens on different cameras, if this is true what time of other brand lenses can I use on my camera canon 1100d and how do I know what to look for to identify what lenses will work on my camera thanks in advance

Kellytully23 wrote in post #18504271
Thank you so much for your advice very helpful I'll try it tomorrow night, one more question Iv heard that you can use other brand lens on different cameras, if this is true what time of other brand lenses can I use on my camera canon 1100d and how do I know what to look for to identify what lenses will work on my camera thanks in advance

As long as it's EF mount, it will work. All third party lenses (Sigma, Tamron, Yongnuo, etc) will work on all EF mounts, even if designed for APS-C EF-S mounts, as the mount is EF regardless. And for Canon, the EF & EF-S mounts will work on your 1100D. But basically, all EF mounts. That's all you look for: EF. It will be labeled for Canon EF mount.

As for lenses, depends on what focal length and stuff you want. I know over in Austrailia prices are very different so I can't really recommend something in the sense of budget.

But if you want a sharp, wider, fast (F2) lens, take a look at the Yongnuo 35mm F2 for Canon EF mount. Great inexpensive lens (at least here it is, it's like $85 USD).

Very best,

Kellytully23 wrote in post #18504271
Thank you so much for your advice. Very helpful. I'll try it tomorrow night. One more question: I'v heard that you can use other brand lens on different cameras. If this is true, what type [?] of other brand lenses can I use on my camera (Canon 1100D) and how do I know what to look for to identify what lenses will work on my camera? Thanks in advance.

I slightly modified your post to be able to understand it myself (I'm not a native English speaker), but now I see you already have a good answer. So never mind.