85mm 1.2

Howdy all,
Im kinda new to the astronomy front and would like to get some opinions. I'm going to death valley next weekend for a photo trip and was thinking of getting some starscapes for lack of a better word over the mountains. Has anyone used a 85mm 1.2l before to do this? Do you think i would be ok at 1.2 or should i lower the aperture to 2.8? What ISO would you recommend for a Canon 5D MK II camera? I also have a 17-40, 24-105,24-70 and 70-200 2.8L...if the 85 isnt the best...what would someone recommend as a good lens for this kind of stuff. Thanks to anyone who can lend a helping hand

chuckie365 wrote in post #11275039
Howdy all,
Im kinda new to the astronomy front and would like to get some opinions. I'm going to death valley next weekend for a photo trip and was thinking of getting some starscapes for lack of a better word over the mountains. Has anyone used a 85mm 1.2l before to do this? Do you think i would be ok at 1.2 or should i lower the aperture to 2.8? What ISO would you recommend for a Canon 5D MK II camera? I also have a 17-40, 24-105,24-70 and 70-200 2.8L...if the 85 isnt the best...what would someone recommend as a good lens for this kind of stuff. Thanks to anyone who can lend a helping hand

I don't have any L lenses so can't really comment, but starscapes with the longer focal lengths will need some sort of tracking device, whereas short focal lengths, wide aperture and long exposure can be utilised with a normal tripod. My reading of many threads leads me to think that around 20s exposure should be OK with the 24mm on a FF camera before you start to get trails. If you want trails then use the longer focal lengths, but be aware that star trail shots look pretty boring with no foreground. An interesting foreground and a few trails makes for a much better shot (IMHO).

My guess would be a 30-60s exposure with the 85/1.2 ISO 400 with lots of foreground to get some trailing. It ought to be really dark, in which case, use a 20-30 min exposure at ISO 100 and see what you get.

There is no harm in trying things out before you go. Digital is cheap Even if you have lots of light pollution from your home, it will give you an idea of exposures for trailing at least.

My 2p, hope it helps some.

Ok thx. I'll try some experimenting here before i go up there!...appreciate the advice

I'm thinking about getting this lens, too. This should be perfect for astro photography.

See here what can be achieved with the 85mm f1.8. This guy is brilliant.
https://photography-on-the.net …?p=11251414&pos​tcount=151

The 85mm f1.2 should perform even better.

Make sure you have as little light pollution as possible. I remember the Joshua Tree park to have some great skies when I was there ages ago.