The best Milky Way photography gear guide

What equipment do you need to photograph landscapes with the Milky Way? The equipment does not have to cost tons of cash. This handy gear guide will help!

This is more of a beginner’s guide. Therefore, I am not going to list star trackers. They are not necessary for creating beautiful Milky Way images or astro-landscapes. Also, this guide is written with single-exposure Milky Way photos in mind, although you certainly can apply most of the advice to tracked or stacked photos as well.

Lens

This is arguably the most important piece of equipment for taking photos of the Milky Way. After all, if you have a cheap lens on an expensive camera, it adversely affects the image going into your shiny expensive capture device.

To me, the most interesting Milky Way photographs are the ones that marry the earth and the sky. It’s the overall context that makes our mouths drop. You may be photographing the Milky Way, but it still is all about composition.

Therefore, an ultra wide-angle lens or wide-angle lens is probably the most useful (and hey, here’s an article about lens choices for night photography). You also want it to have a wide aperture to let in as much of that dim starlight as possible. The Irix 15mm f/2.4 lens or the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 lens are relatively inexpensive, ultra wide-angle and have a wide aperture.

I use an Irix 15mm f/2.4 lens or Rokinon 12mm f/2.8 fisheye (I love fisheye lenses!) for my Nikon D750 and a 15-30mm f/2.8 lens for my Pentax K-1 when photographing the Milky Way. I have not used the Rokinon 14mm but have seen plenty of gorgeous images that use one.

Camera

Almost any reasonably modern DSLR or mirrorless with manual controls is capable of doing a great job of photographing the Milky Way. You also don’t need the latest and greatest expensive cameras. An older camera such as the ones I mentioned above are more than capable.

DSLR or mirrorless cameras that are, say, 2014 or newer are capable of excellent high-ISO performance. I’ve seen all sorts of great photos from a variety of cameras, including crop-sensor or full frame. I purchase cameras used since they cost so much, and it hasn’t stopped me from creating high-quality photos. I wouldn’t get too hung up on the camera, although obviously if you have deep pockets and can purchase a nice, new beautiful camera, don’t let me stop you.

Tripod

Obviously, you want your camera to stay still while you have the shutter open for 15, 20, or 30 seconds — common exposure times for Milky Way photography. I use two carbon fiber tripods, a Feisol CT-3342 and a larger Feisol CT-3372, which I’ve had since 2013. These have gone up in price a bit but are still a great buy.

We Nightaxians use a heavy setup (Pentax K-1 and 15-30mm f/2.8 lens) out in the field when doing night photography. Check out this YouTube podcast for a fun, informative discussion about all things tripods!

Tripods for Pentaxians — The Nightaxians Episode 10

While I personally prefer carbon fiber, I wouldn’t get too hung up on this unless you are going to do a lot of hiking. There’s nothing wrong with an aluminum tripod. The heavier weight can often work to your favor for creating stability.

If you want stability and feel like you are going to be using your tripod a fair amount, I would urge you not to buy a cheap flimsy tripod.

Milky Way, Mojave Desert, Southwestern US.

It really is an important piece of gear and can keep your camera safe and stable. After all, I’m not sure if it makes sense to have hundreds or even thousands of dollars invested in a camera and lens only to purchase it on top of a cheap flimsy tripod. But also, to give an example, since I purchased my tripods in 2013, I have owned numerous camera bodies. However, my tripods (and lenses) have remained the same. Hopefully, that gives you some perspective on how important lenses and tripods are compared to camera bodies.

If you cannot afford Feisol tripods, you could have a look at Manfrotto, Benro or Leofoto, who make inexpensive tripod models that seem like they would still be stable.

Regardless, make sure you use a tripod like a pro. This will help greatly with stability.

Great accessories to make your Milky Way photography experience better

Intervalometer or remote shutter release

A simple cheap remote shutter release fires the camera without you having to actually touch your shutter release button. This is great for reducing vibrations. By the way, speaking of vibrations, it’s generally regarded as good practice to turn off image stabilization. While it probably won’t do any harm, you don’t want the image stabilization motors whirring, trying to stabilize a camera that doesn’t need stabilization.

Milky Way, single exposure. Delicate Arch, UT US. Read about how I got the photo here.

An intervalometer does more than a simple cheap remote shutter release. This allows you to fire multiple photos in succession and do time-lapses. This might be nice to get because you can either “stack” photos to reduce noise and bring out the stars a little more, or you can throw the photos you’ve taken in succession into GlueMotion or another app and create time-lapses of the Milky Way! Cool, huh?

And to learn how to use an intervalometer, make sure you check out this article. And check out this article for a really great, flexible intervalometer that can be used for different brands of cameras for under $20.

Apps

500px Photo ID: 119907715 – I arrived at the Grand Canyon hoping to take some night sky photos, star trails, who knows. But there were only clouds, no stars.. At first, I was disappointed. But with the clouds came the storms. Wow. This is looking west from Lipan Point, following the Colorado River below. The sky shows two storms (there’s also one in the distance, just slightly to the left of the two lightning bolts), but there was actually at least two more to the south which I also photographed around the same time. The sky was almost entirely filled with clouds, but you can see little tiny patches of the cloudless sky on the upper left side. Now, being from California, I’m not used to seeing lightning storms. And I’m sure not used to seeing four simultaneously!!!! The weather changes rather quickly in Arizona, and that takes some getting used to as well, especially when attempting to plan night sky photography. I used the Weather Channel app and the Dark Skies app to determine whether the skies were clear or not, and eventually just ignored them because of how quickly the weather changed. It’s pretty much as I describe above. After hanging out at Desert View and seeing nothing but giant masses of clouds, I was a little bummed out, and began driving west, back toward the hotel. I wasn’t going to pack it in for the night, but where I was staying had less clouds typically, so I was going to try and photograph something there. I pulled in to Lipan Point, not far from Desert View, to check out the view, just to scope it out for returning the next day, and as I was pulling up, I saw some flashes of lightning from the south, probably around Williams or Flagstaff. I got out of the car to check it out and check out the view, and then it dawned on me that I might be able to take photos of this, so I trotted out the camera equipment. I photographed looking south for a while, and then some other storms started up west of where we were looking at. That’s what I had been h

PhotoPills is great for planning where the Milky Way is going to appear, finding the Milky Way, or even determining your camera settings (hint: a starting point of 15-20 seconds at f/2.8 at ISO 3200 or 4000 is not bad if using the Rokinon 14mm f/2.8 lens or other lenses with a similar focal length and aperture).

I also wrote an article, “How to find the Milky Way,” that will give you more tips and apps.

What are other useful apps? Apps for light pollution, finding great landscapes, Google Maps for navigating and pinning locations, weather apps such as Clear Outside, and so forth can make your experience easier.

Headlamp

Get a good headlamp that produces red light. The red light is important so you don’t blow your eyes out. A great alternative to a headlamp, something that can clip onto your hat or just about anything else, is a Coast HX4 clip-on LED light. And yes, it has a red light and is inexpensive.

Post-processing

You can use the same setup and settings to capture celestial phenomena. Comet NEOWISE, Central California US.

Post-processing a Milky Way image is largely about taste. It’s easy to try and extract as much detail as possible, only to make your Milky Way or sky look harsh or even garish. Using some sort of software, though, is essential for bringing out the beauty of the Milky Way, just as you would process film. Dodging, burning, sharpening, contrast and brightening are your friends. Just don’t overdo it.

There are many kinds of post-processing software that you could use and do a great job. In the past, I have used Adobe Lightroom Classic CC, Adobe, Photoshop CC, Skylum Luminar, and DxO Nik Collection to gently coax out the Milky Way more. For adjusting the color slightly, I’ve gotten great results from Radiant Photo as well.

More!

Want more tips? Check out Five tips all night photographers should know.

And while being repetitive, I do want to mention again that composition still reigns supreme. Whether photographing the Milky Way, Comet NEOWISE or other celestial phenomena, incorporating it with a strong foreground subject often works best. All the guidelines for image composition still are in play: leading lines, Rule of Thirds, or otherwise pleasing compositions.

Also, since this is a beginner’s guide that links to a lot of other useful information about Milky Way photography, consider bookmarking this so you can return often.

And as always, please leave questions or comments below.

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BOOKS AND PRINTS:
Head on over to the Ken Lee Photography website to purchase books or look at night photography and long exposure prints and more. My books are available there and Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Target, Booktopia, Books A Million, IBS, and Aladin. If you enjoy the book, please leave a nice review, thanks!

NIGHTAXIANS VIDEO YOUTUBE PODCAST:

Night photographers Tim Little, Mike Cooper and I all use Pentax gear. We discuss this, gear, adventures, light painting, lenses, night photography, creativity, and more in this ongoing YouTube podcast. Subscribe and watch to the Nightaxians today!

SOCIAL MEDIA:
Ken Lee Photography Facebook Page (poke your head in, say hi, and “like” the page if you would, uh, like)
Instagram

PODCAST:
Behind the Shot video podcast – interview February 2020

VIDEO PRESENTATION:

How We Got the Shots: Five Photographers, Five Stories – Night Photo Summit 2022

VIDEO INTERVIEW:

Ken Lee’s Abandoned Trains Planes and Automobiles with Tim Little of Cape Nights Photography
Conversation about night photography and my book with Lance Keimig of National Park At Night

ARTICLES:
A Photographer Captures Haunting Nighttime Images of Abandoned Buildings, Planes, and Cars in the American Southwest – Business Insider by Erin McDowell
A Photographer Explores Southern California’s Desert Ruins – Los Angeles Magazine article by Chris Nichols

Pentax 28-105mm: greatest cheap lens you don’t know about?

Once in a rare while, a cheap lens is a great lens. Is the overlooked Pentax 28-105mm such a lens? Read on!

About the lens

Pentax-D FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR zoom lens with a Pentax K-1 DSLR.

The Pentax-D FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR zoom lens (currently $496.95 at B&H or used for around $300) is a versatile and reasonably compact zoom lens, compatible with the full-frame Pentax K-1 DSLR. Indeed, the two were launched at the same time. It can also be used with other K-mount cameras, including APS-C cameras as well as older 35mm film cameras.

Ghost town, Sonoran Desert. 28-105mm lens with Pentax K-1.

What’s hot?

Excellent image quality. We’ll get this out of the way since it’s largely what interests us. The image quality is good. The lens seems sharp across the various focal lengths. As with many lenses, this lens is generally the sharpest between f/8 and f/11 across all focal lengths. I have no hesitation in using this for night photography shoots. In fact, I have been using it in place of the venerable but heavy 15-30mm more and more.

It’s a great walkabout lens. Given that it goes surprisingly wide but extends to 105mm, it’s reasonably wide and useful for most situations.

Solid weather sealing. Like a lot of Pentax products, including the K-1, the weather sealing is excellent. It even has a rubber O-ring on the back of the lens designed to seal against the camera to keep moisture and dust out. So far, it’s survived mist, desert sand, and more without a hitch.

Feels good to use. It’s light, reasonably compact, and has texturized rubber grips that make it pleasant to use.

Little lens flare.

Works with Astrotracer. A lot of Pentax photographers report that slightly longer focal lengths work optimally when using the Astrotracer. In other words, people are reporting that generally speaking, longer focal lengths exhibit fewer artifacts than wide focal lengths such as 15mm.

The price! Wow! The price!!

Abandoned farmhouse. 28-105mm lens with Pentax K-1.

What’s not?

Variable aperture. As you extend the zoom, the aperture will vary from f/3.5 to f/5.6. I feel that expecting a fixed aperture lens for under $500 is unrealistic. And, well, a variable aperture does keep the size of the lens down. Nevertheless, I should mention this. I use this primarily for night photography, so it’s not much of an issue for me. For those who really want a fixed aperture but can’t afford it, the easiest “workaround” is probably photographing with Auto ISO.

The manual focus ring spins continuously instead of stopping. This took me a little getting used to, as the manual focus ring does not have a stop. There’s nothing wrong with the manual focus, but I had to grow accustomed to the lack of throw.

General impressions

Pentax-D FA 28-105mm F3.5-5.6 ED DC WR zoom lens with a Pentax K-1 camera.

I have owned the 28-105mm lens for a while. However, I must confess I was initially biased. Although my night photographer friend spoke of its virtues, I continued subconsciously dismissing it as a “kit lens”. I packed it in my bag as a backup. There it stayed for many months. However, I began using it when I wanted more “reach”. After doing that, I’ve begun using it more and more, as the images are beautiful.

Detail, detail, detail! 28-105mm lens has detail for days.

I use its autofocus all the time, both day and night, and never had an issue with it. Obviously, it will not focus as quickly as the 15-30mm lens would. But that’s just physics, isn’t it, when it has a considerably wider focal range.

House buried in sand, Mojave Desert. 28-105mm lens with Pentax K-1.

The bokeh is fine. It’s not that creamy, luscious bokeh that you have with wider apertures such as a 50mm f/1.4 or a Lensbaby Edge 35 Optic. Obviously, you’ll see more bokeh when you use longer focal lengths, and less with wide-angle, just like any other lens.

Who should use it?

Given the sharp image quality, flexibility, and strong weather sealing, it’s great for just about any Pentax K-1 user. When you factor in the low price, it’s a no-brainer. I would recommend it for general use as a “walkabout” lens. Bring it hiking. It’s good for night photography, landscape, street photography, or travel.

There is a saying, of course: “jack of all trades, master of none.” Most likely, all zooms with reasonably flexible focal lengths fall into this. Is it as sharp as a quality prime lens? No. That’d be silly. The lens exhibits some of the compromises that an inexpensive reasonably long zoom lens might have. This includes some softness in the edges, especially with wider apertures. There’s some vignetting. And of course, it changes the aperture when you zoom. If these are deal-killers, well, you probably shouldn’t be looking at a general-purpose zoom lens under $500.

Always welcome in my camera bag

For me, its merits far supersede these compromises. It is wonderfully flexible and light, and the image equality is beautiful. It’s an excellent lens for night photography during a full moon with light painting and star trails.

And although ordinarily, it wouldn’t have a very wide aperture for Milky Way photos, when used with a tracker or Astrotracer on Pentax cameras, it shines here too.

This often-overlooked “jack of all trades” is always welcome in my camera bag. I will use it for any of my night photography without hesitation. In fact, two of my Pentaxian night photography friends and I, collectively known as The Nightaxians, have discussed this lens on our video podcast show on YouTube. We all use it and love it.

Some amazing detail on an abandoned garage at night, Route 66. 28-105mm lens with Pentax K-1.

I want to believe. Yes, the mighty 28-105mm lens again.

Specifications

Specifications from the Ricoh-Pentax page:

Focal Length

28-105mm
Equivalent to 43-161mm in 35mm format (when attached to PENTAX APS-C size DSLR cameras)

Maximum Aperture

F3.5-5.6

Minimum Aperture

F22-38

Lens Construction

15 elements in 11 groups

Angle of View (Diagonal)

75-23.5°(when attached to PENTAX 35mm full-frame SLR cameras)
53-15.5°(when attached to PENTAX APS-C size DSLR cameras)

Mount

KAF3

Minimum Focusing Distance

0.5m (1.64 ft.)

Maximum Magnification

0.22x

Filter Diameter

62mm

Diaphragm Control

Fully automatic

Number of Diaphragm Blades

9 Rounded diaphragm (28mm: F3.5-6.3 105mm: F5.6-10）

Lens Hood

PH-RBC62 (included)

Lens Cap

O-LC62 (included)

Lens Case

S80-120 (optional)

Maximum Diameter x Length

approx. 73.0mm x 86.5mm (approx. 2.9in. x 3.4in.)

Weight

approx. 440g / with hood approx. 463g
(approx. 15.5oz./ with hood approx. 16.3oz.)

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NIGHTAXIANS VIDEO YOUTUBE PODCAST:

SOCIAL MEDIA:
Ken Lee Photography Facebook Page (poke your head in, say hi, and “like” the page if you would, uh, like)
Instagram

PODCAST:
Behind the Shot video podcast – interview February 2020

VIDEO PRESENTATION:

How We Got the Shots: Five Photographers, Five Stories – Night Photo Summit 2022

VIDEO INTERVIEW:

Ken Lee’s Abandoned Trains Planes and Automobiles with Tim Little of Cape Nights Photography
Conversation about night photography and my book with Lance Keimig of National Park At Night

Seven reasons why you may love fisheye lens!

A fisheye lens may be exactly what you need in your photography bag. Here’s seven reasons why.

1. Instant creativity

abandoned airplane night photo — The fisheye here, along with the light painting makes the scene look even more otherworldly. Instant creativity. Abandoned airplane underneath the Milky Way.

Instant creativity is my number one reason why I love fisheye lenses. There have been times in which I have been doing night photography and was stuck or distracted. I’ve gotten calls before that distracted my creative process. However, if I attach a fisheye lens, I feel like it turbo-charges my creativity. A fisheye lens seems to create a lot of ideas.

2. New perspectives

abandoned fisheye night photo mining camp — Abandoned mining camp with fisheye lens.

Even if I have been to a location numerous times before, I can always count on fisheye lens to give me a new glimpse into the world. After all, who looks at the world from a fisheye perspective regularly – besides, well, fish? Fisheye lens allows us to pull back and get a beautiful, distorted 180-degree view of the world. Or we can jam it in close to something to get an almost macro view, going for detail. Or add a surreal or psychedelic look to some portraits or album covers!

fisheye night portrait — A surreal night portrait photo of two musicians in the Mojave Desert.

3. See the whole sky

Milky Way fisheye photo — Made from 20 light frames (captured with a NIKON CORPORATION camera) by Starry Landscape Stacker 1.6.1. Algorithm: Median

That’s right. That 180-degree view (or so) works wonders for capturing the whole sky. Stick your lens straight up. There you go. A lot of times, what is on the ground will surround the periphery, cradling the photo. This is great for night photography, astrophotography, and so forth. And as a bonus, a lot of fisheye lens have wide apertures. They can let in a lot more light. This means that you can shoot faster and capture the stars as pinpoints, if that’s what you want to do.

4. Context

Get a lot of what is going on around you. And do so easily! Context is key for a lot of photos. I should add here that if you wish, you can use a fisheye lens and fix the distortion later if you choose not to have it. And you do have choices. Photoshop and other programs can address this. You may also use PTLens, which gives a lot of control over lens correction. Or you can photograph panoramas by combining several photos and fixing the distortion in post-processing.

5. Objects in your lens may appear larger than they are

abandoned bathtub fisheye night photo — Bathtub al fresco at night at an abandoned farmhouse, photographed by a fisheye lens up close.

I love this sort of distortion. The elements in the distance fall away and look small, while anything up close looks larger than life. How fun!

6. Don’t worry about straight lines

fisheye abandoned room — Don’t worry about straight lines. If you were a real estate photographer, this might not work. But for creative purposes? I say yes! As you may suspect, this is a night photo of an abandoned mining camp deep in the Mojave Desert.

A lot of times, we need to address keystoning, straight lines on buildings or other things, and maintain proper perspective. Not here! Let it fly! Have fun!

7. It’s weird

Weird is great. Embrace your inner weirdness.

landscape night photo fisheye — Landscapes can get in on the weird act too! Night photo in Utah with a fisheye lens.

What I use

I have been using a Rokinon 12mm 2.8 fisheye lens since 2017. It’s good and sharp. Although it’s manual focus, it’s rather easy and forgiving to focus. Of course, there are many different types of fisheye lens. Explore a little and see what each one offers.

abandoned waterpark night photo fisheye — An abandoned waterpark becomes a surreal display of light and shadow with a fisheye lens.

VISIT ME, VISIT ME!

SOCIAL MEDIA:
Ken Lee Photography Facebook Page (poke your head in, say hi, and “like” the page if you would, uh, like)
Instagram

PODCAST:
Behind the Shot video podcast – interview February 2020

VIDEO PRESENTATION:

How We Got the Shots: Five Photographers, Five Stories – Night Photo Summit 2022

VIDEO INTERVIEW:

Ken Lee’s Abandoned Trains Planes and Automobiles with Tim Little of Cape Nights Photography
Conversation about night photography and my book with Lance Keimig of National Park At Night

Seven reasons the Irix 15mm f/2.4 may be the greatest budget ultrawide lens

What is a good lens for Milky Way photos that won’t break the bank?

This is a common question that frequently pops up in social media discussions everywhere. People ask about recommendations for ultra wide-angle lenses for night photography, astrophotography, or photographing the starry night. And with “Milky Way season” upon us, I thought I would mention a high quality option that is great for this as well as landscape, architecture, real estate and long exposure photography

My “workhorse” night photography lens is currently the Pentax 15-30mm 2/8 lens. This is the same lens as the Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 (Tamron makes it for Pentax). It’s a beautiful, high-quality lens. However, it is also almost $1300 in price. Not everyone can pay that much for lens.

But what if I told you that there’s another amazing lens which sells for a fraction of that price?

Irix 15mm f/2.4 lens

The Irix 15mm f/2.4 ultra wide angle lens, shown here with a Nikon D750 DSLR camera, Robus RTH-1050 ball head and a Robus RC-5570 tripod.

I was one of the first people in the United States to purchase an Irix 15mm f/2.4. In fact, I purchased it in 2016, so early that Irix didn’t have distribution in this country! I had to purchase it through eBay. But I was glad I did.

I have the Blackstone version of this lens (more on this later), which is a sturdy manual focus lens that almost seems made for night photographers, although I believe it would be a good lens for long exposure photography, landscape, architecture, or real estate as well.

Seven reasons why I love this lens

1. Sharpness even at wide apertures

Even at its widest aperture at f/2.4, it’s surprisingly sharp. Wide-open, of course, there is some vignetting in the corners, which is easily addressed. There is slight softness in the corners, less than most ultra wide-angle wide-aperture lens. And the time you stop down to f/2.8, everything seems tack sharp.

Ojo Oro Arch, a remote arch deep within the Mojave Desert, a Milky Way photo taken with the Irix 15mm f/2.4 lens.

2. Detent at true infinity

Move the focal ring and you will feel a detent at true infinity. For photographing the Milky Way or the starry sky, this is invaluable. Just fix the focal ring at detent, and you are ready to go.

But there’s more. If a foreground is not quite in focus at infinity, you can simply refocus the lens for the foreground object and then “focus stack” the two photos later in post-processing so that everything is in focus. And this brings me to the next point…

3. Scarcely any focus breathing

There is very little “focus breathing” when refocusing as described above, having elements grow larger if one is refocusing. The entire time I have been focus stacking with this lens, I have never encountered an issue. It blends beautifully.

4. Rectilinear distortion

For a wide-angle lens, the Irix exhibits very little barrel or pincushion distortion. It’s a rectilinear lens, so images with straight features, such as walls of buildings, continue to appear with straight lines instead of being curved.

5. Accepts filters easily

Most ultra wide-angle lenses have bulbous front elements. Not so the Irix. This allows it to accept screw-on filters in the front. Furthermore, it also accepts gel filters in the back. This would make it useful for long exposure photography without the need to use externally-mounted and more expensive filter systems such as NiSi, Lee or Cokin.

6. Inexpensive

The Irix Blackstone, which a sturdy all-metal model which I have, sells for about $549. The Firefly, which is basically the plastic version of the Blackstone, sells for under $400. You can purchase three Firefly lenses for the price of one Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 and still have enough money left over to purchase a speedlight…or dinner for four at your favorite Mexican restaurant. Mmmmmm…tacos…

7. Focus lock

How many times have you, as a night photographer, mistakenly knocked the lens out of focus? Raise your hands. We’ve all done it, haven’t we? I often affix gaffer’s tape to the focus ring of my other lenses. I don’t need to with the Irix. The focus ring is appropriately stiff, and it also has a focus lock. I don’t bother using this if I am focusing on infinity since it has a detent there and is unlikely to be knocked out of focus.

The Irix 15mm f/2.4 Blackstone ultra wide lens also comes with a nice case, a soft case which is still firm enough to offer ample protection.

There are few ultrawide lenses, if any, that can approach the optical quality of the Irix for this price, or even several hundred dollars more, for that matter. The one lens I can think of off the top of my head that one could also consider in the same price range would be the Rokinon ultra wide-angle lenses.

The Irix also has UV Fluorescent Engraved Markings. I was excited about this upon purchase. In practice, however, they don’t seem to be all that visible at night. And I probably wouldn’t use it that much anyway, preferring to manually focus on sight. Still, the fact that the engineers even thought to incorporate this indicates how much they seemed to be designing this lens for night photography.

As I mentioned, this lens would be outstanding in many applications, including landscape, architecture, real estate and long exposure photography. But isn’t it good that a night photographer is looking out for your needs all the same?

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, California. Irix 15mm f/2.4 lens.

While I haven’t done a specific side-by-side comparison with the 15-30mm f/2.8 lens that I have, I have used the Irix alongside or instead of that lens without hesitation for years. And I’ve never felt like I’ve ever perceived a drop-off in image equality or sharpness at any point. It keeps up with that or the venerable 14-24mm f/2.8 Nikon F-mount without breaking a sweat. And given that the Firefly version is under $400, less than a third of the price of those other lenses, that’s stunning.

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MY WEBSITE:
Head on over to the Ken Lee Photography website to purchase books or look at night photography and long exposure photos. My latest book, “Abandoned Southern California: The Slowing of Time” is available there and Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Target, Booktopia, Books A Million, IBS, and Aladin. If you enjoy the book, please leave a nice review.

SOCIAL MEDIA:
Ken Lee Photography Facebook Page (poke your head in, say hi, and “like” the page if you would, uh, like)
Instagram

PODCAST:
Behind the Shot video podcast – interview February 2020

VIDEO INTERVIEW:
Conversation about night photography and my book with Lance Keimig of National Park At Night

Solving night photography problems: Three ways to keep dew off a lens

Dew on your lens can ruin an evening of night photography. No one wants to get home to find that their photos are completely fogged up.

I photograph in mostly arid regions, so condensation on lens is typically not a consideration. Because of this, I can be caught off guard if I photograph near the coast or on the East Coast, as you can see below. Dew can set in quickly — these photos were only taken 10 minutes apart. Below, I’ll discuss three ways to keep dew off your lens.

When does lens fog occur?

Your lens can build up condensation if the glass is colder than the air around it and there’s some humidity in the air. There’s more to it than that, of course. These factors are tied to dew point and air movement, all of which also affect condensation.

Three ways to avoid dew on your lens

Keeping the lens hood on your lens is the easiest way to keep dew off your lens. Covering the front element helps protect it from the outside colder air for just a little longer. However, this only works up to a point, so we’re not going to count this as one of the three ways. I’ll begin with the cheaper, lower-tech methods and work my way forward.

1. Hand warmers

HotHands hand warmers. They’re not just for warming your hands.

Hand warmers work well at, well, keeping the lens warm. Wrap a couple of hand warmers around the lens or lens hood. A lot of people use some cloth to try and insulate them.

A West Virginia Mountaineers beer cozy around a lens to hold hand warmers in place. For many lens, you might need to cut this and either apply Velcro strips to close it back up, tape it with gaffer's tape, or tie rubber bands around it. — A West Virginia Mountaineers beer cozy wrapped around a lens to hold hand warmers in place. For many lens, you might need to enlarge the cozy by slicing it and applying Velcro strips to close it back up, taping it with gaffer’s tape, or tying rubber bands around it.

An alternative to only using rubber bands is to use a beer cozy. Now, this won’t fit all lenses, so you may have to modify the cozy or even cut it open. But this, coupled with a couple of hand warmers, works rather well due to the cozy’s insulation properties. Plus, as a bonus, it looks really fun.

LensMuff on a 28-105mm Pentax lens. Perhaps a more elegant if less beer-friendly solution to keeping dew off a lens compared to a beer cozy.

Even better is a LensMuff. This is specifically designed to wrap hand warmers around the lens and can accommodate very large lenses and is easy to put on quickly in the dark. It has pockets for up to three hand warmers, so there’s less likelihood of them slipping around. And you can use more than one Lensmuff and attach them together for larger lenses or telescopes.

The upside: This is cheap, lightweight, requires no power and is easy to do.

The downside: They are not always quite so reliable in very cold conditions. They also create waste.

Because I rarely photograph in environments where there will be dew on my lens, this is the method I use. However, I’ll discuss a couple of other methods I’ve seen people use.

2. Dew heating strips

These look somewhat like the LensMuff. However, the difference is that instead of stuffing hand warmers into the wrap, the wrap creates heat via a power source, typically USB.

These used to be rather expensive. However, as of late, they have dropped to a very reasonable price. This example here, a USB lens warmer, is rather inexpensive. If dew heating strips such as this were this inexpensive years ago, I may have opted for this route instead of the LensMuff.

If I were to use a dew heating strip, I would most likely power it with a reasonably powerful USB power bank. I believe most USB lens warmers, certainly the one I linked to, are 5V, and so are most USB power banks. Velcro the power bank to the leg of your tripod, and you should be good for the evening.

The upside: You may regulate the heat, and they are a continuous source of reliable heat. You may also use it to warm up other things such as baby bottles, making it multi-functional.

The downside: There’s more to set up, it’s more expensive and it requires power to work.

3. Fans

I suppose you could continually wave a fan in your hand. That would show serious dedication. But here, I’m going to propose using an electric fan.

I’ve never actually seen anyone use a fan. However, if you look around on photography and telescope forums, you can always find an enterprising DIYer who uses something such as a small computer fan, clamping it to an arm so it blows air on the front element of the lens.

This, however, would likely require a heavier-duty power source and require effective positioning during every setup. You might also need to be careful of vibration. However, if you connect the arm to one of the tripod legs, I doubt there would be any issue.

Of course, the issue I would probably have is banging into the arm or the fan in the dark. Because of this, perhaps attaching it to the camera’s hot shoe might work.

Perhaps if you didn’t mind carrying extra equipment, you could purchase a rechargeable portable fan, such as this 8-inch clip-on USB fan. I say “extra equipment” because a fan this large would almost necessitate mounting it on another stand due to vibrations, it seems.

How do I check for the likelihood of dew?

If the night-time ambient temperature starts creeping close to the dew point, you are more likely to get moisture on the lens. Check a meteorological site for dew point. Or if you have been reading some of my articles, you might remember that one of my favorite apps and websites, Clear Outside, provides the low temperature and dew point for specific locations along with other very useful information.

This information is good to know in advance. After all, using heat (or the fan) would be considerably more effective when begun before dew sets in. You want to stop the lens from dropping to that evening’s dew point, after all.

What I dew (pardon the pun)

I’ve used hand warmers in all combinations. I found that the LensMuff and hand warmer combination has worked remarkably well so far during summer and fall evenings.

If I photographed in colder environments, I would look into one of the dew heaters and have a couple of USB power banks ready to go.

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PODCAST:
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Conversation about night photography and my book with Lance Keimig of National Park At Night

Seven reasons Irix may be the greatest budget ultra wide lens for Milky Way photos

What is a good lens for Milky Way photos that won’t break the bank?

This is a common question that frequently pops up in social media discussions everywhere. People ask about recommendations for ultra wide angle lenses for night photography, astrophotography, or photographing the starry night. And with “Milky Way season” upon us, I thought I would mention a high quality option that I use.

My “workhorse” night photography lens is currently the Pentax 15-30mm 2/8 lens. This is the same lens as the Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 (Tamron makes it for Pentax). It’s a high quality lens. However, it is also almost $1300 in price. Not everyone can pay that much for lens.

However, there’s another lens that I use right without hesitation that works extremely well!

Irix 15mm f/2.4