Fuji's best lens for Astrophotography!

Master night sky photography Part 2
I have been on the hunt for Fuji's best lens for astrophotography and to find out what are the best Milky Way photography settings.
This is all part of an ongoing series about me trying to master the night's sky and to find out what is Fujifilm's best wide-angle lens.
In this video, I test the following Fuji lenses.
18-135mm f/3.5-5.6, 16-80mm f/4, 16-50mm f-3.5-5.6, 15-45mm f/3.5-5.6, 18-55mm f2.8-4, 10-24mm f/4, 16mm f/2.8, 16mm f1.4, 8-16mm f/2.8, 14mm f/2.8, 16-55mm f/2.8
Or to see a more in-depth review of each lens as I test them from a landscape photographers' view check out my Fujifilm's best wide-angle lens series here.
• Best Fujifilm wide ang...
For those that would like to know where I learned most of this from check out
www.lonelyspec...
Or for those looking for my Astro cheat sheets check out either my Instagram highlights or my website at the links below.
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How to get perfect focus when doing landscape photography
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[@Sidecontrol1234]

I have the 16mm f/1.4 and have found at f/2.8 it removes all the coma in the top corners. Love using it for astro.

[@rimofheaven]

Awesome video

[@m.mohsenzadekamand3847]

It's the first time I'm watching such a scientific but simple video about Fuji's and in general photography. Thanks so much. I'm gonna watch all your previous post soon.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you! Comments like that make it very worth while producing content like this.

[@nielskersic328]

I love how much you tested this! I'm curious how the Samyang 12mm F2 stacks up against the Fuji lineup, since it's a very popular and very cheap lens that I see used for Astrophotography quite often. Also definitely interested in seeing that editing video!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Yes me too on both topics! Cheers for the comment.

[@NukeSPO]

I’d also be very interested in the Samyang/Rokinon 12mm f2 comparison. I’ve been using it for years, and I’m happy with it, but I’d like to see a comparison test.

[@BackFocus11]

@@NukeSPO YES!!!! And throw in the Zeiss Tuit 12mm f2.8 for giggles too

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Hahaha if I can get my hands on one, I will

[@MikeKline]

@@NukeSPO same here. Been using the 12mm for a few years on my Fujis and am happy with the results but... a comparison would be nice!

[@renehache]

Phenomenal review. It's clear a lot of hard work went into this video. Thank you!!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you, and yes it did take a ton of work, I'm glad you appreciate it

[@MottiWolkenbruch]

11:18: »How-aewah!« - love it!

[@elmachomen]

This has to be the most accurate comparison between lenses for any system on KZbin. Amazing work, really impressed by this. Also quite surprised, I was expecting the 8-16mm to be on top of the list by quite a margin so when I saw that the actual best performer for Astro was the XF16mm F1.4 I was quite astounded although it is an amazing lens (probably one of the sharpest for the X Mount). In the end, the best was the conclusion, you pretty much can get more than good enough results with any of the aforementioned lenses, and that's great news for us Fuji shooters. Keep up the good work!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you, really happy you enjoyed it!

[@Samwalklate]

Crazy how deep you dived into this, hats off to you sir 🙏🏼 great info

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you kindly

[@tslandscapes]

What an effort on this one! Thanks for making it easier for me to take my 14 f2.8 out for an astro shoot..

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

You're welcome man, hope you get exciting results!

[@Narsuitus]

Thanks for sharing your list of best lenses for astrophotography. I have used the following lenses on Fuji mirrorless cameras: 12mm f/2 Rokinon 12mm f/2.8 Zeiss Touit 14mm f/2.8 Nikon (adapted) 16mm f/2.8 Nikon fisheye (adapted) 16mm f/1.4 Fuji 18mm f/3.5 Nikon (adapted) 16-55mm f/2.8 Fuji One lens that I own but have not yet tested is a Rokinon 8mm f/2.8 fisheye.

[@dmitryh3913]

Viltrox 13mm f1.4

[@ldr8276]

Just bought my first fuji with the 18-55 kit based on your video- Cant wait to get out and shoot. Thanks for the content!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

I'm excited for you, if ya have any troubles running it do feel free to sing out in these comments.

[@ldr8276]

@@ThomasBusbyPhotography thanks man! Really appreciate it. Keep up the great work 👊🏽

[@kenmcdougall6106]

Very ingenious testing system, and very thorough, and although quite a complex subject, easy to understand - thank you

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

You're welcome and thank you

[@rannikkolainen_]

Brilliant, mate! Subscribed :)

[@matthewryan9935]

Awesome video. So glad I stumbled across it. Thanks!!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you!

[@PeteMcGrath1]

wowser. wicked video. that was just the info I needed and magically it's a new moon tomorrow.. will shoot and report back.. have the 10-24 and the kit 18-55 will see what goes best :)

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Haha all the best

[@joewander5398]

Great work man! We had plans to go to great barrier island but lockdown day 1 was on the date we should take the boat. Got stuck in Taranaki a few months instead. Great time though. Got some nice astro shot up on the mountain. Now back in Sweden. Miss the NZ night skies.

[@zacharyf.9936]

Thank you for this- a fantastic analysis and you did all the hard work for us!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you!

[@chris-murray]

Amazing amount of work went into this. Thank you so much. Very helpful.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you!

[@josekaijiecastaneda6014]

Thanks for helping me explore in finding the "best" fuji lens for Astrophotography.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

No worries at all.

[@davebenson1504]

WOW... awesome review/report... thank you for such detailed analysis...

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

No worries at all, thank you

[@dja72]

Really well done and very helpful. Nice work.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you!

[@MrEq0000]

Wow, this must have been a lot of work. Best review I have ever seen. It should be Fuji who feels lucky enough to have ambassador like you! Thumbs up and subscribed.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Hahaha you are far to kind, thank you!

[@Helen-cq9es]

Really appreciate the hardwork. It is very informative, especially for beginners!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you!

[@zipengwang5882]

Definitely the most informative and well-produced video!!!! Thank you so much

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

You're welcome!

[@simonmarsden4915]

Amazingly helpful video! Thanks for putting in the hours to put it together!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you taking the time to comment, I appreciate it.

[@Oxbowphoto]

What a fantastic review!! Thank you

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you!

[@GusPotenza]

What a great review indeed!!! Amazing! Wish you had included other brand x-mount lenses like Sony Touit 12mm, Samyang 12mm and Laowa 9mm! (Next video perhaps?) Another subscriber here! Cheers from Australia!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Other lens will come as I can find the lenses to borrow. The samyang 12mm isn't far off though, and cheers for the sub

[@GusPotenza]

I run a Facebook group for Australian/New Zealander Fujifilm shooters (although our NZ membership is quite low in comparison and therefore our presence in NZ is proportionally small) if you ever come to Australia let us know and we can try and arrange gear for testings through our retail and manufacturer partners 😉 Cheers

[@GusPotenza]

m.facebook.com/FujifilmXAU/photos/a.221377964632060/2042978639138641/?type=3

[@mattcero1]

This was a wicked good video! I've got the Samyang 12mm for my X-S10 and am motivated to point it up to the sky to see what I get. If good, I'll buy the Sigma 16 f1.4. Thank you for putting so much quality work and time into this . I'm subscribing mate! Now put another shrimp on the "Bobby"!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Hahah Is a “shrimp on the bobby “ meant to be a go at my accent? Because I’m a from New Zealand not Australia, very closed but I believe the correct joke should be related to sheep hahaha

[@mattcero1]

@@ThomasBusbyPhotography Copy that! I say that to dudes from England, Scotland and Ireland as well, please know. Great work and the rating system was a great summation of it all.

[@pouchboy1]

This is amazing. Your knowledge blows me away.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you! There are a few more follow up videos to this on one the channel now if you feel like even more.

[@pouchboy1]

@@ThomasBusbyPhotography I have subscribed and am going to go through all your videos. I want to learn how to do more complex photography than just the normal crap I throw on Flickr. I appreciate the help.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

If you have any questions do sing out, and thanks for the sub.

[@ChrisGower]

Bloody hell. What a review. Added this to my 'Watch Later' videos... permanently! Appreciate the hard work here. BTW I found you because I'm eyeing the 14mm f2.8 but worrying it's so old maybe it's not 'all that'..... this might have tipped the scale to convince me to get it!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

I honestly have no inside idea but I think there must be lots of mark II lenses in the works so if you worried about the age of the lens of snap up a second hand one of go towards some of the new lenses like the new 18mm Or get the 16mm 1.4 etc

[@jamiefenner9443]

Thanks, thorough and useful! I have four of those lenses. I am a lapsed amateur astronomer, If I were still energetic and still serious I would "invest" in a star tracker.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Agreed

[@chrisscott-mckenzie548]

Wow! crazy to see the 18-55mm do so well. Awesome video, great work.

[@ColumbusO]

Valuable video, thanks.

[@eddiek4978]

Great info and well produced video! Keep it up. I bought the 16 mm 1.4 lens specifically because it was the best for astrophotography. Great lens

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you!

[@ozuidema]

Fabulous vid, very thorough, informative and helpful. In a sea of rather similar content and reviews, this one really stands out!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you!

[@markwiemels]

Such great information, it’s only a matter of time until your channel is 100k subs plus, the information is just too good. Quick question, how would you rate the Samyang/Rokinon 12mm if you threw it into this bunch (roughly)? I have been thinking of buying that lens as a dedicated asto lens, given it’s small size and price.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you very much for the kind words. kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5mTgmegfdx9arc

[@danielvanwyk5887]

One outstanding lense better than the Fujifilm 16mm f1.4 is the Fuji X mount auto focus prime lense, the Viltrox AF 13/1.4 XF.Absolutely brilliant.

[@gemmawatson6100]

Love it! So so good (and I could actually understand it all, which was super encouraging:-) My big question is, have you had a chance to have play with the Sigma 16mm f1.4? Im currently on Canon ef-m and looking round for a new system that hasn't been abandoned by its manufacturer (x-t5 on the shortlist). Had very pleasing results with my ef-m Sigma 16mm, but always wondered just how much better the Fuji actually is.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you! Unfortunately I haven’t tested that lens sorry

[@gemmawatson6100]

@@ThomasBusbyPhotography All good, you have got a fantastic channel, awesome to see so many top images coming out of Taranaki!

[@fr0stw0rld]

Excellent review/comparison of Fuji lenses in Astrophotography. Loved the detail and explanation on every single aspect, just subscribed to your channel! Will check your other videos and keep an eye for new ones, keep that great work, thank you! :)

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you for the comment, the encouragement means so much and I really appreciate it!

[@StarlordStavanger]

"The 14mm is best at 14mm. **looks at camera, cheeky grin** Well done." LOL dude you got me. Really appreciate the thorough breakdown of all the lenses at their best astro settings. I can't imagine how long and how much thought all of that took, but well done, very solid video. And as a night time shooter myself coming to the Fuji system this video is perfect for me. Thanks also for making the cheat sheets, definitely going to come in handy!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Hahaha thank you! I really appreciate the time you put into that comment, and all your constant support and messages really helps.

[@StarlordStavanger]

@@ThomasBusbyPhotography No worries man, I believe we both share a legit passion for the Fuji system and that resonates through all your videos ya know. Also, you break things down well enough that anyone can follow and understand. Just keep doing exactly what you're doing man, always have fun with it too if you can! And hopefully in the coming months there's an update to that van build of yours, I know some of us haven't forgotten heh heh.

[@carlreid4161]

Really good explanation Tom! I already have the 18-55 f/2.8-4.0 and the 10-24 f/4 and was looking for a better lens from Fuji, but that winner's glass is expensive. Came across to your channel from the post you added in Astrophotography for Fujifilm FB group btw ;)

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Cheers for the comment man. Good skills more than makes up for not top tire glass. If you can't afford the best, don't, creativity and knowledge will do far better than money every single time.

[@johnhaze2774]

Wow, thanks for doing this mate!

[@tomleo4670]

Hi Thomas, first off: thanks a lot for all the work you are putting into your videos! You are truly creating valuable content. I’m not sure if you read this because it’s an older video, but I am wondering if you could get a hand on the new Viltrox 13mm f1,4 to check how it stacks up against the Samyang 12 mm and also the Fuji primes. Thanks and best regards, Thomas

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Hi Tom, unfortunately I don’t have a way of getting hold of viltrox lenses as they haven’t replied to my messages. Thank you kindly for the words of support though and all the best

[@tomleo4670]

@@ThomasBusbyPhotography Thank you for your kind reply, appreciated. Understood. That´s a pity. Maybe someone can borrow you one some time :-)) all the best from Germany

[@PhotographerSen]

That is the most entertaining as well as informing fuji lens review I ever watched! With that thorough process, you answered almost all questions relating astrophotography with a fuji setup. Could have added the Samyang 12mm f2 fuji mount. I'm interested how that would stack up!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

I got your back buddy. kzbin.info/www/bejne/a5mTgmegfdx9arc

[@PhotographerSen]

@@ThomasBusbyPhotography haha! Fastest reply ever! Thanks a ton man!🙏

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

No worries, cheers for the support man.

[@demonsaint1296]

If you’re Australian try to keep things at adeen just so you can say adeen several time when talking about it. Better image quality at 16mm or 20mm or any other focal length? No, keep it at adeen because adeen. Outstanding video. Thank you for your time putting this together.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Hahaha i am not Australian and I'm also a little confused by your message sorry

[@demonsaint1296]

You’re not Australian. What was I thinking? Some of your accent is a little similar sounding to me. Just should have complimented you on the time taken for this excellent video.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Hahaha I appreciate the compliment all the same. I am from New Zealand which is pretty close to Australia, but very much not the same country

[@couch_potato_v1826]

Thanks for the review, I have the kit lens, will try it out tonight.

[@christopherglass8379]

Hi Thomas, I'm new to your channel and wanted to thank you for all the donkey work you've done, which you are now sharing with us. I shall put this into practise as I live near Dungeness in the UK and am dying to get some Milky Way shots.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you and all the best.

[@shirokuro73]

Great video, I’m glad I found it, even 3 years later lol!! Have you compared some of the third party lenses to the Fuji 16mm f1.4? I’ve been looking at the sigma 16mm for 1.4, the Samyang/rokinon 12mm f2, and the recent TTartisan 10mm f2 and they all seem pretty great for astrophotography too. Do you have any opinions or recommendations? It seems the Fuji would make the most all-around sense since it has autofocus, but if I wanted a lens mainly for astrophotography, those others are much cheaper. What do you think?

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

I have a review up for the samyang and have a little experience with most third party options and I would say they can be great. Like maybe a 50% chance it’ll be as good as reviewed. Because I’ve also seen a lot with flaws and soft patches

[@shirokuro73]

@@ThomasBusbyPhotography thanks! I’ll look for your review!

[@matthewwells1606]

Thank you so much for this! I don't do astrophotography but since I own the 16mm f/1.4, maybe I should give it a whirl!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

You should, I send me ya images I'd love to see how ya get on

[@Argolich]

Hello! I know this is an older video for you but it is fantastic and super informative! (and I just discovered it) I was just wondering if perhaps you have had a chance to add the more recent 18mm 1.4 prime to this list? I am just curious as to how it performs compared to that 16mm 1.4. Thanks for the very interesting content!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

I haven’t done a heavy test on it, but it’s outstanding and either would be a fantastic purchase. I’d pick the 16mm if you’re into landscapes and the 18mm if you’re into video. But that’s getting very picky

[@Argolich]

Well thanks for the reply!! I appreciate your thoughts :-).

[@taimurchoudhry.]

Thank you for the great Video.... Can you please give your opinion on the new 56mm 1.2wr for astrophotography as well. I would be grateful for your time and effort. Some people say the old version had issues while focusing in astrophotography. So your opinion with regarding the new version will be priceless. Regards and Have a Lovely Day

[@thedimtenuk]

Sir! What a review !!!! Thanks for saving us so much time and for the clear examples. New subscriber!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you and you're welcome.

[@samandchar2004]

Perfect timing, heading to Pembrokeshire with my new XT3 and 16-80 f4 next month, and want to try some astro. Biggest take away from all your hard work for me, is I can get some decent results without a specialist lens (though obviously I’ll be buying more as I go). Have dabbled with my m43 kit, so interested to see difference

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Best of luck man, if you have any questions about improving your shots after your trip and just want to share send me a link back here.

[@Zenfiren]

Hey Thomas! Have you tested Viltrox AF 13mm f/1.4 XF? Could be quite amazing for astrophotography too?

[@anoopsivadasan3065]

Thanks Thomas for the accurately describing the technicalities each lenses pocess! Now that we have XF 18 MM 1.4, please would you share your suggestions how better this lens in reducing the abberation

[@markus.reiner]

Really nice video. Thank you for your hard work you put into this video. Love to follow you for more content. I will go check the website from time to time to see if you had time to compare more lenses.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Cheers mate, I'll be posting videos of those lenses here before adding them to the website. But I really appreciate the support

[@PointofDrew]

Wow Tom! That was amazing! So I finally got around to watching some of your videos and I’m so impressed, I must have been inspired to as next thing I know halfway through this video I found myself outside shooting the sky Haha Epic man 👌

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you!! Inspiration is what it's all about, and I love the support, thank you again.

[@WS-bk7uu]

Great video, I'm completely new to astrophotography so a lot of this is over my head, but I appreciate how you meticulously broke down each lens!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you and best of luck

[@橘右京-b2v]

this is just incredible! you've done a great job creating something I've always wanted to see. I learned a lot about fuji lenses and settings for astrophotography in this video. Thank you!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you! Happy to help

[@dlavian5400]

Superb video! You earned a subscription.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you?

[@00_Ryan_00]

Great vid! My best settings with the 16 1.4 is, ISO 800, 4 mins, f/2.8. 😁😁😁

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

You should give my suggested settings a shot, you'd notice a HUGE improvement in star sharpness and detail.

[@00_Ryan_00]

@@ThomasBusbyPhotography I was being facetious. I use a star tracker, and those are my go to settings when i use it.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Ohhhhhhh that makes far more sense.... Wouldn't the drop to f/2 still really drop down those aberrations though, they are pretty bad at f/1.4

[@00_Ryan_00]

@@ThomasBusbyPhotography I track at F/2.8.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Hahaha sorry text kills some of the humor, my bad hahahaha

[@SpaceFactsWax]

Thank you for sharing. I had the chance to see a rocket launch in 2018. Unbelievable experience. I shared a pretty fun montage of the trip to my channel.

[@roknovak4155]

Would be interesting to see how the longer lenses do at photographing, say, Andromeda. The 90mm is a tad shortish, but given it's wide aperture, sharpness, and basically no aberrations I would expect it to be a great performer.

[@jayluber5971]

Great vid - amazing amount of effort. Thank you. A question for you: all things equal - which would be the better camera for milky way photog: GFX 100s or 50s Mkii?

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Both are horrific, I’m not 100% sure why but my main guess is lenses choice. I’ve done quiet a bit of testing and really recommend not using medium formate for Astro work…unless you have a tracker, than I’d get the 100s

[@Snypler]

Excellent video.

[@markwiemels]

What do you think about the Fujifilm 16 f1.4 vs the Rokinon 12mm f2 for Astro?

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

I actually own both, and one thing that was missing from my review of the 12mm that I didn't find out until months of use is that the 12mm has soft patches, some of the stars will be perfect, and some will be useless. Plus the more and more timelapse and startrails I started doing the more uncomfortable I was with the 12mm due to the lack of weather sealing and build up on condensation from those longer shots. For it's price the 12mm is fantastic, but after owning it for 6 months I ended up buying the 16mm f/1.4.

[@markwiemels]

@@ThomasBusbyPhotography ok, interesting. So even though the 12mm is a wider, generally preferred focal length, you choose the 16mm for its superior performance and WR? Is this now you main Astro lens? Do you use any of the others?

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

It is now my main astro lens I still own the 12mm but it has given me bad results to man times for me to trust it

[@merlinbernese]

Toby thanks for such great video. A simple ? What about for astro-landscape a lens low weight and 8 mm but F3.5 ..... for astro-landscape what do you think ? Thanks in advance for your comments. Alberto

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

I haven’t tested any 8mm to make a guess unfortunately. That wide I tent to just do a panorama

[@merlinbernese]

Thanks anyway

[@paulglenton3586]

HI Thomas. Very informative, its going to take a few go through to fully digest and fully comprehend but with the way you presented I am confident to get there. I am new to Astro and working with an X-T4 and have an 18-135 and a 23mm f1.4 lens. The first question is do you have a sheet forthe latter? My second question is exposure length. For spot stars your table for the 18-135 f4.5 @30 deg works in order of 11 sec . If I put that combo in PhotoPils it suggests around 8.6 sec. So wondering about why the difference . Thanks Paul

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Either will get you sharp enough stars but both 8 and 11 are going to be very dark with that lens so I’d suggest just pushing it a little more to 11 to make up for the lack of aperture . No I do not have a sheet for the 23mm I think but I do remember it is great for astro

[@law32O8]

Great video! Exactly the content I’ve been looking for. Subscribed and ready for more. Wondering how the Laowa 9mm would do in your tests. I own one but would love to see your comparison.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

I would love to test the Laowa 9mm but unfortunately don't have a way to getting my hands on one so it's review will not be any time soon sorry

[@scopicdrive3942]

Really great video !! What about the 18mm f2??

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Unfortunately at the time this was the only lens I couldn’t get my hands on

[@rodmacdonald7854]

Great review. Thank you

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Glad it was helpful!

[@salgal67]

Cheers Thomas, this was really interesting!! I always use my Samyang 12mm f2 for astro, but I might just try the 10-24 one night. Thank you, looking forward to more very informative updates from you!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you for the comment, I really appreciate it.

[@Sparky_oto]

A very thorough test! Any thoughts on the Samyang 8mm f/2.8 II fisheye and the laowa 9mm f/2.8?

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

I haven’t used either of those lenses BUT I do own lenses from each brand. And while I feel the bang for buck from each brands can be fantastic, I also feel their quality control isn’t as good as Fuji’s as you could also get something of very average value

[@victorpopukh5451]

Great review sir!!! Just curious what picture profile are you using and also white balance? Would appreciate your answer and thank you in advance!!!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

I was shoot in RAW so picture profiles have no effect, and at 4000k WB. The cheat sheets on my website tb-photography.co.nz/astro Are all the settings and tips I'd use for each individual lens if that helps.

[@steverobinson1068]

I downloaded your cheat sheets for a couple of the lenses and I noticed that they were based on Fujifilm’s 26.1 Mp sensors, I now have an X-T5 and was wondering how the 40Mp sensors affect these results 🤔

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Use a slightly shorter shutter speed by maybe a second or so, but this only depends on how fussy you want to be. I’d follow the cheat sheet exactly to get started and you should be able work out what your happy with after a bit of experience

[@RLCCuber]

Thank you so much for all of this! I have to admit, that was incredible info and appreciate the hard work to get all this data. Here’s an idea for a future video if you’d like. Bokeh quality of lenses 😊

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Ohhhh good one, thank you!

[@1972Russianwolf]

I think its nice that the "kit lens" does so well and that the XC "kit lens" does an admirable job as well. I just used my 18-55 at a dark sky site and was pleasantly surprised by how well it did. If I were to pick up another wide angle Fujinon, probably the 8-16. But I have an 8mm Fisheye from Altura that did very well also.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Fujis "kit" lenses are blowing my mind how incredible they are for how cheap they are.

[@Jordan_Fc4]

Hey thank you for all the work. Since the fuji 16mm f1.4 is better than the samyang (12mm f2), what about the the 18mm f1.4 ? It should be between them right ? plus, the 18 is sharp at f1.4..

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Yeah the Fuji 18 would be the new top of the list

[@redeye--2753]

Thank you so much. Amazing how much effort you have put into this. I would pick the 8-16mm f2.8 over the 16mm f1.4 just because of the wider view. But it is soo expensive! Have the Samyang 12mm f2. Performs pretty well although strong coma along the edges. But that‘s just pixel peeping 😉

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

I have the samyang at the moment and plan to have it's review on next week. And yes I really like the look and wideness of the 8-16mm as well for astro

[@sethfiatjustitia]

Great stuff! What would be your recommendation for Aura Borealis? I've got the 12mm f2 manual lens from Samyang, but I'm not getting on with it.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

What don't you like about it? I own it as well but after a few months still brought the 16 f/1.4 and have been living it, so I'd suggest that

[@lemiwings100]

Great content, really informative. As many stated, it would be really intersesting to hear about that samyang 12f2 in astro rating too, as it is quite popular in fuji users. Also the 23f1.4 and even the 35f1.4 (was surprised myself when i tried that one) might be interesting for astro, given their big aperture, might be a reason to consider those too. About raw development, i can def recommend you to give capture 1 a try. At first I really didnt wanna change from lightroom, but it is just that much better for fuji raws that i never looked back since.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

The samyang 12mm video is about two weeks away, and while the 23mm and 35mm can very much. E used for astro, their required short shutter speed to avoid star trailing doesn't make them as good as the wider options, but they would be fantastic for star trails. Cheers for the suggestions and comments though I really appreciate the time

[@fat.chance]

wow so much epic info!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Thank you!

[@calebe16]

This was an amazing video! And it's so hard to find more technical stuff about fuji gear. Specially regardin the aberrations. I know you are fuji ambassador, but it would be amazing if you could compare the zeiss and samyang 12mm in this group. At the end, they are part of what people are getting into when they get fuji bodies.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Samyang review is 2 weeks away, getting hold of the third party lenses has been a struggle at the moment in New Zealand so I am just working on the kindness of my viewers to lend them to me. Cheers for the support though mate, I really appreciate it.

[@calebe16]

One year later and there is a new Viltrox 13mm f/1.4 on the horizon. :-o It sounds like it will be an interesting contender. :-D

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Exciting sounding lens

[@trevordouglas9853]

Thank you for an excellent insight into these lenses. When it comes to Star Trails which of these lenses do you think will have the least distortion. By that I mean I have seen great Star Trail images where the middle of the image has perfect concentric circles and as they get closer to the edge of the frame the trails change from concave to convex, if you know what I mean. The 16mm 1.4 has my attention after your exhaustive testing and I would like to know how it performs for Star Trails, distortion wise. I am just using Capture One Express for editing and I am not sure how much lens correction is possible. Thank you again for your excellent work and making everything understandable.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Fuji remove pretty much all distortion in their jpegs. So if I jump back and forth between JPEG and RAW I can get an idea for the distortion. And I did plan to measure this. However I very quickly found out that just about all of them have next to no distortion, though as a general guide the 8-16 and the 10-24 were the worst, but still both with VERY little. Not that I have released my review for it yet, but the 16mm 1.4 would be my choice for trails as well.

[@trevordouglas9853]

@@ThomasBusbyPhotography Many thanks Thomas.

[@John-cp6qp]

Just WOW! Subscribed!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

I really appreciate that, thank you!

[@DanielJHillier]

What a great video, I’m very new to astrophotography have 23mm f2 what do people this of that lens as a starting point.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Check out my 23mm vs 23mm video, it covers Astro for those two lenses in it.

[@DanielJHillier]

@@ThomasBusbyPhotography will give that a watch now. Thanks :)

[@nerwin]

One thing you didn't mention was if there was any difference using electronic shutter or mechanical shutter for these milky way shots. Shutter shock can have an affect on the stars too. Great video!! I need to try my 16 1.4 at f2 more hahaha. Next time it's clear out, I'm going to give a shot. Took note of your settings...maybe I can improve mine!

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

I personally have never ever had a issue with shutter shock or leaving IS or IBIS on with longer shots on any newer camera, I have ton a little testing, but not for every lens. But I have the feeling both of those two issues may be fading into our pasts. BUT still a very good point to consider and like I said I didn't think to compare for this testing. Cheers for the comment I do honestly really appreciate it.

[@nerwin]

@@ThomasBusbyPhotography I never had shutter shock be an issue with Fuji, although I do like using electronic during milky way shots. But I haven't really noticed any difference but it would be an interesting experiment. When I had my DSLR, shutter shock was a real issue and there was a mode to lock the mirror up before the camera actually took a picture and this resulted in my milk way photos being way sharper. I am really surprised how my Fuji camera handles Milky Way, it's almost as good as the full frame Nikon I was using before. Very impressed. But I do not like focus by wire, feel like I'm adjusting it every single second haha. Although the focus clutch on the 16 1.4 helps.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Focus by wire doesn't bother me as I'm checking focus every single time I touch the camera anyway. The clutch on the 16mm is a interesting one, I love the idea of it and I do use it, but when I was shooting astro at f/1.4, when I'd slip the ring back/forward to lock it into place I always felt like I was pumping it out of focus just a little, like it didn't want to move exactly where I had it. This is a VERY minor personal issue with the lens, and not one that would ever make me consider not buying it again.

[@nerwin]

@@ThomasBusbyPhotography I think it's a feature. You preset a focus and quickly go back and forth. Sometimes I've set it at the closest focus distance for macro and I can quickly pull back to the ring boom its already there. It can be handy in certain situation. So you use autofocus for milky way? It doesn't work on my XT2, even with a bright star. Just hunts 😂- Hence why I just bought an XT3. Hopefully this helps with the auto focusing department.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Oh no I mean when I can to manual focus on the front of the camera (not the lens) and then switch back a forth with the clutch I find it never felt like it locked perfectly into the same focus distance, like it has little cogs that you can't see that has a shift into one of a few spots if that makes sense. And hahahahah no I'd never auto focus for astro, the 16mm 1.4 might be the only lens that could though, but I've never tried.

[@carolsanders9513]

Hi Thomas. I'm considering the new Fuji 18 1.4 LMWR lens. I know its generally not wide enough for astrophotography, but i am still interested in your thoughts. thanks!

[@ashleybraganca6952]

Thank you mate! :)

[@kingsamvisuals]

Very thorough.

[@jpadicecoffee9812]

I had great luck with my XPro2 and only wide lens I have the, 18mm F2 using F2.8 at ISO1600/3200 at about 6-10 seconds on my first try. Acceptable minimal star trail if you're not a pixel peep. I need to experiment again with 3200\6400 at 10 to 15 seconds, but that is pushing it.

[@anthonyfolley8533]

This is a very helpful review indeed. Having come over to Fuji from Sony, I was a bit sceptical that Fuji glass could do as well as Sony glass at astro. I guess it can. I has used the Zeiss Loxia 21 for astro and it excelled. I wonder how the Zeiss Touit 12mm would compare to fuji's finest?

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Happy to help, and all the best

[@davidswinnard7565]

Now we've seen your reviews of the wide angle side of the Fujifilm lenses, any chance of a follow-up with the longer end of things? The fast primes from 23mm to 90mm, maybe the longer zooms... (just wondering) This video prompted me to move back to my kit 18-55 lens at 18mm f/3.2 rather than my 16mm f/2.8 lens for WA star shots.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Yes giving reviews a slight break but my wedding season will start soon and I'd like to use a different prime for each wedding as a great way to in the field test them. So that series is coming.

[@davidswinnard7565]

@@ThomasBusbyPhotography I will keep a look-out for it... Thanks.

[@JimmyPham1992]

Can you test the Fujifilm 18mm F1.4 for astrophotograpy and compare the results with other fujifilm lens? I would like to see if this is worth purchasing the 18mm f1.4.

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Unfortunately due to Covid getting hold of Fuji gear consistently to test pretty much came to a halt, so while I would love to unfortunately it won’t be happening any time soon sorry

[@moshesalama]

I watched your video w/great interest, but because I am a Sony user I can’t apply your lens recommendations, and I want to understand your methodology so I can apply it to Sony or Sony-compatible lenses. Exposure time? Do you mean the 500-rule or the NPF- rule (avoiding star trailing) Aperture area? You mean widest F/ stop? Angular area? You mean the len’s horizontal angle? Knowing what you mean will help me apply your formula to my lenses. Thanks

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

That’s a very long answer to give. Instead check out. www.lonelyspeck.com/ I got all my info from here and applied it to Fujifilm. All the best.

[@moshesalama]

Thanks

[@johnhung8393]

Very nice! Question, if I was using a tracker with the 16mm F1.4, can I bring the ISO down further?

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Absolutely. Aberrations are fantastic from 2.2 onwards. These suggested settings are just for when shooting without a tracker.

[@LlamasAbound]

Have Fuj i XT4. did my first Milky Way shoot with16-80 F4. Came out pretty well but want to get the optimum lens for this type of shooting - what should I be looking for?

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

I plan to have a updated video on this coming out in the next few weeks if you can wait. As the answer is pretty complex

[@deram2470]

Hi, great job your video! What about the LAOWA 9mm/f2.8 ...?

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

Unfortunately I don't have easy access to that lens to know how well it does sorry

[@grzegorzgac6804]

It is thanks to this series that I got to know you. It's been a long time since the publication of this movie, but I think it is worth returning to the topic for one reason - Viltrox 13 / 1.4. Could you test it? best

[@ThomasBusbyPhotography]

If someone in the world would like to send me one, I’ll test it

[@swagonman]

Thanks, this was very useful. I'd be interested in how the Samyang 12mm and Laowa 9mm perform. BTW, my best lens is the Televue NP101 540mm f/5.4 telescope on a Vixen Sphinx GEM to track the sky. The telescope is diffraction limited (so zero observable aberrations). I've added a 10:1 focus reduction gear for accurate focus. I use 2min to 5min exposures with that. Since I'm using the XT1, I have to use Bulb with an iPhone wired-headphones as a remote shutter release and a paper clip to hold the mic button on them. Good polar alignment is critical at this focal length. I also have a small, low-cost sky tracking mount for more mobile use with my Fuji lenses. With lenses, I stop down a bit to eliminate/reduce the coma in the corners, and then take longer exposures by using the tracking mount. The great thing about Fuji is the sensor captures the deep 650nm red wavelength of Hydrogen-Alpha without modifying the camera. That's a big deal.