Hey everyone — I’m trying to pick a Fujifilm X-mount lens specifically for astrophotography on APS-C, and I’m getting a bit overwhelmed by all the options.
I shoot on an X-T series body and mostly want to do Milky Way landscapes and some wider star field shots (not deep-sky with a telescope). I don’t have a tracker yet, so I’ll be starting with untracked exposures and trying to keep stars reasonably sharp without pushing ISO into unusable noise. That’s why I’m leaning toward something wide and fast (maybe f/2 or faster), but I also keep reading about coma and soft corners being a big deal for stars.
A couple constraints: I’d like to keep it fairly compact for hiking, and my budget is roughly $500–$900 (used is fine). I’ve looked at lenses like the XF 16mm f/1.4, XF 18mm f/1.4, and some of the wider primes, but I’m not sure what actually performs best in the corners for astro.
For APS-C Fuji shooters, which Fujifilm X lens would you recommend for astrophotography, and why (sharpness/coma vs. speed vs. focal length)?
For your situation, I’d grab the Fujifilm XF 16mm f/1.4 R WR used—FAST, decent corners stopped to f/2, and wide enough for untracked. If you can stretch, Fujifilm XF 18mm f/1.4 R LM WR is cleaner in corners, imo.
Yeah I’m kinda with the idea of going wide + fast and then just living at like f/2-ish for stars (speed helps, but corners matter sooo much). Before throwing more opinions at you though: what’s your actual max budget *all-in* (including maybe filters/hood), and are you mainly hiking for single-frame Milky Way landscapes or trying to do panoramas? Reason I ask is value changes a lot depending on whether you’re okay stitching (then you can go a bit less wide/less perfect in the extreme corners) vs needing clean corners in one shot. Also, are you okay buying used from places with easy returns? For astro, that’s been huge for me—copy variation is real and returning a “meh” sample can save a ton of money.
Bookmarked, thanks!
Did this last week, worked perfectly
Honestly, I've tried many different setups over the years for this, but you're gonna get a much better idea of the corner performance if you just head over to YouTube or Reddit. Just search for Fuji astro lens coma comparison and there's a few really detailed videos that compare all the popular primes side-by-side with actual raw file examples. Seeing the actual crops is way more helpful than us just talking about it imo. I actually got into the DIY side of things lately because I'm tired of gear prices. I spent my Saturday morning trying to 3D print a custom Bahtinov mask for my current kit and ended up melting part of the plastic housing because I left it too close to my desk lamp... complete disaster lol. It's a fun rabbit hole to go down once you get your lens sorted tho, especially if you like tinkering with your own mounts. Anyway, check those comparison videos, they're basically the gold standard for seeing how the stars actually look.
So, I’m actually gonna go against the grain here. I feel like spending your whole $900 budget on a single lens when you’re just getting into this is a bit... I don't know, risky? Honestly, I’d be worried about getting a copy with decentering issues. It happens more than you’d think with fast primes, and you don’t want to find out your stars are mushy on one side after a long hike. I’d personally suggest looking at the Viltrox AF 13mm f/1.4 XF or even the older Samyang 12mm f/2.0 NCS CS. They’re much more budget-friendly and honestly, that Viltrox is built like a tank. I’m always a little paranoid about electronics or AF motors acting up in the cold or damp during night shoots, so having a cheaper, sturdy lens feels safer to me. Plus, if you go with something like the Viltrox, you have like $400+ left over. I’d put that toward a really high-quality tripod instead. Like, a fast lens won’t save your shot if the wind is blowing and your legs are wobbly!!! Basically, I think it's a more reliable way to actually get the shots you want without over-extending yourself financially right away.
