We love taking pictures of the night sky but often find it difficult to capture them with a standard lens, especially when the stars are too bright. There are many techniques for capturing photos of stars, such as using a slower shutter speed, stacking images in Photoshop, or using a filter and ND filters.
Even though digital photography is easier and more fun, capturing the perfect starry sky requires patience and devotion. However, if you want to take photos of stars at night with a standard lens, you are in the right place. If you use a Canon camera, check this article about Canon Night Photography Lens in 2022. And, check here for some Night Photography Tips.
The following article is an in-depth review of the best Nikon lenses for night photography.
1) Nikon Samyang SY14MAE-N 14mm F2.8 Lens
The Samyang 14mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC is an ultra-wide-angle lens perfect for capturing architecture, night sky, and astrophotography. It’s among the sharpest ultra-wide-angle lenses you’ll find on the market. The lens is well built and can be used to replace the Canon 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM or Sigma 8-16mm F4.5 DC HSM for Nikon cameras.
The minimum focus distance of 0.9 feet gives you the ability to capture amazing macro photos. The lens is a manual focus lens, but you’ll be able to take some extremely sharp images with some practice and patience.
You can use this lens for both APS-C and full-frame cameras due to its 67mm thread. It is a very budget-friendly lens that offers some amazing features. The Samyang 14mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC Lens is highly recommended for beginners and professionals looking for ultra-wide angles.
2) Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G Lens
The 35mm, f/1.8G lens from Nikon is the perfect portrait lens for working with a DX camera. It features an excellent build quality, lightweight and compact design, and best of all, it offers excellent sharpness and low light performance. The maximum aperture of f/1.8 allows you to shoot in extreme low light conditions without adjusting any settings on your camera.
This is why this lens will work better than a 50mm prime lens in low light conditions. The 35mm, f/1.8G from Nikon is an extremely versatile lens that will allow you to shoot portraits, street photography, and even landscape photography. The lens can be used for both DX and FX cameras without issues.
Another incredible feature of the 35mm f/1.8G lens from Nikon is that it can accept filters without removing the lens. First, this is great news for beginners who don’t have time to remove their filters every time they change them manually. If you’re looking for a portrait lens with decent image quality, a low cost, and is one of the best focal lengths for DX-format cameras, then this is the lens for you!
3) Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 20mm f/1.8G ED Fixed Lens
The 20mm f/1.8G ED is a portrait lens, which means it is designed to be the best lens for portraits. This focal length, wide enough to provide a shallow depth of field and give your photos more dimension, makes it perfect for shooting portraits and headshots. Its maximum aperture allows you to shoot in lower light conditions without adjusting any settings on your camera.
The 20mm is also extremely sharp, even at f/1. 8 and the maximum reproduction ratio of 0.23 is one of the best on any lens so far. This means that this lens will produce amazing photos even in low light conditions with its f/1.8 max aperture. A photographer looking for ultra-wide angles, portrait lenses, and wide angles with a shallow depth of field should consider purchasing this lens!
You can use this lens for both FX and DX cameras due to its 77mm thread. It is a very budget-friendly lens that offers some amazing features. The Nikkor 20mm f/1.8G ED Lens is highly recommended for beginners and professionals looking for ultra-wide angles and shallow depth of field.
4) Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm f/2.8G ED
The Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8 from Nikon is one of the best lenses for portrait photography due to its stunning image quality and shallow depth of field. This lens is designed for full-frame cameras and can be used for both FX and DX formats without worrying about any issues. The 14-24 f/2.8 from Nikon has an aperture range from f/2.8 to f/22. This will allow you to shoot in low-light conditions without adjusting any settings on your camera.
The lens features an ED optical system; this helps eliminate chromatic aberration and improves the overall sharpness of your photos. The 14-24mm f/2.8 also has a silent wave motor which allows you to shoot in complete darkness. This is great news for photographers who work in nightclubs or at night; the silent wave motor will help you focus properly even when there is no light.
The 14-24mm f/2.8 from Nikon is a perfect lens for shooting portraits with a shallow depth of field; this means that it can produce some stunning background blurring shots and more substantial ones. The Nikon 14-24mm f/2.
5) Irix Blackstone 15mm f/2.4
The Irix Blackstone 15mm f/2.4 Firefly is a very solid-built lens and unique one to shoot night photography, as well as the milky way. The price of the lens is $499.
The lens is very sharp at corners and has less vignette compared to Rokinon/Samyang 14mm. However, it’s more expensive than them.
I recommend this lens if you are so passionate about shooting the stars and the milky way. but, if you are looking for a good lens for night photography at a low price, then Samyang/Rokinon would be the best price/quality ratio for you.
Final Words
Before buying a new lens, you must make sure it will fit on your camera and be compatible with your camera.
I hope that this article helped you pick the best Nikon lens for night photography in the year 2022.
On Budget?
Sometimes, Camera lenses can be very expensive for a lot of people. However, Keh is a great option to get a used one for a reasonable price. Read the full review here.
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed the article, in case you have any questions just drop them below & I will be happy to answer you.
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That header image is simply stunning! Agree!! It’s not just about hardware. Skills are maybe even more important!
Was actually looking into buying a new camera as well as a few lenses and ended up here. thought of switching from Canon to Nikon 🙂
Thanks
This is an excellent lens review. My aunt is a photographer who is always on the lookout for high-quality camera lenses. That being said, I believe she would enjoy the Irix Blackstone 15mm f/2.4 lens. It’s very useful and produces excellent images. Finally, the better the image, the better the story it tells with each image. So thank you for sharing your thoughts; they were extremely beneficial to me.
Welcome, Kiersti! Thanks for your input.
Hi Ehab,
Wow! that is so beautiful! – I had no idea that some lenses could produce such a beautiful image taken at night. This should be an expensive lens, but worth it when you this kind of result or picture it can produce. Also, thank you for creating a review for that.
Aubin.
It’s not usually about expensive gear Aubin. It’s about the knowledge of how to use photography gear to get the best results.