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Issue with Nikkor 50 mm Prime for astrophotography. Please help.


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3 replies to this topic

#1
The_Druid

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Hello all.

 

I love my Nikkor 50 mm Prime lens and I use it quite frequently for astrophotography, especially Milky Way shots. I never had any trouble getting pinpoint stars with this lens until recently.

 

This was about the time that Comet Neowise was in the skies. I used the 50 mm Prime to shoot the comet and noticed a star flare in Arcturus which was sitting quite close to the comet. Last night I went shooting the Milky Way and this time again I noticed the flaring. It is all over the shot and not just on the edges. 

 

Could anyone please tell me why this is happening and how to correct this issue? Thanks a bunch.

 

Regards.

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#2
Merco_61

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Make sure that you don't use any unnecessary filter for astro.

Carefully clean both front and rear elements and, if you absolutely need a filter, the filter. 

Check that you don't have too much dust inside the lens, if you do, send it in for a clean.

Check that your aperture blades aren't damaged and that the aperture is symmetrical at your shooting setting.



#3
The_Druid

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Hi Merco, 

 

Thanks for your reply. I did not use and filter on this shot. Also cleaned both front and rear elements. I’ll check the aperture blades though. Thanks again. 
 

Make sure that you don't use any unnecessary filter for astro.

Carefully clean both front and rear elements and, if you absolutely need a filter, the filter. 

Check that you don't have too much dust inside the lens, if you do, send it in for a clean.

Check that your aperture blades aren't damaged and that the aperture is symmetrical at your shooting setting.



#4
The_Druid

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I did a lot of research on this and I have found the problem. This is a somatic aberration that this lens is know to have and indeed the f/1.2 version as well. The simple solution offered to solve this problem is to stop down a little bit. So I am going to try and shoot at f/2.8

 

Thanks again.