The Best Canon Cameras and Lenses For Night Photography
Capturing successful images of the night sky requires powerful camera equipment. Standard camera settings for night photography range from 10-25 seconds of exposure, an aperture of f/4.0 – 2.8, and a high ISO ranging from 1600-12800. These types of camera settings create ‘noise’ in the photographs, primarily due to the long exposure and high ISO. Therefore, it is important to select a camera body capable of shooting at high ISO levels to produce clean images. Below you will find links to all of the Canon camera bodies and lenses I recommend for night photography. All links navigate to the official manufacturer’s product webpage, followed by purchasing pages to B&H and/or Amazon.
Canon Cameras
This is a screenshot from DPReview using their free comparison tool. Please note, images shown were taken in a studio using the following settings: 1/20 second, f/5.6 aperture, & 6400 ISO. You can compare different camera bodies, ISO settings, focus on different portions of the image above, and download the original RAW images by visiting HERE.
- Canon 1D X Mark II: [ B & H | Amazon ]
- Canon 1D X
- Canon 5D Mark IV: [ B & H | Amazon ]
- Canon 5D Mark III: [ B & H | Amazon ]
- Canon 6D: [ B & H | Amazon ]
My Top 3 Canon Camera Recommendations:
Lenses for Canon Cameras
- Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 III: [ B & H | Amazon ]
- Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 II: [ B & H | Amazon ]
- Canon 24-70mm f/2.8: [ B & H | Amazon ]
- Irix 15mm f/2.4 Blackstone: [ B & H | Amazon ]
- Irix 15mm f/2.4 Firefly: [ B & H | Amazon ]
- Laowa 12mm f/2.8: [ B & H | Amazon ]
- Rokinon SP 14mm f/2.4: [ B & H | Amazon ]
- Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8: [ B & H | Amazon ]
- Sigma 14mm f/1.8: [ B & H | Amazon ]
- Sigma 20mm f/1.4: [ B & H | Amazon ]
- Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8 G2: [ B & H | Amazon ]
My Top 3 Canon Lens Recommendations:
“Two great passions of mine are wilderness travel and experiencing the drama of a night sky. I combine my passions with photography by teaching night sky workshops to people just like you. Come explore the magic of the Milky Way with me as it travels each night over unique landscapes within the Western US.”
