The Best Nikon Cameras and Lenses For Night Photography

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Capturing successful images of the night sky requires powerful camera equipment. Standard camera settings for night photography can range from 10-25 seconds of exposure, an aperture of f/4.0 – 1.4, and a high ISO ranging from 1600-12800. These types of camera settings create ‘noise’ and hot pixels in your 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 Nikon camera bodies and lenses that are available and some I highly recommend for night photography. If the list below helps you in any way, please consider using the affiliate links to purchase your new equipment. The links DO NOT cost you extra, but help to support our work, allowing us to keep the list updated… and buy more coffee.

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‘Best Equipment for Night Photography.’

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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.

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Nikon Camera Bodies

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DSLR Camera Bodies

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Nikon D6: [ B & H | Amazon]
Nikon D5: [ Amazon ]
Nikon D4: [ Amazon ]
Nikon D850: [ B & H | Amazon ]
Nikon D810: [ Amazon ]
Nikon D780: [ B & H | Amazon]
Nikon D750: [ Amazon ]

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Mirrorless Camera Bodies

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Nikon Z9 Mirrorless: [ B & H | Amazon ]
Nikon Z7 II Mirrorless: [ B & H | Amazon ]
Nikon Z7 Mirrorless: [ Amazon ]

Nikon Z II: Amazon

Nikon Z6 II Mirrorless: [ B & H | Amazon ]
Nikon Z6 Mirrorless: [ Amazon ]

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My Top Nikon Camera Recommendations

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DSLR Camera Bodies

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Mirrorless Camera Bodies

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This example compares the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 vs the Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8. Sigma Art lenses have significantly improved over the years and have proven to be sharper than other Nikon lenses.

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Lenses for Nikon Cameras

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DSLR Lenses

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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 ]
Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8: [ B & H | Amazon ]
Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 ED VR: [ 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 ]
Sigma 24mm f/1.4: [ B & H | Amazon ]
Tamron 15-30mm f/2.8: [ B & H | Amazon ]

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Mirrorless Lenses

Laowa 12mm f/2.8: [ B & H | Amazon ]
Laowa 15mm f/2: [ B & H | Amazon ]
Nikon Z 14-24mm f/2.8 S: [ B & H | Amazon ]
Nikon Z 17-28mm f/2.8: [ B & H | Amazon ]
Rokinon 14mm f/2.8: [ B & H | Amazon ]
Samyang MF 14mm f/2.8: [ B & H | Amazon ]
Nikon FTZ II Mount Adapter: [ B & H | Amazon ]

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