Cyber Monday: Save $100 off one of the best astro lenses I’ve used

Good astrophotography lenses seldom come cheap, so any saving on a decent astro lens is a good saving. In this Cyber Monday deal, Amazon is offering $101.99 off the Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM lens — now down to $1498. 

Granted, it’s not the biggest discount, but I loved this lens when I tested it out for the full Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM lens review. It produced sharp images with beautiful color and brightness, and its performance earned it a spot in the best lenses for astrophotography guide.

When it comes to wide-angle primes, this is the widest focal length that Sony offers in the full frame range — the other option is the 12-24mm f/2.8 GM which is much more expensive, and you lose the wider f/1.8 aperture.

For such an impressive lens, it’s surprisingly small and lightweight, which is one of the main attractions of this lens — it won’t break your back if you’re hiking with it to a dark sky location. It weighs 1.01lbs (460g) which is much less than many other prime lenses of this caliber. I took it to the rugged Welsh coastline and it didn’t bother me to carry at all, and it let in an insane amount of light to let the Milky Way shine in all its glory in just a single exposure, especially when paired with one of the best cameras for astrophotography.

It has an aperture ring which is easy to use in the dark (not that you’d need to for astro, but still good to know), and a huge bulbous front element which is great for letting in light, but it does mean you can’t use any filters on the front of the lens. 

The images I took with it were sharp all the way from f/1.8 up to f/16, and it produces beautiful bokeh and sunstars. There was a tiny bit of vignetting, but nothing that can’t be fixed in editing software. Overall I thought it was a stunning lens that should definitely be part of any astrophotographer’s arsenal. 

If there’s a Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM-sized gap in your kit bag, make sure you take advantage of this Cyber Monday lens deal before it ends.

If you want a bit more flexibility in focal length and are happy to sacrifice aperture, you’ll want one of the best zoom lenses instead.

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(Image credit: Kimberley Lane)(Image credit: Kimberley Lane)

Key Specs: Its wide f/1.8 aperture drinks in enough light to slow the shutter speed right down before you start to see star trails, and the 14mm focal length allows for more of the sky or foreground in the frame. It has an aperture range of f/1.8 – f/16 and it weighs just 1.01 Ibs (460g). There’s no filter thread due to the bulbous front element, but you can attach a gel filter to the rear of the lens. There’s no image stabilization, but you won’t need it for astrophotography anyway.

Consensus: An incredibly fast, lightweight lens perfect for astrophotography, the Sony 14mm f/1.8 G Master produces beautifully sharp images with little distortion. We believe it would be an absolute dream to have as part of your kit.

Buy if: You focus on astrophotography and have the budget for a dedicated astro lens that packs a punch.

Don’t buy if: You’re on a budget or you don’t focus on astro.

Alternative models: If you want this lens but cheaper, check out the Samyang 14mm f/2.8. It’s currently 33% off and although it won’t match the quality of the Sony, the focal length is the same while still maintaining an astro-friendly widest aperture of f/2.8. If you want a bigger range of focal lengths but still stay at the wide-angle end of the spectrum, go for the Sony FE 12-24mm f/2.8 GM. It’s more expensive but you have the freedom to shoot more styles. 

Check out our Cyber Monday 2023 deals page for a roundup of the best discounts and deals on telescopes, binoculars, cameras, star projectors, drones, lego and much more.