Astrophotography has two technical ceilings: lens coma at wide apertures, and star trailing from the Earth’s rotation. The Zeiss Batis 18mm f/2.8 addresses the first better than most lenses at this focal length and price point. The second is addressed by the 500 rule — the maximum exposure length in seconds before stars begin to trail, calculated as 500 divided by the full-frame equivalent focal length. At 18mm, that gives approximately 27 seconds.

The Tamron 70-180mm f/2.8 Di III VC VXD G2 is an unusual lens: a constant-aperture telephoto zoom for Sony E-mount that weighs 855 grams — roughly half the weight of the Sony FE 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master II. For handheld video work, that weight difference is not a specification point. It is the difference between a take you hold for ninety seconds and one you abandon at forty. The G2 version adds VC — Vibration Compensation — to the optical formula, and on a Sony body with sensor-based IBIS (A7 IV, A7R V, ZV-E1), the combined stabilization produces five to six stops of effective compensation at the telephoto end.