Northern Lights (Again)

[durbin]

I understand this subject has been done to death, and for a relative beginner attempting to trawl through some of the older posts it can all become a bit overwhelming.

Currently I have Canon 600D (T3i) with the twin lens kit (18-55 and 75-300 if I remember right). I pretty much never take the 18-55 off and it's been good to me so far. Most of my photography is travel/landscape and in my line of work aircraft (on the ground mostly).

I have a Fairbanks adventure planned in a few weeks time and realize I'm going to need a/some new lens/es. I've read the basics and understand I want a fast wide angle lens. Budget wise if I can keep it all below about $2K I would be happy.

With all that being said I've narrowed down my potential selections to the Canon EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM and was going to pick up an EF 50mm f/1.4 USM also. However the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM is often named as one of the best Northern Lights lenses to use. If the 16-35mm will be applicable to my travel/aircraft shots and be able to be used as a walking around lens then I might be able to justify the expense. Finally the Tamron 10-24mm f/3.5-3.5 has also been mentioned but I am concerned about the speed.

Any advice or other options would be much appreciated.

 

[jsecordphoto]

A lot of people I talk to who shoot photos of the stars/milky way/ northern lights use the Tokina 11-16 2.8. Sharp, wide, and fast