I Caught Aurora and a Meteor in One Shot—With a $300 Lens

I Caught Aurora and a Meteor in One Shot—With a $300 Lens

When Budget Gear Outperforms Expectations I’ll be honest—I didn’t expect much when I packed my Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D for a Northern Lights expedition last week. At under $300 on the used market, it’s practically the forgotten stepchild of ultra-wide astrophotography lenses. Yet somehow, I managed to capture both the Aurora Borealis and a Perseid meteor streaking across the frame in the same shot. Not bad for “cheap” glass. This experience reinforces something I’ve been preaching for years: you don’t need a $2,000+ lens to produce world-class astrophotography.

Why 2026 Is Your Best Year Yet to Shoot the Perseids (And What Gear You Actually Need)

Why 2026 Is Your Best Year Yet to Shoot the Perseids (And What Gear You Actually Need)

I’ll be honest: meteor photography gets hyped up way more than it deserves. Every year, photography sites publish these elaborate guides suggesting you need the latest full-frame mirrorless camera and a collection of premium wide-angle lenses. Then people drop $4,000+ on gear they’ll use once, capture mediocre shots, and wonder why their results don’t match the magazine spreads. But 2026 is actually different. And not because of some magical new camera body—because of the sky itself.