Northern lights help please
Discussion
Hi. I booked a trip to Iceland end Feb for me and my OH.
He has a Canon EOS 7D and is fine with it, but is by no means an accomplished photographer. Obviously there is no guarantee of seeing the lights but apparently we are in the best location and time of year to experience them.
Can anyone offer advice on a good lens, ie should he invest in a wide angle? And any general tips on settings, speeds, aperture etc. Should he take his monopod?
I would hate for us to see the lights but his photo' s to be naff.
Any tips gratefully received.
Many thanks.
He has a Canon EOS 7D and is fine with it, but is by no means an accomplished photographer. Obviously there is no guarantee of seeing the lights but apparently we are in the best location and time of year to experience them.
Can anyone offer advice on a good lens, ie should he invest in a wide angle? And any general tips on settings, speeds, aperture etc. Should he take his monopod?
I would hate for us to see the lights but his photo' s to be naff.
Any tips gratefully received.
Many thanks.
Get a tripod, there's no way you can get a picture of the lights handheld. The photos you see are all long exposures and they are much fainter in real life!
Most important part is actually getting into a position to see the lights - check the auroral forecasts and cloud cover and get away from any artificial lights. The photography bit is easy - 30 secs exposure and play around with the ISO/aperture until the image is bright enough. Wide angle lens is unnecessary.
Most important part is actually getting into a position to see the lights - check the auroral forecasts and cloud cover and get away from any artificial lights. The photography bit is easy - 30 secs exposure and play around with the ISO/aperture until the image is bright enough. Wide angle lens is unnecessary.
We went looking for the lights two years back and I borrowed a Tokina 11 -16 f2.8 it was perfect for the job. I'd thoroughly recommend getting something similar.
One the hardest things I found was making sure your focus was right, the autofocus system couldn't lock on to anything so I had to use manual focussing, but then I had the same problem, I couldn't see clearly enough. I worked out the best thing to do was find out exactly where my lens was focused on infinity and manually rotate it to that spot, remembering not to alter the zoom aspect too.
Good luck and I hope you see them, they are magical.
One the hardest things I found was making sure your focus was right, the autofocus system couldn't lock on to anything so I had to use manual focussing, but then I had the same problem, I couldn't see clearly enough. I worked out the best thing to do was find out exactly where my lens was focused on infinity and manually rotate it to that spot, remembering not to alter the zoom aspect too.
Good luck and I hope you see them, they are magical.
velocemitch said:
I had to use manual focussing, but then I had the same problem, I couldn't see clearly enough. I worked out the best thing to do was find out exactly where my lens was focused on infinity and manually rotate it to that spot, remembering not to alter the zoom aspect too.
Ah, the perils of old-skool photography! 'Infinty and back a bit' usually works.Getting the right focus is a bit tricky, and it was also quite windy so the trees looked a bit blurred. Oh it was also -15C but totally worth it.
These were taken at 30s, f/2.8, ISO 800 (in Abisko, Sweden):
Edit: here's a pic from Iceland. Unfortunately it was cloudy and the lights weren't very bright, which is a shame because the backdrop was just stunning:
These were taken at 30s, f/2.8, ISO 800 (in Abisko, Sweden):
Edit: here's a pic from Iceland. Unfortunately it was cloudy and the lights weren't very bright, which is a shame because the backdrop was just stunning:
Edited by Shaoxter on Tuesday 30th December 23:04
As far as camera set up is concerned, you’ll be just fine with the 7D but as stated above, make sure the battery (and spares) are fully charged. Cold kills batteries.
With regards the lens, as wide and as fast as you can afford (or rent) but reasonable images can be captured on f2.8/f3.5. The 7D is also good at high ISOs so don’t be afraid to turn that up.
Shoot wide open in bulb mode so a good/sturdy tripod is required and a good remote shutter release. Again, remember to have adequate batteries for the remote and, if you can, weigh the tripod down with a bag.
Focus on something at infinity and then ensure AF is turned off so it stays there. While you are at it, turn IS off and remove all filters from the lens.
The shutter will be open for a long time so be aware of the 500 rule. In short, as the world turns, you will get ‘star trails’ if the shutter is open for longer than the result of dividing 500 by the length of the lens. So, if you were using a 50mm lens, the maximum shutter time would be 10 secs before star trails would become evident on a full frame camera. The 7D isn’t full frame so you have to multiple the length of the lens by 1.6 to get its effective length.
Finally, try and keep the cold out; gloves (with liners that allow you to control the camera) and another good tip is to ensure the tripod has some insulation on it too, as believe me, it gets properly cold.
As stated above, you need to get away from any source of light pollution so it will be properly dark. As such, a head torch is also an essential bit of kit and I’d suggest looking for people that do excursions and know the locations and where you stand a good chance of seeing the aurora.
With regards the lens, as wide and as fast as you can afford (or rent) but reasonable images can be captured on f2.8/f3.5. The 7D is also good at high ISOs so don’t be afraid to turn that up.
Shoot wide open in bulb mode so a good/sturdy tripod is required and a good remote shutter release. Again, remember to have adequate batteries for the remote and, if you can, weigh the tripod down with a bag.
Focus on something at infinity and then ensure AF is turned off so it stays there. While you are at it, turn IS off and remove all filters from the lens.
The shutter will be open for a long time so be aware of the 500 rule. In short, as the world turns, you will get ‘star trails’ if the shutter is open for longer than the result of dividing 500 by the length of the lens. So, if you were using a 50mm lens, the maximum shutter time would be 10 secs before star trails would become evident on a full frame camera. The 7D isn’t full frame so you have to multiple the length of the lens by 1.6 to get its effective length.
Finally, try and keep the cold out; gloves (with liners that allow you to control the camera) and another good tip is to ensure the tripod has some insulation on it too, as believe me, it gets properly cold.
As stated above, you need to get away from any source of light pollution so it will be properly dark. As such, a head torch is also an essential bit of kit and I’d suggest looking for people that do excursions and know the locations and where you stand a good chance of seeing the aurora.
I loaned a friend my Tokina 11-16mm and it seemed to do the trick nicely on a northern lights trip.
One suggestion is if you are both going, if there isn't a distant light source you can use to get the AF to focus to infinity then try this. Whilst one of you stays with the camera the other wanders 100 metres or so away then turns on a torch. Instant focus point.
(Normally I try and use the moon, or any distant lights - but worth consideration if there are two of you.)
One suggestion is if you are both going, if there isn't a distant light source you can use to get the AF to focus to infinity then try this. Whilst one of you stays with the camera the other wanders 100 metres or so away then turns on a torch. Instant focus point.
(Normally I try and use the moon, or any distant lights - but worth consideration if there are two of you.)
Ye
Yes I did my serious photography before AF was even a dream, mind you we had various aids to help whic seem to have gone from modern kit.
Simpo Two said:
velocemitch said:
I had to use manual focussing, but then I had the same problem, I couldn't see clearly enough. I worked out the best thing to do was find out exactly where my lens was focused on infinity and manually rotate it to that spot, remembering not to alter the zoom aspect too.
Ah, the perils of old-skool photography! 'Infinty and back a bit' usually works.velocemitch said:
Yes I did my serious photography before AF was even a dream, mind you we had various aids to help whic seem to have gone from modern kit.
Very true, the fresnel screen and split prism were great tools. But even then I don't think they worked with a featureless dark sky. So back to tape measure and squinting at the numbers on the lens!(and to be fair, from what I see of the northern lights, if they weren't quite sharp nobdy would know anyway!)
ts from a moving ship. If you're staying outside of the city, ask hotel reception to wake you if the lights are spotted.
The hotel we stayed at did this for us, but you had to ask. We had a great view of the lights at 3am, unlike the other English couple I spoke to at breakfast who had travelled especially to see the lights then slept through the whole thing!
This photo is from my SLR on a £20 lightweight tripod and self timer. Didn't use a remote release or any other kit in my case.
Iceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on Flickr
The hotel we stayed at did this for us, but you had to ask. We had a great view of the lights at 3am, unlike the other English couple I spoke to at breakfast who had travelled especially to see the lights then slept through the whole thing!
This photo is from my SLR on a £20 lightweight tripod and self timer. Didn't use a remote release or any other kit in my case.
Iceland, January 2014 by giveitfish, on Flickr
Edited by moribund on Wednesday 31st December 16:45
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