Hi fellas,
I am traveling to Finland and Russia this December and I am hoping to "catch" the Northern Lights.
I already own a Pentax k30 camera, a normal tripod and will be buying a 16-50mm F2.8 lens.
Anyone here with prior Northern Light experiences? Do I need additional equipment? What are the common settings? Focusing is manual at infinity but what about metering? Full manual metering (aka trial and error, right?)
Thanks!!
Northern Lights photography.
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Re: Northern Lights photography.
Max out the ISO. For me personally I maxed out at ISO1600 and I do the following exposures:
10 secs to get a more detailed shot of the aurora
20 secs to get a brighter pic
The downside to longer exposure is that the aurora is dynamic and the longer you expose, the more "jumbled" it becomes.
Do several test shots beforehand to make sure your infinity focus is sharp. Once done, do NOT touch focus anymore as the aurora display may be quite brief.
Get a cable release so you don't have to touch the camera or do delayed exposure.
Lastly, make sure your clothing is warm enough. The Arctic winds are pure evil!
10 secs to get a more detailed shot of the aurora
20 secs to get a brighter pic
The downside to longer exposure is that the aurora is dynamic and the longer you expose, the more "jumbled" it becomes.
Do several test shots beforehand to make sure your infinity focus is sharp. Once done, do NOT touch focus anymore as the aurora display may be quite brief.
Get a cable release so you don't have to touch the camera or do delayed exposure.
Lastly, make sure your clothing is warm enough. The Arctic winds are pure evil!
OCULARHOLIC ANONYMOUS!!!
Keep Calm and Carry on Observing.
Keep Calm and Carry on Observing.
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- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2015 7:42 am
Re: Northern Lights photography.
thank you for your response im looking around for a pentax F2.0 wide angle lens