Taking pictures of the Aurora Borealis is a difficult task. Aside from the knowledge of film speed ISO, shutter speed and aperture, Northern Light photography requires more advanced cameras and sometimes more expensive lens to achieve. Many of the green looking Aurora Borealis on the internet were accentuated with post production app or computer software, which might not match up to the expectations of the naked eyes of new Aurora Borealis hunters. If you are a novice in photography or you have only smart phones or basic point and shoot cameras, I recommend just using your eyes for the magnificent experiences or joining Aurora Borealis light chase tours that offer optional or complimentary professional grade photography services. I am dedicating this blog article to discuss about practical knowledge on Aurora Borealis photography if you are very interested in taking magical Northern Light images while traveling in the Arctics.
- To read about reasonable hotels in Tromso Norway, please visit: Tromso Smarthotel and other Reasonable Hotels and Accommodations in Tromso Norway- To read about what to wear and what to bring to stay warm in Tromso Norway, please visit: What to wear and what to bring for your trip to see Northern Lights in Tromso Norway - To read about overall budgeting and planning for chasing the Aurora Borealis in Tromso Norway, please visit: Northern Light Chase in Tromso Norway: Cost, Preparation, Weather, and overall experience
- To read about food and restaurants in Tromso Norway, please visit: Food and Cost in Tromso Norway
My point and shoot camera was not able to capture much of Northern Lights in the sky. With some sense of imagination, some faint green color can be seen in the dark sky.
MY PHOTOGRAPHY SET UP
Being an amateur photography since I was 10 years old, I felt that Aurora Borealis was still challenging yet it was a possible task if equipped with reasonable camera, lens and accessories. I purchased a new camera set up for the trip to Tromso Norway as well as replacing my 10-year-old Nikon DSLR that had inadequate ISO capability. My set up included DSLR Canon ESO 80D and a Tokina 11-20mm F2.8 lens for the light chase tours. Though I feel my set up was a significant upgrade from my old Nikon D40x, I still considered my camera equipment to be in the middle of the spectrum when compared with some of the more advanced Northern Light chasers' full-frame DSLR set up. A good starting point of setting would be ISO 2000, Shutter 15 seconds, and Aperture F2.8 or 3.5, further adjustment is needed depending on the condition of the Northern Lights intensity and cloud.
CAMERA - RECOMMENDED FEATURES
Some of the newer full-frame, cropped-frame DSLR, or mirror-less or high end point and shoot all have similar characteristics of having the capability of having long shutter speed up to 30 seconds. High ISO capability of maximum of ISO 12800 or higher is also essential for the elusive Norther Lights. I recommend the following more reasonable DSLR or mirror-less cameras that have the capability of capturing beautiful Aurora Borealis:
*Canon EOS 80D Digital SLR
- Reasonably priced DSLR
*Canon EOS Rebel T6 Digital SLR Camera Kit with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II Lens
*Canon EOS 7D Mark II Digital SLR Camera
*Nikon D3400 w/ AF-P DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR
*Nikon D5300 24.2 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II Auto Focus-S DX NIKKOR Zoom Lens
- Mirrorless with interchangeable lens cameras (light weight)
*Sony Alpha a6000 Mirrorless Digital Camera with 16-50mm Power Zoom Lens
*Sony Alpha a6300 Mirrorless Digital Camera with 16-50mm Lens
*Canon EOS M3 Mirrorless Camera Kit with EF-M 18-55mm Image Stabilization (IS) STM Lens
*PANASONIC LUMIX G7 4K Mirrorless Camera, with 14-42mm MEGA O.I.S. Lens, 16 Megapixels, 3 Inch Touch LCD, DMC-G7KS
- Full frame DSLR (produces least grainy photographs)
*Canon EOS 6D 20.2 MP CMOS Digital SLR Camera with 3.0-Inch LCD
*Nikon D610 24.3 MP CMOS FX-Format Digital SLR Camera
ISO (film speed)
High ISO potential provides the possibility of producing less grainy photographs in the dark at long shutter speed. I was shooting photographs at ISO 2000 to 4000 even when the Aurora Borealis intensity was high and when the sky was cloud-free. This means ideal camera should have ISO capability of 25600 or higher in order to produce acceptable quality of photographs when shot at lowered ISO from the camera's highest ISO potential.
CAMERA LENS
Wide angle lens, preferably ranging from 10 to 20mm enables capturing maximum amount of light in fixed time interval. Wide aperture lens, preferably F3.5 or wider is recommended because larger aperture allows more light to be captured by the camera in a very dark environment; Easy manual focus ring is also highly recommended because photographing Aurora Borealis require focusing at infinity in the dark, and it is not an easy task to focus at infinity in pitch black. I recommend the following DSLR camera lens that have better capability of capturing beautiful Aurora Borealis:
*Tokina AT-X 11-20mm f/2.8 Pro DX Digital Ultra Wide Zoom Lens for Canon EF DSLR
*Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 AT-X116 Pro DX II Digital Zoom Lens
*Sigma 10-20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM ELD SLD Aspherical Super Wide Angle Lens for Canon Digital SLR Cameras
*Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM SLR Lens for EOS Digital SLRs
*Rokinon FE14M-C 14mm F2.8 Ultra Wide Lens for Canon (Black) - Fixed
*Canon EF-S 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 IS STM Lens
INTERVALOMETER OR WIRELESS SHUTTER CONTROL
Vibration causes during pressing of the shutter button would ruin nice long exposure pictures such as Aurora Borealis photographs. Devices such as intervalometer or wireless shutter control allow photographer to press the shutter without causing vibrations of the camera body. Many automatic intervalometer is capable of interval shooting to create beautiful time-lapse Northern Lights video-like footage.
*Neewer LCD Timer Shutter Release Remote Control for Canon
*AmazonBasics Wireless Remote Control for Canon Digital
TRIPOD
Needless to say that tripod is absolutely necessary for long exposure photography. I recommend carrying a sturdy tripod for your Aurora Borealis trip. Many of the light chase tours would lend you sturdy tripods during the night. I recommend emailing tour companies for confirmation prior to the tours. If you are planning to buy new tripod, make sure it is light and sturdy and fits inside of your suitcase. I recommend the following portable tripod that is essential for taking photographs of Aurora Borealis:
*AmazonBasics 50-Inch Lightweight Tripod with Bag
EXTRA CAMERA BATTERY AND MEMORY STORAGE
Extra camera battery and camera memory are small investments for the intention of taking photographs of the beautiful green lights in the sky. Camera battery drains faster in cold arctic weather when compared to usage in milder temperature. I recommend carrying many fully charged camera battery in your shirt/pants pocket rather than in your camera bag in order to to keep them warm and to maximize the normal potential of the battery capacity. Extra camera memory storage becomes very useful when shooting series of time-lapse photographs. Hundreds or perhaps thousands of regular interval photographs are required to make professional looking video-like dancing Aurora Borealis footage. I recommend preparing for fast and highly efficient (class 10) Secure Digital SD memory cards.
*SanDisk 32GB Ultra Class 10 SDHC UHS-I Memory Card
CELL PHONE TRIPOD ADAPTER
While I do not recommend using your cellular phone to take photographs of the Northern Lights due to lack of manual control for shutter speed and aperture, I believe some cell phone camera on the market are capable of capturing some of the green color lights in the sky. I was quite impressed with one of the phone camera because one of the tour members used one made by Huawei cellular phone that captured some green color lights in their photographs. Again, long shutter setting and tripod are still necessary for such photographs, therefore cell phone tripod adapter is essential for such attempts.
*Vastar Universal Smartphone Tripod Adapter Cell Phone Holder Mount Adapter, Fits iPhone, Samsung, and all Phones, Rotates Vertical and Horizontal, Adjustable Clamp
INTERESTED IN VIDEOTAPING NORTHERN LIGHTS AURORA BOREALIS?
Videotaping Aurora Borealis in real time is a very difficult task in terms of the advanced camera equipment and post production it requires . Many of the Northern Lights YouTube video-like clips are individual pictures that have been put together to create a motion picture like footage. Real video capture is possible with the most advanced cameras that have extreme high ISO sensitivity capability. Realistic ISO for Aurora Borealis video capture typically range from ISO 51200, ISO 102,400, and up to ISO 409,600. One particular camera, Sony a7S II, has the reputation of being capable of capturing beautiful real time Aurora Borealis video clips that has minimal image noise and better resemble the real Northern Lights experiences with the naked eyes. Some of the high end professional grade cameras that are known to produce less grainy photographs and possibly capturing decent videos are:
*Sony a7S II
*Pentax 645Z 51MP SLR Camera
ALSO KNOWN AS
Tromsø; Tromso; 特羅姆瑟; トロムソ; ทรุมเซอ; 트롬쇠
Nordlys, Polarlys, Aurora Borealis, Northern Light, Polar Light, 極光, Aurore Polaire, Polarlicht, 오로라, Poollicht, オーロラ, Zorza Polarna, Полярное сияние, ध्रुवीय ज्योति, شفق قطبی, Aurore polaire, aurore boréale
Norway, ノルウェー, Norge, 挪威, 노르웨이, ประเทศนอร์เวย์, Norvegia, Norvège, Noruega, Norwegen, Norwegia, Noorwegen
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