@@beachhouse1967 im so sorry to say, but I doubt it’ll be getting dark enough in Tromsø to see them by the time you arrive. Their last day of nighttime is March 27
Yes! In fact we just had an amazing display in the wee hours of Feb 27 2023, here in Ontario Canada. Had two cameras shooting time lapses most of the night.
I think this year is all time high for Northern lights here in the more high southern parts of sweden. might cross the border and visit some time when we moved up north
Very informative Nate! I really appreciate the specific recommendations on white balance, camera settings, etc. I can only imagine how much detailed information someone could gain from your workshops. Looking forward to more of your videos (more wildlife tips please!)
Last but not least: when you get home, take the battery and memory card out of the camera outside in the cold. Leave your camera in your bag and don't unpack it inside! Otherwise your lenses will be full of condensation and that's it for photography for the rest of your vacation ...
I must of got away with it. -15 in tromso I didn't take battery or card out. Sometimes I took the camera out to look at pictures also. Will remember next time.
I'm leaving for Norway in a couple of days and so happy that I was able to stumble upon your channel. I picked up a Sony 14/1.8 GM today based upon your videos. Lots of great content.
Among all the Northern Lights tutorials I've seen, yours is the most detailed and easy to follow. I wish I could attend your class in person. There's a forecast for the Aurora here in New Brunswick, Canada, tonight, so this video is perfect for us enthusiasts to learn how to prepare and capture it. Thanks for sharing this excellent video, and more power to you! 🙌
Lol im doing my research too. Hoping we can see them one last time tonight! I was unprepared last night but still got some shots. I was shaking cause of how cold i was even though its summer.
I go to Finland in a few days, sadly i don't have the budget for a full frame camera so I am hoping that what I have will capture something worthy. Great advice and hope to remember the great tips you have given.
Great video…we went to Iceland and Norway to try to get them with good predictions…. Both times it clouded over… very hit and miss .. but watching your videos makes me want to have another go .. well done
Thanks for the video, great tips! I have a quick question, I am going to Iceland on 12/1/23 and I have heard some people say to use kalvin settings, but there are a few that say to just set the white balance to "daylight - sun" setting. Can you tell me which one gives the better color for the Norther Lights? I have a Nikon D4S, and using a Nikon 55mm, F1.4 lens. I am used to sports photography; gymnastics and wrestling are what my kids did. So I am trying to learn all that I can about photographing the Norther Lights before our trip. Thank you!!!
I cover white balance at around 6:20 in this. “Daylight” is just a general kelvin setting that’s pre-programmed into your camera, so it’ll accomplish the same thing, but setting the kelvin manually will be a more accurate and custom setting.
Love the video, how do I slow the time-lapse down? I photograph about 99 images I have some that I just let go for over an hour. but it seems fast when I put it together. Thx
Unfortunately the only real way to get a slower timelapse is to shoot more frames. I have several timelapse tutorials on my channel as well, but the short version is that I always recommend shooting as short of an interval as possible. Especially for Northern Lights, you want only about 2-3 seconds between photos because the lights can move fast.
Brilliant. I'm just suckering a GoPro to the inside of a window in the house at the moment. This is something to strive toward. Thank you. Liked and subscribed.
Hope you had a good time in Norway! Remember to say hi at the Radisson Blu Airport next time 😅 Love the video! Always such a learning-experience watching your videos, Nate.
Excellent video! Would you be able to do the same (give is settings, tips and tricks) to record the Northern Lights in video instead of photographing them? Thank you!
Great one thanks! with the timer at 2 secs it's good to avoid shake, I actually use at 10 secs, but one question do you use the mechanical or electronic shutter? Is just that the mechanical will probably still introduce some shake once it's triggered even by the timer, thanks
Hi I’m going to Finland next month. I am taking my Canon EOS R6 mk.II with sigma 14mm F1.8 lens will this do the job for northern lights stills and video? As you might have guessed, at the gear and no idea. Thanks
Ciao Nate, thank you for your content. I'm going to Sweden, Abisko, for Northern lights. I have two lenses in mind: sony FE 14 1.8 and sony FE 24 1.4, the first for wider angle and the second for lower ISO. Well... any comments? Thank you!
I wish I would’ve seen this sooner or before Friday night here in WA state. Got some great still images of the northern lights but I wanted to do a video or time lapse and I’m still a rookie photographer since I bought my first camera last October. But I soak up information like a sponge and this video and the first one were beyond helpful. Thank you!!
The best guide I've seen on this, thank you! - We are in Iceland this Sat (24th Feb) and this has been invaluable. A couple of questions though: 1. How do you rate the Viltrox 16mm f/1.8 for this vs the Sony 14mm and 20mm? 2. I noticed you've filmed the video part on the A7S III. I only have the Sony ZV-E1 (same sensor as A7S III), in general, is there any advantage to using such a beast of a low light camera for this? - or would you always opt for a higher megapixel full frame like an A7R V or your A1? 3. If shooting from one of those northern lights cruises, going from ISO3200 up to ISO25600 is 3 stops (just 1 stop above the native ISO12800). Going from 2.5s to 1/4s to get free hold is also 3 stops, so it should yield similar results?
Thanks Nate, for the great video. I learned a few things, and just changed a few settings in a custom mode and will try soon. I wonder though, do you ever use in camera noise reduction? Or do you clean up any noise in Post?
I always clean up noise in post. You can shoot a black reference frame if you'd like to expedite the process (this is essentially what in-camera noise reduction does), but especially for timelapses I don't like to have that mandatory 5s pause after each image.
Exceptionally great video! I learned a lot and subscribed. I will be heading to Iceland next month (mid Sep 2024) and the auroras are supposed to be good. I plan to take Sony A7C II and pair it with 20mm f1.8. Would that be a good setup for taking auroras? And if yes, what camera settings do you recommend for still photos and for time lapse? Thank you so much!!
Awesome can’t wait going on a northern lights cruise right to the top of Norway 🇳🇴 in January with a overnight stay in Alta can’t wait to see them again after have it a awesome show a few months back in uk 🇬🇧 started getting loads of merino wool base layers and Icelandic wool sweaters should be nice n toasty I’ve got the canon ef 16-35 f 2.8 L mk 2 but I’m also tempted with getting something like sigma art 20 mm f 1.4 as apart from the overnight stay in Alta the rest of the nights well be moving on the ship so long exposures are going to be a no no really so will have to experiment shorter shutter higher iso and wid open
Hi, Is the FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS lens going to perform as well paired with the Sony A7 4? I'm visiting Tromso in Feb for the 3rd time to catch the norther lights :)
That lens won't perform nearly as well as the 20mm f/1.8 that I suggest in this video as it only allows 1/3rd as much light, so your exposures will need to be 3 times the length.
@@Nateinthewild Thanks for the quick response, I was told because the Alpha iv can handle ISO well the F4 would be fine because I can shoot in a higher ISO. I'm trying to get a lens I can also use when I get back home also you see so it saves buying two lenses. I'm assuming they will still look awesome compared to the average camera if I did go with the FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS?
Another great video. For time lapse I expect an ISO invariant camera would be a good base given how much variance there can be in luminance? Whats your general approach for exposure to give balance to not underexpose too heavily while at the same time allowing enough latitude so the highlights don't blow out in your time lapse sequence in the event the aurora really kicks off?
I'm going to Alaska next month to see the auroras. I'm not a photographer in any sense but I like taking photos of the moon/night sky and plan to get some videos and photos of the auroras. I've done so much research on cameras but have no clue what camera to get that's around $500. Do you have any recommendations?
Just checking out your video as we have a storm incoming right now 😎 ... I have the same camera and I notice you using iso 3200ish. With the A1 would it not be better to shoot at ISO 500 which I think is the 2nd native ISO setting? Because of the ISO invariance with the sensor ? Im still tinkering at the moment with it but find that ISO 500 lets me stretch out the milkyway great in post. Anyway great video, I really liked the idea about keeping the batteries in your jacket! Take care mate :)
I use ISO 3200 because I want to prioritize a shorter shutter speed since the aurora moves so fast. The A1 has magnificent low light performance so ISO 3200 is not so high as to decrease image quality, but ISO 500 will require a shutter speed of 6-10s which in my experience will make for a very subpar image of the northern lights.
Breathtaking images - really enjoyed the time lapse at the end! Usually I shoot on daylight white-balance and then cool it off in post, I’m using either an a7siii or a7iv, do you think that would muddy up the aurora too much?
If you’re shooting raw you can correct in post but it’s always going to be better to get it right in-camera. Setting a manual white balance is easy on those two cameras, I’d recommend doing that, but if you’d prefer a preset then the “fluorescent” setting will be your best bet
@@Nateinthewild Hoping we get some clear skies soon, I’ll definitely take the advice and dial in white balance ahead of time. I also think I need to experiment shooting the a7siii at ISO 12,800 instead of ISO 6,400. Thank you again for the input!
Great video. The only thing I found odd was the preference for uncompressed vs lossless compressed RAW. Lossless is what it says, just like a zip file. I can't see any advantage in avoiding lossless compression. It will allow you to fit a lot more images on your SD card (or whatever storage device you use). 🤔
@@Nateinthewild because lossless compression shouldn't affect quality at all. If you put a Word document in a zip file, email it to someone and they take it out of the zip file, it will be exactly the same. Lossless RAW should be exactly what it says, because it uses compression techniques that don't lose data, such as run length encoding. The only way I can think of that there could be a difference is if the camera changes the bit depth between the two. Uncompressed raw would be faster to write when taking continuous frames at high shutter speeds, but that isn't the case here. Anyway, of course it's up to you. I'm not criticising. I'm just saying that there shouldn't be any difference in quality between uncompressed raw and lossless compressed raw.
Hey Nate, thank you so much for this great tutorial - super helpful! I do have a question about flickering in my aurora timelapse. I shoot on a sony a7iii with the sony 14mm f1.8 lens and I get heavy flickering that I can't even remove in post. My settings are in manual: f1.8, 1 - 3 sec (depending on the speed of the aurora), ISO somewhere between 1500 and 4000, WB around 3700. I would set the interval to the same speed as my shutter speed to have no delay between pictures. Any idea what can cause the flickering? Do you have to have a delay between the pictures taken? Thank you so much
@@Nateinthewild Thank you, I saw this slightly late I went for the Sony A7R IV which arrives next week. Planning now on the Lens which are pricey. Thank you
@@JPMNRB I agree with @nateinthewild the Sony 20mm f1.8 is a great astro/aurora lens and also great for landscape as well. I shoot the 20mm f1.8 on my A7RIII and the 14mm f1.8 on my A7RV for aurora.
Shutter speed: 2.5 - 6 seconds White balance: 3500-4000 Shutter delay: 2 seconds File type: RAW Focus: Manual - zoom in on star Timelapse: 6 second timer 3 second shutter
It is not recommended to use any filter when shooting aurora. Research Moire effect. Filters on lenses can cause unwanted patterns in the image which are hard if not impossible to remove.
This video is the sole reason I bought my 1st camera, a Sony a7 IV, I got the Sony 14 mm f 1.8 gm and 20mm f 1.8. Now in about 2-3 weeks I will be in Norway testing my skills hopefully I get good Northern lights!!!
Hi everyone, I wanted to ask for some information, could I take some nice photos/videos of the Northern Lights with a Nikon D5300 with Sigma 17-50mm F 2.8 EX DC OS? Thanks to whoever answers!
Yes, you can do photos with that set up but I would not suggest video. One of my friends started aurora shooting with a Nikon crop-sensor (d3400 & d5600 I think) and Tokina 11-16 f2.8 and was happy with it for a couple of years until she upgraded to full-frame. The 17mm/f2.8 side of the lens is where you'll want to shoot but you won't get as full of a sky view like in this video since it is the equivalent of a 24-27mm full frame view & he was shooting at 14mm full-frame. Aurora video is a niche area to play with. Any camera can get video that is "good enough" to show generally what is going on (even a cell phone) but only a handful of camera really excel at capturing the lights via video.(Sony A7SIII is one of them)
I have a Nikon D7500. Lenses that I have are the 50mm 1:1.8, an 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6, a Sigma 18-300mm 1:3.5-6.3 and a 70-300mm 1:4.5-6.3. No matter what I do, I just cannot get the lights. I am in Michigan and I see posts everywhere around me but I just cannot get the settings right no matter what I do.......They either turn out black or wayyyyyy to bright (like daylight almost). I have never seen the lights but I keep trying......can someone guide me a bit? Which lens, what to focus on (sky or trees)? I typically shoot wildlife and am pretty darn good at that but these lights....they are driving me crazy! Any advise would be greatly appreciated!
I saw on Saturday night aurora in Lithuania for the first time in my life and my Sony A7s batteries were dicharged :( Any time soon solar storm repeating?
Nice well explained, just two things if you shoot raw the white balance is't important raw is great for testingout colors , and the second thing i can see you have the screen on , it is good not to, some cameras drain battery faster when it's cold so powersaving ia super important. Just my two bonus tips :)
I shoot raw/jpg at the same time so I want my jpg images to be at my preferred WB.(4500-4700) I use the jpgs for reporting to aurora notification groups for real-time observations. Also it saves me time in post processing not having to tweak that one setting because it's already where I want it. Good point on the LCD vs EVF. It's a choice folks will have to make in the field. I use my LCD because I found I fogged/frosted up my glasses horribly sticking my face up the camera for the EVF. Frosted glasses are no fun and don't un-frost in really cold temps. :-) I also use a remote shutter so like seeing when my camera is ready for me to click again. I just have to make sure I have enough back-up batteries for the shooting session.
Prime lens 24mm 1.8f 2.5s to 6s exposure 2,500 - 4,000 ISO 3,500k white balance 2.5s shutter delay Shoot raw Manual focus on star in sky Time lapse 6s at the longest and 3s exposure Keep battery on your person
Thanks youtube for covering up the last 20 seconds of the video with other video suggestions so that I won't be able to fully enjoy the aurora footage at the end.
Have you ever seen the northern lights?
Yes just at the beginning of february this year when we visited the Lofoten Islands! Awesome video, thank you!
28 more days and we are off to Tromso from Australia. Fingers crossed we can see them before she has gone. Thanks for this video. Helped me out
@@beachhouse1967 im so sorry to say, but I doubt it’ll be getting dark enough in Tromsø to see them by the time you arrive. Their last day of nighttime is March 27
Yes! In fact we just had an amazing display in the wee hours of Feb 27 2023, here in Ontario Canada. Had two cameras shooting time lapses most of the night.
I think this year is all time high for Northern lights here in the more high southern parts of sweden.
might cross the border and visit some time when we moved up north
Very informative Nate! I really appreciate the specific recommendations on white balance, camera settings, etc. I can only imagine how much detailed information someone could gain from your workshops. Looking forward to more of your videos (more wildlife tips please!)
Last but not least: when you get home, take the battery and memory card out of the camera outside in the cold. Leave your camera in your bag and don't unpack it inside! Otherwise your lenses will be full of condensation and that's it for photography for the rest of your vacation ...
So if I leave my camera in the bag outside and take the memory card and battery out, where should I unpack my camera then if I can’t unpack it inside?
I must of got away with it. -15 in tromso I didn't take battery or card out. Sometimes I took the camera out to look at pictures also. Will remember next time.
I'm leaving for Norway in a couple of days and so happy that I was able to stumble upon your channel. I picked up a Sony 14/1.8 GM today based upon your videos. Lots of great content.
This is the best video I’ve seen about shooting the northern lights. Thank you so much
Among all the Northern Lights tutorials I've seen, yours is the most detailed and easy to follow. I wish I could attend your class in person. There's a forecast for the Aurora here in New Brunswick, Canada, tonight, so this video is perfect for us enthusiasts to learn how to prepare and capture it. Thanks for sharing this excellent video, and more power to you! 🙌
Lol im doing my research too. Hoping we can see them one last time tonight! I was unprepared last night but still got some shots. I was shaking cause of how cold i was even though its summer.
I go to Finland in a few days, sadly i don't have the budget for a full frame camera so I am hoping that what I have will capture something worthy. Great advice and hope to remember the great tips you have given.
VERY helpful!! Gorgeous light indeed!
I hope you guys had a great trip! Thanks for sharing these sweet tips!
This is actually an exceptional video! Most tutorials are really bloated and will still gloss over very important details. Thank you!
These are the 2 most well done photography videos on TH-cam! Thank you!!
I'm leaving for Icelan in December, and this tutorial has been very instrumental to choose the best gear in terms of coat/benefits.
Really appreciate!
Good luck, Iceland is amazing
Great video…we went to Iceland and Norway to try to get them with good predictions…. Both times it clouded over… very hit and miss .. but watching your videos makes me want to have another go .. well done
Thank you very much.. Just took A74. Will start "hunting" using your suggestions
Awesome video man, just what I was looking for
Very useful - heading to Sweden & Norway in Oct 23!
prime lenses are always a good choice. I also work with Sony G Master 24mm f1.4 and 14mm f1.8 for pictures and videos from the northern lights.
Thanks for the video, great tips! I have a quick question, I am going to Iceland on 12/1/23 and I have heard some people say to use kalvin settings, but there are a few that say to just set the white balance to "daylight - sun" setting. Can you tell me which one gives the better color for the Norther Lights? I have a Nikon D4S, and using a Nikon 55mm, F1.4 lens. I am used to sports photography; gymnastics and wrestling are what my kids did. So I am trying to learn all that I can about photographing the Norther Lights before our trip. Thank you!!!
I cover white balance at around 6:20 in this. “Daylight” is just a general kelvin setting that’s pre-programmed into your camera, so it’ll accomplish the same thing, but setting the kelvin manually will be a more accurate and custom setting.
Tried this today. Photos came grainy. But thank you so much for this video. I think I messed up iso
Thanks for the excellent tips Nate, I'll put your advice into practice next month when on a cruise to East Greenland Scoresby Sund
So beautiful. Well done
Awesome tutorial. Norway sounds like an awesome trip! Would love to join
This was an awesome video and an equally informative Part 2, thanks for the time and effort!
Love the video, how do I slow the time-lapse down? I photograph about 99 images I have some that I just let go for over an hour. but it seems fast when I put it together. Thx
Unfortunately the only real way to get a slower timelapse is to shoot more frames. I have several timelapse tutorials on my channel as well, but the short version is that I always recommend shooting as short of an interval as possible. Especially for Northern Lights, you want only about 2-3 seconds between photos because the lights can move fast.
Brilliant. I'm just suckering a GoPro to the inside of a window in the house at the moment. This is something to strive toward. Thank you. Liked and subscribed.
Hope you had a good time in Norway! Remember to say hi at the Radisson Blu Airport next time 😅 Love the video! Always such a learning-experience watching your videos, Nate.
Hey Nate great video thanks for this, do you recommend shooting in silent mode or use the shutter?
I don’t think it’ll matter much for the aurora, so whichever you prefer will be fine!
Nice work on this, very helpful!
Really informative about the white balance and adobe RGB settings.. thanks a lot.. will have to try them when I am in the Arctic again 💚
I just got a Tokina 11-16mm lens for my Canon 90D.
Excellent video! Would you be able to do the same (give is settings, tips and tricks) to record the Northern Lights in video instead of photographing them? Thank you!
Great one thanks! with the timer at 2 secs it's good to avoid shake, I actually use at 10 secs, but one question do you use the mechanical or electronic shutter? Is just that the mechanical will probably still introduce some shake once it's triggered even by the timer, thanks
Hi I’m going to Finland next month. I am taking my Canon EOS R6 mk.II with sigma 14mm F1.8 lens will this do the job for northern lights stills and video? As you might have guessed, at the gear and no idea. Thanks
That's a perfect combo!
Really helpful - thank you! What setting would you use for the northern light displays that are more red/pink in colour?
Ciao Nate, thank you for your content. I'm going to Sweden, Abisko, for Northern lights. I have two lenses in mind: sony FE 14 1.8 and sony FE 24 1.4, the first for wider angle and the second for lower ISO. Well... any comments? Thank you!
@@diegomalvestio8079 hi Diego! I would recommend the 14mm f/1.8 :)
Thank you very much. Very informative video ❤
Great 2-parter Nate... thanks!
Nice video. The music you picked must be aurora music, as I picked the same song for an aurora video I made from a night in February. Ha!
I wish I would’ve seen this sooner or before Friday night here in WA state. Got some great still images of the northern lights but I wanted to do a video or time lapse and I’m still a rookie photographer since I bought my first camera last October. But I soak up information like a sponge and this video and the first one were beyond helpful. Thank you!!
Very helpful video. Thank you!
Hi. Which location in Iceland did you shoot this? The Aurora on the mountains look amazing.
The best guide I've seen on this, thank you! - We are in Iceland this Sat (24th Feb) and this has been invaluable. A couple of questions though:
1. How do you rate the Viltrox 16mm f/1.8 for this vs the Sony 14mm and 20mm?
2. I noticed you've filmed the video part on the A7S III. I only have the Sony ZV-E1 (same sensor as A7S III), in general, is there any advantage to using such a beast of a low light camera for this? - or would you always opt for a higher megapixel full frame like an A7R V or your A1?
3. If shooting from one of those northern lights cruises, going from ISO3200 up to ISO25600 is 3 stops (just 1 stop above the native ISO12800). Going from 2.5s to 1/4s to get free hold is also 3 stops, so it should yield similar results?
Thanks Nate, for the great video. I learned a few things, and just changed a few settings in a custom mode and will try soon. I wonder though, do you ever use in camera noise reduction? Or do you clean up any noise in Post?
I always clean up noise in post. You can shoot a black reference frame if you'd like to expedite the process (this is essentially what in-camera noise reduction does), but especially for timelapses I don't like to have that mandatory 5s pause after each image.
@@Nateinthewild so Nate ,the best timelapses is 6s pause after each image?
@@linlinsun5626 I would do no more than 3s
Exceptionally great video! I learned a lot and subscribed. I will be heading to Iceland next month (mid Sep 2024) and the auroras are supposed to be good. I plan to take Sony A7C II and pair it with 20mm f1.8. Would that be a good setup for taking auroras? And if yes, what camera settings do you recommend for still photos and for time lapse? Thank you so much!!
Hopefully your trip went well
@@JPMNRB Hi. Thanks for your tips on shooting northern lights. Got some epic northern lights photos in Iceland. It was totally amazing!
That's awesome , I am goig to Norway soon. Hopefully I can grab good shots @@newtuberhk
Awesome can’t wait going on a northern lights cruise right to the top of Norway 🇳🇴 in January with a overnight stay in Alta can’t wait to see them again after have it a awesome show a few months back in uk 🇬🇧 started getting loads of merino wool base layers and Icelandic wool sweaters should be nice n toasty I’ve got the canon ef 16-35 f 2.8 L mk 2 but I’m also tempted with getting something like sigma art 20 mm f 1.4 as apart from the overnight stay in Alta the rest of the nights well be moving on the ship so long exposures are going to be a no no really so will have to experiment shorter shutter higher iso and wid open
Hi,
Is the FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS lens going to perform as well paired with the Sony A7 4? I'm visiting Tromso in Feb for the 3rd time to catch the norther lights :)
That lens won't perform nearly as well as the 20mm f/1.8 that I suggest in this video as it only allows 1/3rd as much light, so your exposures will need to be 3 times the length.
@@Nateinthewild Thanks for the quick response, I was told because the Alpha iv can handle ISO well the F4 would be fine because I can shoot in a higher ISO. I'm trying to get a lens I can also use when I get back home also you see so it saves buying two lenses. I'm assuming they will still look awesome compared to the average camera if I did go with the FE 24-105mm F4 G OSS?
Another great video. For time lapse I expect an ISO invariant camera would be a good base given how much variance there can be in luminance? Whats your general approach for exposure to give balance to not underexpose too heavily while at the same time allowing enough latitude so the highlights don't blow out in your time lapse sequence in the event the aurora really kicks off?
I have a Nikon z5 so would the settings be the same for my camera?
They would be, yep!
I'm going to Alaska next month to see the auroras. I'm not a photographer in any sense but I like taking photos of the moon/night sky and plan to get some videos and photos of the auroras. I've done so much research on cameras but have no clue what camera to get that's around $500. Do you have any recommendations?
Just checking out your video as we have a storm incoming right now 😎 ... I have the same camera and I notice you using iso 3200ish. With the A1 would it not be better to shoot at ISO 500 which I think is the 2nd native ISO setting? Because of the ISO invariance with the sensor ? Im still tinkering at the moment with it but find that ISO 500 lets me stretch out the milkyway great in post. Anyway great video, I really liked the idea about keeping the batteries in your jacket! Take care mate :)
I use ISO 3200 because I want to prioritize a shorter shutter speed since the aurora moves so fast. The A1 has magnificent low light performance so ISO 3200 is not so high as to decrease image quality, but ISO 500 will require a shutter speed of 6-10s which in my experience will make for a very subpar image of the northern lights.
@@Nateinthewild Sounds good, haven't taken the 20mm out to a dark site yet so ill keep that in mind! Thanks for the reply 🤙
Great tips
Breathtaking images - really enjoyed the time lapse at the end!
Usually I shoot on daylight white-balance and then cool it off in post, I’m using either an a7siii or a7iv, do you think that would muddy up the aurora too much?
If you’re shooting raw you can correct in post but it’s always going to be better to get it right in-camera. Setting a manual white balance is easy on those two cameras, I’d recommend doing that, but if you’d prefer a preset then the “fluorescent” setting will be your best bet
@@Nateinthewild Hoping we get some clear skies soon, I’ll definitely take the advice and dial in white balance ahead of time. I also think I need to experiment shooting the a7siii at ISO 12,800 instead of ISO 6,400.
Thank you again for the input!
Great video. The only thing I found odd was the preference for uncompressed vs lossless compressed RAW. Lossless is what it says, just like a zip file. I can't see any advantage in avoiding lossless compression. It will allow you to fit a lot more images on your SD card (or whatever storage device you use). 🤔
Why compress it at all, when you have the option to not compress it? Storage is cheap, I'd rather maximize quality in every single way possible.
@@Nateinthewild because lossless compression shouldn't affect quality at all. If you put a Word document in a zip file, email it to someone and they take it out of the zip file, it will be exactly the same. Lossless RAW should be exactly what it says, because it uses compression techniques that don't lose data, such as run length encoding. The only way I can think of that there could be a difference is if the camera changes the bit depth between the two. Uncompressed raw would be faster to write when taking continuous frames at high shutter speeds, but that isn't the case here. Anyway, of course it's up to you. I'm not criticising. I'm just saying that there shouldn't be any difference in quality between uncompressed raw and lossless compressed raw.
Will I be able to make some good images using a Canon 10-18 F4 ?
Hey Nate, thank you so much for this great tutorial - super helpful!
I do have a question about flickering in my aurora timelapse. I shoot on a sony a7iii with the sony 14mm f1.8 lens and I get heavy flickering that I can't even remove in post. My settings are in manual: f1.8, 1 - 3 sec (depending on the speed of the aurora), ISO somewhere between 1500 and 4000, WB around 3700. I would set the interval to the same speed as my shutter speed to have no delay between pictures. Any idea what can cause the flickering? Do you have to have a delay between the pictures taken?
Thank you so much
Were you able to figure out the issue?
Pretty good!
WOW!!!
Great tips!
is an iphone 14 pro max good to take these pictures?? if yes, tell me the settings please. Thanks in advance
Great video,thanks,new subscriber here.
I I can’t edit photos (I suck at it), what format should I shoot in?
Raw is always preferred, but jpeg is doable as well
Hello I am considering buying a Sony A7Riii on a good deal, should I get the A7S instead?
Nope! A7R III is my favorite camera of all time
@@Nateinthewild Thank you, I saw this slightly late I went for the Sony A7R IV which arrives next week. Planning now on the Lens which are pricey.
Thank you
@@JPMNRB If your goal is night sky photography then you should get the 20mm f/1.8 :)
@@JPMNRB I agree with @nateinthewild the Sony 20mm f1.8 is a great astro/aurora lens and also great for landscape as well. I shoot the 20mm f1.8 on my A7RIII and the 14mm f1.8 on my A7RV for aurora.
Well now I need to go spend some money, thanks.. :P No but seriously, awesome video! 👍
Shutter speed: 2.5 - 6 seconds
White balance: 3500-4000
Shutter delay: 2 seconds
File type: RAW
Focus: Manual - zoom in on star
Timelapse: 6 second timer 3 second shutter
What does circular polarizer do to the auroras?
It is not recommended to use any filter when shooting aurora. Research Moire effect. Filters on lenses can cause unwanted patterns in the image which are hard if not impossible to remove.
This video is the sole reason I bought my 1st camera, a Sony a7 IV, I got the Sony 14 mm f 1.8 gm and 20mm f 1.8. Now in about 2-3 weeks I will be in Norway testing my skills hopefully I get good Northern lights!!!
How did you shoot aurora in video？
Time-lapse, you the exactly what he said you just set a timer
Hi everyone, I wanted to ask for some information, could I take some nice photos/videos of the Northern Lights with a Nikon D5300 with Sigma 17-50mm F 2.8 EX DC OS? Thanks to whoever answers!
Yes, you can do photos with that set up but I would not suggest video. One of my friends started aurora shooting with a Nikon crop-sensor (d3400 & d5600 I think) and Tokina 11-16 f2.8 and was happy with it for a couple of years until she upgraded to full-frame. The 17mm/f2.8 side of the lens is where you'll want to shoot but you won't get as full of a sky view like in this video since it is the equivalent of a 24-27mm full frame view & he was shooting at 14mm full-frame. Aurora video is a niche area to play with. Any camera can get video that is "good enough" to show generally what is going on (even a cell phone) but only a handful of camera really excel at capturing the lights via video.(Sony A7SIII is one of them)
I have a Nikon D7500. Lenses that I have are the 50mm 1:1.8, an 18-55mm 1:3.5-5.6, a Sigma 18-300mm 1:3.5-6.3 and a 70-300mm 1:4.5-6.3. No matter what I do, I just cannot get the lights. I am in Michigan and I see posts everywhere around me but I just cannot get the settings right no matter what I do.......They either turn out black or wayyyyyy to bright (like daylight almost). I have never seen the lights but I keep trying......can someone guide me a bit? Which lens, what to focus on (sky or trees)? I typically shoot wildlife and am pretty darn good at that but these lights....they are driving me crazy! Any advise would be greatly appreciated!
I saw on Saturday night aurora in Lithuania for the first time in my life and my Sony A7s batteries were dicharged :( Any time soon solar storm repeating?
Nice well explained, just two things if you shoot raw the white balance is't important raw is great for testingout colors ,
and the second thing i can see you have the screen on , it is good not to, some cameras drain battery faster when it's cold so powersaving ia super important.
Just my two bonus tips :)
I shoot raw/jpg at the same time so I want my jpg images to be at my preferred WB.(4500-4700) I use the jpgs for reporting to aurora notification groups for real-time observations. Also it saves me time in post processing not having to tweak that one setting because it's already where I want it. Good point on the LCD vs EVF. It's a choice folks will have to make in the field. I use my LCD because I found I fogged/frosted up my glasses horribly sticking my face up the camera for the EVF. Frosted glasses are no fun and don't un-frost in really cold temps. :-) I also use a remote shutter so like seeing when my camera is ready for me to click again. I just have to make sure I have enough back-up batteries for the shooting session.
Prime lens 24mm
1.8f
2.5s to 6s exposure
2,500 - 4,000 ISO
3,500k white balance
2.5s shutter delay
Shoot raw
Manual focus on star in sky
Time lapse
6s at the longest and 3s exposure
Keep battery on your person
Thanks youtube for covering up the last 20 seconds of the video with other video suggestions so that I won't be able to fully enjoy the aurora footage at the end.
in all 2 videos i needed only how to set focus... nothing said :(
8:08 ;)
@@Nateinthewild ooooh! I have missed it skipping ahead.... sorry! :)
First half is irrelevant yapping
Thanks, Kevin, this is the kind of uplifting positive comment that makes the internet so fun.