Nikon Z8 & Z6III To the Max Capturing Aurora - Simply Stunning /How to Capture Aurora's | Matt Irwin

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Thanks to alexi3012 for spotting an f/stop which should have read f/2.8 not 1.2 at time code 1.23. Thanks again Alexi :)

[@FoTomgraphy]

Awesome photos!! You had the best assistant, saludos!!

[@RaymondParkerPhoto]

What a fantastic experience, Matt! Thanks for sharing it with us. I missed the aurora borealis a month or so back so this is a great display that looks very similar.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Cheers Ray, thank you so much, perhaps you will capture the next one :)

[@csc-photo]

Stunning images! 😍 It’s one of my goals in life to see & photograph the aurora, or “northern lights” as they’re called here in the states. Amazing 🙌🏻

[@carlmcneill1139]

It's very thrilling capturing your firsts whether it's the aurora, your first waterfall, or your first car race. I took pictures of my first aurora last year here in the US. I live in Alabama in a place where we usually don't get to see something like that. It was barely visible to the naked eye but my camera was able to get it. I even got some shots with my cell phone. I went to a lake that's about 5 miles from my house to get some shots. I know where there's a log laying near the edge of the lake. I used it for my foreground shot. I used my 24-70mm f/2.8 s lens as well.

[@paulliversage4479]

I got my first aurora last May...in th outer Hebradies...using z8 and the kit lens i got with z6ii.....nikkoe 24-70 mm f4......got good results with a 10 second exposure

[@EveningReport]

Thanks for showing this Matt. The colours and exposure are so good! In May I did a time-lapse of the Aurora Australis from New Zealand using a Z6 with a Z-mount 20mm 1.8. I did a couple of test shots, then set the time-lapse for about 70 minutes or so. I thought I'd missed the aurora to be honest, but then checking the file I found a huge burst of solar energy at about 14 seconds in of a 28 second clip. Your Aurora episode here inspired me to upload my time-lapse to my YT channel. Thanks again Mate. Once again you have benchmarked a quality standard!

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Thanks so much Selwyn, I really appreciate your support :)

[@martinhild]

Congrats! Beautiful images.

[@andpenn]

Matt, a quick warning that chasing Aurora's is quite addictive. The only problem with slow lenses is that the beams can become less visible as the exposure time increases. You wer fortunate to be at Venus Bay as places like Cape Shank and Flinders get crazy busy when Lady aurora is dancing.

[@SOTA-368]

Awesome photos Matt. 2024 was the first year I attempted to capture the Aurora Borealis using a Z8.

[@jdeplaa]

Great results! Unfortunately, it was very cloudy in my part of Europe on New Year’s Day. Last year, I shot some aurora with the Nikon 20mm F1.8 and I was really impressed with the performance in combination with the Z8. It does make things easier, especially because you do not control the awesome light show in the sky and you do not have to worry too much about the gear. You can even use the autofocus on bright stars! It’s fantastic!

[@koenpijpersphotography]

So awesome! Just create with what you got! I had the pleasure to experience and capture it three times in 2024. Shutter speed anywhere between 0.5s to let’s see max 20s depending on the speed of the movement of Aurora. I shot it usually with the 14-24 2.8S which is very suitable for it. I do own the 16 1.8 now which is ever better for those kinds of shots.

[@timdokter3893]

Very cool Matt! "The best camera is the one you have with you." It could be a motivational poster. I'm hoping to capture the aurora borealis in Norway this februari, fingers crossed! Thanks for the great video again, cheers!

[@marcbossa7402]

Magnifique 👌

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Merci !!!

[@blackswaneventphoto]

VB Beach 1! I think you’ll find if you shoot from a location without the Carpark lights you might get a better view of the colours that were visible to the eye. I was 30km north of you and the colours were fairly prominent at times, especially around 3am when the clouds cleared. Keep enjoying South Gippsland!

[@kenwhalley3397]

Hi Matt. I live in Cornwall U.K. and managed to get some stunning Aurora images in May 2024. I used a Z8 with Z20mm f1.8 lens. Amazing results. It was a once in a lifetime event this far south in the UK.

[@psoon04286]

The Aurora Borealis of May’24 was a memorable one for many around the world that had clear skies where they were👍👍😲🙂

[@martyntorode7126]

Hi Matt, we were clouded out where I live unfortunately. I had two Aurora sessions last year using the Viltrox 20mm 2.8 which I purchased for that purpose, two great nights of photography and rare as rocking horse poo where I live. I would suggest sub 8 second exposures to capture the detail in the Aurora. Hoping we all get another chance very soon.

[@adw2010able]

Have shot many Auroras now, colour temperature is a personal preference, I prefer k5500, anything between 3850 and 5000 is usually the go to, shutter speed for the show happening at the time was way too long, a five second shutter and iso of 3200 - 6400 is what I use, manual focus is a must and with strong wind image stabilisation is a must.

[@ehoffmann4758]

Great video - we were hoping too here in Cape Town - but ya - we didn't get to see a thing - your video is useful for us - for next time :)

[@stigfloberghagenphotography]

Beautiful intro and photos 👍🙂

[@NaturePhotoStudios]

I shot video of the aurora at ISO 25,600 @f1.4 on a Z9. Ran the video through Topaz Video AI for noise reduction and it looked amazing!

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Yeah I ran mine through the built NR in Final Cut Pro. Looking good !

[@tedk2814]

This video brings back memories of when I decided to be an astro photographer. I watched several videos on the subject on a guys channel in Australia. Amazing videos and great guy like Matt, he actually knows Matt Irwin. Anyhow I purchased a viltrox 16mm 1.8 and wouldn't you know it was cloudy and raining every night for a month here in central east Florida. I love the lens by the way. I'm still waiting for my amazing channel debut. I might purchase another Viltrox lens, I'm impressed with the build quality and heft.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Cheers Ted, yes the Viltrox 16mm 1.8 is a winner for sure :)

[@TihoVo]

the colours in the pictures look amazing and it seems like a cool experience you had! I shot my first aurora in New Zealand a couple of years ago with a Sony nex 3N and the kit lens. I bought the camera few days before the trip and I had no clue which settings to use when shooting the aurora and luckily there was a photographer near by who gave me some tips. Granted, the photos I took are not perfect and I didn't even have a tripod - but what matters to me is the experience I had and seeing the aurora for the first time in my life. The sentimental value is far greater than having the right gear and getting the best/perfect shot - at least for me. Cheers!

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Thanks for sharing, where were you in New Zealand to see the aurora?

[@TihoVo]

@MattIrwinPhotography Queenstown ✌️

[@mikelyon5595]

Cool!

[@mrdarryljones1]

No Auroras but I use the wrong lens all the time. My 85 1.8 on my Z6ii for indoor sports and my Plena for Horse racing, both paid gigs and printed in the paper. Thanks for sharing the settings, I think I may be able to do some night photography now! 👍🏾

[@whoalse]

Wonderful images of the Aurora Australis. It's a bummer that I missed this NY/NYE phenomenon after having the rare opportunity back in May 2024 for the first time. I am still near the Equator where aurora is close to impossible! Back in May, I took the first aurora with iPhone on our driveway and showing it to the kids on screen since we couldn't differentiate it with naked eyes. Thereafter settling the kids for bed, I took many shots some time later with Zf but the intensity had dropped significantly. So, any camera or lens to capture the moment is the best lens. My best photo of the aurora with most colours was with the iPhone for reason that it's at the right time. Never imagine that we could experience aurora in Melbourne or anywhere other than those well-documented places.

[@dominiclester3232]

Super shots Matt! A great experience, made more interesting by your lens choices. My first experience was in Norway with a Samyang 24mm f1.4 which I had bought for the job. At the time I was thrilled with my results because I could keep the shutter speeds under 2 secs which kept more detail in the sky (better than a colleague with the afs 14-24mm F lens!). Sadly I later found out that there was a reason this lens was well priced, it was de-centered, so a third was out of focus...My third time to shoot the Aurora was a few months ago in south England with a P1000 (after tennis) far from ideal, but very exciting to see it at home!

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Cheers Dominic, interesting to hear about your various aurora adventures. I hope I get a second time :)

[@RaySweeting]

Hey Matt, we were lucky enough to be in Jasper Canada in May last year when the Aurora went off it was a 9 on the Kp scale . Could not see it with your eyes it looked like a grey mist but on a phone or camera it was insane. It was directly over head unfortunately being in a tourist village could not get a great landscape background (bears and bright lights). I found the best shots with great structure were at 2-3 seconds (D850 + 20mm F1.8 -F2 Nikkor ISO 200 to 800) on a tripod. Longer exposures tended to be brighter but the colours become less structured.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Cheers Ray, that sounds awesome, I think the one we had was a 6 or 7 on the scale. :)

[@maxmueller550]

I'm pretty lucky where I live in the United States being so far north and being able to get away from light pollution so easily. You tend to not think about the southern lights because there's so much less land to see them in the southern hemisphere. There was a few years back where I rushed out to shoot the northern lights and forgot to bring an extra tripod plate and had to use a hoodie on top of my car to situate my Z6 to take photos.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Making do, great work!!! I have done that before. Car bonnet tripod. :)

[@davidpearson3304]

I think your fellow Aussie Richard Tatti (Nightscape images) would be proud of these.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Cheers David, you are very kind. Richard and I have spoken in the past. Time we actually caught up :)

[@lesladbrook4508]

A great effort with the gear you had Matt, yes I have not always had the right gear and I am never afraid to push the ISO high to get an image. I recommend to people to use a WB of between 3800 and 4500 kelvin, know you can change it later if you shoot RAW as you already know. Great to see the two cameras being used to the limit you might say 🙂

[@ftbalz]

Amazing results for the "wrong" gear!! Shame you couldn't be testing the Nikon 35mm 1.2 while there...............

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

I wish !!

[@HezuFoto]

In last few years I have got some sort of aurora photography bug and I have tried my luck almost always when there has been opportunity and few times the results has already been quite acceptable. These days my primary weapons of choice would be Sony FE 1.8/14 GM and Sony FE 1.8/20 G, perhaps Sony FE 1.4/24 GM as third option, althought in the past I have used also some slower lenses. On the other hand, majority of my attempts have been within the city of Helsinki, so light pollution has been a small problem. One of the major lessons I have learned is that often you want to shoot with surprisingly short shutter speeds (just a couple of seconds, maybe even less) as that way you can keep the various wavy forms of aurora in your photos.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Awesome work, and thanks for the info :)

[@BirdPhish]

I set up a nite-lapse once knowing there was Aurora happening that night... but not what direction it was....turned out I had the camera pointed in the opposite direction, but you could see the reflection of the colors on my Kimbo camper....turned it a pinkish color. The time lapse is towards the end of my video "Ironwood Forest National Monument"

[@batsta3d]

I feel my car tinkering budget is leaning a lot more toward my camera tinkering budget after seeing these photos!

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

What are you going to get?

[@alexi3012]

1:23 24-70 f/2.8 on f/1.2 ??? :)

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Damn, sadly after so much effort, a typo ... it should read f/2.8 - thanks for pointing it out, I shall pin a note :)

[@bencollins7684]

Matt, what camera were you filming the video with and what ISOs were you at? Is that the 51k or was that the Z6III you shot the stills of the Aurora with?

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Video Shot on z6iii 51200 iso 50mm 1.2. 1/25th. 5.4K. 10bit. I’m impressed by what it could see in the dark. 😀👍🎥

[@janrolsenfoto]

@@MattIrwinPhotographyHow is the noise at such high iso?

[@shubhodeeproy]

Indeed waiting to hear from you, Matt, on this.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

​@@janrolsenfoto I applied noise reduction in Final Cut Pro, which I don't think is anything fancy (not AI), to just the video, not the stills. And these are the results you can see in this video. I am pretty impressed. Any camera is going to give you noise at 51,200 ISO. You can see Z6III in this video, with no noise reduction at higher ISO's kzbin.info/www/bejne/p5yanWhmf7V7fNk and here kzbin.info/www/bejne/ioqrl398j9Nsj5I What are you interested in shooting at high ISO?

[@janrolsenfoto]

@@MattIrwinPhotography Shooting night scenes and northern lights in arctic Norway. Thanks for the links!

[@psoon04286]

Living in the south western corner of Canada we’ve been frustrated on many occasions when the met stations forecasted optimal conditions for Borealis sightings but the heavy overcast shielded the phenomena😩

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Fingers crossed for next time !!!

[@dct124]

I do think you guys should've used one camera for a timelapse.

[@MattIrwinPhotography]

Good idea, it was my first time shooting aurora, and I had no idea what to expect :)

[@cyrilhamel8289]

Imagine if you had had a 24mm F/1.4.....

[@SubiTrekker]

One of you should have been sitting on that bench looking up at the sky.

[@dct124]

I think you're being overly hard on yourself.

[@andpenn]

Matt, a quick warning that chasing Aurora's is quite addictive. The only problem with slow lenses is that the beams can become less visible as the exposure time increases. You wer fortunate to be at Venus Bay as places like Cape Shank and Flinders get crazy busy when Lady aurora is dancing.

[@andpenn]

Matt, a quick warning that chasing Aurora's is quite addictive. The only problem with slow lenses is that the beams can become less visible as the exposure time increases. You were fortunate to be at Venus Bay as places like Cape Shank and Flinders get crazy busy when Lady aurora is dancing.