Photograph Northern Lights with ANY Camera

You don't have to be TOO fancy to photograph Aurora. Chances are what you already have in your pocket can do the job. But what else do you have the might also work? What should you get? I've got you covered!
This video is the first stop on making full fledged timelapse video of Aurora, part of a 6 part series that will take you from gear, to producing an image sequence to outputting to a final video.
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Next video in the series: Making Timelapses, Tips and tricks: • Making Aurora Timelaps...
#NorthernLights #photography #Howto
Jen Jelle on Visual Aurora
• Northern lights: what ...
On Sony S&Q Mode:
Unfortunately one glaring limitation is that you can only go down to 1s total exposure for each frame. However this is good enough for Stage2 and Stage3 Aurora. In fact sometimes I was down to 1/4s for Stage2 Aurora. ISO will likely be in the 3200 to 20,000 range. For Stage3, as low as ISO1600 and 1/4s. I typically output to 60fps and then slow or speed things up as needed in post. I use all S-Cine picture profile and 10-bit color 4:2:2 at 200mbps. Daylight White Balance. S-Cine is pretty close to what your eyes see and still provides plenty of flexibility in post---just down blowout your highlights! Use S-Log3 if you prefer!
On using a DJI Mavic Mini 2:
Disable the front LED. Also enable "upward tilt" on the camera so you can see more above the horizon. You'll need nearly perfectly calm winds if you want to make a timelapse! At 4s per frame you are likely only going to get about 150-200 images before your battery runs out and you have to land and re-install a battery. I think an ideal scenario for a drone shooting aurora is a small amount of moonlight behind the drone, with Stage2 aurora ahead. Preferably a landscape covered in snow, or some nice jagged peaks as a silhouette.
Cameras used in this video:
Sony A7sIII
Canon 6D Mk II
Canon T3i
Canon T2i
Canon Powershot A60
Kodak DC290 Zoom
Kodak DC210
iPhone 11 Pro Max
GoPro Hero 7
DJI Mavic Mini 2
Canon AE-1
Lenses:
Tokina 11-17mm F2.8
Tokina 12-20mm F4
Tamron 24-70 F2.8
Sigma 20mm F1.4 Art
Canon 50mm F1.4
You are watching me on a Tamron 28-200mm F2.8-5.6

[@LukeMaximoBell1]

Thanks for all the tips! Such a helpful video. Heading to Iceland this weekend so hopefully there are some displays.

[@a.s.3904]

As someone who knows absolutely nothing about cameras, I can definitively say you are a pro and know what you're talking about! 😂 Great video!

[@scienceoutthere]

I’m good at cameras and gear but not so great at photography itself and I need to keep working on that.

[@bmi1967]

Thank you for this very informative video. I will be travelling to Iceland in 2 weeks for a weeks holiday filming and photographing the Northern Lights (as well as everything else I can point a camera at) . After 5 years of just using a Panasonic Lumix TZ100 which is a great camera, I upgraded my kit a couple of months ago to include a Gopro Hero 10 and a Canon Eos M50 MKII with a Canon EF-M 55-200mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM and a Canon EF-M 22mm f/2 Pancake lens so from watching your video I'm now very excited about my visit and hope to get some interesting looking photos and time lapses. I am now going to watch your other videos on the subject. Nice bit of humour in your video too which I enjoyed! Thank you!! :D

[@Nature4U1]

I just came back from a failed aurora hunt… this would have help us quite a lot. Thank you

[@bushcraftandastronomer.3775]

Great video to watch! I photographed the northern lights with Huawei p40 smartphone and wow it all showed up even though I was in light polluted area. I'm going to use the Huawei p40pro for aurora shots being a professional camera. Wow GoPro hero 7 Black captured the northern lights now that is awesome to know. Need to try my GoPro hero 7 black. Then use lightroom etc to make shots even better with the right software. It's rewarding when you get that shot you really want and you took it!

[@leon_frey]

thanks for the video:)

[@northernlaw1250]

I think I have a lot of videos to watch now! :) Thanks a lot Michael, keep up the great work and do you think about making a video about Noctilous Clouds in the future, I saw some this summer and I think it could be a good subject that you could talk about ;)

[@scienceoutthere]

Yes absolutely would do that. I've only seen/photographed one good display, and i've worked it into a couple videos. I need more footage!

[@anniecarreno4832]

Great shots! For the night mode on your iPhone, did you choose 30s Shutter and ISO 1600? Just want to make sure I got it right since I'll be trying your tips next month during my stay in Lapland, Finland. Thanks!

[@BoldFollower]

Good video

[@scottlee4664]

Omg if u have mini 3 or 2s then that will be much more clear plus they can do motion time-lapse!

[@shupingyin8082]

awesome video Michael. I have one astro mod camera I want to use it for timelapse while using the other camera for photography. is that doable?

[@aashishgupta3365]

Hey, I live in Tromso and seen them almost every week. But I always want to know the best camera settings in Iphone 12 pro max ☺️. Please inform with the best camera settings ☺️

[@yansendelacuesta555]

HELLO,DO U THINK THE PHONE WILL STAY ON IF THE WEATHER IS TOO COLD? WONT THE BATTERY DROP IF ITS FRIGID? OR MAYBE,DO WE NEED A VERTAIN EQUIPMENT FOR IT? THANKS

[@meano9073]

I got a galaxy a14 5g and i cant figure out how to see them.

[@NordLys244]

What do you recommend for filming in real time the northern lights?

[@scienceoutthere]

Need something like the Sony A7S3 with very low light capability. And f2.0 or less lens. 1/24th exposure, 24fps. ISO varies based on brightness, 12800 for the brightest overhead lights and as high as ISO 50,000 for something a little more distant and darker.

[@NordLys244]

@@scienceoutthere wow...so fast ! Thank you ! I was thinking about A7s 3 but also at A7 iv because it's quite cheaper and i thought i could save some money but if you recommend the A7s 3 then it's set. Thank you again !!

[@scienceoutthere]

@@NordLys244 the entire a7 series can just about pull it off but the s3 just does it so perfectly well!

[@scienceoutthere]

2001 called and would like its potatoes back. Discord? discord.gg/bNMVrjf Patreon? www.patreon.com/scienceoutthere Twitter? twitter.com/ScienceOutThere

[@youdj_app]

iphone 13 is far superior for aurora, I am using it, night mode 10s