Northern Lights - question

Ok, I am far from going - and I'll have about 10 months of use with my 7D before I go - but what lens do you recommend when shooting it? Flash?

We are going to Yellowknife, NWT over the winter holidays - main reason to take photos of the Northern Lights

so I will take all advice! The Lens that I'll be getting is the 28-135mm and a 2x converter (that's to start with)

To shoot the lights you plan to put the camera on a tripod, set the lens to 28 so you can get the fastest lens speed of f3.5, right? Consider getting a TC-80N3 Timer Remote Controller (or good 3rd party knockoff) to do long exposures and several series of night exposures.

Not sure how you plan to use the 2X converter. It will drop the light level 2 stops. So with the lens at max aperture of f3.5, you are have an effective aperture of f7. AF functions generally are designed to work up to f5.6 and not much smaller (too much light drop). So you may have AF problems with a 2X on that lens. Naturally test it all out under various lighting conditions when you get the equipment.

Eliza,

As MCAsan has already mentioned, a good tripod is mandatory as well as a remote shutter release. If you can afford it, you may also want to pick up a Canon 10-22 wide angle lens as well, which will come in handy when shooting any landscapes, day or night.

Flash will not help you at all for shooting the Northern Lights unless you're trying to expose something in the foreground. A cheaper alternative (over the flash) is to do some light painting with a flashlight, although this will take a little experimentation to get the right results.

I wouldn't buy a 2x teleconverter right now. You just won't have any use for it.

Hope this helps,
Bryan

Thanks guys! I'll put the 10-22 lens on my list - I want what is best when I go to Canada - hey I'm going to shoot the lights, I might as well get my money's worth!

hold off on the 10-22 u will be more happier with the canon ef 17-40f4L

You might consider an investment in a good book on night photography.

Night Photography: Finding your way in the dark

http://www.amazon.com …t_top/185-6862821-3520622

mcowens wrote in post #13764335
hold off on the 10-22 u will be more happier with the canon ef 17-40f4L

Why? Its a completely different lens...

mcowens wrote in post #13764335
hold off on the 10-22 u will be more happier with the canon ef 17-40f4L

I also have to ask the question: why do you recommend a 17-40L to complement the 28-135 she already owns?

A good wide-angle lens is a staple for landscape photography, of which, the 10-22 is superior.

Bryan

Agreed with the above. The 10-22 also has significantly sharper corner performance compared to the 17-40

agree but if ur gonna spend that type of money on an EF-S lense mine well get the 17-40 overall the picture quality sharpness and contrast is better not cause it having the red rubberband and if u look at the sigma 10-20 that even takes impressive photos over the canon ultrawide and if the colrs arnt to the T shoot raw and edit in post

mcowens,

Personally, I don't think the sharpness, contrast, or overall picture quality of the 17-40L is better than the 10-22. However, even if it was, I would still choose the 10-22. Why? Because the 10-16mm focal range is very important in wide-angle photography and it's a totally different focal range than 17-40mm. We really are talking about two completely different lenses here...

Bryan

true true caint argue there i do personally own everything to cover 90% from 10mm to 200mm n i do love the 10mm effect for landscapes and night time photography what would u recommend for a next lense off topic but just curious i was looking into 150-500 sigma and the 300f4L

Karl Johnston is a member here at POTN. He lives in the NWT, and is one of the regions foremost aurora photographers. It may be beneficial to look up what he has written on this topic here on POTN.

Here is a link to a thread that he started here on POTN, entitled, "A Comprehensive Guide To Aurora Photography":
https://photography-on-the.net …=guide+to+north​ern+lights

Here is a link to the gallery page of his website:
http://www.karljohnsto​n.com/galleries/

Thanks Tom! I appreciate it!!