Shooting the northern lights with my k-30
4,934 posts
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Posted 02/12/2012 - 23:44
As long as you have a tripod I don't think a wide aperture is a necessity. The kit lens should do just fine. If you are thinking about a cheap 28mm, try to get a Pentax one. The Pentax-M 28mm F3.5 is brilliant, but rather scarce, if you can't find one of these, there are plenty of 28mm F2.8's around.
Regards
David
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Nicola's Apartments, Kassiopi, Corfu
Some cameras, some lenses, some bits 'n' bobs
Regards
David
Flickr
Nicola's Apartments, Kassiopi, Corfu
Some cameras, some lenses, some bits 'n' bobs
Last Edited by davidstorm on 02/12/2012 - 23:45
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Posted 03/12/2012 - 08:01
I'm off to Sweden for Northern Lights shots in Feb and have been reading intensively. Most useful site I found was this -
http://www.alaskaphotographyblog.com/how-to-photograph-the-northern-lights-with-...
My tips -
If you use a UV filter, take it off.
Take lots of spare batteries, nightime cold will kill them - does your K30 take AAs? If so lithium AA cells have very good cold resistance.
You want the widest and fastest lens you can get.
K30 has low noise which is a good thing.
You'll need to focus manually which needs some practice at night.
Bjolester on here lives in Norway and photographs the aurora, check his settings out -
https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/topic/northern-lights-above-trondheim-38257
Very best of luck and really keen to see how you get on, please post results and any tips when you get back!
Paul
K3ii, DA16-85, DA35mm Limited, FA77mm Limited, 55mm f1.8 K, 135mm f3.5 M, DA300, DA 1.4 HD TC,
DA16-45, Sigma 15mm f2.8. Cosina 100mm f3.5 macro
http://www.alaskaphotographyblog.com/how-to-photograph-the-northern-lights-with-...
My tips -
If you use a UV filter, take it off.
Take lots of spare batteries, nightime cold will kill them - does your K30 take AAs? If so lithium AA cells have very good cold resistance.
You want the widest and fastest lens you can get.
K30 has low noise which is a good thing.
You'll need to focus manually which needs some practice at night.
Bjolester on here lives in Norway and photographs the aurora, check his settings out -
https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/topic/northern-lights-above-trondheim-38257
Very best of luck and really keen to see how you get on, please post results and any tips when you get back!
Paul
K3ii, DA16-85, DA35mm Limited, FA77mm Limited, 55mm f1.8 K, 135mm f3.5 M, DA300, DA 1.4 HD TC,
DA16-45, Sigma 15mm f2.8. Cosina 100mm f3.5 macro
78 posts
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Posted 03/12/2012 - 12:28
davidstorm wrote:
As long as you have a tripod I don't think a wide aperture is a necessity. The kit lens should do just fine.
As long as you have a tripod I don't think a wide aperture is a necessity. The kit lens should do just fine.
Thanks David. I think I'll save the cash in that case. I certainly will be taking a tripod so should be all good on that front. I don't imagine I'll be wanting to shoot at anything other than 18mm for this so f3.5 / 4 hopefully will be wide enough.
The Pentax-M 28mm F3.5 does look great though. I'll add it to the wish list in my head!
PaulEvans wrote:
I'm off to Sweden for Northern Lights shots in Feb and have been reading intensively. Most useful site I found was this -
http://www.alaskaphotographyblog.com/how-to-photograph-the-northern-lights-with-...
My tips -
If you use a UV filter, take it off.
Take lots of spare batteries, nightime cold will kill them - does your K30 take AAs? If so lithium AA cells have very good cold resistance.
You want the widest and fastest lens you can get.
K30 has low noise which is a good thing.
You'll need to focus manually which needs some practice at night.
Bjolester on here lives in Norway and photographs the aurora, check his settings out -
https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/topic/northern-lights-above-trondheim-38257
Very best of luck and really keen to see how you get on, please post results and any tips when you get back!
Paul
I'm off to Sweden for Northern Lights shots in Feb and have been reading intensively. Most useful site I found was this -
http://www.alaskaphotographyblog.com/how-to-photograph-the-northern-lights-with-...
My tips -
If you use a UV filter, take it off.
Take lots of spare batteries, nightime cold will kill them - does your K30 take AAs? If so lithium AA cells have very good cold resistance.
You want the widest and fastest lens you can get.
K30 has low noise which is a good thing.
You'll need to focus manually which needs some practice at night.
Bjolester on here lives in Norway and photographs the aurora, check his settings out -
https://www.pentaxuser.com/forum/topic/northern-lights-above-trondheim-38257
Very best of luck and really keen to see how you get on, please post results and any tips when you get back!
Paul
Thanks Paul. Those links are really helpful. It's encouraging that Bjolester is shooting at f4 in those shots and they came out beautifully. I guess this confirms that I don't need to worry about my kit lens not being up to it aperture wise. I wonder if I could push the iso any higher than 1600. May not even be necessary depending on how bright it gets.
Also those shots made me realise that these are still basically landscape shots. Having objects in focus in the foreground makes the image more engaging. That might be an argument against using too wide an aperture anyway.
I'm not sure I quite get the manual focus thing. I'd naively thought that I could just whack the ring round to infinity. Guess it depends on the lens in question. I'll have to have a play with mine. Again I suppose that being forced onto smaller apertures will help here.
Thanks a lot for the replies. Getting excited now. I'll certainly share photos and tips (assuming I pick up any!) when I'm back.
Last Edited by eddyc on 03/12/2012 - 12:30
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Posted 03/12/2012 - 16:12
OK as regards manual focus the traditional advice is that autofocus won't work 'cos its too dim (K30 is supposed to be good in low light but even then...). I'd be very wary about just whacking the lens on infinity - easy to knock it in the dark and then all your shots are out, you may only realise when it's too late! Some people recommend getting it spot on and then taping the focus ring in place. Also, on my sigma 15mm it focusses PAST infinity (weird eh?) and at f2.8 I do need to get the focus right otherwise all the stars end up as tint blurs when I pixel peep. I have heard that some lenses can shift as the temp falls. So if you get the focus right at room temp, by the time you've been at -15 degrees for 3 hours the lens components have shrunk and your focus is out...so not really sure what the right thing to do is here...
Paul
K3ii, DA16-85, DA35mm Limited, FA77mm Limited, 55mm f1.8 K, 135mm f3.5 M, DA300, DA 1.4 HD TC,
DA16-45, Sigma 15mm f2.8. Cosina 100mm f3.5 macro
Paul
K3ii, DA16-85, DA35mm Limited, FA77mm Limited, 55mm f1.8 K, 135mm f3.5 M, DA300, DA 1.4 HD TC,
DA16-45, Sigma 15mm f2.8. Cosina 100mm f3.5 macro
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Posted 03/12/2012 - 16:37
Hmm... so it really depends on the lens and then other situational factors, temp etc.
I wonder if the best thing is just to try to do it manually once out in the cold and then tape it. The tutorial link suggests focusing on the moon or using live view pointing at the stars... Sounds like that ought to work.
Another consideration is exposure. This link recommends shooting the shortest possible exposure to ensure that you capture the shape of the lights without their movement causing blur:
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/8217618174/auroral-photography-a-guide-to-capturing-the-northern-lights
I think that might be backed up by Bjolester's images. The first two which were 20 seconds look a bit more smudged than the final 3 which were 13 or 15 seconds.
Certainly sounds like it will be worth testing my camera's ISO noise to see if I can push above 1600. I'll be shooting RAW so that should give some leeway.
I wonder if the best thing is just to try to do it manually once out in the cold and then tape it. The tutorial link suggests focusing on the moon or using live view pointing at the stars... Sounds like that ought to work.
Another consideration is exposure. This link recommends shooting the shortest possible exposure to ensure that you capture the shape of the lights without their movement causing blur:
http://www.dpreview.com/articles/8217618174/auroral-photography-a-guide-to-capturing-the-northern-lights
I think that might be backed up by Bjolester's images. The first two which were 20 seconds look a bit more smudged than the final 3 which were 13 or 15 seconds.
Certainly sounds like it will be worth testing my camera's ISO noise to see if I can push above 1600. I'll be shooting RAW so that should give some leeway.
Last Edited by eddyc on 03/12/2012 - 16:38
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Posted 04/12/2012 - 07:34
Oh yes, one more bit of advice from a mate who's photographed the Northern Lights before. Our camera sensors are a lot better at imaging the lights than the naked eye. So the images from the camera should look better than we can see at the time. If only all photographic subjects worked like that 
Paul
K3ii, DA16-85, DA35mm Limited, FA77mm Limited, 55mm f1.8 K, 135mm f3.5 M, DA300, DA 1.4 HD TC,
DA16-45, Sigma 15mm f2.8. Cosina 100mm f3.5 macro
Paul
K3ii, DA16-85, DA35mm Limited, FA77mm Limited, 55mm f1.8 K, 135mm f3.5 M, DA300, DA 1.4 HD TC,
DA16-45, Sigma 15mm f2.8. Cosina 100mm f3.5 macro
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Posted 04/12/2012 - 07:43
PaulEvans wrote:
Oh yes, one more bit of advice from a mate who's photographed the Northern Lights before. Our camera sensors are a lot better at imaging the lights than the naked eye. So the images from the camera should look better than we can see at the time. If only all photographic subjects worked like that
Paul
Oh yes, one more bit of advice from a mate who's photographed the Northern Lights before. Our camera sensors are a lot better at imaging the lights than the naked eye. So the images from the camera should look better than we can see at the time. If only all photographic subjects worked like that
Paul
That's absolutely true. I took some photos in a particularly active year when we lived in Aberdeenshire (can't post here - not Pentax) and the 8 second exposures were way better than anything that could be seen with the naked eye. Particularly the reds which weren't visible except on the photos.
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Posted 21/12/2012 - 21:46
Hi guys! I'm back. Sad times. 
But Iceland is amazing! Everyone should go.
We had 3 nights of lights, two in Skaftafell (first 3 photos) and one in Skálavegur (last photo).
I doubt the lights we saw were anything that the locals would get too excited about but we loved it. Strong enough to see the shapes distinctly and even strong enough to see a little bit of the red fringing around the green.
We were also there, by pure chance, during the hight of the Geminid meteor shower so there were hundreds of shooting stars to look at while we were waiting for long exposures to stop.
So I'm just getting down to some editing. I'll post a few now. Possibly a few more to come:
ISO-800, 1993 seconds, f3.5, 18mm
ISO-3200, 25 seconds, f3.5, 18mm
ISO-3200, 20 seconds, f3.5, 18mm
ISO-1600, 25 seconds, f3.5, 18mm
Or see the full sized stuff on flickr here: link
All of these were shot RAW and have been developed in Lightroom.
What do you think? I'd really appreciate any criticism. I'm feeling a bit lost when it comes to how best to process the RAW! The lights were not very bright so I was forced to use fairly long exposures and fairly high ISO. So I'm also trying to battle noise levels.
I've gone for slightly different settings with each of these. Trying out showing detail in the foreground vs blacking it out entirely.
But Iceland is amazing! Everyone should go.
We had 3 nights of lights, two in Skaftafell (first 3 photos) and one in Skálavegur (last photo).
I doubt the lights we saw were anything that the locals would get too excited about but we loved it. Strong enough to see the shapes distinctly and even strong enough to see a little bit of the red fringing around the green.
We were also there, by pure chance, during the hight of the Geminid meteor shower so there were hundreds of shooting stars to look at while we were waiting for long exposures to stop.
So I'm just getting down to some editing. I'll post a few now. Possibly a few more to come:
ISO-800, 1993 seconds, f3.5, 18mm
ISO-3200, 25 seconds, f3.5, 18mm
ISO-3200, 20 seconds, f3.5, 18mm
ISO-1600, 25 seconds, f3.5, 18mm
Or see the full sized stuff on flickr here: link
All of these were shot RAW and have been developed in Lightroom.
What do you think? I'd really appreciate any criticism. I'm feeling a bit lost when it comes to how best to process the RAW! The lights were not very bright so I was forced to use fairly long exposures and fairly high ISO. So I'm also trying to battle noise levels.
I've gone for slightly different settings with each of these. Trying out showing detail in the foreground vs blacking it out entirely.
Last Edited by eddyc on 21/12/2012 - 21:52
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Posted 21/12/2012 - 21:56
Oh wow!
And I have to say I don't say that often!
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And I have to say I don't say that often!
This space deliberately left blank.
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Posted 22/12/2012 - 09:44
These are great, not sure how much better they can be, well done
http://www.flickr.com/photos/exevalley/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/exevalley/
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Posted 22/12/2012 - 12:45
Great piccies! Your first one did well in terms of the battery lasting for over half-an-hour! (or did you have a power adapter?)
Andy
Andy
Andy
Andy
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Posted 22/12/2012 - 17:31
Thanks a lot for the kind comments! These are the first photos I've put up on the forum. I'll keep going! Need to get some more developed from RAW.
@alfpics - I was really impressed with the battery actually. I did an entire evening of long exposure shooting with a single battery, including that half an hour one, and it was fine. I think the cold makes it drain more rapidly but it was only(!) about -4°C so it wasn't too bad. Very happy with the battery life on the k-30 overall.
On the plus side the cold means that the auto long exposure noise reduction doesn't get activated as often. So 30 second exposures only take 30 seconds. The painful bit on that first image was waiting another full half an hour for the noise reduction exposure to finish!
@alfpics - I was really impressed with the battery actually. I did an entire evening of long exposure shooting with a single battery, including that half an hour one, and it was fine. I think the cold makes it drain more rapidly but it was only(!) about -4°C so it wasn't too bad. Very happy with the battery life on the k-30 overall.
On the plus side the cold means that the auto long exposure noise reduction doesn't get activated as often. So 30 second exposures only take 30 seconds. The painful bit on that first image was waiting another full half an hour for the noise reduction exposure to finish!
Last Edited by eddyc on 22/12/2012 - 17:33
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Posted 23/12/2012 - 03:16
Hi Eddyc. You said:
"The painful bit on that first image was waiting another full half an hour for the noise reduction exposure to finish! "
I might be wrong but I thought people doing these long astronomical exposures turned the noise reduction exposure to off.
Your shots are great! Well done
cheers
bb2
K5, K20D, Bigma, Sigma EX 105, Sigma EX 10-20, Sigma EX 28-70 F2.8, Sigma Ex 1.4TC,
Pentax 135 F3.5, Pentax 30mm F2.8 , Pentax 50mm F1.7, Pentax 55mm F1.8,
Super Taks: 35mm F3.5, 50mm F1.4, 135mm F3.5, 200mm F4
Vivitar TX 200mm F3.5,Vivitar (Komine)135mm f2.8, Vivitar 2X TC, Vivitar T4 400mm F6.3
Tamron SP 35-80,80-210 F3.8, Helios 44M, Mir 1B 37mm F2.8, Jupiter 9 85mm F2, Chinon 28mm F2.8, 3M-5A 500mm F8 etc etc
"The painful bit on that first image was waiting another full half an hour for the noise reduction exposure to finish! "
I might be wrong but I thought people doing these long astronomical exposures turned the noise reduction exposure to off.
Your shots are great! Well done
cheers
bb2
K5, K20D, Bigma, Sigma EX 105, Sigma EX 10-20, Sigma EX 28-70 F2.8, Sigma Ex 1.4TC,
Pentax 135 F3.5, Pentax 30mm F2.8 , Pentax 50mm F1.7, Pentax 55mm F1.8,
Super Taks: 35mm F3.5, 50mm F1.4, 135mm F3.5, 200mm F4
Vivitar TX 200mm F3.5,Vivitar (Komine)135mm f2.8, Vivitar 2X TC, Vivitar T4 400mm F6.3
Tamron SP 35-80,80-210 F3.8, Helios 44M, Mir 1B 37mm F2.8, Jupiter 9 85mm F2, Chinon 28mm F2.8, 3M-5A 500mm F8 etc etc
Link
Posted 23/12/2012 - 09:33
Wonderful photos. One of these years I want to capture the lights from land instead of a ship.
Not sure if the K30 allows that.
beachboy2 wrote:
H
I might be wrong but I thought people doing these long astronomical exposures turned the noise reduction exposure to off.
bb2
H
I might be wrong but I thought people doing these long astronomical exposures turned the noise reduction exposure to off.
bb2
Not sure if the K30 allows that.
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eddyc
Member
London
Not posted anything here for a while but I've been lurking! I am off to Iceland next week. Hoping to get some northern lights shots (and also lots of general landscape, mountains, glaciers etc!)
I was wondering if anyone has any tips?
I'll be taking my standard 18-55 kit lens. But not sure what else to bring. I don't want to overload myself bringing loads of lenses. Others that I am considering are:
Pentax-A 1:1.7 50mm
Pentax-DA 1:2.4 35mm
Pentax-A Zoom 1:3.5~4.5 28~80mm (doubt I'll be bringing this)
My only concern is that I don't have anything simultaneously wide angle and wide aperture enough for night time landscapes (inc northern lights). I don't really have any budget for another lens but I was thinking about buying a cheap f2.8 28mm manual off ebay. There seem to be lots for £30ish. Something like this one:
https://www.pentaxforums.com/userreviews/auto-sunagor-mc-cd-ii-2-8-28mm.html
Or maybe I should just stick to the ones I have and work them to their advantages. Any tips would be much appreciated. And I'll make sure to post anything decent that I get on here when I get back!