Best lens for Aurora photography?

Cheers for that, Steve. The cameras I plan to take are capable of good results up to beyond ISO 800 so even though the lenses I will probably be taking aren't that fast, I should be able to get some decent shots. Hopefully the OP will get his shots too.
 
StewartR said:
That's a good point which is worth emphasising. Earlier this year I went to Tromso and the weather there wasn't too bad - overnight lows of around -5. But on one of our aurora hunting trips we went inland towards the Finnish border and it was *much* colder there, closer to -20. Plus, of course, you tend to be standing around not doing much.
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The movement part is important. With a few layers and a bit of movement you can keep surprisingly warm down to some quite crazy temperatures. Keep moving and the wind out and you can stay reasonably warm. Just try keep your breath off your eyelashes or they freeze together.
 
maninsuitcase said:
The movement part is important. With a few layers and a bit of movement you can keep surprisingly warm down to some quite crazy temperatures. Keep moving and the wind out and you can stay reasonably warm. Just try keep your breath off your eyelashes or they freeze together.
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At -15 no amount of moving keeps your fingers and nose warm especially when fiddling with settings etc on your camera!
 
Rich_Ellis said:
At -15 no amount of moving keeps your fingers and nose warm especially when fiddling with settings etc on your camera!
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To be fair at -15 you should be keeping your gloves on as close to 100% of the time as you can. Ideally you'd have a thinner inner glove and then a heavier over the top. At about -15 the cold seems to go away, so you need to be more aware that it's cold and prevent it. You don't want frostbite, it bloody hurts.

Also at those temps wear a snood (might be the wrong word) covering from your eyes down, including the nose. Makes a massive difference once the temps drop below about -10 ish.
 
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Yeah, that was the plan but i needed to change the settings due to the light conditions and couldn't do it with gloves on - you're right tho, it was jeffin' cold on the old digits! Didn't have a snood, as said earlier, Tromso itself (and vicinity) isn't really that cold. Head inland towards Finland tho and WOW... that's cold!
 
Got back to this after some time being 'busy'. The hire price (LensesForHire) for the 5D3 is £271, but add on something like the Samyang 24mm f/1.4 (close to £400 new or pot luck on eBay for a bit less*) and I'm well over £600. Given that I was aiming for about £300, that's pushing my budget a lot. I could cover that, but preferably not for something that could be money down the drain if an AB doesn't show up (at least with the holiday there's memories and other things I'm doing during daylight hours). If it's really the only way then fine, but since the photos are for my own enjoyment I'm not expecting miracles. :)

So, any other slightly more sensible budget options please?

Hopefully I'm sorted as far as travel arrangements and clothing are concerned. I've gone for an all-in tour, so most of that should be included in the tour price.

* I checked the one in the Classifieds archive. Seller hasn't visited for three weeks so can't assume that one is still an option.

Edit - My mistake on the 1D x front. I now see why that would be better than anything else, but that camera also isn't available for hire and I can think of much better things to do with £5k.
 
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I'd just like to say thanks for all the advice on this. After seeing some impressive results from Canon 5D III + Canon 14mm f/2.8, I've gone that route. I'll also have the 24-70 f/2.8 in my bag for added flexibility. And I'll still have my own 7D as back-up of course.

Now I just need good luck and good (space) weather! :)

PS - Pictures will follow in the appropriate section, if I succeed.
 
A bit late to the party but I can confirm the 7D + Samyang 24 / 1.4 combo works well (IMO etc ;))

aurora.jpg
 
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