NEW CAMERA FOR PHOTOGRAPHING AURORA BOREALIS

S

sut

Messages
38
Edit My Images
Yes
HI GUYS.

As some of you will know i posted the other day asking for help in buying a camera for talking nice photo's of the AB with a low budget camera, after reading all your posting i think i will take your advice and spend more. I have been to a local shop today who will do me some deals on cameras, i have explained what i want and he has gave me a list of 8 camera's that he says will do the job,
i have comeback on here to see what the experts say as i know you guys know what your talking about and you have no profit to be made so i will get a true result of what is best, the list he gave is as follows

Nikon D5100 16.2 Megapixel Digital Camera and 18-55mm Lens

Canon EOS 600D 18 Megapixel Digital Camera and 18-55mm IS Lens

Nikon D3100 14 Megapixel Digital Camera and 18-55mm Lens

Canon EOS 1100D 12 Megapixel Digital Camera and 18-55mm Lens

Sony HX200V 18 Megapixel Digital Camera

Fuji FinePix HS30EXR 16 Megapixel Digital Camera

Nikon D5100 16.2 Megapixel Digital Camera - Body Only

Nikon D3100 14.2 Megapixel Digital Camera - Body Only

thank you for your advice
anthony
 
sut said:
HI GUYS.

As some of you will know i posted the other day asking for help in buying a camera for talking nice photo's of the AB with a low budget camera, after reading all your posting i think i will take your advice and spend more. I have been to a local shop today who will do me some deals on cameras, i have explained what i want and he has gave me a list of 8 camera's that he says will do the job,
i have comeback on here to see what the experts say as i know you guys know what your talking about and you have no profit to be made so i will get a true result of what is best, the list he gave is as follows

Nikon D5100 16.2 Megapixel Digital Camera and 18-55mm Lens

Canon EOS 600D 18 Megapixel Digital Camera and 18-55mm IS Lens

Nikon D3100 14 Megapixel Digital Camera and 18-55mm Lens

Canon EOS 1100D 12 Megapixel Digital Camera and 18-55mm Lens

Sony HX200V 18 Megapixel Digital Camera

Fuji FinePix HS30EXR 16 Megapixel Digital Camera

Nikon D5100 16.2 Megapixel Digital Camera - Body Only

Nikon D3100 14.2 Megapixel Digital Camera - Body Only

thank you for your advice
anthony
Click to expand...

All of them would do the job but I wouldn't consider the last two unless you are planning on buying a lens for those as they are only the camera body :( no lens but all will be a lot over your previous budget
 
thank you for the reply i know they are well over my budget from the last post but after reading all your posts i decided i may as well push the budget instead of regretting it when i get back with poor photo's
 
My first camera was a 450D which is a few generations back from the 600D it would serve you well, that said you could get away with the 1100D :thumbs: or the Nikons will do you well that said I'm not overly familiar with those bridge cameras but they should also be capable :thumbs:
 
Don't know how this sounds to you but I've got a canon 20d lying around that I'll be selling shortly. You can borrow that if you want, get yourself a tripod and memory card and hire a top quality lens, something like a 17-55mm f2.8 (60 quid a week at lensforhire) and that gives you a fighting chance of decent shots. Not the latest camera but can handle iso 400.

Mike
 
Not familiar with any of the DSLR models you've listed but I have recently bought myself a Fuji HS30EXR as a holiday and walkabout camera. I'm getting too old to carry 8kg of SLR kit everywhere so have downsized a little! So far, I'm very impressed with the thing - good, crisp prints SOOC at A3+ (at ISOs up to 400) and an extremely versatile zoom range (although the AF struggles at the long end - OK up to about 500mm [35mm equivalent]). The whole kit in its bag, with spare battery, filters and a basic cleaning kit weighs rather less than my D700 with a 24-70 f/2.8 Sigma mounted! Manual focus override and a hinged screen would probably make it a very good tool for photographing the Aurora - it's even got an HD video facility to capture the dynamic aspect of the phenomenum! (And you can take stills while it's recording video but not read the whole manual or tried that yet!)
 
pooley, thank you very much for your offer but i fel i must say no as i losing or damaging your camera, i really do thank you though.

thanks
anthony
 
sut said:
thank you for the reply i know they are well over my budget from the last post but after reading all your posts i decided i may as well push the budget instead of regretting it when i get back with poor photo's
Click to expand...

A word of warning, no matter what the camera you pick is; If you don't have the technique you won't get the shots you're looking for and you'll almost certainly be disappointed.

I would watch some tutorials of how to photo subjects like the AB, make sure you're confident before you go.
 
Dont forget to budget in for a tripod!
 
i am having no luck at all here,
the my new camera Canon EOS 600D and 18-55mm IS Lens came yesterday ( damaged ) its been returned to the shop and they have told me they cant get a replacement for me for another month. this would make it to close to when i leave so i need to get a different camera so the shop have said that this http://www.techradar.com/reviews/ca...as/compact-cameras/sony-hx200v-1077673/review is a good camera for taking photo's of the aurora borealis and i wanted to know what you guys think. the sony camera wont come with the lens like the canon did but im not sure if i need it was this camera or not as i cant afford this camera and a lens on top.
thanks for your opinions

anthony
 
Never yet had the chance but from what I've read when photographing the AB you ideally want a camera with good high ISO capability & a lens with a wide aperture.
Generally to get good high ISO you want as large a sensor as you can get which would tend to rule out the HX200V & the HS30EXR.
On the other hand the kit 18-55s with those entry level DSLRs that you listed don't have wide apertures & I'm guessing that budget doesn't allow for a better lens?

There may be another option in something like a Sony RX100 which whilst it has a smaller sensor than those DSLRs it is a lot larger than those in the HX200 & HS30 & it's lens aperture at the wide end (which is where you will be for the AB) is pretty wide.
The Nikon 1 series could also offer a similar solution (the J1 is at a knockdown clearance price atm & the 10mm/2.8 may suit - possibly not wide enough though).
 
Whichever one you go for, skip the junk kit lens and get Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8. That will do all your aurora's and landscapes pretty well. Remember, GLASS FIRST

P.s. You seem to put a lot of emphasis on MPixels, that is not quite so simple. A bit more is not always better, noise can play a big part. Good clean 10MP will print to A3 easily; awful 18MP will barely produce a 5x7" print.
 
Last edited:
Scott, you're right in saying that the HS30's sensor isn't that large but it does handle ISOs up to 800 acceptably. Not in the same league as a D700 but for a bridge, it's quite impressive. Straight from the camera (at lower ISOs), it'll print up to A3+ very well. The Wide end at 24mm and f/2.8 is pretty much what the doctor ordered for the Aurora too.
At just £309 (WEX price), it's cheaper than a wide f/2.8 prime from either Canon or Nikon too. Of course, you need to add the cost of a card or 2 to that and a case is handy too.
 
If the one you bought was damaged and the shop has no immediate replacement, then use you refund to buy a 600D from elsewhere.
 
daugirdas said:
Whichever one you go for, skip the junk kit lens and get Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8. That will do all your aurora's and landscapes pretty well. Remember, GLASS FIRST

P.s. You seem to put a lot of emphasis on MPixels, that is not quite so simple. A bit more is not always better, noise can play a big part. Good clean 10MP will print to A3 easily; awful 18MP will barely produce a 5x7" print.
Click to expand...

While I agree with a lot of what you are saying, lets be honest there are an awful lot of people who are very pleased with the results they get from kit lenses, and the same goes for prints, I see lots of prints from all sorts of places that I look at and are urgh, that's not good, but hear lots of people comment on how good they look. I do think as photographers we are over critical.

As to the op I can't see where you are based as I am on the phone app for the site, maybe worth seeing if you have any good second hand hand dealers near you.
 
It think OP doesn't realize that you need a lens to take a photo...

And seriously, you could have the best camera in the world but if you know that little about them keep your money.
 
Nod said:
Scott, you're right in saying that the HS30's sensor isn't that large but it does handle ISOs up to 800 acceptably. Not in the same league as a D700 but for a bridge, it's quite impressive. Straight from the camera (at lower ISOs), it'll print up to A3+ very well. The Wide end at 24mm and f/2.8 is pretty much what the doctor ordered for the Aurora too.
At just £309 (WEX price), it's cheaper than a wide f/2.8 prime from either Canon or Nikon too. Of course, you need to add the cost of a card or 2 to that and a case is handy too.
Click to expand...
but an RX100 will do 3200 acceptably & it's f1.8 @ 28mm equiv ... dearer though.
 
If you can get a refund on your 600D purchase you could have a look here http://www.hdewcameras.co.uk/canon-18-c.asp for a new one. They will be able to get your camera to you within a week and they have some decent prices.

Have a look at a Canon 550D as well as the 600D, apart from the flip out screen there's not a lot of difference in the two models and with a decent lens you'll get some excellent photos from it.
 
sut said:
i am having no luck at all here,
the my new camera Canon EOS 600D and 18-55mm IS Lens came yesterday ( damaged ) its been returned to the shop and they have told me they cant get a replacement for me for another month. this would make it to close to when i leave so i need to get a different camera so the shop have said that this http://www.techradar.com/reviews/ca...as/compact-cameras/sony-hx200v-1077673/review is a good camera for taking photo's of the aurora borealis and i wanted to know what you guys think. the sony camera wont come with the lens like the canon did but im not sure if i need it was this camera or not as i cant afford this camera and a lens on top.
thanks for your opinions

anthony
Click to expand...

So your budget went from £75 to £500? :D If you still want the 600D then get a refund and buy the same elsewhere. The Sony bridge camera in your link has a built in lens, the 600D is a digital slr so it is an interchangeable lens camera.

Personally I would suggest keeping it small and simple - Sony NEX 5 with 16mm lens £300 @Argos: http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5566398/Trail/searchtext>SONY+NEX.htm

Basic budget tripod, £36 @amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/...S&linkCode=shr&tag=1567&qid=1350139811&sr=8-3

Sony Infrared remote for Nex - £4 @amazon. Total cost: £340

The Nex 5 has the same size sensor as the 600D but will fit in a jacket pocket - therefore you are likely to get more use out of it than a dslr. But it also offers full manual control (like a dslr and unlike a compact) which you will need for long exposure night shots. You have said that you are not particularly interested in photography, but just want to take some decent photos of the Northern Lights. In which case lugging around a bulky and heavy dslr does not seem to make that much sense.

The Sony RX100 suggested is another option - it's a compact camera but a high end one which does offer manual control. At around £480 it's around the same price as the 600D you bought. I have never used the Sony RX100, but it get's rave reviews and will be a similarly compact package to the Nex 5 & 16mm lens (even smaller I think) but with more flexibility for general use thanks to the 28-100mm lens. The Sony Nex 16mm is wider though (equivalent of 24mm vs 28mm at the wide end of the RX100.

Whatever you get - spend some time in the month before your trip using the tripod and remote with the camera in manual mode taking night shots until you are happy with the results and confident in what you are doing. (If you get stuck ask for advice on here re settings etc). I think someone local to you also offered to meet up which is a very generous and kind offer which you should certainly take advantage of. ;)
 
Last edited:
heidfirst said:
but an RX100 will do 3200 acceptably & it's f1.8 @ 28mm equiv ... dearer though.
Click to expand...

Not tried the HS30 at much higher ISOs, only a few test shots (well exposed but shaky as hell!) in very low light, handheld. I was looking for the noisiness rather than the rest of the IQ.

At the wide end, those 4mm make quite a difference - probably why manufacturers used to offer primes so close in FL at the wide end. What's the RX100 like wide open? At a guess, it's far better stopped down a bit but I have no personal experience of it so am only guessing.

I was with some people who had just bought a Fuji X-10 earlier this week - it seemed to spend more time in the hands than the D700s! Not seen any printed results from it yet but it looks and feels very competent!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top