Northern lights with a Canon 600d and kit lense

[Skylark]

Hello Everyone. So I have been looking at fast wide angle lenses for my 600d and gasping at the prices, even secondhand is ouch. I have a maybe once-in-a lifetime opportunity to see the northern lights and of course want to photograph it. I am very interested in getting into night sky photography so maybe an investment in a reasonably good more suitable lens is not ridiculous.

For starters for this conversation will I be able to get decent photos from my 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens? What do you all think?

[beamer3.6m]

The kit lens is ok but obviously not the best.

There are others on this site who know more about imaging than me but my under construction website www.boxobservatory.com has shots taken only (other than the deep space shots) with the kit lens. They are terrestrial daytime shots but in my opinion not bad.

If you are looking for a wide angle lens which gets good reviees however consider the nifty fifty (1.8) they go for about £50.00.

[happy-kat]

practice, practice and practice so on the event , how lucky hope you see them, you wont be struggling to work the camera or what settings and why you want to use them

[Knight of Clear Skies]

One option might be to buy a lens for the trip and then sell it on afterwards. Lenses hold their value well, if you buy 2nd hand you might not lose any money on the deal.

The kit lens is pretty good for daytime shots but not ideal for AP, although worthwhile results are certainly possible. All optical design is a compromise, so the extra elements that give the zoom capability reduce light transmittance and increase distortions at the edge of frame. A decent prime lens will give better results. The 50mm lens is cheap and fast but exposure time is limited at that focal length, so there may be better options. The Samyang 14mm f2.8 is well regarded but more expensive.

Not the same thing, but here's a shot I took of some Noctilucent Clouds I took with a 50mm lens from a fixed tripod.

Surprisingly I did manage to get away with a 10 second exposure but at full size the star trailing is fairly apparent.

[happy-kat]

Have read of people hiring lenses for trips but can't say where to look for that.

[michael8554]

I have taken Aurora images with the stock 18-55mm at 18mm.

15 sec or more exposures mean you will need a tripod.

ISO 800 or 1600, but take some Darks to get rid of the noise.

You won't be disappointed with the results.

The best shots though are those wide angle shots with lots of landscape in the background, and for those you will need a 10 to 14mm f2.8 lens.

They can be hired in the UK, but I appreciate it may be difficult in Africa.

Maybe buy a Samyung and sell it afterwards if money is tight?

Michael

[Skylark]

Thanks all for the advice. Has anyone got experience with the Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 ?

The price is still rather ouch but I think that it could be suitable afterwards for seascapes and beautiful landscapes which are my thing.

[Skylark]

@michael8454 thanks for the hire suggestion. Not cost effective as I will be away from home for 2 weeks and with the daily hire rate could buy outright have thought of hiring there but it also seems relatively exoensive

[Skylark]

Dear All, an update on my original post made last November. I got the Tokina 11-16 f2.8. Absolutely love it. Loved the trip, but didn't see the NL. We saw a faint greenish smudge behind some cloud which I don't think was just wishful thinking but I don't feel it counts!

Lessons learned from taking images while waiting in hope for the lights to show up.

1. The snow was slushy. Snow boots that are water resistant are not good enough. Must be waterproof. 

2. Take happy-kat's advice. Practice and know your camera. Even wirh a head lamp it is difficult to find your way around all your camera's settings and buttons.

3. If you must go with a guide, go wirh a small group. People getting in the way with their tripods and putting their headlamps on during your exposures is frustrating.  Guides with smaller groups are also more flexible. 

4. If not provided by guide, take warm drinks, eats, and some sort of simple folding chair (e.g. 3-legged stool) to sit on while waiting.

I'm busy planning a second, hopefully more successful trip. I plan to upgrade my camera body and get plenty of practice in, so even if rhe lights don't show up again, then at least I'll have great images of starry skies and snow capped mountains.