Hi everyone

[Ljalpha]

I’m based in London and have just bought my first proper camera - Sony A6100. My aim is to hopefully capture some decent photos of the Northern lights (in Norway in March) and to focus on landscape photography. I have dabbled in photography using a decent point and shoot camera and borrowed Canon DSLR cameras but the time is right to up my game - hopefully. I’m totally new to forums (it’s taken long enough to work out how to log in properly so I can write here!) and am going to start learning from scratch. If any one has any starter recommendations or basic guide sheets please let me know. I also need to learn about post processing applications. Lightroom has been recommended. I have alot to learn - thanks.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Welcome Linda!
The a6000 was my first "proper" camera, and I made a minor jump up to the a6400 for the video capabilities. The a6100 is equally capable for a good price, nice choice! Ordinarily, I would say stick with the kit lens until you are comfortable using it and then go and buy a prime lens, but in your case, if you want to take pictures of the Northern Lights, you may need a good lens sooner rather than later...

You see, you can do landscape photography with just about any lens and a good sturdy tripod. If you have either the 16-50 or 18-135 kit lenses, you would already be in a good place to start practicing landscape photography. For night sky photography however, you need a lens with a wide aperture (as denoted by a low f-stop number), and I would probably suggest the Sigma 16mm f1.4 lens.

How much do you understand of "the exposure triangle"? Trying to gauge which direction to point you in...

 

[Ljalpha]

Welcome Linda!
The a6000 was my first "proper" camera, and I made a minor jump up to the a6400 for the video capabilities. The a6100 is equally capable for a good price, nice choice! Ordinarily, I would say stick with the kit lens until you are comfortable using it and then go and buy a prime lens, but in your case, if you want to take pictures of the Northern Lights, you may need a good lens sooner rather than later...

You see, you can do landscape photography with just about any lens and a good sturdy tripod. If you have either the 16-50 or 18-135 kit lenses, you would already be in a good place to start practicing landscape photography. For night sky photography however, you need a lens with a wide aperture (as denoted by a low f-stop number), and I would probably suggest the Sigma 16mm f1.4 lens.

How much do you understand of "the exposure triangle"? Trying to gauge which direction to point you in...

 

[Ljalpha]

Hi The camera came with a 16-50 kit lens. I looked for a better lens for taking northern lights photos. I had read a Sigma Lens is good but it’s really expensive so I’ve looked around and ended up buying a Samyang F2/12mm NCS CS lens. It’s currently still in its box. Have taken grainy northern lights photos before and been frustrated with the lack of quality hence buying a decent camera. Have not heard the term exposure triangle but is it to do with ISO f number and time exposed for? I also have a tripod.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

You are more prepared than I thought!

Yes, the exposure triangle has to do with understanding the use of aperture (f-stop), exposure time, and ISO for getting the correct exposure (amount of light) in your final photo. There are tons of videos on the topic on YouTube. The reason why its important to know these facts is that you need to shoot fully manual to get the best images for Landscape and Astrophotography. The basics for night sky photography are (1) widest aperture available, (2) longest exposure time without incurring star trails, (3) setting the ISO low enough to minimize noise, but high enough to capture the faint light of your celestial subjects.

I have also thought about buying that Samyang lens, but I don't do Astro enough to justify it. The aperture of f2.0 will be a good starting point and the wide angle of 12mm (18mm full frame equivalent for our non-APSC readers) should help you capture quite a large swath of sky. With that lens, you may want to try an exposure time of 20 seconds or thereabouts, and try a few shots at different ISO ranges from ISO 2000 and up. The conditions will dictate best settings, so don't be afraid to take the same picture over and over again with different settings.

Good that you already have the tripod. The only advice I will add there is to set a timer (2 or 5 seconds) so that when you press the shutter you can remove your hand from the camera to minimize vibration.

 

[Ljalpha]

Thank you for your advice Chris.

I have tried to read up on as much as possible and choose the camera and lens that were recommended from articles I found online so I guess I have tried to prepare for it. I do feel somewhat overwhelmed by all the info that’s on the web - there are so few cameras shops to ask advice from in person these days. I went to the camera department in a big store a few weeks ago and asked to speak to their camera expert. I was told I’d found him by the person I’d asked. I told him I wanted to buy a camera for the Northern Lights and he recommended one with a fixed lens! I told him I’d need a wide angled lens and he said you can get a wide shot if you move the camera across the sky to get a panorama! I stopped asking him for advice at that point and returned to looking for guidance online!

I will practise how to set the camera up for the settings you suggested so I’m ready if the northern lights show. Thought I’d shoot in raw and jpeg. Not sure what to do with raw images yet but am familiar with jpegs!

I’m going to be based around Tromso, in Norway and will be staying close to Ersfjordbotn where I’ve seen some amazing photos of the lights and the landscape. (Yes I researched that too)

Thanks again. Any other advice or YouTube recommendations would be very welcome.

 

[FowlersFreeTime]

Thank you for your advice Chris.

You are very welcome!

I have tried to read up on as much as possible and choose the camera and lens that were recommended from articles I found online so I guess I have tried to prepare for it. I do feel somewhat overwhelmed by all the info that’s on the web - there are so few cameras shops to ask advice from in person these days. I went to the camera department in a big store a few weeks ago and asked to speak to their camera expert. I was told I’d found him by the person I’d asked. I told him I wanted to buy a camera for the Northern Lights and he recommended one with a fixed lens! I told him I’d need a wide angled lens and he said you can get a wide shot if you move the camera across the sky to get a panorama! I stopped asking him for advice at that point and returned to looking for guidance online!

Oh dear, I'm not laughing, but what a farce for him to claim to be a camera expert!

I will practise how to set the camera up for the settings you suggested so I’m ready if the northern lights show. Thought I’d shoot in raw and jpeg. Not sure what to do with raw images yet but am familiar with jpegs!

I’m going to be based around Tromso, in Norway and will be staying close to Ersfjordbotn where I’ve seen some amazing photos of the lights and the landscape. (Yes I researched that too)

Thanks again. Any other advice or YouTube recommendations would be very welcome.

You know, another good bit of practice with that lens would be to spend a few hours around sunset taking landscape shots. Specifically, take shots before, during, and after the sun goes down. In manual mode, even if you keep the same composition and don't move the camera, you will need to change the exposure time as the sun sets and this will clue you in on how the pictures are affected by your exposure settings. You may even find that the blue hour is almost as beautiful as the golden hour in its own way.

Raw and Jpeg is not a bad way to start: the jpeg will give you guidance on how the raw could be edited once you have settled on your software of choice. What you will find though is that once you begin editing RAW you will be able to preserve more details and have more editing flexibility in general than the Jpeg.

I've also heard you can catch a glimpse of the northern lights from Scotland as well, way up north. Which reminds me of a very good photography youtube channel and specifically this topic:

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

There is a lot to learn from that channel, so have a look at all their videos in addition to the episode about the Aurora. They use full frame cameras in their videos and tutorials, but the lessons are the same good info you will need for your a6100.

Cheers!

 

[Tim Mayo]

Welcome Linda and thank you for joining up here. That sounds like an awesome trip! You are definitely doing the right thing by preparing your camera gear early. You've made a good choice with the Samyang lens, it's very popular for low light / night photography. I don't shoot too much at night myself so can't really offer any tips, other than point the camera upwards! I'd definitely recommend following Alyn Wallace on YouTube if you don't already, he's a fantastic astrophotographer. He also has some Lightroom presets that can help to speed up your post processing.

 

[Ljalpha]

Thanks Tim. I have now subscribed to Alyn’s YouTube channel and will certainly look at his videos.

 

[Jeff A]

Thanks Tim. I have now subscribed to Alyn’s YouTube channel and will certainly look at his videos.

I just jumped on that Band Wagon as well!

 

[Ljalpha]

You are very welcome!

Oh dear, I'm not laughing, but what a farce for him to claim to be a camera expert!


You know, another good bit of practice with that lens would be to spend a few hours around sunset taking landscape shots. Specifically, take shots before, during, and after the sun goes down. In manual mode, even if you keep the same composition and don't move the camera, you will need to change the exposure time as the sun sets and this will clue you in on how the pictures are affected by your exposure settings. You may even find that the blue hour is almost as beautiful as the golden hour in its own way.

Raw and Jpeg is not a bad way to start: the jpeg will give you guidance on how the raw could be edited once you have settled on your software of choice. What you will find though is that once you begin editing RAW you will be able to preserve more details and have more editing flexibility in general than the Jpeg.

I've also heard you can catch a glimpse of the northern lights from Scotland as well, way up north. Which reminds me of a very good photography youtube channel and specifically this topic:

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

youtu.be

There is a lot to learn from that channel, so have a look at all their videos in addition to the episode about the Aurora. They use full frame cameras in their videos and tutorials, but the lessons are the same good info you will need for your a6100.

Cheers!

 

[Ljalpha]

Wow love the Photography Online videos. A great recommendation Chris. I will certainly have a practise of photographing sunsets before during and after. The 'blue hour' was another new term for me too. Cheers.