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Northern Lights
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Apr 7, 2021 06:10:13   #
steve33 Loc: Yarmouth MA
 
Hal81 wrote:
A guy once asked me if he could see the northern lights from south Philly.


I saw them from Boston once.

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Apr 7, 2021 06:29:47   #
billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont
 
jbest wrote:
Looking for some suggestions. I'll be in Fairbanks and doing a tour of the Arctic Circle hoping to see the Northern Lights Aurora Borealis in a few days. I have a Canon SX50 HS, and can't find any modes where I can take a long exposure. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get a good photo of the Northern Lights with an SX50? My cell phone is an iPhone 6 SE which doesn't seem to be able to adjust ISO and time exposure either. Open to any suggestions. Thanks


Can you photograph the northern lights with an iPhone?
The camera, features and apps for iPhones have come a long way since. ... You'll need to download a Northern Lights camera app, like Northern Lights Photo Taker. The app literally does one thing and that's to mimic the manual settings of a camera and create a long exposure shot so you capture the Northern Lights.

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Apr 7, 2021 08:20:35   #
bikerguy
 
jbest wrote:
Looking for some suggestions. I'll be in Fairbanks and doing a tour of the Arctic Circle hoping to see the Northern Lights Aurora Borealis in a few days. I have a Canon SX50 HS, and can't find any modes where I can take a long exposure. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get a good photo of the Northern Lights with an SX50? My cell phone is an iPhone 6 SE which doesn't seem to be able to adjust ISO and time exposure either. Open to any suggestions. Thanks


You cannot use the SX-5o for the Northern Lights. When you set the shutter for 1 second or more the ISO is automatically set to 80. You need an ISO of about 1600 -3200 and few seconds shutter sped to capture the event.

Enjoy the show or rent something like the Canon G7x or G5x. Anything with a fast wide lens that allows for high ISO and long shutter speeds. I used a G3x and it worked fine.

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Apr 7, 2021 09:21:47   #
gvarner Loc: Central Oregon Coast
 
The specs say you have a wired remote release available.

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Apr 7, 2021 10:53:19   #
JBRIII
 
I have the SX60 and 70 and there is little you can do with either for long exposures. Also I'd suggest going out at night and try shooting the night sky, you will likely find the camera has very poor low light capabilities if like mine. I shot aurora in Iceland using a 60Da and got good photos of aurora so dim they were just barely visually seeable. The Canon R does great. Photos I took in Norway over a city made it look nearly daytime with aurora.

Might check web and see if anyone states how bright aurora are compared to something in sky you might be able to try the camera on. For example, often said full moon good test for totality of solar eclipse.

Finally, before you worry about this, when are you going? I apologize if this is obvious, but no dark sky, i.e., summer, nothing can be seen.

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Apr 7, 2021 11:18:37   #
Retina Loc: Near Charleston,SC
 
Hal81 wrote:
A guy once asked me if he could see the northern lights from south Philly.

Light pollution might be more of a problem than latitude. In the summer of 1974 there was an amazing display on three successive nights visible from where I was 25 miles east of Detroit. Granted, Philadelphia is south of Detroit but the intensity of these three nights with the third night being full sky with oranges and reds at zenith changed my mind about how far south they might be seen.

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Apr 7, 2021 11:44:35   #
JBRIII
 
The bigger a solar storm, the further south they can be seen. Light pollution is also less of a problem as a big storm can knock out the power. In 1857?, there was a storm which if it happened now could potentially leave the country without power for months. This is a known potential disaster, but nothing is being done about it. Much more likely than an asteroid hitting.

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Apr 7, 2021 12:49:43   #
Siena Loc: Rocky Hill, CT
 
jbest wrote:
Looking for some suggestions. I'll be in Fairbanks and doing a tour of the Arctic Circle hoping to see the Northern Lights Aurora Borealis in a few days. I have a Canon SX50 HS, and can't find any modes where I can take a long exposure. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get a good photo of the Northern Lights with an SX50? My cell phone is an iPhone 6 SE which doesn't seem to be able to adjust ISO and time exposure either. Open to any suggestions. Thanks


If you have time, I highly recommend joining a Northern Lights-specific photo tour. I went with The Aurora Chasers out of Fairbanks and it was great. Just 5 of us, we spent 4 hours (11 pm - 3 am) under a spectacular display. Ronn and Marketa gave a lesson on camera settings in their specially equipped van. They navigated to the best location using satellites and weather data on their special apps so they were able to find the best displays. I used a Rokinon 12mm 1.2 manual focus lens (and tripod, of course). Ronn helped me get the focus just right and I got wonderful shots.

As anyone will tell you, it's a once-in-a- lifetime experience. Just ethereal. Good luck!

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Apr 7, 2021 15:11:52   #
bwana Loc: Bergen, Alberta, Canada
 
jbest wrote:
Looking for some suggestions. I'll be in Fairbanks and doing a tour of the Arctic Circle hoping to see the Northern Lights Aurora Borealis in a few days. I have a Canon SX50 HS, and can't find any modes where I can take a long exposure. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get a good photo of the Northern Lights with an SX50? My cell phone is an iPhone 6 SE which doesn't seem to be able to adjust ISO and time exposure either. Open to any suggestions. Thanks

Tripod. 10-30 sec. exposures (depending upon the focal ratio).

I use a 14mm f/4 lens, 10sec exposures, ISO1600.

bwa

14mm
14mm...
(Download)

6.5mm (fisheye)
6.5mm (fisheye)...
(Download)

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Apr 7, 2021 15:28:40   #
D_Bird Loc: Fairbanks, Alaska
 
jbest wrote:
Looking for some suggestions. I'll be in Fairbanks and doing a tour of the Arctic Circle hoping to see the Northern Lights Aurora Borealis in a few days. I have a Canon SX50 HS, and can't find any modes where I can take a long exposure. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get a good photo of the Northern Lights with an SX50? My cell phone is an iPhone 6 SE which doesn't seem to be able to adjust ISO and time exposure either. Open to any suggestions. Thanks


The Aurora brightness varies a lot. I have seen them when they were so dim my Canon 70D, Tonkina 11-16mm, ISO 26,000 would not capture them in under 35 seconds. (After 35 seconds you stars are streaks because of earth rotation.) During some much brighter storms I have gotten great pictures with less then 2 seconds and 3 seconds with same equipment and ISO at 400.

Aurora forecast. Try the following link.
Aurora - 30 minute forecast - NOAA - NWS Space Weather Prediction Center

You also need some clear sky. Partly cloudy can be OK depending on where the clouds are in relation to the aurora. For that I use the following link.
Fairbanks Clear Sky

Good luck. Check one of the online weather forecasts for the sunrise and sunset times for the Arctic Circle. It has to be "dark" 60 miles up before you can see the Aurora. Unless it is a really strong storm and they show up even in some sun glow below the horizon.

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Apr 7, 2021 16:36:26   #
Rae Zimmerman Loc: Pine Island, FL
 
15 sec is maximum shutter exposure in manual.

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Apr 7, 2021 16:39:33   #
Rae Zimmerman Loc: Pine Island, FL
 
Put the camera in manual mode and set shutter speed at max (15 sec). But I would also experiment with night scene.setting.

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Apr 7, 2021 16:56:07   #
MRY907 Loc: Juneau, Alaska
 
as a long time Alaskan - as someone said above they are often really bright - they move - a lot - so actually snaps are often best. Most importantly, dont get so involved taking pictures that you forget to enjoy the moment!!!!

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Apr 7, 2021 17:05:34   #
bikerguy
 
To reiterate what I stated earlier. Page 150 of the SX-50 manual notes that for shutter speeds of 1.3 seconds or longer the ISO is set to 80. There is no way that you can capture the Aurora Borealis using an ISO of 80. When we were in the Lofoton Islands and shot the Aurora Borealis I was using 5-10 second exposure f/5 and ISO 1600. Either simply enjoy the show or rent a better camera for the trip.

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Apr 7, 2021 17:23:41   #
neco Loc: Western Colorado Mountains
 
Hal81 wrote:
A guy once asked me if he could see the northern lights from south Philly.


...and what did you say to the guy?

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