SLR - Single Lens Reflex

When purchasing a SLR camera for taking pictures at night, you want to look for a few things:

• Bulb mode. You need a bulb mode, or at least be able to make upto a 30 second exposure.
• Remote release or timer (to avoid camera shake).
• Wide angle lens. Wide angle lenses take better aurora shots, as you can get more in. Fish eye lenses are also good, but I personally don't like the distortion you get from these and very wide angle lenses. Lens should be capable of f2.8 or lower. Ideally f1.9 if you can afford it.
• The camera shouldn't use battery power to keep the shutter open, otherwise you'll get through batteries frequently on such long exposures.

Most of the time a 2nd hand camera that's a good few years old does a better job (and is cheaper), as it's not subject to battery problems and cold. Don't think you need a high-tech camera to take aurora shots. I use an old Pentax LX.

Evaluating The Camera

You don't need an aurora to evaluate the camera though it does help. To evaluate your camera for night work, try taking a few pictures:

• Take a picture at night with the aperature set to maximum and a 30 second exposure. You are looking for vignetting (this is where due to the lens, you get a ring which gets darker towards the edge of the picture).

Batteries

If your camera uses batteries to hold the shutter open, when the battery can no longer deliver the current required, the camera shuts off. Quite often this will be before the battery is flat.

Here are some things you can do to eliviate the problem:

• Night tends to be colder than day. Try to keep your camera and spare batteries warm, as a battery delivers less current when cold. I keep my spare batteries in my inside breast pocket when working in the cold.

Film Winding

If it's cold, be careful you don't wind the film on too fast, as static electricty can be created on the film in cold dry air, and will burn marks in the film.

Practice

Practice makes perfect! You can get a lot of experience from just taking photos at night. Then when an aurora does happen, you're more likely to get that good shot. Take photos of the stars (you never know you might start a new hobby). Take photos of the city where you live. Try experimenting with man made objects in your pictures.