Aurora Shooting with F5, A99, NEX5N

The Aurora on 8th of Feb. Sony A99
The Aurora on 8th of Feb. Sony A99

I’ve been a little quite the last couple of weeks because I’ve be preping and now shooting the Aurora up in Norway. Last night we had an incredible show, bright Aurora’s all night. The only problem was the temperature….. -30c, -22f. I did experience a couple of small issues with the cameras throwing up errors once they fully cooled down (they were outside for 8 hours), but despite the very harsh conditions all the cameras produced some incredible images. I got real-time footage of the Aurora with the PMW-F5 without having to resort to the slow shutter.

More Aurora from 8th Feb.
More Aurora from 8th Feb.

I got stunning timelapse sequences with the NEX5N and Sony A99. As I write this the temperature is -32c and forecast to get even colder tonight. The cameras are all outside snapping and time lapsing away as the sun comes up and turns the snow and ice brilliant orange. I can’t wait to share the video clips and images, but that will take a while as so far I have shot over 8,000  still frames and a couple of hours of video.

11 thoughts on “Aurora Shooting with F5, A99, NEX5N”

    1. Very different cameras. The F5 is more sensitive, has greater dynamic range, less noise etc, but uses either prime lenses or very expensive zooms. Focus is more critical and difficult. The PMW-200 is easy to use, versatile and has a great lens built in. It’s like comparing a Rolls Royce to a Truck. The Rolls has a nice smooth ride, but is useless for transporting goods. The truck is an excellent workhorse, but you wouldn’t use it as a wedding car.

    1. F5 is a much better video camera, the A99 is a much better stills camera. Two very different devices aimed at different markets and purposes. The A99’s video function is pretty good for a DSLR but no match for the F5.

  1. I am up in Tromsø Norway right now, shooting some stellar light shows! VERY pleased with my a99 performance, but HAVE to ask…. How did you manage to do your time lapse? I’ve only had the rig for a few months, and haven’t been able to find any info on time lapse settings or support. Are you using an external rig or computer? Please fill me in!

  2. Fantastic footage! I greatly appreciated it.
    Could you please tell me whether the aurora clip is based on still fotos and then mounted into a video? Or is it actual video footage?
    I will be in Finland in a week’s time and hope to see and catch the northern lights as well with my D7000 and FX100.
    Thanks
    Stefan

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