Sony Cameras & Lenses

Sony a7 III
At 24 MP, this camera has plenty of resolution for larger print sizes while still performing well enough at high ISOs to shoot quality video of the aurora. At the pixel level, you’ll see more noise in still images from this camera than the a7S III, but when you downsample them to match the lower resolution of the a7S III you likely won’t notice a difference because most of that extra noise is averaged out. Expect noisier video than the a7S III at ISO 12800 or 25600, but good enough if the aurora is bright and you’re shooting at f/1.4.

If you mostly want to photograph the aurora but might want to try video as well, this is the Sony camera for you. It’s also the cheapest option!

Sony a7 III + Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM Lens + Tripod: $50/night
Sony a7 III + Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM Lens + Tripod: $50/night
Sony a7 III + Sony FE 12-24mm f/2.8 GM Lens + Tripod: $60/night
Sony a7 III + All Three Sony Lenses + Tripod: $75/night

Sony a7S III
If you want to shoot professional quality video of the aurora, this is the Sony camera for you. The relatively low resolution allows this camera to maintain acceptable noise levels when shooting video at very high ISOs. At 12 MP, still images taken with this camera may not have the resolution required for large print sizes, but you’ll have more than enough resolution for social media and high quality 8x12 prints. By default, I provide this camera with a tripod utilizing a video head. I also recommend using the Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM lens to shoot video with this camera.

Sony a7S III + Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM Lens + Tripod: $70/night
Sony a7S III + Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM Lens + Tripod: $70/night
Sony a7S III + Sony FE 12-24mm f/2.8 GM Lens + Tripod: $80/night
Sony a7S III + All Three Sony Lenses + Tripod: $95/night

Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM Lens
$20/night

This lens is the best 24mm you’ll find on the market for shooting aurora due to its fast f/1.4 aperture and well-controlled aberrations when shot wide open. Many other lenses like the Canon 24mm f/1.4L II suffer from terrible coma when shot wide open, but this Sony lens is close to perfect. While this 24mm lens doesn’t fit as much of the sky into the frame as an ultra-wide angle lens, it has less distortion, so people and the landscape in the foreground generally appear more natural. Distant objects like mountains will also appear larger. The f/1.4 aperture makes this lens a great choice for video and freezing the motion of the aurora in still images. Watch out for the shallow depth-of-field at f/1.4, though!

Sony FE 14mm f/1.8 GM Lens
$20/night
This lens is capable of capturing an expansive aurora display and a sky full of stars while correcting well for lens aberrations despite it’s extreme wide angle of view and wide aperture. Recently released in summer 2021, this is the lens I wished I had for the past decade when only slower f/2.8 ultra-wide lenses were available. This lens is much smaller and lighter than the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art while also providing slightly better image quality wide open. This lens is fast enough for video of the aurora when the aurora is fairly bright, but you’ll have to crank the ISO up a stop to match the Sony FE 24mm f/1.4 GM.

Sony FE 12-24mm f/2.8 GM Lens
$30/night

I used the Canon 11-24mm f/4L to shoot the aurora for years because of its reach and versatility, but always wished it could shoot at f/2.8. Enter the new Sony FE 12-24mm f/2.8 GM lens, released in summer 2020. This zoom lens isn’t as fast as the prime lenses above so it would struggle to shoot video of the aurora at reasonable ISOs, but it provides more versatility for composing shots, and that extra reach at 12mm can make a big difference when the aurora is dancing across the whole sky. It’s heavy, so you need a sturdy tripod.

Canon Cameras & Lenses

(all Canon rentals include Canon EF-to-RF adapter if needed)

Canon R6
Overshadowed by the highly popular Canon R5, you don’t hear much about the Canon R6’s great low-light capabilities, but it competes well with the Sony cameras in low-light photo & video quality while offering decent resolution at 20 MP for stills. This baby can autofocus as low as -6.5 EV, which basically means it can autofocus in dim moonlight or with a decent aurora. Add in the fully-articulating touchscreen display and larger buttons & dials and the R6 becomes easier to use in the dark & cold than the Sony a7 III.

If you want a camera that handles easily at night with the ability to shoot video of a bright aurora display, this is the camera for you!

Canon R6 + Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L Lens + Tripod: $60/night
Canon R6 + Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III Lens + Tripod: $60/night
Canon R6 + Both Lenses + Tripod: $75/night

Canon EF 35mm f/1.4L Lens
$20/night
This lens has a longer focal length than most use to photograph the aurora, but I often shoot at 35mm or find myself cropping in from 24mm while processing images to make the mountains appear larger in the frame or to crop in tighter on people in portraits. You aren’t going to fit an entire aurora arc in the frame with this lens from end-to-end, but you can capture more detail in the most interesting parts of the aurora or the landscape beneath it, and I find longer focal lengths often work well for vertical shots. This lens features a fast f/1.4 aperture that allows for shooting aurora video on the R6 and taking shorter exposures that freeze the movement in the aurora, and it controls aberrations very well when used wide open. While it’s only possible to keep objects from ~50 feet away to infinity in focus simultaneously at f/1.4, stopping down to f/2.8 can extend that range from 25 feet to infinity, and if you need the foreground in focus even closer, you can a) accept more noise or longer exposures and shoot at f/4, or b) opt for slightly blurry stars and aurora in the background (which might not be noticeable at social media resolution), or c) experiment with aurora bokeh, or d) resort to focus stacking in Photoshop. I recommend this lens for advanced photographers who want to experiment with the ideas mentioned above and those wanting to shoot video on the R6.

Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III (includes EF-to-RF adapter if needed)
$20/night
This lens works great for aurora, but also for general landscapes. I recommend it if you’re booking an Aurora & Adventure Package where you’ll have access to it for daytime shooting. It doesn’t reach quite as wide as a 14mm lens, but it still captures an impressive amount of sky at 16mm while offering the ability to compose tighter shots at 35mm with less wide angle distortion. The f/2.8 aperture is generally too slow for shooting video unless the aurora is very bright, but it’s fast enough for taking quality still photos and a major upgrade over a cheap kit zoom lens or a slower f/4 lens.

I am hopeful that Canon will release new fast RF prime lenses soon to compete with offerings from Sony and Sigma, which have better 14mm and 24mm prime lenses for astro/aurora use.