OM-5 setting and lens suggestion for northern lights

Hello. I am a recent OM-5 owner.

I will be going to Iceland (capital city) in a couple of week for work purpose. Plan to take one of those tours for seeing the Northern Lights over the weekend and quite likely some other tours to nearby waterfalls.

Looking for suggestions on what lens to take for Northern lights, landscape and city walk around (though not sure how much I will in the cold). These are my currents lenses. I have to keep the kit small, so thinking of 12-40 and one of 20 or 14 mm

• Olympus 12-40/f2.8
• Olympus 12-200 f/3.5-6.3
• Olympus 14-42 f/3.5-5.6
• Olympus 40-150 f/4-5.6
• Olympus 45 F/1.8
• Panasonic 20 f/1.7
• Panasonic 14 f/2.5

Second, is there any specific settings I should use with OM-5 like starry sky AF, max ISO etc?

Appreciate any advice.

LokeshS wrote:

Hello. I am a recent OM-5 owner.

I will be going to Iceland (capital city) in a couple of week for work purpose. Plan to take one of those tours for seeing the Northern Lights over the weekend and quite likely some other tours to nearby waterfalls.

Looking for suggestions on what lens to take for Northern lights, landscape and city walk around (though not sure how much I will in the cold). These are my currents lenses. I have to keep the kit small, so thinking of 12-40 and one of 20 or 14 mm

• Olympus 12-40/f2.8
• Olympus 12-200 f/3.5-6.3
• Olympus 14-42 f/3.5-5.6
• Olympus 40-150 f/4-5.6
• Olympus 45 F/1.8
• Panasonic 20 f/1.7
• Panasonic 14 f/2.5

Second, is there any specific settings I should use with OM-5 like starry sky AF, max ISO etc?

Appreciate any advice.

I guide Northern Light photography tours here in Alaska, and here is what I tell my clients.  First, you want the widest and fastest lens you have.  In your case, I would bring the 12-40 for the lights.

When chasing the lights, I take three lenses with me:

• Olympus 8mm ƒ1.8 Pro
• Olympus 7-14mm ƒ2.8 Pro
• Samyang 12mm ƒ2.0

I tell my clients to start with ISO 1600 at a 6-second shutter speed.  This is because you want to shoot at the fastest possible shutter speed to keep the lights from becoming a blurry mess.  With my fisheye lens, I can typically shoot at a 4-second shutter speed, but with the 7-14, I am generally around 6 seconds.  Now, all this can and will change depending on the brightness of the moon and the lights.  For example, with a bright moon I have shot as low as ISO 800.  So the settings can/do change, but the 6 seconds at ISO 1600 is always a good starting point.

I don't have a camera with Starry Sky, so I have to use manual focus.  Either way, you want to focus on the stars.  I would use manual focus even with a camera that has Starry Sky.  Why?  You have a lens with a manual focus clutch.  Switch it to manual focus via the clutch and focus on a star using the rear LCD and zooming in.  Now you can shut off the camera and turn it back on and instantly be in focus.  The lights will show and go away throughout the night, so you will need to shut the camera off or burn through a ton of batteries.  Using the manual focus clutch means you can shut off the camera and turn it back on and be in perfect focus.  It makes things a lot easier.  Now, if there is a big swing in temps, you will have to adjust focus.  Infinity focus on a lens will change based on temperature.  So, it is something to be aware of.

If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Regards,

Phocal

LokeshS wrote:

Hello. I am a recent OM-5 owner.

I will be going to Iceland (capital city) in a couple of week for work purpose. Plan to take one of those tours for seeing the Northern Lights over the weekend and quite likely some other tours to nearby waterfalls.

Looking for suggestions on what lens to take for Northern lights, landscape and city walk around (though not sure how much I will in the cold). These are my currents lenses. I have to keep the kit small, so thinking of 12-40 and one of 20 or 14 mm

• Olympus 12-40/f2.8
• Olympus 12-200 f/3.5-6.3
• Olympus 14-42 f/3.5-5.6
• Olympus 40-150 f/4-5.6
• Olympus 45 F/1.8
• Panasonic 20 f/1.7
• Panasonic 14 f/2.5

Second, is there any specific settings I should use with OM-5 like starry sky AF, max ISO etc?

Appreciate any advice.

I was on a Northern Lights tour near Tromso Norway this past November.

Conditions were not ideal (Ship's shore excursion via bus; 8/10 cloud cover; intermittent drizzle or snow flurries; almost full moon)

The moon was an issue - moonlight was bright enough to impair dark adaptation - and the bus(es) had their parking lights on.

I was shooting handheld, with my only available lens [12-200] wide open at f/3.5. Focus was manual, against a fairly distant moonlit target. Only needed to to that once per power switch activation.

ISO was boosted to 5000 to 6400, shutter speeds show as between 1 to 3 seconds. All were at 12mm. At the edges of the frame, utility poles and tree branches appeared to be sharp [no pixel peeping] so image stabilization proved as effective as always.

An oddity was due to the ambient conditions our guide would occasionally ask a photographer to take a shot - if the review showed grey, it was assumed to be a [moonlit] cloud. If the shot showed color [predominately green] it was aurora.

I did not get the best possible aurora photos, but I will put some in my gallery & update this thread.

I have since acquired a 12-100 f/4 lens, and would have used that - the manual focus clutch might have proved useful.

So, I would say to use the 12-40 over the 12-200 for aurora photos - you sort of know in advance that you will be unlikely to need any tele range.

For cold, bring a spare battery for the camera - and a good hat, boots, gloves and mitten shells for you. I was overdressed for freezing weather, so the mitten shells stayed on the bus, and the parka was not zipped up over the heavy sweater [layers and layers of warm clothing].

LokeshS wrote:

Hello. I am a recent OM-5 owner.

I will be going to Iceland (capital city) in a couple of week for work purpose. Plan to take one of those tours for seeing the Northern Lights over the weekend and quite likely some other tours to nearby waterfalls.

Looking for suggestions on what lens to take for Northern lights, landscape and city walk around (though not sure how much I will in the cold). These are my currents lenses. I have to keep the kit small, so thinking of 12-40 and one of 20 or 14 mm

• Olympus 12-40/f2.8
• Olympus 12-200 f/3.5-6.3
• Olympus 14-42 f/3.5-5.6
• Olympus 40-150 f/4-5.6
• Olympus 45 F/1.8
• Panasonic 20 f/1.7
• Panasonic 14 f/2.5

Second, is there any specific settings I should use with OM-5 like starry sky AF, max ISO etc?

Appreciate any advice.

Of course you should use Starry AF. It is accessible as a focus mode the same as MF, C-AF, and S-AF. Practice first. It works.

And bring some warm clothes.

LokeshS wrote:

Thank you. I will go with 12-40.

Follow up question: Is the high res mode useful or the exposure is too long for it to be useful?

I have actually not tried it yet.  I keep saying I am going to but keep forgetting.  Last week I did assign a tripod high resolution to a custom function, will hopefully remember to try it out tonight.  If I remember I will post my results here.

LokeshS wrote:

Bassam Guy wrote:

Of course you should use Starry AF. It is accessible as a focus mode the same as MF, C-AF, and S-AF. Practice first. It works.

Thanks. Will practice with Starry AF.

And bring some warm clothes.

Ahh yes. Being from the warm part of the world, cold is a concern. So planning to take a lot of warm clothes.

Just over three years ago, I moved from Texas to Alaska.  So, I know a little about being from a warm climate and out in the cold (I moved to Alaska at the beginning of November).

Any gloves warm enough will not allow you to use the camera.  I have found the following to work really well.  I use these rechargeable hand warmers from Zippo and find them to work really well.  Since I am running tours 3-4 nights a week, using disposable ones is a waste and more expensive.  Since this is a one-time trip, I would just use the disposable ones; they work just as well.

I put the hand warmers into a similar hand muff as this .  This keeps my hands toasty warm and is much easier than taking thick warm gloves off and on. I wear a pair of these when it is -10 or below.  They basically take the edge off and protect from the wind.  They also take that freezing sting from touching super cold metal away.

Oh, one other trick I do.  I throw my extra batteries in a padded lens case since the padding makes for great insulation.  I then throw a hand warmer in there to keep everything nice and toasty.  This works really well and ensures my backup batteries are at 100% when needed.  I also toss in one of those battery banks to recharge any of my electronic devices, just in case.  When your batteries die and you swap them for new ones, you can get some power back in the depleted ones when they warm up.

my two copper pieces,

Phocal

Phocal wrote:

LokeshS wrote:

Thank you. I will go with 12-40.

Follow up question: Is the high res mode useful or the exposure is too long for it to be useful?

I have actually not tried it yet. I keep saying I am going to but keep forgetting. Last week I did assign a tripod high resolution to a custom function, will hopefully remember to try it out tonight. If I remember I will post my results here.

No need, on what model(s) is HR a button function (OM-5)?  Not on my E-M1 III.

On my E-M1 III, HR is on the end of the shooting menu (Single, Single Anti-Shock, Single-Silent, Low Seq Anti-Shock, ... Hi Res). Then, before Okay, hold Info + rotate dial to switch Tripod <=> Handheld.

Bassam Guy wrote:

Phocal wrote:

LokeshS wrote:

Thank you. I will go with 12-40.

Follow up question: Is the high res mode useful or the exposure is too long for it to be useful?

I have actually not tried it yet. I keep saying I am going to but keep forgetting. Last week I did assign a tripod high resolution to a custom function, will hopefully remember to try it out tonight. If I remember I will post my results here.

No need, on what model(s) is HR a button function (OM-5)? Not on my E-M1 III.

On my E-M1 III, HR is on the end of the shooting menu (Single, Single Anti-Shock, Single-Silent, Low Seq Anti-Shock, ... Hi Res). Then, before Okay, hold Info + rotate dial to switch Tripod <=> Handheld.

I shoot the EM1X, and I set up the camera how I want it:

• Manual Mode
• ISO 1600
• Shutter 4 seconds
• Aperture ƒ2.8
• Tripod High Resolution
• Plus, all the other random settings like white balance, focus mode, etc.

Then I assign it to one of the four custom functions and assign it to the dial.  Now I turn the dial to the appropriate C position, and the camera is ready to go.

I love the custom functions on Olympus.  I can completely change all the camera settings with the turn of a dial or the push of a button.  So handy...

Currently, I have the following custom functions set:

• C1 is set up for the ND filter
• C2 is set up for handheld high resolution
• C3 is set up for tripod high resolution
• C4 is my oh-sh!t action (takes the camera into a good setup for unexpected action like a wolverine running by, and I was in SAF).  While this one is assigned to C4 on the dial, I also have it assigned to one of the front buttons for quick access.

Phocal

Bassam Guy wrote:

LokeshS wrote:

Hello. I am a recent OM-5 owner.

I will be going to Iceland (capital city) in a couple of week for work purpose. Plan to take one of those tours for seeing the Northern Lights over the weekend and quite likely some other tours to nearby waterfalls.

Looking for suggestions on what lens to take for Northern lights, landscape and city walk around (though not sure how much I will in the cold). These are my currents lenses. I have to keep the kit small, so thinking of 12-40 and one of 20 or 14 mm

• Olympus 12-40/f2.8
• Olympus 12-200 f/3.5-6.3
• Olympus 14-42 f/3.5-5.6
• Olympus 40-150 f/4-5.6
• Olympus 45 F/1.8
• Panasonic 20 f/1.7
• Panasonic 14 f/2.5

Second, is there any specific settings I should use with OM-5 like starry sky AF, max ISO etc?

Appreciate any advice.

Of course you should use Starry AF. It is accessible as a focus mode the same as MF, C-AF, and S-AF. Practice first. It works.

And bring some warm clothes.

I agree with phocal above, and not use Starry AF. On and off camera over the course of an hour or more makes Starry AF extra work. It works, but doing it over and over doesn't help your coldness, or your batteries.

daleeight wrote:

Bassam Guy wrote:

LokeshS wrote:

Hello. I am a recent OM-5 owner.

I will be going to Iceland (capital city) in a couple of week for work purpose. Plan to take one of those tours for seeing the Northern Lights over the weekend and quite likely some other tours to nearby waterfalls.

Looking for suggestions on what lens to take for Northern lights, landscape and city walk around (though not sure how much I will in the cold). These are my currents lenses. I have to keep the kit small, so thinking of 12-40 and one of 20 or 14 mm

• Olympus 12-40/f2.8
• Olympus 12-200 f/3.5-6.3
• Olympus 14-42 f/3.5-5.6
• Olympus 40-150 f/4-5.6
• Olympus 45 F/1.8
• Panasonic 20 f/1.7
• Panasonic 14 f/2.5

Second, is there any specific settings I should use with OM-5 like starry sky AF, max ISO etc?

Appreciate any advice.

Of course you should use Starry AF. It is accessible as a focus mode the same as MF, C-AF, and S-AF. Practice first. It works.

And bring some warm clothes.

I agree with phocal above, and not use Starry AF. On and off camera over the course of an hour or more makes Starry AF extra work. It works, but doing it over and over doesn't help your coldness, or your batteries.

I use it once and then lock the focus. NO AF wear on the batteries whatsoever.

Bassam Guy wrote:

daleeight wrote:

Bassam Guy wrote:

LokeshS wrote:

Hello. I am a recent OM-5 owner.

I will be going to Iceland (capital city) in a couple of week for work purpose. Plan to take one of those tours for seeing the Northern Lights over the weekend and quite likely some other tours to nearby waterfalls.

Looking for suggestions on what lens to take for Northern lights, landscape and city walk around (though not sure how much I will in the cold). These are my currents lenses. I have to keep the kit small, so thinking of 12-40 and one of 20 or 14 mm

• Olympus 12-40/f2.8
• Olympus 12-200 f/3.5-6.3
• Olympus 14-42 f/3.5-5.6
• Olympus 40-150 f/4-5.6
• Olympus 45 F/1.8
• Panasonic 20 f/1.7
• Panasonic 14 f/2.5

Second, is there any specific settings I should use with OM-5 like starry sky AF, max ISO etc?

Appreciate any advice.

Of course you should use Starry AF. It is accessible as a focus mode the same as MF, C-AF, and S-AF. Practice first. It works.

And bring some warm clothes.

I agree with phocal above, and not use Starry AF. On and off camera over the course of an hour or more makes Starry AF extra work. It works, but doing it over and over doesn't help your coldness, or your batteries.

I use it once and then lock the focus. NO AF wear on the batteries whatsoever.

What happens when you turn the camera off, then back on? Redo it?

daleeight wrote:

Bassam Guy wrote:

daleeight wrote:

Bassam Guy wrote:

LokeshS wrote:

Hello. I am a recent OM-5 owner.

I will be going to Iceland (capital city) in a couple of week for work purpose. Plan to take one of those tours for seeing the Northern Lights over the weekend and quite likely some other tours to nearby waterfalls.

Looking for suggestions on what lens to take for Northern lights, landscape and city walk around (though not sure how much I will in the cold). These are my currents lenses. I have to keep the kit small, so thinking of 12-40 and one of 20 or 14 mm

• Olympus 12-40/f2.8
• Olympus 12-200 f/3.5-6.3
• Olympus 14-42 f/3.5-5.6
• Olympus 40-150 f/4-5.6
• Olympus 45 F/1.8
• Panasonic 20 f/1.7
• Panasonic 14 f/2.5

Second, is there any specific settings I should use with OM-5 like starry sky AF, max ISO etc?

Appreciate any advice.

Of course you should use Starry AF. It is accessible as a focus mode the same as MF, C-AF, and S-AF. Practice first. It works.

And bring some warm clothes.

I agree with phocal above, and not use Starry AF. On and off camera over the course of an hour or more makes Starry AF extra work. It works, but doing it over and over doesn't help your coldness, or your batteries.

I use it once and then lock the focus. NO AF wear on the batteries whatsoever.

What happens when you turn the camera off, then back on? Redo it?

Even less battery drain when the camera is off.

If "lens reset" is off as it should be, focus will not change during power cycle. When off, even turning the focus-by-wire ring does nothing as there is not juice in the "wire"

FYI: by default, an E-M1 III has performing Starry AF assigned to the AEL/AFL button. Half or fully pressing the shutter does nothing regarding AF. If you want to change this, see "Custom Menu A1-> AEL/AFL..."

I spent a summer on Iceland. Alas long ago now. But, the landsacape is very open. The kind of landscape where you can walk all day long and seemingly not get any closer to that mountain you thought you would reach before lunch. A short tele may give you more interesting shots than a wide now and then. I was glad I had one with me anyway.

[EDIT]

Darn. Posted as a reply to the wrong post and not it's too late to move it. Oh well. It was meant a reply to the OP's first post anyway.

LokeshS wrote:

Phocal wrote:

Just over three years ago, I moved from Texas to Alaska. So, I know a little about being from a warm climate and out in the cold (I moved to Alaska at the beginning of November).

Any gloves warm enough will not allow you to use the camera. I have found the following to work really well. I use these rechargeable hand warmers from Zippo and find them to work really well. Since I am running tours 3-4 nights a week, using disposable ones is a waste and more expensive. Since this is a one-time trip, I would just use the disposable ones; they work just as well.

I put the hand warmers into a similar hand muff as this . This keeps my hands toasty warm and is much easier than taking thick warm gloves off and on. I wear a pair of these when it is -10 or below. They basically take the edge off and protect from the wind. They also take that freezing sting from touching super cold metal away.

Oh, one other trick I do. I throw my extra batteries in a padded lens case since the padding makes for great insulation. I then throw a hand warmer in there to keep everything nice and toasty. This works really well and ensures my backup batteries are at 100% when needed. I also toss in one of those battery banks to recharge any of my electronic devices, just in case. When your batteries die and you swap them for new ones, you can get some power back in the depleted ones when they warm up.

my two copper pieces,

Phocal

This is great advice.

Glad you found it helpful

LokeshS wrote:

Follow up question: Is the high res mode useful or the exposure is too long for it to be useful?

Not for this kind of thing, IMO. See my old post on this topic .

LokeshS wrote:

Hello. I am a recent OM-5 owner.

I will be going to Iceland (capital city) in a couple of week for work purpose. Plan to take one of those tours for seeing the Northern Lights over the weekend and quite likely some other tours to nearby waterfalls.

Looking for suggestions on what lens to take for Northern lights, landscape and city walk around (though not sure how much I will in the cold). These are my currents lenses. I have to keep the kit small, so thinking of 12-40 and one of 20 or 14 mm

Definitely 12-40mm + 20mm.

12-40 gives you 12mm at f/2.8 which should be perfectly fine. It's wide enough and fast enough for most aurora situations. As always with this kind of stuff, the wider and faster the better.

The 20mm could be useful in certain situations even for aurora (although it would be a tricky thing to find a good situation to use it well). And it's a great indoor lens.

Second, is there any specific settings I should use with OM-5 like starry sky AF, max ISO etc?

Haven't used Starry AF much, but the few tries I did it seemed to work fine. Alas, once I get focus right, I switch to MF and don't touch focus anymore.

As for ISO, it will depend on the type of aurora, actually. For a bright and calm aurora you can use lower ISO setting and a longer exposure. So something like 20 seconds at ISO 800 or 1600 (this can work even with a slower lens, like this ). But some auroras are really dynamic and a long exposure will result in a rather uninteresting smudge which lacks definition. For such auroras you want shorter exposures, which means higher ISO as well. So maybe 3 seconds at ISO 6400, for example (something like this ).