Norway and the Northern Lights 2012 at DVinfo.net

Alister Chapman · January 19th, 2012, 11:16 AM

Hi all. I'm off up to Norway tomorrow with my F3 to shoot the Northern Lights. I'll be keeping a video diary with the F3 and shooting the Aurora in the evenings with both the F3 for real-time Aurora footage and DSLR's for time-lapse. I'm going to feed near live still frames to my web site as well as daily updates and blogs. The forecast is promising with a mix of clear skies and scattered cloud as well as good solar activity. The blog page is here: Northern Lights Live 2012 | XDCAM-USER.COM

Andy Wilkinson · January 19th, 2012, 02:54 PM

Have a good trip. We're all looking forward to what you might get!

Hope the weather and the lights are kind/make up for some of the frustrations I know you've had in the past.... and have fun!

Alister Chapman · January 20th, 2012, 12:42 AM

At the airport, on my way. Forecast for both Aurora's and weather looking promising. Tonight should be clear in Tromso.

Jim Michael · January 20th, 2012, 05:53 AM

Large solar flare just erupted and headed this way so could be spectacular tomorrow night.

George Griswold · January 21st, 2012, 09:10 AM

NASA - Long Duration M3.2 Class Solar Flare and CME

Alister Chapman · January 24th, 2012, 08:09 AM

Have some great Aurora footage in the can. The F3 is exceeding my expectations at night, capturing the Aurora in real time. Once I get home I'll be posting clips and footage.

Andy Wilkinson · January 24th, 2012, 08:15 AM

Great news. There have been a lot of reports of the aurora being visible in the northern UK because of the Sun doing its stuff with CME activity the last few days. It's claimed that over the last few days/right now, assuming its not cloudy and raining, have been/are some of the best conditions in the last 6 years for the aurora - might not be for communications satellites that might get knocked out!

Craig Kovatch · January 27th, 2012, 12:23 PM

I'm not trying to hijack the thread, I just have a question about the F3 vs. EX-1R for shooting Northern Lights.

Alister, how do you find the noise levels with the F3 when shooting the Aurora?

I've spend the last few nights shooting the Aurora with an EX-1R and am extremely disappointed with the level of noise in the image. Especially when in SLS mode. I've even tried with the gain set at -3db. Is the F3 considerably cleaner?

Craig.

Alister Chapman · January 28th, 2012, 06:03 AM

Hi Craig. The F3 is different to the EX's. The F3 is more sensitive, with less noise but does not have a slow shutter slower than 8 frames. If you have S-Log with +18db of gain the F3 is as sensitive as the EX1 with +18db gain and 16 frame slow shutter. The F3 has less noise.

The video below is one I am really proud of. It is real time footage of the Aurora as opposed to the normal time-lapse you usually see. So the motion of the Aurora is as fast as it actually was. The colours are also as seen by the naked eye.

It is quite low quality H264 as I am still in the Arctic and internet is very limited. I will upload a higher quality version when I get home on the 3rd of Feb. The original does not have the banding artefacts. I have treated the video using neat video to reduce the noise. It was shot using a 2 frame slow shutter and a 20mm f1.8 sigma lens.

Steve Kimmel · January 28th, 2012, 09:15 AM

Wow, that is awesome! I really like the juxtaposition of the house.

Did you shoot this in S-log? To internal cards?

Thanks.

Chuck Fishbein · January 28th, 2012, 02:17 PM

Hi Alister,
Amazing images.
Were you star tracking or is there an excited pixel, dead center in your image? Seems to be in all angles.
Perhaps it's just in the QT.

Alister Chapman · January 28th, 2012, 03:53 PM

It's a spoiler to try and stop people stealing my video.

Adrian Vedder · January 29th, 2012, 01:08 PM

Smart move with the spoiler... How much are you pushing those in post Alister?? or is it as it comes out of the f3? you said you corrected a few noise that got in, but was that it? are you at +18db there? and in terms of time, how much does it take for each cut?? i've never seen the aurora in anything else than video or photos, so i wonder how fast it really moves in real life

David Heath · January 29th, 2012, 07:05 PM

Truly excellent, Alister.

Leonard Levy · January 29th, 2012, 11:49 PM

I've wanted to see Northern lights all my life.
This is the closest I've gotten so far. Thanks Alister.
Did you shoot any on 3D?

January 19th, 2012, 11:16 AM	#1
Alister Chapman Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, UK Posts: 4,957	Norway and the Northern Lights 2012 Hi all. I'm off up to Norway tomorrow with my F3 to shoot the Northern Lights. I'll be keeping a video diary with the F3 and shooting the Aurora in the evenings with both the F3 for real-time Aurora footage and DSLR's for time-lapse. I'm going to feed near live still frames to my web site as well as daily updates and blogs. The forecast is promising with a mix of clear skies and scattered cloud as well as good solar activity. The blog page is here: Northern Lights Live 2012 \| XDCAM-USER.COM __________________ Alister Chapman, Film-Maker/Stormchaser http://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ My XDCAM site and blog. http://www.hurricane-rig.com

January 19th, 2012, 02:54 PM	#2
Andy Wilkinson Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Cambridge UK Posts: 2,853	Re: Norway and the Northern Lights 2012 Have a good trip. We're all looking forward to what you might get! Hope the weather and the lights are kind/make up for some of the frustrations I know you've had in the past.... and have fun! __________________ Andy K Wilkinson - https://www.shootingimage.co.uk Cambridge (UK) Corporate Video Production

January 20th, 2012, 12:42 AM	#3
Alister Chapman Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, UK Posts: 4,957	Re: Norway and the Northern Lights 2012 At the airport, on my way. Forecast for both Aurora's and weather looking promising. Tonight should be clear in Tromso. __________________ Alister Chapman, Film-Maker/Stormchaser http://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ My XDCAM site and blog. http://www.hurricane-rig.com

January 20th, 2012, 05:53 AM	#4
Jim Michael Major Player Join Date: Dec 2005 Posts: 895	Re: Norway and the Northern Lights 2012 Large solar flare just erupted and headed this way so could be spectacular tomorrow night.

January 21st, 2012, 09:10 AM	#5
George Griswold Major Player Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 218	Re: Norway and the Northern Lights 2012 NASA - Long Duration M3.2 Class Solar Flare and CME __________________ George T. Griswold, Jr. www.videonow.info New Orleans

January 24th, 2012, 08:09 AM	#6
Alister Chapman Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, UK Posts: 4,957	Re: Norway and the Northern Lights 2012 Have some great Aurora footage in the can. The F3 is exceeding my expectations at night, capturing the Aurora in real time. Once I get home I'll be posting clips and footage. __________________ Alister Chapman, Film-Maker/Stormchaser http://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ My XDCAM site and blog. http://www.hurricane-rig.com

January 24th, 2012, 08:15 AM	#7
Andy Wilkinson Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Cambridge UK Posts: 2,853	Re: Norway and the Northern Lights 2012 Great news. There have been a lot of reports of the aurora being visible in the northern UK because of the Sun doing its stuff with CME activity the last few days. It's claimed that over the last few days/right now, assuming its not cloudy and raining, have been/are some of the best conditions in the last 6 years for the aurora - might not be for communications satellites that might get knocked out! __________________ Andy K Wilkinson - https://www.shootingimage.co.uk Cambridge (UK) Corporate Video Production

January 27th, 2012, 12:23 PM	#8
Craig Kovatch Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Hay River, Canada Posts: 85	Re: Norway and the Northern Lights 2012 I'm not trying to hijack the thread, I just have a question about the F3 vs. EX-1R for shooting Northern Lights. Alister, how do you find the noise levels with the F3 when shooting the Aurora? I've spend the last few nights shooting the Aurora with an EX-1R and am extremely disappointed with the level of noise in the image. Especially when in SLS mode. I've even tried with the gain set at -3db. Is the F3 considerably cleaner? Craig.

January 28th, 2012, 06:03 AM	#9
Alister Chapman Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, UK Posts: 4,957	Re: Norway and the Northern Lights 2012 Hi Craig. The F3 is different to the EX's. The F3 is more sensitive, with less noise but does not have a slow shutter slower than 8 frames. If you have S-Log with +18db of gain the F3 is as sensitive as the EX1 with +18db gain and 16 frame slow shutter. The F3 has less noise. The video below is one I am really proud of. It is real time footage of the Aurora as opposed to the normal time-lapse you usually see. So the motion of the Aurora is as fast as it actually was. The colours are also as seen by the naked eye. It is quite low quality H264 as I am still in the Arctic and internet is very limited. I will upload a higher quality version when I get home on the 3rd of Feb. The original does not have the banding artefacts. I have treated the video using neat video to reduce the noise. It was shot using a 2 frame slow shutter and a 20mm f1.8 sigma lens. Dance of the Spirits. Real Time Aurora footage. on Vimeo __________________ Alister Chapman, Film-Maker/Stormchaser http://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ My XDCAM site and blog. http://www.hurricane-rig.com

January 28th, 2012, 09:15 AM	#10
Steve Kimmel Major Player Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Philadelphia, PA Posts: 256	Re: Norway and the Northern Lights 2012 Wow, that is awesome! I really like the juxtaposition of the house. Did you shoot this in S-log? To internal cards? Thanks.

January 28th, 2012, 02:17 PM	#11
Chuck Fishbein Major Player Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Weehawken New Jersey Posts: 210	Re: Norway and the Northern Lights 2012 Hi Alister, Amazing images. Were you star tracking or is there an excited pixel, dead center in your image? Seems to be in all angles. Perhaps it's just in the QT.

January 28th, 2012, 03:53 PM	#12
Alister Chapman Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bracknell, Berkshire, UK Posts: 4,957	Re: Norway and the Northern Lights 2012 It's a spoiler to try and stop people stealing my video. __________________ Alister Chapman, Film-Maker/Stormchaser http://www.xdcam-user.com/alisters-blog/ My XDCAM site and blog. http://www.hurricane-rig.com

January 29th, 2012, 01:08 PM	#13
Adrian Vedder New Boot Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 23	Re: Norway and the Northern Lights 2012 Smart move with the spoiler... How much are you pushing those in post Alister?? or is it as it comes out of the f3? you said you corrected a few noise that got in, but was that it? are you at +18db there? and in terms of time, how much does it take for each cut?? i've never seen the aurora in anything else than video or photos, so i wonder how fast it really moves in real life

January 29th, 2012, 07:05 PM	#14
David Heath Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 2,699	Re: Norway and the Northern Lights 2012 Truly excellent, Alister.

January 29th, 2012, 11:49 PM	#15
Leonard Levy Trustee Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: USA Posts: 1,684	Re: Norway and the Northern Lights 2012 I've wanted to see Northern lights all my life. This is the closest I've gotten so far. Thanks Alister. Did you shoot any on 3D?