What do I set my camera to to get pictures of the Aurora Borealis?

It's northern lights season and I haven't ever been able to get pictures of them!!


I have a Kodak z730 and I would like to know if anyone knows what manual settings are best for catching the lights.


Thank you!|||Go to http://www.shutterbug.com and type 'aurora borealis' in the Search box. You'll pull up an article titled "The Mystery of the Aurora Borealis: Capturing Nature's Light Show" by Mike Endres in the April 2007 issue. You will definitely need a tripod.





Unfortunately, from looking at a review of your camera, its really not suited for taking pictures of the aurora. Your camera has either Aperture Priority or Shutter Priority, no Manual Mode, a minimum shutter speed of 64 seconds and a maximum ISO of 400.








|||i'm not quite familiar with your camera, and i'm not quite sure just how bright the aurora borealis is, but here's my ball field estimate:





iso 100 (so you don't have so much noise), f/7.8 or larger (i'm guessing 7.8 is your camera's max aperture) for a longer depth of field, and a 3-5 second shutter speed. you'll also have to set your camera on a tripod to keep it from shaking (although a rock, book or some other steady object would do).





don't forget to add a foreground element! good luck and happy shooting!|||Tripod, definitely.





From the review on dpreview, your max aperture is 4.8, so I guess go for that. 8.0 or 11.0 would be better, but this is what you've got to work with.





ISO 100 or 80.





If you have a full manual mode, play around with the exposure, starting at 10 seconds and going slower or faster from there. If you can set a delay, do that too so that you can press the button and get your hand away from the camera and tripod before the exposure starts; even a small amount of shake of your hand on the button could show up.





By the way, make sure your battery has a full charge.|||Go to the extremes.


1. Use a tripod.


2. If I understand correctly, your camera goes up to ISO 400 at full resolution or ISO 800 at reduced resolution. Try a few shots are each setting to see which works out best.


3. If I understand correctly, you camera will take pictures up to 64 seconds long. That's actually good for a small camera. Go with that and see how it works.


4. Your camera has the largest aperature at the lowest magnification so definitely take your pictures at low magnification.