EOS 650D lens advice for low-light landscapes

[anistonpe55]

Hi all, I'm heading to Scandinavia for Christmas this year and want to capture some of the Aurora Borealis and some night shots of Santa's Village in Lapland. Do you have any recommendations for these landscapes at low light? Should I also invest in a tripod? If so if there a compact version? Thanks

[Tintype_18]

Sounds like a fun trip. Suggestion: Practice various settings under the same or similar conditions and write down the settings. Tripod or monopod is a good idea. Monopod is more portable. I use one and wrap my leg around it for more stability. You realize you have inadvertently committed for photos of the trip. Looking forward.

Adding: Good to make sure you have covered all bases. Many decades ago, A fellow went on a photo safari in Africa in the olden days. Shot miles of movie film. Developed it when he got home. Blank! He didn't "practice" and as a result didn't know to remove the lens cover!

[shadowsports]

Greetings,

The 650D / T4i came with two lens options.  The EF-S 18-55 or the 18-135mm.  Both are variable aperture f3.5~5.6.

Do you happen to own either lens?  

At 18mm, max aperture is f3.5.  As you zoom however, max aperture increases.  This could make night time shooting challenging. Santas Village as well as the Northern Lights.

A monopod or tripod might come in handy for the Northern Lights.  Compact versions are available.  

Do you have any budget for another lens?  Your camera may struggle with either of the other lenses at night.

[atam1]

got 2 excellent advices from these gentlemen-you can’t miss. your targets and goal are very clear: shoot nightscapes and i kid you not, lots of patience, man. but you’ve got this- it’s technical but doable. wide angle and tripod (sturdy) are your best friends. i would start with either EFS 18-55, 17-85, or 24mm. but my best and only choice would be the EFS 24mm f/2.8 STM if i would do the Aurora and other Village nightscapes. good luck!

[ebiggs1]

My advice and suggestion and what I would do is buy the Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens and a good tripod. On a camera like the Rebel T4i the problem is getting enough wide angle. The Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM Lens will be the best choice to help with that. I suspect you have the kit lens so the two will pair together quite well.

The tripod will help eliminate the problem of a slow aperture. Don't cheap out on the tripod either it is very important.