The Northern Light season for Norway runs from October to March, and I went to capture photographs. Dreaming of capturing the glowing skies dancing overhead, I packed my bag with lenses, camera bodies, and a tripod. Only to find out, that the camera on my phone, an iPhone 15 pro, was better than my $6k, low-light specialized camera I would set up on a tripod and snap long exposures. How is that possible?
Easy To Use
I am a professional photographer and have been since 2016, so I know my way around a camera. I'm a master with the buttons and changing settings. Manual focus and manual settings are second nature for me. I say this not to brag, but to make a point. When I set up my camera, the process takes time and experimentation.
My process for snapping images of the Northern Lights is trial and error. So, for the long exposure, I would stabilize my camera with a tripod, frame the shot with the settings I think will work, and snap. Look at the back of the camera to review, make some tweaks, and snap. Repeat two, or three, more times, until I am happy. Then, I would have a RAW image of the Northern Lights. With that RAW image, I would need to import it to my computer, then edit the image, then export it. Now, I could share.
On the contrary, with my phone under the Norwegian sky, my process was much quicker and simpler. My phone is always in my pocket, so I reached my hand down and pulled it out of my pocket, held it up to the dark sky, and pressed the button, three seconds later I had a great image (if I held the phone steady). Easy!
The Down Sides
There aren't any downsides... not true. I wish it was that simple. While phone photographs of the Northern Lights are more than enough for consumers who want to share photographs of the Northern Lights with their friends, on social media, or to record memories for later in their life, phone photographs are not good enough, yet. I would venture to say, 90-95% of camera users would thrive with a phone and nothing else, however, a phone photograph has some long-term issues:
- Low resolution, so printing and commercial reselling will not work as well
- Can't change the settings to have more control if a longer exposure is needed
- The images have a digital/video-game look
Unless those three downsides matter to you, take the easy road. Leave your bulky camera at home and pull out your phone to snap images of the Northern Lights, it is quick, clean, and easy.