Going to an Air Show

Doddy1974

Doddy1974

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Going to an air show on Saturday, first time I am going attempt to take pics of planes!

I have kit lens, 75-300mm and my nifty....which one am I more likely to use...I am thinking it will be 75-300mm, for the extra reach?

And am I right in thinking I will want a fast shutter speed for when the planes fly past? Do I try and follow the plane in my viewfinder, or take a shot when it's in view?
Is there anything else I should know??

Thankyou
 
Hi Doddy,

Would the airshow happen to be the one at Halton on Saturday?
If it is, then I would expect that the majority of flying aircraft will be propeller powered and therefore it is recommended that you use slow shutter speeds to get a nice blurred effect on the props.

Just checked the schedule and other than the Queen's B'day Flypast, all other aircraft will be prop-based.
 
LOL Gary yes it is!!! haha!!!!
I will slow the shutter down then...does that mean I will have to "follow" the plane in the viewfinder? I want to keep the body crisp and clear, but have blurred props :)
This is going to be an experience by the sounds of it!

Thanks Lisa, I will check out that thread :)

How slow is slow for the props to be blurred?
 
The 70-300 will get you closer to the planes. If you have it on shutter priority and
keep the shutter speed to between 1/125sec and 1/160sec and you'll get a decent
blur on the props. But at 300mm end you'll need a steady hand as you pan with the
aircraft. If your not confident in shooting at lower shutter speeds then push it up
as fast as you can, i'd rather have a still prop and the plane in focus than not but
thats just my view. For jets keep the shutter speed high.

.
 
Rob_W said:
The 70-300 will get you closer to the planes. If you have it on shutter priority and
keep the shutter speed to between 1/125sec and 1/160sec and you'll get a decent
blur on the props. But at 300mm end you'll need a steady hand as you pan with the
aircraft. If your not confident in shooting at lower shutter speeds then push it up
as fast as you can, i'd rather have a still prop and the plane in focus than not but
thats just my view. For jets keep the shutter speed high.

.
Click to expand...

That's great thankyou! I will have to write this down, as I will never remember otherwise!
 
Doddy,
Bearing in mind what you said about your problem in your polarizer thread.
Are you OK with flashing lights?

If you are near some of the aircraft that have engines running or starting up they will have their anti-collision strobes on. They are bright.
 
Great thread im going to Leuchars in September and recently bought a Sony a230 and a 75-300 lens,looks like im gonna have to jot all this down like yerself Doddy,thanks for the tips everyone.
Am i better to use a polarising lens with these type of photos and what would be recomended for my Sony equipment ?
 
arclight said:
Doddy,
Bearing in mind what you said about your problem in your polarizer thread.
Are you OK with flashing lights?

If you are near some of the aircraft that have engines running or starting up they will have their anti-collision strobes on. They are bright.
Click to expand...

No danger of flashing lights - this is the RAF Halton "airshow" that we're talkin about!!! lol
The only things taking off / landing will be Tigermoths and the RAF Falcons parachute team.
Long gone are the days of decent airshows at Halton - even then nothing took off / landed due to the lack of tarmac.
 
GaryK26 said:
No danger of flashing lights - this is the RAF Halton "airshow" that we're talkin about!!! lol
The only things taking off / landing will be Tigermoths and the RAF Falcons parachute team.
Long gone are the days of decent airshows at Halton - even then nothing took off / landed due to the lack of tarmac.
Click to expand...

Cheers, Gary - that's good for Doddy then.
 
You need to pan with them as they aproach and pass rather than waiting until
they come past the viewfinder, by the time you react they will have gone to the
next show.

Remember to put your camera on the continuous focus mode, not sure what that
is on the Canon but its AF-C on the Nikon. It means that the camera will continue
to focus on the planes as you press the shutter half way down...
 
Thankyou all so much for your tips and advice!

When I first read the post about strobes...I thought oh poop. But then when Gary has said the planes won't have them...I was so relieved!

This is the first opportunity I have had to shoot something more than just a swan or my kids!
I just hope I can get one decent shot!!!

The continuous focus...that's AI servo isn't it on a Canon??? Should I do continous shooting aswell for when I am panning with it???

And should I use the polarizer than I now have thanks to Peter!!

Thankyou all...I am now so excited!!
 
Yeah, you need continuous auto-focus, pan with the planes and you press the
shutter half way
the camera keeps focusing on it, even when its coming right towards you.

And hopefully.........

4241131340_116bfb05ac_o.jpg
 
Rob_W said:
Yeah, you need continuous auto-focus, pan with the planes and you press the
shutter half way
the camera keeps focusing on it, even when its coming right towards you.

And hopefully.........

4241131340_116bfb05ac_o.jpg
Click to expand...

If i get a shot like that on my first attempt, I will be totally speechless!!!
 
Doddy1974 said:
If i get a shot like that on my first attempt, I will be totally speechless!!!
Click to expand...

You won't get a shot like that - I mean, have you ever been to an RAF Halton "airshow" in recent years? lol
Not wanting to put a dampener on the day, but it certainly isn't a "Farnborough". Having said that, it's a nice day out (weather permitting) and a damn good excuse to try and hone those togging skills.

Last year we were treated to a couple of fly pasts by the Vulcan due to the something to do with not having enough flying hours to pass it's annual certificate. Doubt we'll get any nice surprises like that this year, but you never know!!!

Here's display list:
- Queen's Birthday Flypast
- RAF Falcons Parachute Team
- Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
- Tucano Display
- King Air display
- Captain Neville's Flying Circus

and shedloads of Tigermoths
 
I have only ever been to an air show once, a few big planes went over...don't ask me what they were...I don't have a clue!

I haven't got a clue what this planes are that you listed...so if I do take any pics that are good enough to post, you will probably end up identifying them for me!!! haha!!

For me, it's a good day out for the kids, and it gives me the chance to shoot something I haven't done before ;)
 
Tell me you didnt ask about taking a 50mm prime are you real?
 
The One said:
Tell me you didnt ask about taking a 50mm prime are you real?
Click to expand...

I was thinking of using this for when I take photos of planes on the ground...not when the are flying!!!

I maybe thick....but I am not that thick!!!
 
I think for a first time out I'd keep to a minimum shutter sped of 1/250 for the prop planes and then higher for the jets, This will give you some prop blur with the faster prop planes and a decent chance of getting the plane in focus. for the slower planes you could try a slower shutter speed but be prepared for lots of rejects
Example of a Mustang at 1/250

98878316.jpg
 
I took a good few shots of a spitfire at the weekend. Even we know it was gona be around sometime, we didnt know when, so when it showed up it was a bit of a suprise.

This is a link to the one and only image I was able to salvage. The rest we too blurred.


http://www.flickr.com/photos/geordieman/4684372959/

I was still using the same settings as I was attempting to use for the motor racing we were watching. Just a case of, christ! its here, and point and shoot away.
I was using a Nikon D200 with a Sigma 70/300 lens slapped on the front. Cant remember the settings. Exif data not showing on Flickr.
I tried to post a photo on this reply but for some reason the HTML code would bring it up, just a line of code.
 
That's a great shot!

It's weird, I never had any interest in togging planes before, but I am really looking forward to it now ;) Thankyou!
 
Try using the ex comp, push it about 2/3's of a stop. With 300mm you may not be filling the frame, which will lead to underexposed planes.
Dean:)
 
Would people recomend spot metering if they do not have the reach to fill the frame and intend to selectively crop after the fact?

Only reason I ask is that I only have a 70-200F4L on my crop body sensor 1.6 = 320mm so filling the frame is going to be hard for me (And i cant afford a longer lens of the same quality of the F4L hehe)

For instance:-
spitfire.jpg
 
Robin, i know a few people use spot. Also some use partial. I use evaluative myself. It really comes down to the sky / bacground etc, also the colour of the plane. Ev is pretty good, and like in my prev post, can be pushed. Or if the sky aint changing much, just shoot manual.
Dean:)
 
Absolutely gutted..........

My seizures kicked off big time on Saturday morning, and I was unable to go :( I was sooo looking forward to it :(
 
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