Settings when photoing fast jets

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brewers_fan

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Hi Everyone,

Just wondering what settings people tend to use when photoing fast jets at airshows - I usually use 1/640 and ISO 200 on a Nikon D40x but am thinking using a faster shutter would give sharper shots the problem is my camera always seems to end up giving out dull photos even with a lot of exposure compensation added in and taking the shutter higher would only make that problem worse.

I tend to need to play around a lot with the raw files to get the colors looking nice and bright but something must be going wrong in the first place for so many of them to end up needing lots of editing or am I missing something obvious here.

Any thoughts anyone ?
 
It's not what I shoot but I think many things would still apply.

What aperture do you set? If your lens is wide open and you can't get the shutter speed you need then you'll have to up the ISO.
Do you pan the flight or shoot stationary?
Are you using focus tracking?
 
brewers_fan said:
Hi Everyone,

Just wondering what settings people tend to use when photoing fast jets at airshows - I usually use 1/640 and ISO 200 on a Nikon D40x but am thinking using a faster shutter would give sharper shots the problem is my camera always seems to end up giving out dull photos even with a lot of exposure compensation added in and taking the shutter higher would only make that problem worse.

I tend to need to play around a lot with the raw files to get the colors looking nice and bright but something must be going wrong in the first place for so many of them to end up needing lots of editing or am I missing something obvious here.

Any thoughts anyone ?
Click to expand...
The only way a faster shutter will give sharper photos is if the jet is blurred due to movement. I don't know of any reason why you should be using exposure compensation.
It sounds to me you are using an automatic exposure mode in your camera that is taking the meter reading from the sky therefore underexposing for the jet. You need to use manual exposure mode and expose for the jet or a stop less so you don't lose all detail in the sky then if needed shop it a bit afterwards to bring any lost detail in the shot back.
 
Might help if you put an example on here with the exif data.

Kestrals right, knock the exp comp on the head. There's nothing wrong with using modern meters, thats what I do, without any problems at all, and hardly ever with exp comp.
ISO 200? Erm, why????.....I have almost never used anything except for 100. Even if normal airshow weather, cold wet and overcast, and not had any problems. Yes, the shutter speeds are lower than yours, but a bit of practice (try birds in the winter), and the slower shutter speeds issue fades.
 
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I use a Sigma 150-500 for my aircraft shots, I use ISO 100, speed 125 for prop planes, iso 100 speed 1000 for moving jets, both on shutter priority. I am not saying these are good settings to use, but they worked for me. If you would like to see some of the planes taken with these settings there are some on my website and on Flickr.

Links shown below.
 
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Thanks for the replys, reason for using ISO 200 is its the lowest setting on the D40x. I have been using exposer compensation as even on a day with a bright blue sky I have to play around with the photos to get the colors looking how I want them. Top shot is the original and the bottom one has been edited to get it how I want it looking.




 
brewers_fan said:
Hi Everyone,

Just wondering what settings people tend to use when photoing fast jets at airshows - I usually use 1/640 and ISO 200 on a Nikon D40x but am thinking using a faster shutter would give sharper shots the problem is my camera always seems to end up giving out dull photos even with a lot of exposure compensation added in and taking the shutter higher would only make that problem worse.

I tend to need to play around a lot with the raw files to get the colors looking nice and bright but something must be going wrong in the first place for so many of them to end up needing lots of editing or am I missing something obvious here.

Any thoughts anyone ?
Click to expand...


Why are you using exposure compensation? The only reason I can think is that the jet is against a really featureless, bright, cloudy sky, then yes, the meter may want to under expose the plane... but if against a blue sky, there should be no need at all.

Taking the shutter speed higher should not make the exposure duller if you are also adjusting your aperture to keep the EV value the same. Are you using shutter priority? If so... it shouldn't make any difference to the exposure. If on manual... you have to adjust the aperture as well as shutter speed... you can't adjust one without the other. I see no reason why a speed of 1/500th or so should be causing you a problem. On a bright day though, getting 1/1000th or so shouldn't be a problem, and it helps negate any camera shake with long lenses. Jets are easier, as you need slower speeds with piston aircraft as the last thing you want is to freeze the prop... it looks awful.
 
It must be said, that's a very nice shot even before processing. It's plenty sharp, you don't need a faster shutter speed.

It looks to me like you're just trying to boost contrast and colour a bit, which IMO you've overdone a little. Can you walk us through what you did in editing? I suspect you're overcomplicating something.

One last thing, base ISO on the D40x is 100. On the D40 (no x) it's 200. Which one are you using?

Once again, very nice shot. I'd be proud of that.

(Just noticed the post date - sorry for the minor thread necromancy!)
 
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