What camera are you using?

[Hugh Coleman]

Nikon D80 with a Tamron 70-200 F/2.8 (and sometimes the kit 18-135 when I'm feeling lazy).

This is an older body and lacks the finess of later models cross type AF points. But I cannot justify the cost of a D7000 so I make do.

The lens is a gem. Needs to be used wide open to get the best AF speed, but has fantastic contrast and colour. Mine rarely moves from F/2.8 (maybe down to F/4.6-4.8 but never lower).

Always shoot on Aperture priority as well.

Frequently, I will ask the pilot for a low slow pass, as the AF on the body and the lens do not cope well with speed.

My camera bag also contains a D70 body for emergencies, a Nikkor 60mm Micro F/2.8 G, and a Nikkor 50mm F/1.4 G.

Again the Nikkor 50 F/1.4 is a gem. My wife and I do a bit of Pet Photography on the side in a portable studio settup with constant lighting and I find that this lens is the best for sharpness and speed. I very seldom use flash in these situations.

You can see some of our pet photos on my wifes website.

**LINK**

Cheers,

Hugh

Edited By Hugh Coleman on 26/09/2012 09:12:50

Edited By Hugh Coleman on 26/09/2012 09:13:50

Edited By Chris Bott - Moderator on 26/09/2012 22:34:15

[Hugh Coleman]

Sorry Mods... I cannot seem to get Pic posting right.

Hugh

[Ernie]

Hi Guys

Sometimes, just for fun I use an old 35mm film camera. It really is still very good, but,you just can't beat the rapid fire of a modern digital SLR

I couldn't manage without photoshop, not necessarily for straight lies, but for that wee tweak..Ereasing the washing line, sharpening the contrast etc.

 

A tee shirt logo

 

 

and a wee lie

Edited By Ernie on 26/09/2012 09:31:46

[Robert Parker]

Hi all,

I have been using a Sony A77 SLT since January this year and before that a Sony A350 with lenses from a sigma 10 -20mm up to my Sigma 150 - 500mm. I take static shots og my mew byuilt aircraft in the garden either with the 10 - 20 or either my Carl Zeiss 16 - 80 or my Sony 16 - 50mm sst.

A few of my fleet

I don't have any flying shots yet. I will one day.

I also enjoy full size photography at the Swansea Airshow and below are a couple of shots from the last couple of shows

Sorry I cannot seem to download direct from my PC I do not understand how to do it. Pity i had some nice shots. I'll have to make an album and then get back.

Regards

Robert

[Oldbaldfella]

Canon EOS 600d.

[Dave Bran]

Fuji S602 Zoom, quite old now in digital terms, but from which unaltered pictures have appeared in a number of magazines.

It's all about the LENS, and the amount of non-digital zoom, which some forget in the race for even more megapixels.

I use a Canon IXUS 310 HS for point n shoot.

[Robert Parker]

Hi all,

Here are some of my Full size photos taken with my old sony A350 and 150 -500mm Sigma lens

The last but one is my best shot for a hand held with a 500mm lens

[John Privett]

Until recently I've used an old Casio compact digital, but mostly shot video at model and full-size airshows with a Sony camcorder.

Last month I got a Canon EOS600D with 18-55mm and 55-250mm Canon lenses. I've only used it for holidays pics so far, hopefully I'll put it through its paces at Duxford next month.

Somewhere I still have my previous SLR (35mm) camera - a Canon AE-1 from the early 80s, though not used in the last 10 or 15 years...

[pensioners1938]

Test

[IMG]http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x131/goldingeric/Picture862.jpg[/IMG]

[IMG]http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x131/goldingeric/Picture864.jpg[/IMG]

[Chris Bott - Moderator]

For anyone who's having problems posting photo's, there are some tutorials here

[Modonaut]

Photography amongst a few other things was my profession for over 50 years... You don't need a flashy expensive camera to take good quality images these days with digital. There are many 'consumer' level cameras with moderate zoom facilities that are more than adequate to produce good images. Also you don't really need a huge amount of megapixels- about six is plenty- for the probable intended end useage, although I don't think you can buy a camera with such a 'low' pixel count these days. Unless you are planning to make physical prints you'll only need to use mostly half of your available pixels (assuming the average camera has about 16 megapixels) Another problem with shooting at max res is having your HD getting fuller and fuller.
A good compromise quality wise these days is FourThirds exchangeable lens camera systems- you don't have to lug very bulky SLR stuff around, although I sold all my prime lenses and just stick with a 'kit' zoom, the problem being that it's not a good idea to keep changing lenses as you'll inevitably end up with dust on the sensor.
Ah, yes, I've had about five or six Nikons, but in truth they mostly were left in a cupboard because I couldn't be bothered to cart them about and as they say, the best camera is the camera you can be bothered to carry.

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

Posted by Danny Fenton on 29/06/2012 13:44:25:

I am sure BEB will relish the opportunity to explain, as only he can, th ins and outs of photography. I am looking forward to him doing a Christmas lecture, I will want a front row ticket!

LOL!

I missed that the first time round Danny!

In case the rest of you are in any doubt about just how far Mr Fenton's tongue is placed in his cheek here I'll freely and openly confirm that everything I know about photography would fit on the back of a very small postage stamp - with space left over for the Lord's Prayer - in block capitals!

BEB

[Martyn K]

Olympus OM1 + OM2 plus a number of lenses from 24mm to 200mm - when I am feeling in the need to use proper film (B&W)

Mamiya TLR + 80mm when I am feeling even more ancient but want proper quality from film (B&W)

Konica Minolta D7 + D5 plus lenses from 16mm to 400mm. Included in this are Minolta beercan lenses made by (I think) Zeiss. My favourites are a 75-300mm plus a 50mm Macro used for Wildlife shots. Heavy but lovely optical quality

Olympus ancient digital thingie 3.2MPx in the workshop.

Martyn

[Bearair]

I treated myself to a Nikon V1  at the beginning of the year and I am struggling to get on with it. The focus is lightening quick unless I am trying to take flying shots where is seams to struggle much more than my old Olympus E520. Also having an EVF ,after the picture is taken it remains in the viewfinder just long enough to make panning difficult. Finally the colours are just not as vibrant as the Olympus.

Now I am a great believer in the idea it is probably me not the technology, but I just don't seem to be getting anywhere.

Open to any and all advice.

Roger

Nikon

Olympus

Edited By Bearair on 10/06/2013 20:12:51

[Modonaut]

Posted by Bearair on 10/06/2013 20:11:25:

I treated myself to a Nikon V1 at the beginning of the year and I am struggling to get on with it. The focus is lightening quick unless I am trying to take flying shots where is seams to struggle much more than my old Olympus E520. Also having an EVF ,after the picture is taken it remains in the viewfinder just long enough to make panning difficult. Finally the colours are just not as vibrant as the Olympus.

Now I am a great believer in the idea it is probably me not the technology, but I just don't seem to be getting anywhere.

Open to any and all advice.

Roger

The reason autofocus lense can struggle with shots taken of small objects in the sky is because the lens is hunting for some shape or area of contrast to home in on and generally in the sky there are none. You must have an exposure/focus hold/lock button on the camera. What you need to do is use a reasonably smallish aperture in order to acquire a bit of depth of field and pre focus on the horizon or quite a distant object which will set the focus more or less on infinity and then with the exposure/focus lock held on point the camera at what you want to shoot and shoot!

As for image quality, different makes of camera do have slightly different sensors which will read colour differently. Have you tried changing the film type- usually most didgital cameras will simulate some of the most used old type silver based film emulsions. You could also 'up' the saturation setting on the camera to give more vivid colour. There are also other settings which will effect the output of colour like the adobe setting (supposed to give better skin tones- I think) or the most commonly used sRGB setting which more or less will guarantee good prints from your printing lab.

[Lee Wilson]

Nikon D5100 with Nikkor 70-300 zoom for my model aircraft photos. Nikkor 18-55 and a Sigma 10-24 on order to try playing at wide angle landscapes.

[Hugh Coleman]

I carry two cameras whenever I go to a comp, club day or fly in.

My much loved Nikon D80 with a Tamron 70-200 F2.8 permenantly attached to the front and an old D70 with the D-80's Kit lens (a Nikkor 18-135 F4.8-5.6) on it.

I shoot only on Apperture Priority and use a polariser on the 18-135.

The only quibble I have with either camera is that the Auto focus is not really up to todays standards with what is available in say a D7000 or a D7100.

One day I will justify the outlay and treat myself to a Nikon D7100 and a Nikkor 100-400 F4.8-5.6... but not quite yet.

Some examples of my stuff can be seen here,

**LINK**

Cheers,

Hugh

[Ultymate]

These were taken on my Canon 60D, the whole airframe shots were with a 50mm 1.4 prime lens the cockpit detail shots on my Sigma 150-500 zoom

[Lee Wilson]

Ultymate,

whats your opinion of the Sigma 150-500mm? I have been considering one but see quite a few mixed reviews, are your wildlife shots taken with it as they look superb?

cheers

Lee

[Ultymate]

Posted by Lee Wilson on 17/09/2013 22:34:03:

Ultymate,

whats your opinion of the Sigma 150-500mm? I have been considering one but see quite a few mixed reviews, are your wildlife shots taken with it as they look superb?

cheers

Lee

Lee,

I love the lens, I bought it second hand around a year ago, it's not the best in low light but then again a lens with that much reach that is good in low light takes you into second mortgage territory. I can use it in low light but this will usually give some noise in my images but I can usually sort this in PP. It gives my arms a good workout when used hand held so as much as possible I tend to use either a monopod or tripod and yes most if not all of my wildlife shots are taken with it.

[Ernie]

All this reminds me of the quote " owning a nikon doesn't make you a photographer, it makes you a nikon owner"

ernie

[Lee Wilson]

Posted by Ultymate on 18/09/2013 08:07:13:

Posted by Lee Wilson on 17/09/2013 22:34:03:

Ultymate,

whats your opinion of the Sigma 150-500mm? I have been considering one but see quite a few mixed reviews, are your wildlife shots taken with it as they look superb?

cheers

Lee

Lee,

I love the lens, I bought it second hand around a year ago, it's not the best in low light but then again a lens with that much reach that is good in low light takes you into second mortgage territory. I can use it in low light but this will usually give some noise in my images but I can usually sort this in PP. It gives my arms a good workout when used hand held so as much as possible I tend to use either a monopod or tripod and yes most if not all of my wildlife shots are taken with it.

Thanks Ultymate. I think a bit of internet trawling for the best deals may be the order of the day.

[Matt Jones]

Danny, don't hate me but I'm a Canon guy. I was using a 40D but have just upgraded to a 5D mk3. Still using the Canon 100-400 IS zoom but have added a 1.4 converter as going full frame I've lost some reach. Currently trying to convince myself I don't need their 300 2.8! Most of my recent stuff is low level in Wales

http://www.flickr.com/photos/83424708@N02/sets

[ken anderson.]

now changed from the canon G9 after 5 years faithful service............. to a Fuji X10...

ken Anderson....ne...1..........photographic dept./not...