What camera are you using?

[David Ashby - Moderator]

Posted by Danny Fenton on 29/06/2012 16:03:49:

Oooopps sorry about that My Nikon D-90 and 200mm Sigma lens came to just under £2,000 I wanted the 400mm but that would have probably been over £2k just for the lens.

Martyn is quite right though it isn't all about the equipment, it is also about knowing the limits of what you have. If there grey clouds my camera stays in the bag.

IMO, A shutter speed of around 1/1000 will give a nice prop arc for a model running 4 - 6k rpm, 1/320 - 1/400 for a full size prop on something like a Hurricane or Spit.

So try setting your camera to Shutter priority and select 1/1000 and go shoot some models. see what you think?

Then we can play with exposure and as Martyn says spot or mutlipoint metering. Not wishing to pick on anybody but the shot of the Dakota is metered for the sky and not the underside of the Dak.

I don't want to come across as knowing much about this because I don't, I am just waiting for somebody more knowedgable to wade in.....

 

 

I'll be honest, when shooting for the mag (which is practically all the time) for flying shots I just leave the camera on the sport setting and concentrate on framing and making sure the autofocus system 'grabs' the model. Sometimes single-shot auto seems to work best too. Expect to discard 20 shots for every one you keep. How did we manage before digital eh?

Any D SLR body is fine these days, they're all good but I do think having a good lens is key. Buy the very best you can afford.

 

Edited By David Ashby - RCME on 29/06/2012 16:38:46

[kc]

"How did we manage before digital eh? "

Well that's when photography was a skill and photographers made every shot count!

[David Ashby - Moderator]

It was a rhetorical question really kc. You're perfectly correct of course although you could still get lucky too now and then.

Let's stay on topic though here. Start a new thread if you want to discuss the merits of digital v film.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited By David Ashby - RCME on 29/06/2012 16:54:29

[Lindsay Todd]

Canon 60D with Canon 100-400 USM IS L series lens for in flight although i also have a couple of Tameron lenses which are pretty good. Shoot mainly on shutter priority and almost always on sport mode 5frames/sec which helps. I look generally to frame the model well and try and get some horizon in shot if possible as I think it makes for a stronger image. Although I also like high contrast close ups if the subject is well lit.

[Ian Jones]

Nothing too exciting for me:

• Olympus E420 DSLR
• Zuiko 17.5-45
• Zuiko 40-150
• Zuiko 70-300

The E420 is a 4/3 system so for 35mm equivalent lens double the above numbers. I find the smaller lenses are very good but the 70-300 needs good light otherwise the contrast seems rather flat.

For general photography I tend to use aperture priority as I find that gives me the control of depth of field that I like but for flying shots I often use shutter priority to catch fast moving aircraft and minimise camera shake. I try to make use of other features offered by the camera too and just lately have been experimenting with slow and 2nd curtain flash - useful for close-ups as highlights show up better.

I nearly always use the lowest ISO conditions will low unless I actually want the grain effect.

All lenses have skylight filters but these days I don't seem to get around to using other filters even though I have them - must amend my ways of thinking about that.

I also have a very old twin head Miranda (Dixons) flash gun which is surprisingly good.

Generally speaking I try to frame the subject as I would like the final image to be but if that is not possible I have the cropped version in mind when I take the photo. For general use these are 3648x2736 jpg's but I also use RAW. For internet use I either reduce or crop down 1024x768.

For retouching I still use Micrografx 8 a lot, old but so good. Having said that where needed I use a range of other graphics applications including Adobe Elements.

Many of my older photos were taken with a bridge camera - Fuji Finepix S602 which for what it was gave some quite decent results.

I could go on but that's enough from me I think

[Tim Hooper]

The ubiquitous Canon 350D is my weapon of choice allied to;

Canon 28-105 USM for 90% of my static shots.

Sigma 10-20 for the wide angle nonsense.

Tamron 90mm f2.8 prime for the macro work.

Sigma 120-400 is the newest edition for the inflight piccies. Still getting to grips with this one, but tend to use aperture-priority at f8 to allow for a bit of prop whirl.

 

Back at base I have a couple of used studio lights and a white back drop for the static shots. f22 for all shots to give maximum depth of field.

I shoot solely at ISO400 in hi-res jpeg mode. I really don't enjoy the post-shoot processing on the PC, so using RAW is something I want to avoid at all costs!

 

tim

Edited By Tim Hooper on 29/06/2012 21:55:03

[Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator]

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

Chrisie thats exactly what this thread should be about, 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!

Which Christmas is that then Danny - cos if you're waiting for me to explain anything about cameras believe me you'll wait an awful long time mate! What I know about photography would fit on the back of postage stamp in banner headlines and there'd still be room for the Lord's Prayer

I'm still trying to get over the cost of some of this kit you are all talking about - I mean, I could buy the biggest model and an absolutely top draw radio for that - and still have enough money left over to buy fuel for a year! Never again will feel guilty about what I spend on the hobby - and if the domestic authorities make any comments I'll just threaten Mrs BEB with taking up photography!

BEB

[kc]

[kc]

In answer to the cost of camera gear and the quality I submit this photo taken with a 3 megapixel compact ( Canon A65 ) If you can see a significant difference in quality, compared to previous photos here,then maybe far more megapixels and better lenses are needed. On the other hand if you cannot determine much difference then you don't!

Bear in mind the way the photo will be viewed, if its for magazine use then probably the sharpest image is needed to offset losses in the printing process. If it's just to be viewed on a computer or TV then maybe a modest compact or bridge camera will suffice.

This photo taken today shows Dave Stephens in his Vans RV8 taking off with smoke after dropping in to Brentwood MFC's 40th birthday celebrations.

[fly boy3]

Nice one kc, I was feeling quite inadequate with my birthday present of a Cannon Power shot A 580, 8 mega pixels camera. Although I am very pleased with the results so far. Cheers

[Ultymate]

The thing is yes to a degree you can get good pictures from bridge cameras and even some mobile phones these days but basically it's horses for courses and if you want to produce large printable images that you can heavily crop into without losing quality then you're going to have to spend some serious cash. to illustrate what I mean here's a couple of shots, ones the original just sized down for the internet whereas the other is an aggressive crop from the original which stll retains good quality and the original would have easily printed out at A3 or above. This was taken on a Canon 550D with a 70-200 F4 L lens.

Sorry I still can't get the hang of posting images on this forum correctly

Edited By Ultymate on 30/06/2012 22:45:22

[Ton van Munsteren]

Hi , Iam using a Canon 550D with a Tamron AF70-300 1:4-5.6 Lens for flying and a Canon 35-70 lens for static.

The static pics are great but when it comes to flying the Tamron 70-300 set at 300mm is not really sharp, the pic's look nice but Iam kinda missing the sharpness I was hoping for.

I use the "auto" or "sport" setting but on both the pickies are most of the time not as sharp as I would like them to be.

Here are two pic's, the one against the sky is not sharp but shows a auto setting of ISO-100 the other pic against the shrubbery is much sharper and shows an auto setting ISO-800.

Can anyone tell if the lens is the problem here and do I need to go from auto and set for manual ISO-800 to have that sharp pic in the sky as well .

Thanks for you help ,

Ton

[kc]

Could it be camera shake ( which is accentuated at 300mm more than 70mm etc) which causes the problem? Try using a tripod or solid support on a test subject like a building to test for lens problems.

Or try a higher shutter speed which will mean using a larger aperture (which tests the lens more) Usually lenses are better at the smaller apertures but sometimes they become worse. Zoom lenses are a compromise and one end of the range may be much better than the other.

[Ton van Munsteren]

Camera shake could be, but the camera is hold firmly against the fase and was hoping that this will do the job.

Will try a higher shutter speed, what would you suggest.

Arperture on the lens tell's F4-5.6, would that mean that with the pics made on "auto" which gives the setting F8 the light is to low.

I gess it could be the lighting because the flashlight pops out every now and then.

Designing and building a model is so much easier than making a good pic.

Ton

[Danny Fenton]

Hi Ton, photography is something like lathe ownership, its only the thin end of a big spend.

shutter speed of around 1/1000 seems to be good for sharpness and good prop arc. If you havent a really expensive "fast" lens then there is no substitute for bright sunlight. David and Graham are always waiting on the weather

The higher the aperture the larger the depth of field, and the sharper the shot. I do ocassionaly use a monopod for a bit of extra stability. Normally elbows against your sides, legs a couple of feet apart is enough.

Keep practicing

Cheers

Danny

[Josip Vrandecic -Mes]

Sony DSC-40 6.0 Mega pixels......enough for me.......

Rgds

Jo

[David Ashby - Moderator]

Ton,

Just pop it on the sport setting that'll give you all the shutter speed you need (and rapid shot) and concentrate on filling the frame.

You need to get in closer to give the camera/lens more of a chance and, just as important' you need to have a pilot who is 'flying for the camera' - that means as slow as he can and in in an arc type trajectory around you - if he's flashing past at high speed then you're making life a lot more difficult for yourself.

Models coming towards you at high speed leave a smaller image for the autofocus system to 'grab'.   

Aim for this sort of a 'frame filler' then you won't have to think about cropping (where there's always a risk of quality loss) and your camera/lens will repay your efforts.

Practice, practice and train your pilot, it's very much a team effort

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited By David Ashby - RCME on 02/07/2012 07:03:03

[Oldbaldfella]

Canon EOS 450.

But grey, dull sky looks the same through any camera............

[Ton van Munsteren]

Danny,

Thanks form the advise.

David,

Also thanks for the advise but it makes no difference in "auto" or "sport"

setting, that is why its so strange that the pics or not bad but just not 100% sharp.

We are doing a little arc but have trees behind so that makes it difficult.

The last weeks was also very windy and turbulent so that wasn't also in our advantage next time better and lots of practising.

Ton

[Ultymate]

Had a good club night at the Rhyl field on Thursday as the weather and field conditions relented at last, here's a couple of shots. Ones a Bird of Time getting away on the bungie and the others a heli going through the tortured metal routine of 3D

[Ton van Munsteren]

Kinda sorted the problem I have with my camera using the lens at 300mm zoom.

On 300mm the camera is to slow so made the setting for the zoom at 200mm and thats much better (faster sharpen), here some pics taken last sunday of my new Mustang P51 with a wingspan of about 1100mm.

I even managed to shoot a complete loop not this close of course but very happy with the result.

Ton

[Danny Fenton]

Those shots look great Ton. I am really looking forward to seeing these little warbirds, should be great fun.

Cheers

Danny

[Ian Jones]

Nice to see a P51 with British markings, after all it was originally specified, ordered and bought for the RAF.

[Ton van Munsteren]

Danny,

With this Mustang flying and now working on the drawing and text lines, the Microwarbirds are next in line to finish. Can't wait to fly the Micro Mustang because Iam enjoying the FW190 very much and think that I have made already about an 30 flight.

Ton

[Paul Marsh]

I've got two main cameras. A Fujifilm S1730 12Mp compact camera. Always had Fuji, as they seem to give good picture quality and seem to last.

Still have a 60% functioning Fuji A304 3.2 Mp and S2200 2.2 Mp cameras, which get used from time-to-time. Both battery compartments have broke, and lose their settings when the batteries are removed.

Got a Canon A350 SLR with 4 AX lenses, tripod, flash unit and extra batteries, but hardly ever use it, as not really satisfied with it's results - mainly not knowing how to get the best from it.

With the above, got a 18-22mm lens, 200mm, 75mm and the standard 18-35, enough to cover most ranges. Mainly got this to caputure moving a/c, as the compacts are quite useless - taking a second to lock and shoot, which is too late.