Simviation Forums

Hi,

Following my spotting-trip I'm wondering about a couple of things the more experienced shooters may answer...

I used ISO 80 in these shots, shuttertime 1/640, because there was a lot of sun. However, the shots don't seem to be particulary sunny. What settings do you guys use? A higher iso or shuttertime-value ( aperature selected automatic)? It didn't help that the pictures seemed brighter at the LCD on my camera, than when you actually see them on screen...



Cheers,

Omag

On a bright day I use ISO 100 or 200. and the F stop around 5.6 where possible and a +1 exposure compensation. But thats my personal camera. Its tough as each camera is unique so you need to play with it till you get it right.

Like Craig, I would use ISO 100 or 200 in these conditions. I set the shutter speed depending on the effect I want (prop blur etc) & leave the rest on automatic. Please remember I have no idea what I'm doing.

Whenever possible I use ISO 100 simply because of the lack of noise, if the day is a little darker than I will push the ISO 200 as you can still get useable images (with minor extra tweaks in PS). However, when taking flying shots, you're best off not going higher than 200 ISO as the noise begins to be a issue from 400 and on. I use my 10d in Aperture Priority. I set this at my lens largest aperture setting to ensure that as much light can reach the camera as possible. However if I want more than just the central subject to look in focus than I will go for a smaller aperture to increase the depth of field. Exposure wise, if it's a really bright day with the sun behind me I go for a minus half underexposure just to deepen the blue sky a little and reduce slight over exposure which the camera can be tricked into doing. If it's a grey day I go a full stop over-exposure mostly, I don't go any more because you use shutter speed the more you over-expose (the opposite when you do under-exposure).

When it comes to shutter speeds for takeoff pics I like to go down to 1/125th as long as I have some background. Idid this for the below shot of an Alpha Jet but I don;t advise you try it until you're familar with the camera as it can be very fustrating as you do get a lot more poor shots than good.


For props in flight I go up to either 1/250th or 1/350th whilst I just set the aperture at it's largest possible for jets flying.

It didn't help that the pictures seemed brither at the LCD on my camera, than when you actually see them on screen...

Don't rely solely on the LCD to make decisions, it can be deceptive, as you've discovered it does make things look brighter and it can hide details that would otherwise change your opinion on a photograph.

Hope some of that made sense and maybe helped

Just call me threadkiller!

We all become silent when spoken to by the master!  ;D

There is an old "rule of thumb" from the 35mm film days, which states that you shoot a shutterspeed equal to or greater than the focal length of the lens you are shooting with when its a tele/zoom......

200mm = shoot at 1/250th of a second
400mm = shoot at 1/500th of a second
          .........etc .......

Therefore when light allows, you will shoot at as small an aperture as this rule allows to maximize your depth of field.........
If you have an "in the viewfinder" readout for aperture and shutterspeed, you can use either priority as you feel comfortable with.......pre-focussing on a preselected spot, will help in getting the shots to be sharp or shoot just under the "focal length/shutterspeed rule" and pan with the subject to give the blurred illusion of speed as is shown in the example by Steve.........
I've been using these basics for the past 30 yrs.......I'm quite happy now, not to have to pay for film and use "drive mode" for most action shots.........

I don't know anything about photography...but that pic by Steven is kick a$$

I don't know about your monitor, Kris, but on mine that photo looks sunny!

I've heared something about a polarising filter to make the blue look more blue... I might look into that!

Lol... Pigeon... you just gave my shot a soft-erotic look... lol

Looking at your photo again I'm wondering where the sun was when it was taken. The position the shot is taken from affects the lighting on the subject & this will obviously change throughout the day. Many vantage points aren't ideal & you have to pick your spot carefully. Bright sunlight can make all the difference to a photo but is more of a hindrance than help in some situations.

I've heared something about a polarising filter to make the blue look more blue... I might look into that!

Be warned though, a polariser means you lose more stops of aperture so your shutter speeds will be slower, using a polariser is only really a good idea for static photography in my opinion.

Is this better? Following Pigeon's example I had a little tweak in IrfanView.



PS. It would be a lot better quality if I had the original to work with.

I've had a quick play with the image and I came up with this. Instead of trying to brighten the image, I went for trying to improve the contrast of the image, which I felt was lacking in the original shot, this makes the aircraft stand out more and also makes the sky look a slightly deeper blue, hope you don't mind Kris...

I don't mind at all! I'm openminded and willing to learn...  ;)