First airshow with my SLR

[AMDDDA]

And I'm wondering a few things:


Close up or far away?

250MM IS lens or 300mm normal lens

Shutter priority or Aperture priority




http://www.bluebonnetairshow.com/Airshow1/Welcome.html


The airport ICAO is KBMQ... I'm really looking forward to the MiG and the A-10 (obviously)... just want to make sure I'm shootin' 'em right!

[BigTruck]

I did my most recent airshow (this past weekend) with a 200mm lense that would zoom back to 18mm for a wide angle to catch the surroundings...

I would say get a big zoom with a wide range in case you need to zoom out.  Big zoom is good for catching vapor and burners and heat waves and such, and then shoot wide angle for the big maneuvers involving several aircraft.  

[AMDDDA]

[quote]I did my most recent airshow (this past weekend) with a 200mm lense that would zoom back to 18mm for a wide angle to catch the surroundings...

I would say get a big zoom with a wide range in case you need to zoom out.

[a1]

I have an 18-200 IS lens and it is my best all around lens. I always shoot in Program or Aperture priority.

[BigTruck]

yes my lense is IS as well, I figure better safe than sorry, especially if you are shooting freehand with no tripod

[BAW0343]

I have a 300mm with no IS and I do just fine at airshows.

The only problem is the prop planes since you need a slower shutter speed. But for the jets you should be above 1/300 shutter speed anyway so IS really isn't necessary.

I'd rather have the extra 50mm personally.  8-)

[Omag 2.0]

Ok, the mm are important depending on the place.

I sometimes think my 70-300 IS lacks mm on airshows, but it's great to shoot with.

The IS or non IS question isn't easy either. For jets and fast planes you need fast shuttertimes ( 1/500 and faster). Propellor planes ask shutterimes of 1/200 or slower, to get movement in the propellor. In that case IS can help.

It's also valuable for panning shots and if the light fades.

But the biggest plus remains the fact that at the tele end, it really stabilises the image in the occular, making making a composition easier.

If you don't have a wide angle side on the tele, don't forget a different wide angle lens for the planes on the gound. You'll need it!  ;)

Shuttertime priority on airshows, allways...  ;)

[SteveH]

Don't become too fussed about using a lens with IS. I manage perfectly fine using my 400 without it. Sure it's a nice extra but getting shots right down to 1/250th is perfectly doable without it as long as you pan properly. However, if you're unsure or have never photograhed aircraft before, then I suggest using your IS option as it may help you if you make any small mistakes whilst at work.

For flying shots, I prefer to be close to the subject, you'll never see me using anything other than the 400 for flying stuff. You'll need something smaller for any statics though, of course.

For fast jets it's Aperture Priority opened to the widest aperture available, for props or any other low shutter speed work it's Shutter Priority.

[Taubin]

Looks like I'll be buying a new lens before I go to my first airshow this summer  ;D

All I have are a single 50mm Prime, a 18-55 non IS, and a 55-200 non IS... I'll look for a 18-200 or 18-300 with IS  ;)

[Mictheslik]

[quote]Looks like I'll be buying a new lens before I go to my first airshow this summer

[Taubin]

That makes sense, I'll start to hunt down a 70-300
Thanks for the advice

[AMDDDA]

One last question:


Can I use my glasses lens cleaner on my SLR lenses? My camera has a built in sensor cleaning function, so I won't need to clean it... just the lenses...

[skoker]

One last question:


Can I use my glasses lens cleaner on my SLR lenses? My camera has a built in sensor cleaning function, so I won't need to clean it... just the lenses...

I use windex on my camera so glasses cleaner should be fine!

[BigTruck]

One last question:


Can I use my glasses lens cleaner on my SLR lenses? My camera has a built in sensor cleaning function, so I won't need to clean it... just the lenses...

The only thing that touches my lense is my micro-fiber cloth, starting at the center of the lense and spiraling outward, extremely gently.