Finally!

[RaptorF22]

I've finally saved up enough to purchase a DSLR, and I'll be ordering a used EOS 40D and EF 70-300mm F/4-5.6 IS USM tomorrow!
It should arrive a day or two before I head off to Andrews AFB for the annual air show there, so I'll be trying it out there, any tips on air show shooting?
Can't wait to post pics!

[c130lover]

you'll be at Andrews? Big tip- bring lots and lots of memory! A couple years back at Andrews I ran out of memory before the Thunderbirds even took off!

[RaptorF22]

you'll be at Andrews? Big tip- bring lots and lots of memory! A couple years back at Andrews I ran out of memory before the Thunderbirds even took off!

I'm getting an 8Gb card, that'll hold about 550 RAWs or 2,300 JPGs.
Is it worth it to shoot JPG to get more shots in this case?

[skoker]

you'll be at Andrews? Big tip- bring lots and lots of memory! A couple years back at Andrews I ran out of memory before the Thunderbirds even took off!

I'm getting an 8Gb card, that'll hold about 550 RAWs or 2,300 JPGs.
Is it worth it to shoot JPG to get more shots in this case?

I only shoot RAW if I know the shooting conditions are going to be bad or I really want to control the photo conditions.  JPG only is the way to go for airshow stuff by far.

[RaptorF22]

you'll be at Andrews? Big tip- bring lots and lots of memory! A couple years back at Andrews I ran out of memory before the Thunderbirds even took off!

I'm getting an 8Gb card, that'll hold about 550 RAWs or 2,300 JPGs.
Is it worth it to shoot JPG to get more shots in this case?

I only shoot RAW if I know the shooting conditions are going to be bad or I really want to control the photo conditions.

[jrom]

I'm going to have to disagree with skoker here.

[gtirob01]

A few weeks ago when I went to see the Blue Angels practice, I shot pretty much all in raw. Only time it was not in raw was when I shot in bursts to catch opposing solo crosses and such. I found that I had better shots shooting raw. And I do have a 40d... used a 75-300 non is lens. I was happy with the results.

[RaptorF22]

A few weeks ago when I went to see the Blue Angels practice, I shot pretty much all in raw. Only time it was not in raw was when I shot in bursts to catch opposing solo crosses and such. I found that I had better shots shooting raw. And I do have a 40d... used a 75-300 non is lens. I was happy with the results.

Do you find the max burst of 17 frames restrictive?
I would like to shoot in raw, but I really do not have the budget to buy more cf cards at the moment, and I don't think 550 pictures will be enough.

[jrom]

Also, just putting it out there, you can always take in sRAW if you are concerned about space. I'd rather take mRAW or sRAW any day than JPEG.

I also own a 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM. I love it,and it is a good lens BUT it is not super sharp (It is still better than the 75-300, though). This means two things:

[gtirob01]

A few weeks ago when I went to see the Blue Angels practice, I shot pretty much all in raw. Only time it was not in raw was when I shot in bursts to catch opposing solo crosses and such. I found that I had better shots shooting raw. And I do have a 40d... used a 75-300 non is lens. I was happy with the results.

Do you find the max burst of 17 frames restrictive?
I would like to shoot in raw, but I really do not have the budget to buy more cf cards at the moment, and I don't think 550 pictures will be enough.

I did not find it restrictive as I only used the bursts close to the aircraft crossing. Id say if you are gonna shoot static a/c... use jpeg, its easier to control the camera and set up the shot, and saves precious card space. I have an 8gig card and I found it to be enough for me.

[RaptorF22]

I had not considered sRAW, I'll definitely consider that.
I'm not going to be shooting static A/C much at all with the 40D, I only have the 70-300 at the moment, and I think that'll be too restrictive for close up stuff.
I'll stop down to f/8, I just hope it's not too overcast so I can get good shutter speeds at low ISO. BTW, how is the 40D's noise performance? What should I try to keep it under?

[jrom]

Staying at or below ISO 400 is usually good, as a general rule of thunb. Since I don't have a 40D, I don't know about it's noise preformance.

and I think that'll be too restrictive for close up stuff.

Or so you think..... You'd be suprised at what you can do with a tele lens.

Now that I've had a liittle time to think about what I said in my last post, I would add this:

RAW will give you all 10MP to crop down with (very useful in shots of planes in the air farther away), while sRAW and it's 2.4MP doesn't give that much to crop with. HOWEVER, because of various factors (heat distortion over long distances, sharpness of the lens, etc.) the 10MP image has a good chance of being so soft when cropped that a 2.4MP image would give the same amount of detail when cropped the same amount. If that makes sense.....

Bottom line, just experiment with your camera before you get there, it always helps.

[machineman9]

Yeah I usually do RAW for airshows. In fact, RAW for anything. It gives a better dynamic range when editing, but it gives you a bit more play in the camera settings. Your camera and lens are clearly not the top of the line, so shooting in RAW gives you that little bit extra.

For example, I usually underexpose on my camera at airshows so that I can use a faster shutter speed (weather dependent) and I can bring back that lost exposure in editing afterwards. It also lets you do weird things with the colours 



But yeah, bring plenty of memory. I have 24GB worth of cards... At Cosford the other year I used up about 1900 of the 2100 available shots in RAW. So long as the card is fast enough, the image buffer won't be a problem.

[Hagar]

Interesting comments. In the end it all comes down to what you want to use the photos for. I've been taking photos at all types of air events for several years now. I take literally 1,000s of photos throughout the display season.* (I took over 800 at a fly-in at Popham on Sunday.) Everyone tells me how much better RAW is. After trying it a few times I decided I can't be bothered messing around with all that post-processing. For one thing I just haven't got the time.

It's better to get the camera settings right. IMHO This takes a bit of experimenting & practice, practice, practice. My favourite camera for aerial photos is my trusty Canon 40D with either a 70 - 300 or 120 - 400 mm lens depending on the venue. I find it very easy to use & change settings on the fly.

[expat]

Interesting comments. Everyone tells me how much better RAW is. After trying it a few times I decided I can't be bothered messing around with all that post-processing. For one thing I just haven't got the time.

About sums up RAW for me. I prefer to just take the shot. There are enough adjustments on my camera (Nikon d7000) to keep me busy without hours image manipulation out side of normal contrast and brightness if required.

Matt