What is the best settings for taking Aerial photos

Hi All

I have a Canon EOS and a canon EFS 15-85mm lense

I have had the camera for some years but am still learning so need some advice

I am going up in a light aircraft and plan on taking some pictures of the coast around where i live

 

What would be the best settings for the camera

bear in mind i will be taking lots and lots of photos and may not have time to play with settings to much

You will want the fastest shutter speed you can use, weather permitting. Your enemy here is vibration as well as movement. I've typically used a wide angle lens much more than either a normal or telephoto. If you're using film rather than digital, I'd suggest 28-35mm - going too wide at altitude and you will capture only dots below instead of structures...but if you're just interested in coastline, that might not matter to you. If you're using a digital body you'll want to adjust those numbers by your crop factor. Lots of time the side windows on small planes aren't cleaned before takeoff introducing lss of contrast and distortion, so thoroughly clean the windows, as you'll probably be using these much more than the front windows due to the height of the instrument panels. Also, I suggest using a good UV filter as you'll have stronger UV rays. I've occasionally needed a color correction warming filter as well, as there is much more blue haze once you get up into the air.

A light aircraft with high winds like a Cessna should offer fine views. Be aware that light in the altitude can fool the eye and overexposure is common. So do a couple with a histogram check. Keep you exposure adjustment finger on the dial and be prepared to make small adustments. Otherwise I wil rely on the camera program -to give you decent shots. Do not rest lens against plexi windows naturally. And give your self some stretch room with help from companions or guests who will be understanding. Frankly I think you will do alright without too much worry. Though SCL has some good points... And ask the pilot for his or here advice and if he will bankd and maneuger via phones to accomodate you . It is worth a try since you are footing the bills I assume. And enjoy yourself and not worry about volume of shots per se.

If its a sunny day, a polarizing filter will make the water darker and more interesting, eliminating glare.

The late David King Gleason always stressed a fast shutter speed, so you might see if you can borrow a fast 35mm or 50mm for your Canon. (Helpful photography hint: cultivate friends who own the same camera gear sa you have, so you can loan each other gear!) ;-)

Set the lens focus to infinity & tape it there. If you have something on the ground close enough you need to refocus you're in deep dark trouble!

You do not need great depth of field, everything as (about) the same distance away. Set your F-stop 2~3 down from wide open, its usually at its optical best there.

Leave the EOS on Aperture priority & let the camera deal with shutter speeds.

Pick a film that's somewhere around 200~400 ISO because it will keep your shutter speeds up.

Get a beanbag & take it with you. Light aircraft vibrate a lot so use the beanbag as a damper to reduce transmitting vibration directly to the camera (or you).

Super-Duper A#1 clever trick, do NOT shoot through the canopy! find some kind of opening! Aircraft canopies are the world's worst protective filters!

:D

Hi All

I have a Canon EOS and a canon EFS 15-85mm lense

I have had the camera for some years but am still learning so need some advice

I am going up in a light aircraft and plan on taking some pictures of the coast around where i live

 

What would be the best settings for the camera

bear in mind i will be taking lots and lots of photos and may not have time to play with settings to much

 

 

If the OP is using an EF-S 15 to 85mm lens (EF-S 15-85mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM), then we are discussing a Canon EOS DSLR (Digital) Camera of APS-C Format.

 

***

 

What Camera, specifically?: necessary to know the ISO limits.

 

Setting the ISO will be the first step to ensure that you have a fast enough Shutter Speed.

 

If you choose to use a semi automatic CAMERA MODE mode such as Aperture Priority (and I think that is a reasonably good idea) then you MUST choose an ISO so that the Shutter Speed (selected by the camera) is always going to be relatively fast (let’s say around 1/1000s).

 

Choosing an APERTURE is the next step – and firstly you will want to use the lens at, or smaller than F/5.6, (because it is a Varying Maximum Aperture Lens).

 

I recommend setting F/8 because the lens will be really sharp at that aperture and you also negate some of the tendency for the lens to exhibit Veiling Flare if you stop it down a bit.

 

Next you need to choose the METERING MODE - I suggest you use “EVALUATIVE”.

 

Best to select the lens to have the Image Stabilization “ON”.

 

Best to capture ‘raw’.

 

I suggest that you not rest the camera on anything but to hand hold it: my mate is an experienced Police Photographer and in helicopters with Canon’s IS lenses, his experience is that it is best to hand hold and use a fast shutter speed – the IS and the human body are the ‘shock-absorber’.

 

If you have a lens hood use it. If you use a "protective filters" take it off - both go to reducing the impact of Veiling Flare - but agree IF you have a GOOD Quality UV filter, then, at altitude, it probably will be more assistance than not.

 

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Nuts and bolts:

 

If it is sunny day and you choose ISO 400 then your shutter speed will fluctuate around 1/1600s

 

If it is slightly overcast day and you choose ISO 400 then your shutter speed will fluctuate around 1/800s

 

If it is a cloudy day and you choose ISO 400 then your shutter speed will fluctuate around 1/400s

 

So really, the bottom line is, for a sunny day use ISO 400, if there is any cloud about bump to ISO 800 or even ISO 1600 if necessary. You can make a quick test shot to ensure that your shutter speed is at 1/1000s or faster.

 

***

 

If you choose to use a Polarizing Filter, then it is best to use a CIRCULAR Polarizing Filter, (there are two types "Linear" and "Circular") but, there are a few matters for you to consider if you choose to use a CPL:

 

1. You will need to rotate the front element of the filter to make the best use of the filter - the position of the front element will change depending upon your orientation to the sun. (you mention you don't think that you will have a lot of time to fiddle with settings so consider you will need to turn the filter).

 

2a. if you use the lens wider than about FL = 25mm, then you run the risk of getting “Colour Banding” and this can be quite difficult (neigh impossible) to remove from the image file in Post Production. Colour Banding is most commonly noticeable if the scene has BLUE SKY across the entire image palette, but it can also be noticeable in any scene, for example an expanse of the sea water along the coastline.

 

2b. Colour Banding can also occur at FL longer than 25mm on your APS-C Camera, but it is more common when the lens is used at a wide angle (about 35mm equivalent on a ‘full frame’ camera). Colour Banding is often difficult to notice in the Viewfinder and or when shooting under the pressure of time. I have missed seeing Colour Banding in a shot when I was using a 70mm lens ( FL at about 45mm on your camera).

 

3. The CPL (circular Polarizing Filter) will cost you about 1 Stop of light, so you will need to bump you ISO one more stop than the indicators which I have provided above. Maybe that will not be a good idea, if for example you have an older DSLR which has a upper limit ISO of ISO1600 and it is an overcast day.

 

WW

• Choose your aircraft wisely. ...
  
• A telephoto zoom lens is the way to go. ...
  
• Fast shutter speed is key. ...
  
• Optimal settings for aerial photography. ...
  
• The best camera for aerial photography is one with a very high ISO range.
  

I was fortunate that on my first and only aerial assignment the planning had been done for me. When I arrived at the field I saw that the passenger door of the small high wing aircraft had been removed. This permitted me to swing the camera to compose the view with minimal maneuvering instructions to the pilot. It also enabled me to to work some inches back from the opening to keep the cameras well away from the slipstream. Being well strapped in made it easy to float the camera (elbows loose) to minimize vibrations.

I know that the camera’s shutter controls the amount of time light is allowed to reach the CCD (in simple terms, the CCD is where the digital image pixels are created). Shutter speeds are shown as multiples of one second. The shutter speed setting is a very creative setting for controlling the movement in a picture. With aerial photography, depth of field isn’t an issue, so set your camera on shutter priority. Select between 1/500th to 1/1000th of a second (1/750th of a second freezes most blur with lenses up to 100 mm in length on a full-frame camera). Faster shutter speeds (1/500) tend to freeze subject movement while slower speeds (1/30) allow subject movement to be recorded as a blur in the picture.

In the event your ride DOES have the door removed, don't count on being able to change lenses or cards. Bring a big card (or the biggest roll of film you can) and make sure your battery is charged. Doors removed for a helicopter is a really fun photography gig because there are no doors to get in the way of the picture. It was quite a rush many many years ago. I used a zoom lens too due to the lens change problems.

 

I used a Contax Aria with it's 24-70 Zeiss lens for this and Fuji Velvia film.