Air show settings?

<p>What are the best settings for taking pictures of planes at a air show when they are flying<br>

I have 2 cameras<br>

1. D90 which i have had for years<br>

2. D3200 i just bought for a second camera. it was on sale lol<br>

Lens<br>

1. 18-105MM VR<br>

2. 55-300MM VR<br>

3. 55-200MM Non VR that i got with the D3200<br>

4. 18-55MM non VR that came with the D3200</p>

<p>i know my best bet would be to use the 55-300MM VR. But my question would be which camera to use. And what settings?</p>

<p>For airshows the more optical "reach" you have the better so the 55-300mm would be best. A shutter speed of at least 1/1000, preferably 1/2000 or even 1/4000 to catch action. Some type of support like a monopod is also recommended.</p>

The shutter speed will depend on what type of plane. For jets, 1/1000 to 1/2000 second. Sometimes it is undesirable to

freeze the action of propellers as it looks weird to have a plane in the sky with the propellers "not moving." You may want

to use a slightly slower shutter speed for propellers to show some motion.

 

If it is crowded and the planes are right above you, hang holding maybe most convenient. You are using high speed so

that camera shake is not a concern, and your lenses are not that heavy.

<p>As a general rule a more recent DSLR will be a definite improvement over anything much older, in almost every aspect - resolution, ISO speed/noise, AF and features. However, if you're not familiar with the D3200 since you haven't had it very long, then your old reliable D90 might get you better shots. Simply because you'll be able to use it more fluently.</p>

<p>WRT lenses: The VR feature may not be that useful if you're panning with the aircraft motion - I don't think there's a panning VR setting on your lenses and add in the fact that if you don't pan you'll need to use a high shutter speed that makes VR redundant anyway. I'd take along the 18-105 lens as well as something longer. You'll need a wider lens for pictures of aircraft on the ground and maybe any low-level aerobatics or display teams. The old 18-55mm isn't a brilliant lens by all accounts, so I'd definitely leave that one at home.</p>

<p>On further thought, the best plan might be to use the D90 fitted with the 55-300 for action shots, and the D3200 with 18-105mm lens for static pictures. It'll get you used to the "feel" of the D3200 without jeopardising any picture-taking opportunities. You'll probably find that the D3200 quickly becomes your main camera with the D90 as a backup second body.</p>

<p>The D3200 is not bad if you can pan, and it's pretty easy to hold and manipulate. I get the best results for birds in flight with AF on C, "dynamic area" focusing. If the plane is fairly small in the overall shot, I'd treat it like a bird in flight, and spot metering can help prevent silhouetting. Because the D3200 is always in focus priority, it can be challenging to keep a moving object in focus, especially if the AF has lost it. I've taken to using back button focus, which switches to release priority as soon as you let go of the button.</p>

<p>The 55-300 lens works pretty well in daylight, but is often sharper in the vicinity of 200, enough so that you may do better to keep it there and crop later. It will focus a bit faster when it's a little wider too. At around F8 in the middle range, it's very sharp. </p>

<p>I don't know how it compares with the D90, but there is no lock on the rear control of the D3200, and I find it very easy to move the focus point accidentally. Check it often for centering. The [OK] button recenters it. </p>

<p>If you photograph planes against anything other than blue sky, it's best to set the exposure manually. Otherwise planes against a bright sky will be too dark to see any details. It can also take a long time to auto focus, unless the plane is filling the viewfinder. Manual focua is not always practical, because it's hard to line up a long lens (200 mm or more) on such a small part of the sky. I've had the best luck zooming out somewhat to locate the plane, then zooming in for the shot, using autofocus. Perhaps if I did this more than once a year, my aim might improve.</p>

<p>Hi David,<br>

I picked up your thread off the front page in "Todays Most Active" section.<br>

I'm a Canon guy so I'm afraid I can't be of much help on which Nikon gear (body) to use. When I had two bodies available I would keep my 100-400 Telephoto mounted to one body for most of the "in flight" type shots and something like my 17-50 on the other body for ground type static shots.</p>

<p>I find that I prefer something in the background, . . . if you're lucky hopefully you will have a few "puffy clouds" around the day of the show but, I find that's a rare bit of luck in my experiences and for me, multiple shots of an Airplane against only the blue sky becomes boring pretty fast. So, I find myself doing a considerable amount of frames panning.</p>

<p>My 100-400 has a setting in the Image Stabilization specifically for Panning which I find useful. And I seem to have the best "Prop blur" with Shutter Speeds between 1/160th to 1/250th as you can see in the attached shots.</p>

<p>Most of stuff has Shooting information or EXIF data if it downloads properly to PN.<br>

I have a an "Aviation" folder as part of my Gallery here on PN with a few of my photographs that may or may not provide you with some help.</p>

<p>Wishing you a Great Day & Experience at the Air Show!<br>

Regards,<br>

Jim j.</p>

<p> </p><div></div>

<p>And, another on the ground with the engine running during a Taxi from the Runway.</p><div></div>

<p>This is with the 55-300 on a D7100. I had more keepers with VR on. Shutter speed was 1/250</p>

<div></div>

Jim and Al, thanks for the examples. 1/250 sec seems to be a good starting point to experiment with propellers. Hopefully

that'll give David the OP some ideas.

<p>This was shot with my old D100 at about 1/500 at f/11 or so. If memory serves I shot it with my favorite zoom, and 85-250/4 that dates back to the 70's at least. I agree with using manual settings in this situation, the lighting throws the metering off. At this shutter speed VR isn't needed and with a little practice you can manually focus as well.</p><div></div>

<p>Ideal would be Nikon D7100 plus 80-400mm AFS. Realistic might be D7100 plus 70-300mm. From what you have I'd say D90 plus 55-300mm.</p>

<p>Kent in SD</p>

<p>Shutter speed:</p>

<ul>

<li>1/250-1/320 for slow-turning prop planes (ex. warbirds)</li>

<li>1/500 for fast-turning props (small aerobatic planes)</li>

<li>As fast as you can get for jets</li>

</ul>

<p>I usually bump the ISO up 2X for jets to get a bit faster shutter speed. I figure I have a chance to reduce the noise, but "motion-blur is forever".<br>

I usually chimp a few frames after every pass to make sure the shutter-speed looks good.<br>

Slower shutter-speeds can make the prop more dramatic. "Full disk" is a goal for many aviation photographers. Watch out that you don't try that on a gray day or you can blur the prop so it disappears (see photos below).</p>

<p>300mm will probably be a bit short for most single-ship acts, so I'd go with the higher resolution D3200 to make cropping a bit less painful.</p>

<p>Shoot bursts of shots with servo-focus.<br>

I always hand-hold (even my 500mm f/4).<br />Some of my colleagues use a tripod or monopod, but they are in the minority.</p>

<p>Here is a pair of photos showing "full disk" and "almost gone" prop-blur:<br>

<img src="http://moving-target-photos.com/misc/FullDisk.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="429" /><br>

<img src="http://moving-target-photos.com/misc/LessBlur.jpg" alt="" width="700" height="417" /></p>

<p>Blue Angel solo #5. D700, 600mm f4 ED-IF AIS and TC-300 with a Movo gimbal head. 1/2000 sec (I think)</p>

<div></div>

<p>Was hoping we'd hear something back from Mr. Wilson as to how his Air Show experience turned out but, . . . guess that's not to be. Nor, is there anything in his gallery here on PN.</p>

<p>Geoff, . . . I really like that first shot of the SX300's with the "full" rotation blur which is something I rarely get but, strive for!<br>

And, Scott's Blue Angel shot is one that I've admired many times in the past.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>with the "full" rotation blur which is something I rarely get but, strive for</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I think it's rather hard to get with ground-to-air shooting - and a lot "easier" with air-to-air where the speed of the plane being photographed is compensated for by the speed of the plane the photographer is on (haven't had a chance to try that out - and quite likely would have some issues shooting from a plane ;-)).<br /> <br />Getting full circle here took 1/25s - granted, the plane isn't flying and the prop not turning at max RPM<br /> <a title="Mustang P-51D "Bunny" Tuskegee Airmen" href=" data-flickr-embed="true"><img src="https://farm1.staticflickr.com/740/20630700969_b1e03bfb69_z.jpg" alt="Mustang P-51D "Bunny" Tuskegee Airmen" width="640" height="512" /></a><br /> 1/100 for a plane in flight doesn't quite "cut it" (1/60 might have done it - but the even with VR, it's not that easy to handhold at these shutter speeds with a 400mm focal length (on a DX sensor to boot))<br /> <a title="North American TP-51C Mustang “Betty Jane”" href=" data-flickr-embed="true"><img src="https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7675/17152173629_db04c8f267_z.jpg" alt="North American TP-51C Mustang “Betty Jane”" width="640" height="427" /></a></p>

<p>Dieter,<br>

<em>"1/100 for a plane in flight doesn't quite "cut it" (1/60 might have done it - but the even with VR, it's not that easy to handhold at these shutter speeds with a 400mm focal length (on a DX sensor to boot))"</em></p>

<p>Correct you are!</p>

<p>Wonderful shots by the way, . . . I suppose alot depends on the type of aircraft and the speeds of the prop itself. And, . . . my abilities of which due to age have deterioated considerably.<br>

I too am usually shooting at 400mm and simply just can't "hold" steady enough for the very slow shutter speeds I would need to obtain the "full circle."</p>

<p>Cheers always,<br>

Jim j.</p>