Airshows and the 5D mk2

[paul_gillett]

<p>Hi<br>

I currently own a 30D and i`m looking to upgrade as I think theres is now a reasonable jump in technology for the new EOS bodies. I have spent a good amount on buying deccent glass as I hvae been told and found it true that the lens makes 80% of the shot. I have 100-400 L, 70-200 L f4 and 24-105 L<br>

I love taken landscapes or portait, its what i do more than any other photo, thing is I go to airshows aswell and that was the reason for the 100-400, the price is`nt a real problem but just because I can afford the 5D mk2 doesnt mean that its the right camera bodie.<br>

Question is I know the 5D mk will do a superb job on landscape and portraits, will it in your view be a suitable tool for airshows, otherwise it`ll be the 50D that i`ll end up buying. There sems to be quite a split in peoples opinion with regard to the AF on the 5D mk2 with is realy my main concern, its apparant that it is not a sports camera which is fine, but how will it cope with fast jets?</p>

[ian riches]

<p>What do you find wrong / limiting / frustrating with your 30D?</p>

[jamie_robertson2]

<p>The only possible issue with using a 5D2 for airshows is that you'll lose focal length compared to your 30D or the 50D. Your 100-400 acts like a 160-640mm lens on your 30D and the 50D. It will be a natural 100-400 on the 5D2. However, although I haven't done many airshows I would still think 400mm would be more than long enough.</p>

<p>I would have thought the AF on the 5D2 would easily be good enough.</p>

[sarah_fox]

<p>I see you have an emphasis on telephoto glass and are asking about air shows (which require telephoto work). You might find full frame cameras disappointing for this sort of work, as you will be cropping away (wasting) so much of your frames. The 100-400 is a pretty sharp lens in the center and might be better matched to a camera like the 50D. That said, there's nothing like a full frame camera for doing landscape work, portraiture, and artwork. </p>

<p>You might want to consider holding on to your 30D for air shows and buying into a full frame camera as a second camera and a second format to use. On the other hand, I don't see anything in your lens lineup that would suggest you're testing the limits of wide angle photography. It is the wide angle junkies like me who most benefit from full frame cameras.</p>

<p>Regarding the AF and fast jets: I wouldn't worry about it one way or the other. If I were you, I would set the focus to M, set a moderate aperture, focus somewhere between the hyperfocal distance and infinity, and snap away. Otherwise your camera will spend half of its time searching the blue skies for something of detail.</p>

[m._scott_clay1]

<p>I would agree with Sarah. When I purchased my 5d, I kept my 40D for sports, wildlife and long shots. I have a couple of friends who have 30d's that upgraded to the 5d and kept their 30d's for the same reason. The 5d had been a workhorse for portraiture, weddings and landscape photography. Like you, I don't see the need to upgrade to a 5D MK II "just because I can". At some point you just have to say "enough is enough" and what I have is working for me now.</p>

<p>The glass you have will serve you well on a 5D or 5D MK II. Unless the 30D just doesn't do something you need it to do, I wouldn't suggets going to a 50D. A 5D would probably be much more usefull. I doubt I will ever be without a cropped and FF.</p>

<p>Scott</p>

[philip_wilson]

<p>Based on my short experience of the 5D II the AF should not be a problem. The 50D has essentially the same AF (slightly more vertical points) but Canon suggests the 5DII actually tracks better. I take a lot of skiing and ski racing photos and regularly use a 1V as well as the 5DII. The 5DII will track a ski racer doing 80 - 90 km/h and being fairly close (and therfore having a rapid rate of distance change) - say as near as 25 feet. You just use AI servo and have only the center AF point selected. there is one caveat to this which is that I only use F2.8 or faster lenses so I am not sure if the issue is actually with slower lenses or user error. The only area where I have found the AF on the 5DII to be poorer than on the 1V or 1D is when you have to focus very rapidly. My main example is when a skier comes over a jump and you are below it and thus cannot see the skier until they are in the air above you. In these situations the 5DII misses most of the shots as it cannot focus fast enough. Even a 1V or 1D misses many shots in this situation but will get perhaps 50% in focus. While I have read a lot about the poor AF on the 5DII it appears over stated since I have not had any real problems and I shoot in lots of difficult situations - indoor ice hockey in dark arenas is another example. I wonder if the issue is only with slower lenses - especially non USM.<br>

As for airshows I would agree with Sarah - keep the 30D. If you want to buy a new camera I would strongly recommend the 5DII. While the 50D is cheaper I am not sure that the results will be a dramatic improvement over the 30D. the 5DII will deliver much better results than the 30D (or 50D) in most circumstances but for aircraft in flight the advantage will be minimal as you will have to crop more. to get the same impact of the 30D 's 1.6 crop on the 5DII gives an 8MP image - the same as the 30D</p>

[images_in_light_north_west]

<p>With the 5D2 you will be able to crop out a 30D sized image when you need telephoto, so if the other stuff is your main thing get the 5D2, it is way better for lanscape.<br>

Ross</p>

[zml]

<p>I find 420mm (300 + 1.4x TC) "perfect" for FF for the air shows that take place relatively close to the public. Sometimes I miss the zoom but most fly-bys happen so quickly that zooming is next to impossible anyway (of course, lots of people use zooms...) I usually have two bodies on me (1.3 crop camera + 300mm or a FF + 300mm + 1.4x TC and a FF + 70-200mm) for planes in the air and switch to 24-70 or so on a FF body for planes on the ground and people shots. Try different setups (FF, crop) with different lenses to see whaich one works best for you. The speed of AF doesn't really matter for fly-bys because the distance to the planes hovers near infinity so once you lock the focus, AF Servo on any camera, even a Rebel, should do fine provided you use a decent f/stop and are not too shaky tracking.</p>

<p><img src="http://d6d2h4gfvy8t8.cloudfront.net/7298979-md.jpg" alt="" width="678" height="414" /></p>

[rob_john]

<p>Hi Michael Liczbanski, thats a great image you have got there, which air show did you take it at?</p>

[J.W. Wall]

<p>http://www.starfighters.net/F-104_Demo_Team_Home_Page.html</p>

[zml]

<p>My pic is from Andrews AFB in Maryland (Joint Services Open House 2008.) Shot either with 40D + 200 + 1.4x TC or 1D3 + 300mm (don't have my originals with me.) Pretty much uncropped shot. BTW the JSOH at Andrews is one of the friendliest airshows I've been to. </p>

[david_wu6]

<p>I have been to just one airshow and didn't feel my 5d/100-400 was not long enough.</p>

<div></div>

[david_wu6]

<p>Actually the zoom was at 365mm.</p>

[steve santikarn]

<p>if you shoot RAW you'll need a lot more CF cards if you upgrade to 5Dm2, much bigger file size than 30D.</p>

[jeff_bubis]

<p>The only other thing I would mention is the frame rate - the 50D is about 6.5 fps and the 5DMII (if I remember correctly) is in about 3.9 fps... In my experience this generally doesn't make a difference - unless your subject is flying at the speed of sound. :-)</p>

<p> </p>

[hawkman]

<p>Paul,<br />If you are satisfied with 30D for airshow 5DMKII can do exactly the same, the 5DMKII pixel pitch is identical to 20D/30D so if you crop the photo down to 30D FOV you are still left with 8 mpixels, same as your current camera. Actually most people don't know there is a free 20D/30D embedded in a 5DMKII ;) You will loose 5 fps but that is not a big deal for shooting jets at a distance. If you only shoot airshows and nothing else and are willing to pay as much as a 5DII I'd pay a few hundred more and get a clean 1DMKIII far superior in terms of AF and speed.</p>

[samoksner]

<p>You can also get a used 1Ds MKII N for the same price as a new 5D MKII, just a thought :)</p>