Advice on camera settings for shooting planes (Canon DSLR)

Hi all,

Long time lurker, first time poster.

Now that it's getting warmer, I'm thinking about doing my first spotting trips to LGA and/or JFK. (I live in Brooklyn with no car, so LGA seems easier.)

But curious what the best camera settings are for good exposures, etc. I'm using a new Canon Rebel T2i and a serviceable Tamron 18-270mm lens. (I know, I know. I'll get better glass if I actually do this often enough to justify it.)

Tried taking some shots at Narita last week using a variety of settings but mostly wasn't too thrilled. Either the planes came out washed-out, or the background was too dark. Or other problems. (Got to see a cool ANA panda 767 but it looks like I bleached it!)

So, figured I'd ask you guys.

Do you generally shoot manual? Aperture priority? What metering mode? Any good F stops, framerates, etc. to keep in mind? Any other basic tips?

Feel free to point me to and old thread in the forum or elsewhere.

Thanks in advance, really appreciate it.

Here's the panda jet after a little Photoshop therapy, for the heck of it:

http://www.fromedome.com/pics/panda-jet.jpg

I am a total newb when it comes to this stuff but I'll take a crack at it.

First tip I would say is shoot in RAW. No matter how bright the shot comes out it is wasy to then adjust it in the RAW converter that should have came with your camera on the install disk.

Next try to shoot in ISO 100 whenever you can. But as it gets darker the higher numbers tend to help more shots come out although then grainy.

For shooting Jets best setting to shoot it is AV and have the F setting set to 9.0 to allow good lighting into the lens. But as it gets darker and you are say shooting in a terminal through glass to get a wuicker shutter speed lower the number as low as you can. This can also be useful for when trying to shoot at night.

For Props it is best in the TV mode and set the shutter speed to around 1/125 and that should help give the feeling of the props spining instead of standing still which is kinda unpopular. The lower the shutter speed the worse. The higher the better ;)

Hope those few tips help!

And if not then sorry, just taking a crack.

for props shoot TV at 250-340 of a second.

switch to AV for Jets and you speed should be double your focal length...if you are shooting 100mm you should be 200th of a second... If you are at 250mm you should be 500th of a second... IT IS THE LAW, use it or they will not come out as good as they should. Over time you will learn to break these laws but you will always use this as the law!.

sweet spot is usually 2 stops from wide open, so F9 is usually sharpest, but look only at the speed and not the F number to start. Speed is EVERYTHING. Do not worry about Fstop now unless you are shooting something NOT MOVING. After a few months look at the Fstop AFTER making sure your speed is right.

Rule on speed
1X if under 100mm
10mm=1/10th of a second or faster
50mm=50/th of a second or faster
2x if over 100mm
150mm=300th of a second (you can do 150th but do not try when you are new...work up to it or you will have a lot of
throw aways)
250mm=500th of a second
(TIMES are with NO IS)



There is lots of advise that comes 2nd/ 3rd and 4th but I do not think your looking for that now and you should not
pay attention to what is below right now.

2-ISO it is Like LIMBO...HOW LOW CAN YOU GO... refer to speed needed to adjust properly
3-Raw will get you an extra 2 stops in case you screw things up but uses way too much memory. Do this when conditions are not right or doing long exposures but it will chew up your card real quick and storing all the files is a nightmare. I use it...when I Need it!
4-Stance when shooting moving objects... Like shooting a sniper rifle, the more you practice the better you get, Feet apart
turn at the waist, smooth tracking, take a breath and hold it, and gently squeeze the trigger and not push it. It can make the difference from 200th of a second or bringing it down to 60th of a second.
5- PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE... try standing on the side of the road and shooting 200 shots of cars going by at 1/10 of a second at 50mm.... LOOK AT EVERY SHOT, you will learn low light panning while dragging the shutter. You have to be close to the car but you will learn more and anyone can teach you.
6-post results on a photography forum like this with a subject line like "What did I do wrong?" LOTS of people here did it wrong over and over to get where we are, it is a great knowledge base for not doing things wrong for months before the "OHHHHhh, NOW I GET IT!" Do not get stuck on just posting your successes, you do not learn from them!
7-If in doubt, photoshop lighting in the picture... That always works! ;)

correction!!! I sad shoot av for props but that should have said JETS...corrected my post, sorry


Pay attention and learn only the TV and AV Modes and when to use them, and shutter speeds you NEED to be at...the rest is crap! after a few weeks, re-read and do more...Do not try to do all of this at one time when learning or you will just get confused and frustrated. Baby steps is best and it will all fall into place after a month or two. Do not try too hard, AND HAVE FUN!

I shoot with a Rebel Xti and I find that for predominantly white jets, it over-exposes a bit. I believe that the T2i has spot metering - use that. I use the center weighted metering on the Xti.

What I do is use Av mode - usually at 7.1 or 8 depeding on how the shutter speeds are coming out. I rarely shoot above f8, but will often go lower if the shutter speeds are too low. Then what I'll often do is set up manual with the same aperature and set the shutter speed a notch or 2 quicker than what the Av mode is coming up with. If there is a white jet coming I'll switch to manual for those shots.

Also, don't knock the Tamron! I've had that lense since December with decent results for aviation. The handling is clunkier than my Canon 70-200 f/4L, but the image quality is right up there. I think that I am helped quite a bit by the image stabilzation.

Check out my shots linked in my signature. I leave the exif intact so you can see what settings I used. Most all of the shots since December were with the Tamron.

Dan

Thanks, everyone. This is all very helpful. Dan, I'm going to spend a lot of time studying your pics because we have the same lens and a similar setup. Good idea with using manual on white planes.

Went out to LGA yesterday for my first time spotting. (Nice meeting you, Matt!) Generally pleased with what I learned and some of the results. But also learned that I have a lot more learning to do.

I was shooting mostly in shutter priority at 1/1000th second. It was mostly taking me between f6.3 and f8. (Was using "partial" metering mostly and will continue to test.)

I've read that the Tamron does best around f9, but we'll see. I think it'll be a few more trips until I have a better hang of the lens. One thing that bugs me about the Tamron is the chromatic aberration at the edges when zoomed in all the way. The last thing I want is an ugly nose and tail. So I might actually NOT use the full frame of the lens and crop tighter? (With 18 MP on the T2i, I can finally afford to.)

But maybe I just wasn't shooting right, and that's why? Because your pics don't seem to have that problem.

Another thing I noticed is that the underbelly on my shots was pretty dark and there wasn't much detail in the wheels. I imagine a lot of that has to do with lighting and exposure settings.

Anyway, here's one pic from the trip, cleaned up quite a bit in Photoshop. Going to keep plugging away at this because it's super fun. Might also try one of the lens rental services for one of the badass lenses many of you guys have sometime later this year.

http://www.fromedome.com/pics/lga-n628aa-042410.jpg

Quote:

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Originally Posted by FromeDome

... One thing that bugs me about the Tamron is the chromatic aberration at the edges when zoomed in all the way. The last thing I want is an ugly nose and tail. So I might actually NOT use the full frame of the lens and crop tighter? (With 18 MP on the T2i, I can finally afford to.)

But maybe I just wasn't shooting right, and that's why? Because your pics don't seem to have that problem.

Another thing I noticed is that the underbelly on my shots was pretty dark and there wasn't much detail in the wheels. I imagine a lot of that has to do with lighting and exposure settings.

---

I haven't noticed chromatic aberration (also known as purple fringing) being a problem with the Tamron. What I do notice is light drop-off at full tele. The corners get dark. I still try to zoom in as much as possible, but I may have to toss out a shot now and then if the dark corners are noticable after post-processing.

Dark underbelly is most likely a product of lighting conditions rather than any lense issues. If you are shooting mid-day at aircraft above you, it will be an issue. You can try and give it a little photoshop help but there's only so much you can do ...

You're 757 shot looks like you are well on your way!

Dan