Airshow Photography Tips needed

[Paul-H]

Hi all

I will be going to the Duxford September show and hope to do some photography of the planes in flight, this will be my first show since the late 70's and my first show trying to take photographs so need so beginners hints and tips.

My gear is not high end Nikon or Canon so know its not going to be the fastest focusing option, but its all I have so I must make the most of it.

I will be taking 2 Panasonic G80's with Olympus 12-100 (24-200) for any close wide stuff and the Olympus 40-150 (80-3000 plus 1.4 converter if needed for the in flight stuff and a Panasonic 100-300 Mk2 (200-600) if they are to far away for the 40-150 which would be the better in flight photo lens of the two as its very fast at focusing.

Camera settings I though I should try are Shutter priority to keep speeds down for prop blur, continuous Auto focus with back button focus with a custom multi segment focus pattern plus a bit of exposure comp if the planes are coming out a bit dark against the bright (Hopefully) sky

Does that sound like a workable plan, anyone got any tips to help a rather old newcomer to aviation photography.

With the Duxford shows, whats the best time to get there so as to allow access to the flight-line.

Thanks in advance for any help and tips

[tankbuster]

Hi all

I will be going to the Duxford September show and hope to do some photography of the planes in flight, this will be my first show since the late 70's and my first show trying to take photographs so need so beginners hints and tips.

My gear is not high end Nikon or Canon so know its not going to be the fastest focusing option, but its all I have so I must make the most of it.

I will be taking 2 Panasonic G80's with Olympus 12-100 (24-200) for any close wide stuff and the Olympus 40-150 (80-3000 plus 1.4 converter if needed for the in flight stuff and a Panasonic 100-300 Mk2 (200-600) if they are to far away for the 40-150 which would be the better in flight photo lens of the two as its very fast at focusing.

Camera settings I though I should try are Shutter priority to keep speeds down for prop blur, continuous Auto focus with back button focus with a custom multi segment focus pattern plus a bit of exposure comp if the planes are coming out a bit dark against the bright (Hopefully) sky

Does that sound like a workable plan, anyone got any tips to help a rather old newcomer to aviation photography.

With the Duxford shows, whats the best time to get there so as to allow access to the flight-line.

Thanks in advance for any help and tips

It sounds like a very workable plan. I have a G80 and I do pretty much what you say. If its mainly prop you may find an ND filter useful. It is difficult to keep shutter speeds down on nice days without pushing the F number above what is probably best for the lens. Focusing on the G80 is really quick and will hold it's own against most 'normal' DSLRS. I'd keep the 100-300 on all the time for the flying. I use the PL100-400 and I rarely regret it only going down to 100.

[Mooshie1956]

As Trevor say's. Also remember to use mechanical shutter, I found out after Legends that electronic shutter isn't much good for prop aircraft.
I've just upgraded to the G80 from the GX80. I still use the 100-300 Mk1 lens, and for the most part I found just about OK at Legends.
These are some of my Legends shots taken on a GX80 with the electronic shutter and as you can see on some the props look a bit meh.http://forums.airshows.co.uk/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=78028

[austinp]

Hi all

I will be going to the Duxford September show and hope to do some photography of the planes in flight, this will be my first show since the late 70's and my first show trying to take photographs so need so beginners hints and tips.

My gear is not high end Nikon or Canon so know its not going to be the fastest focusing option, but its all I have so I must make the most of it.

I will be taking 2 Panasonic G80's with Olympus 12-100 (24-200) for any close wide stuff and the Olympus 40-150 (80-3000 plus 1.4 converter if needed for the in flight stuff and a Panasonic 100-300 Mk2 (200-600) if they are to far away for the 40-150 which would be the better in flight photo lens of the two as its very fast at focusing.

Camera settings I though I should try are Shutter priority to keep speeds down for prop blur, continuous Auto focus with back button focus with a custom multi segment focus pattern plus a bit of exposure comp if the planes are coming out a bit dark against the bright (Hopefully) sky

Does that sound like a workable plan, anyone got any tips to help a rather old newcomer to aviation photography.

With the Duxford shows, whats the best time to get there so as to allow access to the flight-line.

Thanks in advance for any help and tips

If you want a spot to settle in for the air display, I'd get there as early as possible - before the gates open! At Flying Legends, I got to the flight line at 8.45, and most (if not all) of the best spots had been claimed. It should be okay to leave your chair (or other place holder) and go exploring.

Hope that helps.