Shuttleworth premiere (non-DSLR m43) - Updated

[Hatstand]

Wow. What a day!

Blazing hot sunshine, not a cloud in sight, and barely a breath of wind. On a bank holiday weekend. With Typhoon, Lanc, Spitfires, Hurricanes, debut display by the Camel replica, and Shuttleworth's newly-restored-to-airworthy-condition Spitfire. It was a "perfect storm" for attracting the crowds...

I knew it was sold out, of course. Still, I was unprepared. It was like nothing I've ever seen at Old Warden. I figured I'd roll along at 9:30am, expecting the initial rush of early birds to be clear. I was SO WRONG! I could see the place was already heaving, as I approached. It took me 30 minutes to get parked after passing the front entrance, and it was the furthest I've ever been from the main paddock. Unheard-of! And it seems it only got worse as the day wore on... much worse!

That aside, I had a great day. Lots of entertaining displays, wide variety, and we even got some Edwardians at the end.

I found the light a bit harsh for photos TBH. Depending on the direction of approach there was haze, washout, or harsh shadows. And where I would normally use a red dot sight as my viewfinder... so I can watch the show with two eyes and a full field of view while taking photos... this proved very difficult in these conditions. (I rely on glancing down at the rear screen to check zoom/framing, but the light was too strong for that). So I frequently had to use the actual viewfinder for a change. Yuk! ;-D

Still. More keepers than I know what to do with. Here's a few of them:

1. Typhoon. Yes, there WAS a bit of "spluff" !


2. Shuttleworth Delivers The Money Shots #2139: Lancaster topside


3. A sunbathing Lancaster


4. Spitfire TE311


5. Shuttleworth is the home of unusual formations...


6. Lancaster, and Anson in its new livery


7. Blenheim


8. Hawker Tomtit


9. Lysander


10. Blenheim escorted by Hurricane and Sea Hurricane


11. Hurricane


12. Hurricane landing


13. Hurricane


14. Hurricane


15. Debut show for the Sopwith Camel replica


16. Radar Kite and Olympia


17. My favourite Spitfire, MH434


18. Spitfire MH434


19. Bristol Boxkite


20. Blackburn monoplane


21. Puma departing


All taken with a Panasonic G80 micro-four-thirds (non-DSLR) camera, and a Panasonic 100-300mm f4 - f5.6 lens (200-600mm equivalent).
Hoya Pro 2-stop ND filter attached because the light was so strong (and yet, apertures still occasionally went into diffraction/dustspot territory!)

Thanks for looking! I hope you saw something you liked!
More soon, from the ground displays...
EDIT: MORE ADDED BELOW

[Tbolt]

Lovely shots. Great capture on the Typhoon with so little moisture around.

[Hatstand]

Thanks Tbolt!

Here's a few more from the ground displays.

Shame AR501 wasn't ready for a flying display, but at least we were able to see her - and she was the subject of a very interesting Pilot's Chat.

22. Sopwith Camel replica


23. Lightning cockpit


24. Engine-eye view of the Lightning's air intake


25. Sptifire AR501


26. Stu Goldspink and engineer Derek Mellor giving the "pilot's chat" for Sptifire AR501


27. Sptifire AR501


28. Sptifire MH434


All taken with a Panasonic GX80, and Panasonic 12-60mm f3.5 - f5.6 lens (24 -120mm equivalent)

[Weather Watcher]

A great set - some of the saturations seem a little strong, but still some wonderful shots with great prop blur.

[MarkL]

Hatstand,

You always comment that you use non-DSL equipment. Because of that, I would like to make a comment based on that.

You obviously have a great eye for a photograph. It is my opinion that you are way better than your camera. You can tell it's not DSLR and all I wonder is what great images you could create if you decided to make the leap, the leap of faith

Mark.

[Mooshie1956]

Some great pictures there Hatstand, looks I'm still on catch up to your standards.

[Hatstand]

Thanks for the comments everyone!

Hatstand,

You always comment that you use non-DSL equipment. Because of that, I would like to make a comment based on that.

You obviously have a great eye for a photograph. It is my opinion that you are way better than your camera. You can tell it's not DSLR and all I wonder is what great images you could create if you decided to make the leap, the leap of faith :-)

Mark.

Thanks! I am flattered! I've have no particular talent, but I have had a lot of practice :-D

Regarding DSLR's...

Short answer:
"Been there, done that, never going back"...

Long answer:
My first proper camera was a 35mm film SLR, and I used that for many, many years. (Those were the days when everything was manual, nothing on a camera was prefixed by "auto-", "e-" or "i-" and Image Stabilisation was some kind of fantasy Star Trek technology :-D). Eventually, DSLR's came along... I used those for many years too.

But ultimately I tired of the bulk and weight of DSLRs, and their lenses.

I do not dispute the superior IQ of a good DSLR and lenses, in the hands of someone who knows how to use them. But I realised that personally, I actually don't need very much in the way of IQ: Nobody views my photos larger than screen sizes, and I never print bigger than A4. I also don't really consider myself a "photographer". I go to airshows primarily to see the planes, and taking photos is just a secondary bit of fun.

Technology also advanced to the point where pretty much anything half-decent gave "enough" image quality by my modest standards, and DSLR's were no longer the only choice to get the speed of operation, AF etc required for action photography.

So I ditched all my DSLR gear. I've since used various superzoom bridge cameras, and was happy with those (still use them sometimes). More recently, I've switched to micro-four-thirds cameras, because they are scarcely bigger or heavier than my superzooms... actually, smaller when not using my "airshow" lens... but offer more speed, usability, features, convenience and indeed - better IQ. (They also offer much better low-light performance, and are exceptionally quiet - useful for indoor action photos I take).

I have no desire to go back to DSLR's... their benefits are not that valuable to me, and come at a size/weight cost that I'm not prepared to pay...

................................

The reason I always mention that my photos are "non-DSLR", is so that people can see what they might expect, if they're considering "downsizing" from their own DSLR's, for any reason. They can easily find my threads, and hopefully my photos are fairly representative of what someone with no particular talent, but well-practiced, can achieve with a more compact setup. They can then decide if they could be happy with the kind of results I get... or not...

Similarly, if anyone is thinking of "stepping up" from a compact camera, or starting from scratch - they can decide whether the photos I got with a superzoom would be "good enough" for them... or what I get now with m43... or would they rather go "all the way" and invest in DSLR gear...

[Tbolt]

Love that Camel shot and I see I'm not the only one to take that picture in the Lightning intake

[PanamaMan]

A lovely set as always and a great testament to the m43 format.
The Typhoon shot would be stunning on any camera system!

[BrawlerO]

Very nice and varied collection, thanks for sharing Mr Hatstand.
If you don’t mind me asking, do you use electronic or mechanical shutter on your mirrorless camera? If electronic do you have any issues with ‘rolling shutter’ effects?
Thanks in advance.

[PanamaMan]

Congrats, you're currently (20:22 11th May) leading the Views count for OW Premiere pics!

[LN Strike Eagle]

Excellent shots as ever Chris - deeply envious of your panning skills.

Congrats, you're currently (20:22 11th May) leading the Views count for OW Premiere pics!

On what?

[Hatstand]

Thanks again for the comments everyone!

Very nice and varied collection, thanks for sharing Mr Hatstand. :clap:
If you don’t mind me asking, do you use electronic or mechanical shutter on your mirrorless camera? If electronic do you have any issues with ‘rolling shutter’ effects?
Thanks in advance.

I use electronic shutter only for static stuff (no particular reason, other than it saves mechanical wear and tear).

I think rolling shutter "jello" effects are inescapable for propellers, or when panning at "airshow" or "fast sports" speeds... unless the sensor has global electronic shutter, or the sensor readout speed is higher than anything I know of...

So, I never use fully-electronic shutter for action photos.

My Panasonic G80 offers Electronic First Curtain shutter though, and I generally use that to a) reduce a bit of the mechanical wear and tear... and b) make the already-exceptionally-quiet mechanical shutter, even quieter (mechanical goes softly "ker-chunk", but with EFC it just goes "chunk" :-D). That's important to me, when I'm shooting indoor action, to avoid disturbing/distracting my neighbours...

My GX80 doesn't have EFC, so with that I use fully-mechanical shutter for action photos.

[BrawlerO]

Thanks for that, v.useful info

[SEMAE]

Lovely pictures. The Blenheim and duo Hurricane formation very neat


Martin Eames