For complete group shots you may find 400mm on a 1.6x cropper a bit long so you will need to work around that, for the crossing shots that focal length is more than enough. The only other thing I would mention for crossing shots is try to work out which aircraft is the closer to you and track that rather than the aircraft crossing behind.
Or, timing the cross shot so both aircraft are directly in front of you at the same time.
Wing, those are killer shots...love them. I was out Saturday with a rental 100-400, haven't had a chance to look at them; but reviewing them on the camera it looks like only 10-15% keepers. Will post when able.
Going against the grain here, but don't even think about bumping the ISO up, I leave it on 100 all the time, unless it's pitch black. If you can't stop a jet with 1/500-1/800 shutter speeds, you need more practice. 1/1000 or higher is not needed. Click to my website if you don't believe me. I rarely go over 1/800 for the jets, there may be some at 1/1000 on my site, but that's just the safety shift enabled in the camera. ISO 100=the cleanest, sharpest RAW file possible, which should be your goal, not a sharp jet, and grain, (even if it's just the slightest) amount in the file.
Tim Adams wrote:
Going against the grain here, but don't even think about bumping the ISO up, I leave it on 100 all the time, unless it's pitch black. If you can't stop a jet with 1/500-1/800 shutter speeds, you need more practice. 1/1000 or higher is not needed. Click to my website if you don't believe me. I rarely go over 1/800 for the jets, there may be some at 1/1000 on my site, but that's just the safety shift enabled in the camera. ISO 100=the cleanest, sharpest RAW file possible, which should be your goal, not a sharp jet, and grain, (even if it's just the slightest) amount in the file....Show more →
But... 400 doesn't really degrade the IQ in any significant way on most modern DSLRs, so why use a lower shutter speed and (more critical) a larger aperture? Not saying you can't do it at ISO100*, but you don't gain anything over ISO 200 and, IMHO, very little over 400.
danmitchell wrote:
But... 400 doesn't really degrade the IQ in any significant way on most modern DSLRs, so why use a lower shutter speed and (more critical) a larger aperture? Not saying you can't do it at ISO100*, but you don't gain anything over ISO 200 and, IMHO, very little over 400.
Dan
*... as your fine work demonstrates.
No problem, everybody shoots differently. Back in the film days I would never dream of shooting ISO 400 film on sunny days, and even though I know digital ISO does not equate directly, I still can't see a reason to not shoot ISO 100 if there is enough light.
norbs007 wrote:
Wing, those are killer shots...love them. I was out Saturday with a rental 100-400, haven't had a chance to look at them; but reviewing them on the camera it looks like only 10-15% keepers. Will post when able.
Thanks. Kept it safe. Used Tv 1/2000th, ISO400, and bumped up EC as much as 1 stop. The 400mm f/5.6 was a joy to handle, much better balance than the Tamron 200-500 I used last year.
I did however miss probably the best composed shot of the day (from my vantage point). It was about 4:00pm and the Blue Angels seemed to have completed their show and no Angels in site for about 5-10 minutes. We were packing up like everyone else and then out of the blue, all 6 Blue Angels came through the Golden Gate bridge. I think at best during the day, only 4 of the 6 Blue Angels came through the GG bridge at the same time. Oh well, wait 'til next year.
Nice shots and I really like that one with the plane against the bridge. I was trying for more "environmental" shots this year and was out at Dead Man's point Saturday. Great views looking east towards the bridge but that's pretty far for the 400. You don't really get enough detail on the planes, although I haven't gone through all my pics yet.
Their last run is always that formation through the bridge, low and releasing smoke. On Sunday I was up on Twin Peaks and was able to watch them continue south. They stayed in formation down the bay and even did a second smoke release as they turned west (to land at SFO?) Then I lost them behind the hills.
Yup, I was walking away when they did the last run Saturday...too bad. I was standing next to a gentleman with a serious setup; 50D and I think a 400mm on a Bogen tripod and I think a Wimberly head. I'm sure he got some good ones on that last run, hope he post some here.
Norbs007: Nice shots, especially that GG bridge one. One of the things I missed about using my fixed 400mm was the ability to zoom out and get more of the background like you have with the GG bridge.
...they'rrrrr baaaaack!! Anyone going to this year's sf Fleet week blue angels air show? Anyone tried shooting from the other side of the Golden Gate bridge like at Fort Baker? Would be nice to get the city as a backdrop but will I be shooting against the sun?
The Blue angels are fantastic. We get them every other year at Jones Beach's annual airshow. What a great show they put on (their schedule runs opposite the Thunderbirds, another fabulous show).
MkIII-300 f2.8IS, 1/1600, f5.6
Just to give an idea of the slight blur you can get with the opposite plane at 1/1600.
Pilots call it the "close rate" The announcer claimed the close rate was around 800mph, meaning the panes are approaching each other around 400mph each. The trick is tracking the plane that will go in front on a move like this one. Typically that is the plane approaching from the left.
sjms wrote:
if you hear the engines your too late.
The Sneak Pass is the hardest thing to shoot, and that's only ~700 MPH.
eeprete: Fantastic shots, but the sharpening could be brought down a notch or two.
nads: Indeed. Some of my favorites from this year were shots of the ABs.
I shot the Blue Angles this year in Fargo with a 20D and 400 f/5.6L. I shot on manual, and went for 1/1000s the entire time. I am jealous that you get to shoot them against the GGB. That is incredibly cool.
wing tong wrote:
...they'rrrrr baaaaack!! Anyone going to this year's sf Fleet week blue angels air show? Anyone tried shooting from the other side of the Golden Gate bridge like at Fort Baker? Would be nice to get the city as a backdrop but will I be shooting against the sun?
I shot yesterday. The sun is in the south west. So shooting from the show line toward the GG or the city is not into the sun. The only problem is it was a bit hazy. So many of the shots from the wave organ spit (breakwater of the marina next to Chrisy Field) where not as sharp as they could be.
