Camera Labs

Nice photos! I don't have a telephoto zooms since I use kit lens.

Phil,

Were you using A mode to obtain a speed you wanted that would freeze the aircraft?, I noticed the ISO was not high.

Cheers

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Nikon D7000, D40X, Nikkor 18- 200 VR II, f3.5-5.6, 70-300 AF non VR, Kit Lenses.

Hi 4xxxx

Firstly, it was very bright and sunny, so there was no danger of having too low a shutter speed to not capture the aircraft sharply.

At F8, I think most of these were around 1/1000th second, using ISO 200.

I kept the camera in Aperture Priority just to maintain the optimum sharpness at F8. All of the pictures I posted were using the 70-300mm lens, and mainly in the 200-100mm range.

I wasn't avoiding using it at 300mm due to a lack of sharpness there (sharpness is still good at this focal length, but not as good as at 260mm down) but due to the fact that the atmosphere was quite dusty and this affected clarity when the aircraft were further away.

Generally I try to adhere to the 'rule' that I've found on various forums about keeping shutter speed at slowest equal to the inverse of the focal length you're using - i.e. shooting at 125mm, then keep the shutter speed at a slowest of 1/125th. Keeping the lens in A mode, with the F number you want, means just keeping an eye out on the shutter speeds and then adjusting the ISO only when you need to in order to keep noise as low as possible and as many keepers as possible.

Of course, using a VR lens gives you a couple of stops advantage, so you could push things down to 1/30th at 125mm, but that would involve panning and losing sharpness, and your number of keepers reducing a lot.

Luckily all these aircraft were jets - it's easy to capture sharp images in good weather by just keeping that shutter speed fast. Shooting propeller aircraft and helicopters makes things a lot more difficult, as you want to get some blur in the blades while maintaining sharpness - you'd need to move into shutter priority ideally at 1/125th to 1/60th and pan smoothly.

I'm a complete beginner at all this though - check out the Mustang Air to Air thread at www.fredmiranda.com/forums in the City, Still Life and Abstract folder - there are loads of stunning shots in there, and lots of shots where these dedicated guys have got their 'holy grail' of full discs - i.e. prop blur for all 360 degrees...

Here are a few examples at slower shutter speeds, to get a bit of motion blur into the blades, but nowhere near slow enough to get a full disc:

Cool you finally got the A380, dubaiphil!
I agree with you; there are many better looking planes, like the 777 and A340
But still, seeing the massive A380 in person must be really cool!

_________________
Canon DSLRs: 5D Mark III, 7D
Canon lenses: 17-40/4L, 24-105/4L, 24/1.4L II, 50/1.4, 85/1.8, 100/2.8L Macro, 70-200/2.8L IS, 100-400L
Other stuff: Canon 580 EX II, Canon 430EX II, Velbon Sherpa 600R
Apple: MacBook Pro 15", iMac 27", iPad III, iPhone 4S, Apple TV

My deviantART

Thanks for the info Phil

Cheers

_________________
Nikon D7000, D40X, Nikkor 18- 200 VR II, f3.5-5.6, 70-300 AF non VR, Kit Lenses.

A few more from Dubai International, with some more unusual aircraft.

My next post will be a slightly smaller commercial aircraft - a twin seater open seaplane I'm going for a flight in around Mauritius - woohoo!!!

FedEx MD-11



Another grubby Il-76



A nice little Gulf Air Embraer - looked just like an A319 until it came close



Cathay Cargo B747F



Not a livery you see every day - Angolan B777

Nice pics again, Phil! I love the MD-11! Such a cool plane with that third engine

I'm a little mad now, 'cause they've closed another of my spotting places on my airport!

A flight around Mauritius sounds COOL!

_________________
Canon DSLRs: 5D Mark III, 7D
Canon lenses: 17-40/4L, 24-105/4L, 24/1.4L II, 50/1.4, 85/1.8, 100/2.8L Macro, 70-200/2.8L IS, 100-400L
Other stuff: Canon 580 EX II, Canon 430EX II, Velbon Sherpa 600R
Apple: MacBook Pro 15", iMac 27", iPad III, iPhone 4S, Apple TV

My deviantART

I'm not exactly an airliner spotter (more into warbirds and vintage aircraft), you can find some in a recent set on my Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vdbj/sets/ ... 319554976/

Contrary to what some say, AF-S may (at least for me, both regarding airliners and other aircraft) give better results than AF-C. A fast focusing lens (Canon's USM, Nikon's SWM/AF-S lenses, Sony's SSM-equipped lenses like my very own 70-400G SSM) helps a lot!
- Depending on what you shoot, you'll need a 300-400mm lens, the latter being excellent for smaller aircraft or close-ups of larger ones.

I'm going to Madrid Barajas for three days (leaving via BRU, early Tuesday morning, then Wednesday, returning somewhere during the last hours of Thursday) next week .

Nice pictures, chaps! Although I would imagine that lighting and weather conditions are far better in Dubai than in Western-Europe!

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Sony α77V/VG-C77AM/α350/18-70/70-400 G SSM/NEX-5/18-55 OSS/Lowepro Pro Trekker 600 AW/CompuTrekker AW/Nova 140 AW/Street & Field gear/Toploader Pro 75 AW. And a huge wishlist...

My photos on Flickr...

Joris - you're teasing!

I cannot access Flickr sites in Dubai
My Muslim Big Brother doesn't allow it!

I agree though - AF-S is what I generally use, as I'm not blasting away on continuous high shooting - it helps when the subject's either climbing or on finals though - AF-C I found to be preferable when shooting at an aerobatics show, even though it was my slow focussing 70-300 that was holding me back more than anything else....

Oh for a 70-200 and teleconvertor or 300 F4. The bandits in the local Nikon approved suppliers are pricing the new vr2 70-200 at 12500 Dirhams (that's 30-40% more than the UK, let alone the US!!!!)

Don't worry. I have been looking myself at a Sony Carl Zeiss 24-70 f/2.8 SSM as kitlens replacement...in the US and the UK it's considerably cheaper...say, 1300 euro vs 1500 à 1700 euro.

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence .

_________________
Sony α77V/VG-C77AM/α350/18-70/70-400 G SSM/NEX-5/18-55 OSS/Lowepro Pro Trekker 600 AW/CompuTrekker AW/Nova 140 AW/Street & Field gear/Toploader Pro 75 AW. And a huge wishlist...

My photos on Flickr...

Wow i really dig the "Cathay Cargo B747F " dubaiphil!!! The metal finish is really nice on a big plane like that.

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Nikon D90 | Nikkor 18-105 AF-S f/3.5-5.6 VR | Nikkor AF 50mm f/1.8D | Nikon MB - D80 battery grip | Lowepro Flipside 200

Nokia 6220 5mp - Carl Zeiss optics



Flickr

Slightly smaller!

A microlight seaplane after a flight at Grand Gaube beach, on the north of the island..

In flight photos to follow, once catching up on sleep has been done!

Hi Phil sent you a pm, but never sure if they work.

Magic pictures!

I'm travelling to DXB on 17th July to inspect various hotels for a major conference my company is holding in DXB in July 2011.

18/19/20 I'm flat chat working, before departing early hours of 21st...

But, as I arrive on EK415 at 14.30 on Saturday 17th July, this gives me a few hours of daylight to enjoy the aircraft.

Can you let me know where/if 'spotting'/'photography' is best/allowed from in and around DXB.

This will be my first visit to DXB (apart from a transit stop back in 1992) and that was in the middle of the night with a wife and two small children.

Thanks

Nigel