Airshow Wows !

[Tysonator]

Hi All,

I went to the Duxford Airshow 80th D Day Anniversary on Sunday 02nd June which IMO was the better day for the British weather. It was so good the weather I did catch a little too much sun on the day !
I went armed with my Canon R7 paired with Canon EG 100-400L f4-5.6 Mkii IS USM, and a Sony A6600 paired with a Sigma 18-50 f2.8 for planes taxing passed the crowed.

Perhaps I was a little Naïve thinking that mirrorless Subject Tracking AF would be like an Exocet homing in on a Royal Navy Frigate. Either the canon subject tracking on APSC cameras needs tweaking or I am really not using it properly, so can some please please let me know what I am doing wrong.

below is one of many images which are just not in focus while in subject tracking and the R7 has IBIS !
Setting 1/800, F8 ISO 100 400mm focal length, Tv mode, AF point single expanded image has been cropped





Settings 1/1250, f8, ISO 100, 263mm focal length, Manual mode







The shot below is better image, though I was expecting pin sharp !

1/100 f8 ISO 100 (auto), 400mm focal length, Tv mode, AF point single expanded




I am sure the 1/1250 will freeze the action better than 1/800, However a prop war bird at 1/1250 will freeze the propeller as the aircraft are not at or near full throttle. However IBIS though stated at 4 stops should at least give me 2 stops or at a push 3 stops. Therefore my 1/800 on an my 7Dii would have to be at least on 1/1600 at f8 ISO 100 !

What am I doing wrong ! ?

All advise will be very mush appreciated as I might go back to Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow later in the year

Many thanks

T

 

[petrolhead]

I went to the Cosford air show and had the same experience and was hoping you had got some feedback

 

[Mintchocs]

Did you shoot in bursts? Were the blurry ones just a couple in a sequence of photos? Were the majority sharp?

 

[taxboy]

I think it may be to do with using the single point expanded focus. If the single point can't find enough contrast the camera will struggle to focus. You may have improved results by using an expanded focus area. Were you using any subject tracking mode ? I understand vehicle may be not always the best and animal may work better. If you've got Canon DPP installed have look at where the focus point is hitting

My recommendation if you can would be would be have a practice shoot at your local airport and experiment with the tracking modes. With regards to shake I think it's a practice thing and whilst IBIS is good for moving subjects you need to be reasonable smooth with your panning. If you haven't shot aircraft for a while then this may potentially account for being a little rusty with panning

 

[Faldrax]

Hi All,

I went to the Duxford Airshow 80th D Day Anniversary on Sunday 02nd June which IMO was the better day for the British weather. It was so good the weather I did catch a little too much sun on the day !
I went armed with my Canon R7 paired with Canon EG 100-400L f4-5.6 Mkii IS USM, and a Sony A6600 paired with a Sigma 18-50 f2.8 for planes taxing passed the crowed.

Perhaps I was a little Naïve thinking that mirrorless Subject Tracking AF would be like an Exocet homing in on a Royal Navy Frigate. Either the canon subject tracking on APSC cameras needs tweaking or I am really not using it properly, so can some please please let me know what I am doing wrong.

below is one of many images which are just not in focus while in subject tracking and the R7 has IBIS !
Setting 1/800, F8 ISO 100 400mm focal length, Tv mode, AF point single expanded image has been cropped
View attachment 424867




Settings 1/1250, f8, ISO 100, 263mm focal length, Manual mode

View attachment 424870





The shot below is better image, though I was expecting pin sharp !

1/100 f8 ISO 100 (auto), 400mm focal length, Tv mode, AF point single expanded

View attachment 424869


I am sure the 1/1250 will freeze the action better than 1/800, However a prop war bird at 1/1250 will freeze the propeller as the aircraft are not at or near full throttle. However IBIS though stated at 4 stops should at least give me 2 stops or at a push 3 stops. Therefore my 1/800 on an my 7Dii would have to be at least on 1/1600 at f8 ISO 100 !

What am I doing wrong ! ?

All advise will be very mush appreciated as I might go back to Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow later in the year

Many thanks

T

IBIS / Lens stabilisation will compensate for blur caused by camera shake, NOT blur caused by subject motion.
Imagine the fighter is doing 200 mph, then in 1/800s it travels about 4.5" - not a huge amount, but enough to blur an image unless you are panning.
For a nicely blurred prop you want to be down at 1/200 (or less) - and panning is definitely needed then.

 

[hamster100]

I still use a Canon 70d and use the centre 9 focus points. At airshows I always expect a relatively high miss rate. Panning us an art form in itself & at my recent trip to shuttleworth I felt I was very rusty as I'd not done any aircraft in flight photography for some time.

 

[mav]

For the Fast jets up your Shutter Speed 1/2000 would be a good starting point turn off the ibis , not familiar with canons focus points , if you have a long lens for the sony i would be using zone or wide , and would be expecting a high hit rate ,

 

[Plain Nev]

Did you mean woes?

 

[Sangoma]

I think it may be to do with using the single point expanded focus. If the single point can't find enough contrast the camera will struggle to focus. You may have improved results by using an expanded focus area. Were you using any subject tracking mode ? I understand vehicle may be not always the best and animal may work better. If you've got Canon DPP installed have look at where the focus point is hitting

My recommendation if you can would be would be have a practice shoot at your local airport and experiment with the tracking modes. With regards to shake I think it's a practice thing and whilst IBIS is good for moving subjects you need to be reasonable smooth with your panning. If you haven't shot aircraft for a while then this may potentially account for being a little rusty with panning

Have to agree, though not with Canon, I find flying things with sky in the background are more often in focus when using a larger focus area, but not extending to the edges of the frame, as a tree or similar will end up in focus and not the subject.