Photographing RC planes.
 

One of my other hobbies is photography, which I got out of about a year ago, to get into RC planes! I had a Canon 30D with several lenses, none of which were "L" class and semi cheap. Last week I got the photog itch again and this morning ordered a Canon 50D body. So, Ill be needing some lenses. I have a pretty good idea on what Ill be getting for a prime and a walk around, just wondering what yall would suggest for planes.

And also to talk to others that are into planes and photography. Seems like a good combo.

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

now take that cannon 30d and mount it in a airplane (sr telemaster is a good one) the pics you would get would be amazing.

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

I sold the 30D and there aint no way I would put the new 50D in an RC plane. LOL

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

Gary, zoom and image stabllization. I have a little Canon S5IS that will take some great shots, but focus and stablization are an issue. It's really hard to track a plane that is out a ways with enough zoom that you can actually see it in the photo. Up close, the plane is there and gone before you get the shot. Sports mode helps some. I think that if I were going to really get into the photos, I would get a gyro stablized shotgun stock mounted setup. Shoot maximum resolution and you can get away with a little less zoom.

The great thing about digital is that you can shoot for ever for nothing. Imagine shooting a couple hundred shots on film to get the one or two good ones the cost blows you away. My last big photo shoot with film was on our last trip to Australia and New Zealand in 93. I shot somthing like 50 rolls of 36 exposure. I had to take out a second mortgage on thehouse to get them developed,http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/js/f...n/confused.gif .

Don

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

aww thats the whole point of buying a new one so you can put the old one in the plane :D
i wouldnt put the 50d in a plane no matter what.....way to expensive to loose :D. the shots would be so cool though, just get a highspeed memory card and have it continually taking shots. their would be a few really cool ones :D

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

sorry it doubble posted for some reason

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

Gary, I did a lot of pix of planes...many before I could even keep a plane in the air for very long.

At first, I used a Canon S3is (non DSLR) for a lot of the shots.. One of the advantages of that type of camera was its very deep depth of field. I now shoot a Sony A350 DSLR with a 18=250 zoom. Works pretty well, but you do have to focus on the incoming plane and then adjust the zoom as the plane approaches.

I think you will have a ball with the combination of both hobbies. Rich

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

I have a Nikon D60 and a 55 - 300mm macro lens which I use to shoot planes (okay you are not going to use macro with planes). The fast planes are hard to catch and that is where the autofocus really makes it worth while. I wouldn't however settle for any lens which isn't atleast 300mm. I think 500mm would be the best though. I'm not to sure if you get VR lenses at that size but if you do, then I would have a look into that aswell. It gives you a much better shot with moving objects.

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

I carry my camera to the field at every outing. It is amazing some of the photos I have gotten, especially mangled up aircraft after they plummet to the ground at about 70+ mph. Usually when I am tired or sitting for a while I can grab my cam and shoot some shots.

I also have some great shots of the few helis we have at our field. I was able to make the blades sort of blur and the helis can appear stopped and then a slightly blurred background (I think that is called Bokeh or something like that). I am not a professional, just "Joe Homeowner with a camera :D The heli scenes looks so fascinating when you can catch that moment in time!

My current gear is the Sony Alpha A300 with a 300MM lens and a standard lens. Something around 200 to 300mm should be good for a lens and you need as quick focus as possible. If you go manual like in the old days you just got to get yourself thinking ahead of the aircraft. If you practive you will get really good in time and can sort of plan those special shots. I have some truly fantastic in flight shots. I even got some when several planes were flying patterns and attempting to fly extremely close to each other.

Another neat thing I have done is go home and print out selected photos and give them to club members. I have an Epson 1800 wide format inkjet and Photoshop and the combination can really produce some great prints for being sort of entry level.

The Sony Alpha is simply a great package and bang for the buck. The photos come out sometimes ranking as good as the high end stuff. I am constantly amazed by this camera at about 1/4 of the price of the high end gear it is hard to beat.

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

The blur effect you get on the blades happens when your shutter speed is slowed down enough to capture the "movement" of the blades. The blur in the background has to do with the aperture you are shooting at.

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

Yea, I was even lucky enough to have one of my in-air P-47 shots published in a local newspaper. Rich

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

I have a Nikon D80, that works well. On a bright sunny day with a polarized filter, and the camera set to Aperture Priority, it works great. I usually set the image quality to Raw, and play around with the ISO. I also find I have to adjust the exposure to get proper shutter speeds for fast moving targets. -1.5 Exposure works well.

Fun stuff guys!

Noah

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

I use a Canon Rebel XTi for all of the shows I cover for RCU and for the flying shots in my reviews (and sometimes the studio shots) I use a 28 - 300 zoom w/ Macro and I use that for everything.

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

Re your use of the zoom lens...

Coming from the "ultra zoom" world over to a DSLR...I suddenly felt like I was a second class citizen. What's this nonsense about changing lenses every ten minutes?

Until I bought my "DSLR zoom lens" ... a Sony 18-250 for my Sony A350 camera, ..... Now, I was back in business. Zoom up..zoom back..and I didn't need to change the lens unless something really, really special came along. Sure, there are better lenses than mine. But the flexibility of having the lens that I need when I want it, mounted on my camera 24/7.... is worth any slight give up in detail .......Rich

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

I totally agree

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

Rich knows what he is talking about. :D

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

I ended up with a 55-250 f/4-5.6 IS lens for the 50D yesterday and decided to take the new Pulse XT 60 for its maiden flight. I ended up not flying being I am still sorta new and the wind was 15-20, so my buddy flew while I shot photos. It was a weird day for lighting. Extreemly overcast and yet, kind of bright. I ended up setting my ISO to 1600 and here is an EXIF file.

File size : 133677 Bytes
MIME type : image/jpeg
Image size : 800 x 599
Camera make : Canon
Camera model : Canon EOS 50D
Image timestamp : 2010:04:02 16:14:14
Image number :
Exposure time : 1/1000 s
Aperture : F11
Exposure bias : 0
Flash : No, compulsory
Flash bias :
Focal length : 250.0 mm
Subject distance:
ISO speed : 1600
Exposure mode : Auto
Metering mode : Multi-segment
Macro mode :
Image quality :
Exif Resolution : 4752 x 3168
White balance : Auto
Thumbnail : image/jpeg, 2750 Bytes
Copyright :
Exif comment :


I was more interested in pushing the cameras limits rather than worry about perfect shots, and it showed. The 50D is a little different than the 30D and after getting home I realized I should of stepped down another click or two. But, WTH, it was the first day with the new rig.

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

All fine shots. Of course, everything we ever do, including photography, could always be better in some way.

I'm not sure what setting you had on your camera...but... try setting your camera to Aperature priority. Then, set your exposure as you like...and let the camera automatically choose the fastest shutter speed for you, given the amount of light that is available..

I am assuming that you are not trying for some special "blur" effects, of course. I always figure the camera is smarter than I am, anyhows. Keep them coming!!!
regards, .Rich

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

Rich, I used AP and set it to F11 just as a guess and later when I got home and downloaded over 500 shots, I realized I should of either stepped down to F8, or reduced my ISO to 1000-1200 for more of a realistic flight image.

To be honest, I was lazy and didn't change any settings. Heck, I had only picked up the lens about an hour before going to the field and probably was more interested in pushing the envolope with such a high ISO compared to my old 30D.

Rookie mistake. lol

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

Yea, I have fallen into the habit of shooting first and looking later, too. If I'd use the screen to preview a few shots ( for lighting only) I wouldn't have so many throw-aways either. rich

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

Of course it depends on the lighting and the camera itself, but I always try to keep my ISO as low as possible to get as "grainless" pics as possible. Those are some very nice shots GarryHarris. Although the ISO could have been a little bit lower (only my personal opinion, since I don't know what the lighting was at that stage) - it still is great shots.

I usually try to keep my ISO in the range 100-400 when taking shots like that outside. Getting used to a new lens also is a bit tricky. Here are some photos of the first Model Airshow I went to after getting my new Sigma lens. Also the day my AF failed.

*I adjusted the images to get them on here - hope it didn't lose some quality*

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

Beautiful shots Korps... rich

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

Planes are hard to shoot. Nice shots Korps.

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

ok, so where did you guys learn to take such great pictures? its something I'd like to learn

RE: Photographing RC planes.
 

Alot of practice. lol

We have a local fishing site that has a photography forum as well as an RC forum that I have learned alot from. 2CoolFishing. Also I like POTN. Thats a very good site allthough its Canon based.

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/index.php