Need Advice For Shooting RC Planes

[BulldogMom]

My hubby belongs to a large group of RC pilots. I've been snapping shots of his planes for a while now and as soon as I get my new camera (Canon Rebel XTi) I will be taking pictures of all their planes. Mostly for use on the club's website but some will be printed as well.

I am looking for all the help I can get to make these shots come out great. I will be getting a Canon 75-300 zoom lens with the camera (no image stabalization). I all ready know I'm going to need to use a monopod to help with some of the camera shake while still being able to jump out of the way faster than with a full tripod. I've seen the planes up close and personal a time or two standing on the runway taking pictures! Yikes, about got a free hair cut last summer!

Here's a shot I got today with my little pocket Casio. Just to give you an idea of what I will be dealing with. These planes range in size but on average have a 4 to 6 foot wing span and can really get up there. This plane was making a low pass maybe about 20 feet off the ground so I was able to catch it, but usually with this camera they look like little white specks in the sky. Can't wait till I learn to use the new one and can zoom up on them!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecornerdesk/2322442078/" title="The Dragon Lady In Flight by Bulldog Mom, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2266/2322442078_3358185c73.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="The Dragon Lady In Flight" /></a>

Camera: Casio EX-Z850
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture: f/14.8
Focal Length: 23.7 mm
Exposure Bias: 0/3 EV
Flash: Flash did not fire

The full EXIF data is attached to the original photo, this one has been cropped and played with a little in photo shop. http://www.flickr.com/photos/thecornerdesk/2322458158/in/photostream/

I hope you all have lots of advice! I'll take notes so I can look back at them when the new camera comes!

[Nobie]

I would practice the art of panning. Also, is there not an elevated stand that the pilots use to get a higher perspective? I would suggest getting as high as you can so that not all your shots of the belly side. Maybe the pilots could do low fly-byes for you to shoot pics of. And what may really help you to relax, focus on your shots, and possibly save you from harm...wear a helmet. Seriously, because you will focused on getting shots and not have peripheral vision or be able to stay constantly aware of your surroundings. If the pilots laugh at you, tease them right back that you don't trust their flying skills.

[netbymatt]

Enjoy the new camera. I think your 75-300 will work great for shooting planes. Nobie is right, you'll need to work on panning to get some nice effects of motion in your photos. Not having IS on your lens will actually be better for this type of shot. I've had some shots get messed up because I left IS on while panning. IS expects that your camera is stationary, when you pan, it keeps trying to adjust, and ends up throwing things off.

[inkista]

As everybody's mentioning, IS isn't as useful for moving objects--it's really only good at eliminating camera shake. And in bright sunny weather, you may not even need the monopod. You will, however, have to watch your shutter speed. The rule of thumb is that your shutter speed should be at least 1/focal_length, so if you're shooting with your focal length at 300mm (i.e., zoomed all the way), your shutter speed should be at least 1/300s. I'd say go for 1/500s, which may require having the iso up to 400 or 800. Learn how to hold your camera (http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/how-to-hold-a-digital-camera/). :)

Also, the Canon EF 75-300 is kind of a dog, so you'll want to keep it stopped down to f/8 if you can, especially if you're shooting at 300mm (I'd actually recommend backing off from the extreme end a little to add sharpness, but that's me). You may want to consider the Sigma 70-300 APO (not much more expensive than the EF 75-300 and optically better), or maybe even upgrading to the EF 70-300 IS USM or the EF 70-200 f/4L USM (both are ~$600), depending on your budget.

The third thing you're going to want to watch is the autofocus system. Learn how the frames light up when the camera confirms it has achieved autofocus. You may also want to turn off the full AF matrix, and use only the center AF point. It can take a bit of nerve, but you really want to wait until you've got focus before snapping the shutter. Again, with the 75-300, if you're determined to get it, the USM version may be worth the extra cost for the speed up in autofocus. Also, for you, AI Servo focus mode is probably a good thing to use.

[BulldogMom]

I would practice the art of panning. Also, is there not an elevated stand that the pilots use to get a higher perspective? ... If the pilots laugh at you, tease them right back that you don't trust their flying skills.

Nobie,

Thanks for the panning idea. I had read something about that when reading up on sports shots. (daughter is a high school athlete) But I hadn't even thought about it for the planes. That would really help show the speed that some of these guys get up to. I added that idea to my notes!

I like the idea of getting myself up higher to shoot but these guys fly at an empty field at the real airport and aren't allowed to build themselves a tower. So far they have gotten permission to pound a post into the ground to strap down a trash can and an ash can. (you wouldn't think guys who are messing around with fuel would smoke but a lot of them do, I keep waiting for a plane to up up in flames!)

And don't think I wouldn't give the pilots a little teasing. I give them crap all the time! Some of them just get to showing off and forget which way is up sometimes.

Thanks for the help and hopefully I'll have some awesome shots to share before the summer is over.

[BulldogMom]

Enjoy the new camera. I think your 75-300 will work great for shooting planes... Not having IS on your lens will actually be better for this type of shot...

netbymatt,

Thanks for the info on the IS I hope to upgrade my lenses someday but am on a tight budget right now. I'll add a note for myself to turn off the IS if/when I ever do upgrade!

and I plan to enjoy the XTi, I've been wanting an SLR for a very long time, now if I can just learn to use it well. Only about 2 months before I will be able to order it, the count down has begun! :D

[BulldogMom]

...And in bright sunny weather, you may not even need the monopod. You will, however, have to watch your shutter speed... Learn how to hold your camera (http://digital-photography-school.com/blog/how-to-hold-a-digital-camera/). :)

Also, the Canon EF 75-300 is kind of a dog... You may want to consider the Sigma 70-300 APO (not much more expensive than the EF 75-300 and optically better)

The third thing you're going to want to watch is the autofocus system... Also, for you, AI Servo focus mode is probably a good thing to use.

Thanks inkista!

I added your advice to my notes. I was fairly sure I was going to need to use a faster shutter speed but was not really sure how fast.

I've looked at Sigma lenses but wasn't sure because I hadn't heard of them before. (this is all new to me so I have a lot to learn) The Canon 75-300 is in a package with a few other things I will need to get started but I might look at taking that package apart and seeing what it would cost to get the Sigma and the other items seperatly. Budget is a big issue here... mortgage, car payments, one in college, one heading that way in two years... you all know how that goes I'm sure.

I'll read up on the AI Servo mode, I remember seeing something about it when I was reading about the camera. I'm sure I bookmarked that review, I'll go back and see what I can learn.

Thanks for the link too, I've been learning sooooo much from DPS. Hopefully I'll do ya all proud when the new camera comes.

[smc1377]

You'll find that the Sigma APO lens is cheaper than the Canon and the Sigma will outperform the Canon. There's no downside to this particular Sigma APO lens.

http://www.sigma4less.com/sess/utn;jsessionid=1547d5514e76501/shopdata/0010_Lenses/0010_Zoom/0040_Tele+Zoom/product_details.shopscript?article=0370_Sigma%2BZo om%2BTelephoto%2B70-300mm%2Bf%3D26slash%3D3B4-5%3D252E6%2BAPO%2BDG%2BMacro%2BAutofocus%2BLens%2B for%2BCanon%2BEOS%2B%3D28SG70300F4ADCA%3D29

**EDIT**
Something to note here. Where the Sigma really outperforms the Canon is in chromatic aberrations, which is the strongest when you're shooting a darker object against a bright sky. Since you'll be shooting planes with this, I would imagine that the APO feature of the Sigma will be of great value to you.

[inkista]

You'll find that the Sigma APO lens is cheaper than the Canon
I think you may be confusing the Canon EF 75-300 III with another lens (the USM version, maybe?). The EF 75-300 is actually cheaper (http://www.amazon.com/Canon-75-300mm-4-5-6-Telephoto-Cameras/dp/B00004THD0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=photo&qid=1205180177&sr=1-1) which is what makes it so attractive to newbies who aren't aware of its optical shortcomings, or have had the time to research better alternatives like the Sigma.

Another (sorry, pricey) alternative to consider is the $300 EF-S 55-250 IS USM. It has IS, which can help with the 1/focal_length requirement, it's probably smaller and lighter, being EF-S, and the optical quality, based on the MTF charts, rivals or bests even the $600 70-300 IS USM.

[smc1377]

I think you may be confusing the Canon EF 75-300 III with another lens (the USM version, maybe?). The EF 75-300 is actually cheaper (http://www.amazon.com/Canon-75-300mm-4-5-6-Telephoto-Cameras/dp/B00004THD0/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=photo&qid=1205180177&sr=1-1) which is what makes it so attractive to newbies who aren't aware of its optical shortcomings, or have had the time to research better alternatives like the Sigma.

That was the lens I was thinking about, however, I was thinking more along the lines of a traditional retailer as opposed to an online merchant. Didn't realize there was such a huge price difference...

Best Buy $235 (http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=2823760&st=canon&lp=19&type=product&cp=1&id=1051806943002)

Wolf Camera $280 (http://www.wolfcamera.com/product/541163283.htm)

[BulldogMom]

Thanks inkista and smc1377!

I think I might just get the Sigma lenses.

Is it pretty much the same across the board. The cheapie Canon vs the Sigma?
I was also looking at something like a Canon 28-90mm and I see that Sigma has a 28-70.

And where I was looking today (amazon) the Sigma 70-300 is just a little more than the Canon 75-300 but not so much more that it isn't doable.

I've been waiting for this for a while now and I don't think it will hurt a bit to wait another week or two longer and spend just a couple more bucks. Who knows by the time the next few weeks roll by maybe they'll be having a huge sale! :)

Lovin' DPS! It's great to have a place for a newbie like me to ask tons of questions!

[stacylynn]

My husband is also an avid flyer. I take a summer lounge chair to lay on to take pictures of the club's planes in action. It is alot easier than standing and holding the camera at odd angles. They are getting ready to start pilon racing so I'm getting excited about trying that.
Stacy