First Airshow

[Drew b]

The only lens I have at the moment,other than the Canon kit lens,is a Tamron 70-300.Will this be suitable for airshow photography? Could anyone give me any tips,or things to avoid with this lens? I'm an absolute beginner,but I really don't want to get home and have to scroll through hundreds of crap,out of focus,dreary images of what should be fantastic aircraft.
Nearly every photo I've taken so far with this lens has been a bit crap,with a few exceptions.I presume this is down to me being inexperienced,but it's bloody annoying,even more so as I don't know what I'm doing wrong.The kit lens seems a lot sharper,and easier to focus on the subject,but obviously doesn't have the range for capturing aircraft at quite a distance.The Tamron seems to focus firmly on anything but the intended subject .
So,um...HELP!

[DiscoColin]

Don't know anything about your Tamron specifically, but 70-300 is a perfectly workable range for airshows. Aim for anywhere between f8 and f11. If you are shooting helicopters or propellor aircraft, you will need to drop the shutter speed to between 1/100 and 1/200 sec for satisfying blur of the blades (hand holding and keeping it sharp at the long end of zoom is tricky unless you go for a monopod or something). For jets though you are as well to go for as fast as you can get with the available light with an appropriately tight aperture and low iso.

That is the basics anyway - there are plenty of people on here who know miles more than me who can give you the specifics - but if you can't get at least some that you like with that then eBay the lens and try something different...

[cbcbcb]

Can be done. Here's my best shot with that lens


Stop down to f/8, or f/11. Don't be afraid of high ISO if you need it to get the shutter speed where you need it. For jets 1/500-1/1000 is good, prop planes need a slower speed to get a bit of prop blur, which is very demanding on your hand holding technique, 1/250-1/300 is doable with practice. That said, you might prefer some sharp shots without prop blur, to some poor shots with prop blur, so mix it up a bit.

Also, set the camera to use the centre focus point only, use AI servo focus mode, and half press the shutter to get the lens to focus and track the focus with the plane. If you try and focus on the sky it will tend to sweep the whole focus range to find focus which takes a while and is quite frustrating, so try and make sure the focus point is on the plane. Taking bursts of shots can also increase the chances of getting one sharp one.

Finally, don't forget to enjoy the airshow while you're there

[Drew b]

Thanks for the advice.If I get any good ones I'll post them up.