Air Show Tips?

[i2iSTUDIOS]

Looks like this is the season for airshows. would my 70-200mm be long enough? Do I need a TC? What about a polarizer?

[PhotosGuy]

would my 70-200mm be long enough? Yes/no/maybe. For apron shots, take a WA, too.
Do I need a TC? Yes/no/maybe.
What about a polarizer? Never use them. They're best at 90-degrees from the sun & not much good at all if the sky is overcast.

You're going to have to get below 1/320 for a good prop blur. Do a search for "Threads started by" Marauder61 for some inspiration. Or look at his gallery which has the exif data: Marauder61 (http://www.pbase.com/marauder61/biplane_class)

Some good info here, but he doesn't get shutter speed right either. ;)
Air Show Photography (http://photo.net/learn/airshow/)

Post by adamsti: General rule of thumb for props, 1/250 and slower for flying aircraft. 1/200 and 1/160 give very nice blur. For aircraft taxing 1/125 and slower. 1/60 is very good here. Obviously here you need a steady hand, but it can be done with practice.

[i2iSTUDIOS]

would my 70-200mm be long enough? Yes/no/maybe. For apron shots, take a WA, too.
Do I need a TC? Yes/no/maybe.
What about a polarizer? Never use them. They're best at 90-degrees from the sun & not much good at all if the sky is overcast.

You're going to have to get below 1/320 for a good prop blur. Do a search for "Threads started by" Marauder61 for some inspiration. Or look at his gallery which has the exif data: Marauder61 (http://www.pbase.com/marauder61/biplane_class)

Some good info here, but he doesn't get shutter speed right either. ;)
Air Show Photography (http://photo.net/learn/airshow/)

Post by adamsti: General rule of thumb for props, 1/250 and slower for flying aircraft. 1/200 and 1/160 give very nice blur. For aircraft taxing 1/125 and slower. 1/60 is very good here. Obviously here you need a steady hand, but it can be done with practice.
THANKS!!!

Will you be coming to the Dayton Air Show, it's one of the best

[PhotosGuy]

I've thought about it. This year we're getting 6 Spitfires here in August (http://yankeeairmuseum.org/airshow/aircraft.htm), so maybe not this year.

[Spphotos]

70-200 should be fine, you can always crop alittle bit anyways. When i shot a airshow i used a 70-300 and it was way more then enough.

[sismis]

I just shot my first airshow and I took what I had - 50, kit lens, and 55-200. I found that for the air demonstrations, the 55-200 was ok to coming up short depending on how high the aircraft were flying, but you use what you have.

With regards to the prop blur, you really need a stready hand like mentioned previously. Because the slow shutter speed panning takes some practice, I wish I had taken a shot at a higher shutter speed and then switched quickly to a slower shutter speed for prop blur effect. I say this due to my inexperience, because there was one plane that I didn't end up with one good panned shot at all - I would have settled for a frozen prop.

I found with the jets, 200mm is not enough most of the time. They move fast and fly higher... keep your shutter speed up over 1/1000. Get there early so you can use a wider angle lens for the static displays without to many people in the way.

Prepare the best you can be reading all you can, it will help a lot. Don't forget your sunscreen and drink lots of water. After your first shoot you will not be able to wait until the next show!

[PhotosGuy]

I say this due to my inexperience, because there was one plane that I didn't end up with one good panned shot at all - I would have settled for a frozen prop. It's true, you try to anticipate & sometimes nothing works. Sometimes it does & you luck out. ;)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v218/PhotosGuy/Air%20Show%202004/Mustangs_0431.jpg