First Attempt....a little help please

[Medic1]

I am fairly new to SLR photography and I am VERY new to aviation photography, but enjoy it immensely (I usually only shoot nature). Could someone give me a little help with technique.....I tried these pics and as you can see they turned out really soft. Is it my technique (AI focus and panning) or my settings (see EXIF data below for pic 1). Any help is much appreciated.....even if its to point out something stupid I did...lol. Thanks

http://www.pbase.com/medic1/image/39388799/large

http://www.pbase.com/medic1/image/39388876/large

Shooting Mode
Shutter Speed Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed )
1/200
Av( Aperture Value )
16
Metering Mode
Evaluative
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
100
Lens
70.0 - 200.0 mm
Focal Length
200.0 mm
Image Size
3072x2048
Image Quality
RAW
Flash
Off
White Balance
Auto
AF Mode
AI Focus AF
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[steven]

You have motion blur.

Were you using a tripod? If not the 1/200 is kinda close to the edge for hand held. Many people can do this without any problem. Have you taken similar pictures of non-moving objects with this lens and are they sharp?
You might need a faster shutter speed with the speed of the jet plane.

[Monito]

1/200 at f16 doesn't seem like the right combination. You need a fast shutter more than you need depth of field at that distance and for these subjects. Also, f16 is getting away from the sweet spot of the lens (often two stops down from wide open or sometimes only one stop).

Try 1/800 at f8 or 1/1600 at f5.6 or in that range.

[Medic1]

Thanks guys..

[ssim]

I agree that your shutter speed is just too slow. As an airline employee I've done my fair share of this type of shooting for fun. You can have a look at my gallery http://www.pbase.com/ssim/aviation . Most of them have the exif attached.

Could be though that it is just the wrong airline. You can probably guess that I don't work for these one.http://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gifhttp://www.photography-on-the.net/forum/images/smilies/icon_biggrin.gif