Aerial shots from Microlight

[JudeT]

Just tried out my new Canon 500D from the back seat of my hubby's microlight. We fly a flex-wing which means no protection from wind - a bit like leaning out of a car window at 60 mph. Not great for camera-shake! After some disappointment I've found the best pics are achieved on the automatic 'Sports' mode. There seems to be a lot to contend with in the air and the conditions can change quite quickly: changing light, mist, haze, cloud, turbulence etc. Yesterday we flew with two other microlights (fixed-wings) and I seem to have captured a reasonable shot of one of them. I'd love to be able to use more zoom, but even with the IS lense the wind battering causes too much shake. I'd love to hear from anyone else who takes pics from open aircraft - hints and tips would be welcome.
Attached - two shots from yesterday's flight
Jude:)

http://i863.photobucket.com/albums/ab193/ACoPilotsView/IMG_0505e2.jpg (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i863.photobucket.com/albums/ab193/ACoPilotsView/IMG_0505e2.jpg%5B/IMG%5D)


http://i863.photobucket.com/albums/ab193/ACoPilotsView/Beynac202.jpg (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i863.photobucket.com/albums/ab193/ACoPilotsView/Beynac202.jpg%5B/IMG%5D)

[Cosha]

How lucky are you!

I can imagin how hard it must be to keep the camera steady! :D also i hope you have a good neck strap too!

Id love to some day to have a microlite, what a beautiful place to fly too, wheres the location?

[FlyingPhotog]

Best suggestion I can offer is do not use a lens hood. They catch too much slipstream.

[JudeT]

Thanks Cosha - Yes we are very lucky to have this lifestyle. We live in southern France in the Dordogne. A fabulous place to fly. You're right about a safe neck strap. Anything that gets loose would go straight through the prop. Pictures would be quite interesting after that!

Jay - re the lense hood, I don't have one. But hey, winter flying will be better. Clear skies and no turbulence. Just freezing cold fingers!

Jude:)

[gkarris]

I had the pleasure of riding - for the first time in an open-air cockpit - in a Bi-Plane.

Didn't bring my camera - I didn't want to spend my time looking through a viewfinder... ;)

I would imagine it would be wise to use Shutter-Priority with very high shutter speeds.

[JudeT]

I guess it takes a while to get used to a new camera. I'm finding that so far the best setting for aerial shots is the 'sports' mode. It seems like cheating to use the auto settings, but with changes happening so quickly in the air it appears to be the best option. Certainly shots are improving. I was fairly pleased with the one below, taken last week. This was from about 5000ft.

http://i863.photobucket.com/albums/ab193/ACoPilotsView/Vista20from205000ft20f20.jpg (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/%5BIMG%5Dhttp://i863.photobucket.com/albums/ab193/ACoPilotsView/Vista20from205000ft20f20.jpg%5B/IMG%5D)

[racketman]

did the camera come from Simply Electronics eventually or did you have to cancel and buy from another source?

[JudeT]

Hi Racketman

Yes it did turn up - the afternoon before I went on holiday. But I would never order from them again. The saving of a few pounds wasn't worth all the agro. Next time I'll go to Amazon.

[PhotosGuy]

'sports' mode. It seems like cheating to use the auto settings, but with changes happening so quickly in the air it appears to be the best option. Those shots look very good, but the last thing I would have used was sports mode. You had a clear day, so what was it that was changing? Probably the angle of the camera & the reflectivity of the subject, neither of which need any adjustment in manual mode, unless you were to shoot some with backlighting. They probably would need adjustmenyt in Av/Tv as your image EXIF shows. Here's an example of what I mean by "the angle of the camera":
Post #47 (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=5191658&postcount=47)
Click the post #47 at the top-right of that post if you'd like more info on the subject.

[JudeT]

Hi PhotosGuy

Think what I meant by things changing was literally the scenery passing by underneath. You may want to take a pic of a chateau - that you didn't know was there. Sometimes you want 3 or 4 pics to get a good shot (which sports mode does automatically). Some days there is patchy cloud, others there's haze. Worst thing is camera shake from wind and turbulence. I have looked at the link you sent me - thanks for that. I'm hopeless with technical stuff so always looking for help. Too darn cold to go up there at the moment! Roll on some sunshine.

Jude

[PhotosGuy]

Think what I meant by things changing was literally the scenery passing by underneath. You may want to take a pic of a chateau - that you didn't know was there. That will be argued forever. The thing is, everything your camera "sees" will be exposed for a middle gray tone. This is OK sometimes, but what if your chateau is light colored in bright sunlight? ;)
Sometimes you want 3 or 4 pics to get a good shot (which sports mode does automatically). So will Continuous Shooting mode.

[JudeT]

Will have a bash at continuous shooting mode next time I'm up there and see how it goes.

Thanks again

Jude