Shooting an airshow - filter question

I'm headed out to shoot an airshow tomorrow (first time shooting one) and was planning on using my 70-200 2.8 with a 2X extender on my 5D MkII. Supposed to be partly cloudy tomorrow - should I use a circular polarizer or ND filter to help the sky stay blue? Any suggestions or advice are welcome!

Thanks
James

Polarizers have different effects when pointed at different angles to the sun. Keep this in mind when considering how you'll get air show images.

DC Fan wrote in post #13114348
Polarizers have different effects when pointed at different angles to the sun. Keep this in mind when considering how you'll get air show images.

Yep - That's why I was thinking I'll just use nothing. With a fast enough shutter speed to capture the Blue Angels the sky should be pretty blue to begin with.

If anyone else has any pointers or advice it'd be appreciated!

Why use a filter? Just shoot raw and adjust the saturation.

The point regarding the differing effect of polarization at different azimuths has little to do with saturation and much more to do with consistency from frame to frame.

Trying to get the same exposure and "look" from a sequence of shots where a CPL was used while panning is one of the best ways I know to drive yourself either totally crazy or straight to the liquor cabinet.

But would you agree Jay that filters for airshows are pretty much useless? When I started shooting I would use them but then after doing a lot of airshows people I talked to basically told me not to use them and adjust while doing the editing.

You do know the extender and polarizer are gonna stop down your aperture, making you use a slower shutter right?

seaninsa wrote in post #13177221
But would you agree Jay that filters for airshows are pretty much useless? When I started shooting I would use them but then after doing a lot of airshows people I talked to basically told me not to use them and adjust while doing the editing.

Useless? Not necessarily but a CPL (at an airshow) is highly counter-productive to a smooth and consistent workflow (See Below.)

I've used them when I'm shooting where I know the sun angle will be optimal and the subject will hit the right spot but this is usually in more controlled, linear situations at certain airports or where I am more free to position myself as needed. Airshows are generally more dynamic in nature and you rarely have the ability to freely go where you need to be to get the best results from a CPL.

If I can put myself exactly where I want to be to get the most from a CPL, sometimes losing two stops of light, especially for prop-driven aircraft, isn't always a bad thing. Having (or being able) to shoot at f/8 instead of f/13-16 can sometimes generate a better image.

FlyingPhotog wrote in post #13177255
Having (or being able) to shoot at f/8 instead of f/13-16 can sometimes generate a better image.

Don't you lose the stops from the widest aperture not the smallest?

kjonnnn wrote in post #13177272
Don't you lose the stops from the widest aperture not the smallest?

Not if your shutter speed remains constant...

If I'm at 1/125 @ f/16 and I lose two stops, I have to shoot 1/125 @ f/8 for an equivalent exposure.

The problem is on the fast end with a lens like the 100-400 where you might be 1/1000 @ f/5.6. Losing two stops of light means you have to give up two stops on your shutter speed (down to 1/250) to maintain f/5.6 which is as large an aperture as you have available. You're now at a shutter speed that's well below the 1/Focal Length rule of thumb and you risk not being able to stop your subject or avoid camera shake.

Your only option then is to raise your ISO.

No. thats not what I mean. What i mean is .. as with my extender, if your widest lens aperture is 2.8, with a 2x extender attached, my widest aperture on that lens is 5.6. Thats how it is on my camera.

So if you were normally gonna shoot at 2.8, 1/2000, with a 2x extender attached, you now have to shoot at 5.6 1/800 (or so).

http://www.the-digital-picture.com …Teleconverter-Review.aspx

"The Canon EF 2x II Extender mounts between the compatible lens and body, and multiplies the focal length settings of your lens by 2. That's the good news - the bad news is the 2x decreases/narrows your lens' aperture setting by 2 stops. For example, the Canon 2x makes a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS Lens into a 140-400mm f/5.6 IS lens - and yes, IS still functions normally. A Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L Lens mounted over a 2x becomes a 140-400mm f/8 lens. A Canon EF 300mm f/2.8 L IS Lens becomes a 600mm f/5.6 IS lens."
"

That's correct...

We're just looking at this from opposite ends of the same spectrum.

I'm working backwards off the smallest aperture and you're working forward off the largest.

Ok. But I you really don't lose the smallest apertures. If your lens' widest aperture is 2.8 and its smallest aperture is 22, with a 2x extender you don't lose the 22, you lose the 2.8 and your widest is 5.6.

So I was thinking that the OP didn't want to lose the "option" of his fastest possible shutter speed (if he was planning on shooting at 2.8). Of course all this is predicated on the conditions, ISO, and whether the OP was gonna need to shoot at 2.8 or 4 in the first place and be satisfied at shooting at 5.6.

I was actually asking about using a CP or ND filter not about my loss of stops using the extender. I thank everyone for the great info that was shared and here's one from the show I liked. By the time the Angels flew it was pretty overcast so the blue sky was a moot point anyway. Next time I think I'll rent a longer lens and slap it on my 40D.

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Yea we understand what you were asking but using a CP and Extender will have you lose possibly 3 stops... thereby having to use a slower shutter speed to get stop fast moving planes, ...get it. Its moot now.