60D lens for aerial pics

hello everyone. i'm new here and know very very little about photography so any help will be greatly appreciated. i am a helicopter flight instructor and while doing the instructing i also take aerial pics of farmers planting and harvesting their crops. i started off with a nice canon S3 IS that took really nice pics. so i then decided to go the way of the SLR and bought myself a 60d (body only). i noticed that 60d took really nice photos as well but i wasn't as impressed with the quality or the clarity as i was with the S3. i am using just a 18-55 efs that came with a "eos rebel xt" kit that my wife had bought a few years earlier. i've had people tell me that i need to get a L-series lens and then others tell me that the 60d is not good enough of a camera to get everything out of the L-series lens that it offers...plus i don't want to spend that much money. i normally take my photos anywhere from 100-500 above the ground and constanlly moving. i'm pretty sure i need an IS lens since i'm in a helicopter but i need someone to guide me in the right direction...PLEASE another thing is when in video mode on the 60d i notice that during filming and playback that it is really bright and sometimes so bright that you can't see the images that have been filmed. and this isn't just when filming from the air but also when on the ground...mainly outside. thank you in advance for ur recommendations.

highonlife510 wrote in post #16663436
i am using just a 18-55 efs that came with a "eos rebel xt" kit that my wife had bought a few years earlier.

Here's your weak link. It's really a very poor lens. No need to go the "L" route to get a substantial improvement. I'd suggest the EF-S 18-135 IS STM as a good compromise between price and performance. An alternative could be the EF-S 15-85 IS, or if money is tight, the EF-S 18-55 IS (STM).

Can't help on your video woes, sorry.

thank you so very much..i will look into it.

Outside even from a moving helicopter if your shutter speed is high enough you can get away without IS. Have you tried shutter priority (TV) mode with your shutter set at 1/500 or above? The lens that you have is a poor one, but you ought to be getting okay results from it if your technique is good

gonzogolf wrote in post #16663598
Outside even from a moving helicopter if your shutter speed is high enough you can get away without IS. Have you tried shutter priority (TV) mode with your shutter set at 1/500 or above? The lens that you have is a poor one, but you ought to be getting okay results from it if your technique is good

i'm def gonna get a better lens but i will certainly try to adjust the shutter priority. and not ever having taken a photography course i can't tell you if my technique is good or not but i know that when i was using that s3 that those pics turned out sweet so i was more than disappointed after the $ i spent on the 60d just to see the lesser quality pics. i really stay very steady myself when shooting from the heli but sometimes wind doesnt agree with our angle of shooting but it wasn't a prob with the IS of the s3.

Crap, if you were happy with the S3 you can be happy with the 60D.

Can you attach a jpg image to this thread. If you never done this it needs to be resized, preferably with your DPP software (came with camera, on CD). Hopefully whatvis called the EXIF info will be attached which can tell us the exact camera settings you are using. That will help us considerably in making some recommendations.

highonlife510 wrote in post #16663631
i'm def gonna get a better lens but i will certainly try to adjust the shutter priority. and not ever having taken a photography course i can't tell you if my technique is good or not but i know that when i was using that s3 that those pics turned out sweet so i was more than disappointed after the $ i spent on the 60d just to see the lesser quality pics. i really stay very steady myself when shooting from the heli but sometimes wind doesnt agree with our angle of shooting but it wasn't a prob with the IS of the s3.

Keep in mind that the consumer cameras, like the S3, have the idea that the camera will cover for you. A 60D generally defaults to the idea that presumes you know what you are doing and will let you make mistakes based on that.

John from PA wrote in post #16663675
Crap, if you were happy with the S3 you can be happy with the 60D.

Can you attach a jpg image to this thread. If you never done this it needs to be resized, preferably with your DPP software (came with camera, on CD). Hopefully whatvis called the EXIF info will be attached which can tell us the exact camera settings you are using. That will help us considerably in making some recommendations.

i bought the camera second hand from a photographer and he didn't have the software that came with it. is there any other way i can get this info to you buy just replying on this post what is on my camera settings?

highonlife510 wrote in post #16663436
hello everyone. i'm new here and know very very little about photography so any help will be greatly appreciated. i am a helicopter flight instructor and while doing the instructing i also take aerial pics of farmers planting and harvesting their crops. i started off with a nice canon S3 IS that took really nice pics. so i then decided to go the way of the SLR and bought myself a 60d (body only). i noticed that 60d took really nice photos as well but i wasn't as impressed with the quality or the clarity as i was with the S3. i am using just a 18-55 efs that came with a "eos rebel xt" kit that my wife had bought a few years earlier. i've had people tell me that i need to get a L-series lens and then others tell me that the 60d is not good enough of a camera to get everything out of the L-series lens that it offers...plus i don't want to spend that much money. i normally take my photos anywhere from 100-500 above the ground and constanlly moving. i'm pretty sure i need an IS lens since i'm in a helicopter but i need someone to guide me in the right direction...PLEASE another thing is when in video mode on the 60d i notice that during filming and playback that it is really bright and sometimes so bright that you can't see the images that have been filmed. and this isn't just when filming from the air but also when on the ground...mainly outside. thank you in advance for ur recommendations.

Heya,

You don't need anything. You just need to learn to use your camera, and how the settings interact and result in your exposure. This is the world of SLR. If you wanted something automatic, you shouldn't be getting an SLR. Not trying to be rude or anything, just pointing out that you do not need to buy `L glass at all. You can do stunning photos with that 18-55 lens. You just need to know what settings to use for intended exposure. As for video, the lighting problem is again due to lack of knowing how to set up what you want and overexposing.

Don't spend a dime right now. You certainly don't need to, at all. You have a great setup for your needs.

What you need is simply experience and some skills that you can learn from reading a few photography books or watching some youtube instructional videos on how SLR works, how to learn exposure, etc.

Very best,

gonzogolf wrote in post #16663676
Keep in mind that the consumer cameras, like the S3, have the idea that the camera will cover for you. A 60D generally defaults to the idea that presumes you know what you are doing and will let you make mistakes based on that.

i think i'm starting to get that. the s3 worked fine for what i was doing but with my very unlimited knowledge of the technical side of photography is just assumed that "hey if this $200 s3 can produce these shots then a 60d will produce even better shots", not taking into account that the 60d is far more advanced than what i was capable of knowing and unforgiving to an untrained person such as myself. i never intended on trying to make a living at this, this was just something i did on the side to make a little extra cash so i didn't fully understand that to use a dslr i would need to know more than "hey...it's more expensive so it's gonna be better". lack of research on my part but i have it now so i'm gonna try to get the most out of it that i can

MalVeauX wrote in post #16663696
Heya,

You don't need anything. You just need to learn to use your camera, and how the settings interact and result in your exposure. This is the world of SLR. If you wanted something automatic, you shouldn't be getting an SLR. Not trying to be rude or anything, just pointing out that you do not need to buy `L glass at all. You can do stunning photos with that 18-55 lens. You just need to know what settings to use for intended exposure. As for video, the lighting problem is again due to lack of knowing how to set up what you want and overexposing.

Don't spend a dime right now. You certainly don't need to, at all. You have a great setup for your needs.

What you need is simply experience and some skills that you can learn from reading a few photography books or watching some youtube instructional videos on how SLR works, how to learn exposure, etc.

Very best,

GREAT ADVISE!!! i will be doing some research my friend

MalVeauX wrote in post #16663696
You can do stunning photos with that 18-55 lens.

Well yeah, it has been known to happen I guess, but the same is true of a pinhole camera. Until the release of the 18-55 IS, the optical quality of the 18-55s was, well, I don't think awful is too strong a word to use. They tie with the 75-300s as being the worst lenses Canon released in recent times. That's not to say that poor technique may not be a factor here, but even with perfect technique, the 18-55 will generally disappoint. Such is my opinion, anyway.

xarqi wrote in post #16663743
Well yeah, it has been known to happen I guess, but the same is true of a pinhole camera. Until the release of the 18-55 IS, the optical quality of the 18-55s was, well, I don't think awful is too strong a word to use. They tie with the 75-300s as being the worst lenses Canon released in recent times. That's not to say that poor technique may not be a factor here, but even with perfect technique, the 18-55 will generally disappoint. Such is my opinion, anyway.

haha...the 75-300 ef is the other lens that my wife bought when she purchased that rebel kit.

highonlife510 wrote in post #16663727
GREAT ADVISE!!! i will be doing some research my friend

I suggest you download a Canon Dslr learning tutorial.. This guy is a good place to start http://www.michaelthem​aven.com

Best...

highonlife510 wrote in post #16663747
haha...the 75-300 ef is the other lens that my wife bought when she purchased that rebel kit.

Yup - it was a common bundle and the 75-300 is still frequently offered.
The 55-250 IS, or better, the 55-250 IS STM are much better alternatives for APS-C, and for full frame, the 70-300 is probably the one to go for initially.