Newbie with a 350D any tips

Hi guys and girls i will be getting my 350D in the post tomorrow so this weekend i will be going to the Duxford Airshow can anybody give me any tips or links to threads that maybe able to help me.
The 350D comes with a EF-S 18-55mm F/3.5-5.6 and EF 75-300 F/4.0-5.6 III lenses.

Many thanks.

Get out there, take pictures.

try 200 or 400 ISO, fast shutter ( 1/couple hundred ), and stop down a bit if you can with the 75-300. The chromatic abberations on the 75-300 is horrible, imo. Stopping down should be OK.

For airshow stuff you will want the 75-300 mostly.

Set the focus to AI SERVO so that it will track flying planes (don't forget to go back to one shot for static display aircraft).

You are best setting the camera to Av mode and setting it to F5.6 - F8. Shutter speeds are best kept above 1/500. You may need to increase the ISO to 400 or 800 to get the fast shutter speeds.

Burst mode is useful, although you only get 6 shots in RAW, best stick to JPEG if you are filling up the buffer too quickly.

Above all, just enjoy it and don't worry too much if the pics don't all work out perfectly!

Go out and shoot with different settings

Keep your shutter speed up

See what works and what doesn't

Have a good time

And welcome to the forum!

Always, always check you WB and ISO. Play with all the settings, it costs nothing but time.

If you're shooting RAW WB can be adjusted in post so it's not critical, but can save time later on. That is if you shoot in RAW, that's your decision, I however would not consider NOT shooting RAW.

The last airshow I shot jets typically at 1/1000 or faster typically at around f/8 on AI servo, as others mentioned. I don't recall the ISOs used but probably stayed at 400 and maybe up to 800. On prop planes and helicopters you typically want to slow down your shutter to around 1/250 for planes and 1/160 for helicopters. This is so you get the blur of the props and not them frozen in air. The slower the better but at some point you'll have diminished sharpness due to your panning motion and/or movement of the subject.

Agree with those that say stick with the 75-300. I'd personally like to have a max FL of 400mm but 300mm is the longest you have and it will do well for you. Just realize that your lens is not of the highest quality so your IQ may not be the best . I'm not trying to discourage you but you should just be aware of it. If you really wanted a good airshow lens you'd have to spend around $1500 for the EF 100-400. If you have the money to burn I'd recommend you get that but if you don't just realize the $1500 lens will give you better pictures.

Take time to learn to use manual mode. It will help your pictures. I'm not saying you can't get great pics in Av to Tv mode because you definitly can, but once I learned to shoot in manual mode it's all I use now.

supergoat wrote in post #3877303
Take time to learn to use manual mode. It will help your pictures. I'm not saying you can't get great pics in Av to Tv mode because you definitly can, but once I learned to shoot in manual mode it's all I use now.

I agree, in fact for an airshow, I'd dial in an exposure on something on the ground that is in the same light and with the same tonality as the planes and stick it in manual. This will keep the metering from being thrown off as the background changes while panning. Check a histogram every so often to check exposure and tweak as necessary.

I fear that the 75-300 will leave you a little disappointed with the quality of your shots. Don't be despondant by this...it's early days and you'll end up with something sharper and something that puts the colours back to what you saw through the view finder.

A UV filter would probably be useful at Duxford as the sun is never ideal from the crowdline.

Bob

Leave the Camera in Manual for the first month of two. It will really help you understand what's going on with the camera. You'll hate the pictures you get a first, but you'll understand a lot more than most people with a camera. It worked for me.

I'd stick it in Av, why bother twiddling the dial and missing the shot when the camera will do it for you.

And I know what I am talking about as I have been shooting manual film cameras for years. Yes 'M' gives you control, but if you are just twiddling it until the lightmeter says is correct you are only doing what Av does.

Thanks for help and tips will try some out in a couple of hours, i just hope that i do not miss any planes while i am playing with different settings LOL.

Well, thanks to your thread I got to Duxford yesterday; here's my best shots with the Bigma, how did you get on?

http://www.flickr.com/​gp/59824456@N00/3h8a9L

Graham

Tootall180 do you own a MGZT Auto? Long shot but seems to be a hell of a coincidence!