Airshow Tips

Will be shooting a couple of shows this season and wanted to get some tips and tricks from you guys. I'll be working with a 20D, a Canon 10-22 for static displays and a 70-200 f4l IS w/ a 1.4 TC on it for the demos. I am hoping it will be sunny and clear, but the flight still tends to "cloud" up with the smoke used during the performances.

So how do you guys shoot the shows? Any tips on shutter speed or aperture settings? M mode? Av? Tv? Any tips or tricks would be greatly appreciated!

I've shot two airshows but only one with a dslr.

For the show, I shot in M. I didn't use Av or Tv because I don't want the background influencing the exposure. You're gonna take shots tracking planes across various backgrounds: bright sky, cloudy sky, mountains etc.. In Av or Tv your exposures will vary wildly.

If the plane is white or unpainted aluminum you may have to stop down or speed up the shutter. If it is black you''ll have to expose more. Basically find a middle ground and adjust it a little up or down depending on the subject.

I shot with a 70-200 f/2.8L IS with 2x TC on a 20D. 400mm is just about perfect for show center but short for shots at the far ends of the show. The 70-200 with a 1.4 will probably be just a little short except for show center.

IS in pan mode can be useful. Hand hold. No need for monopod or tripod.

I'd keep shutter speeds for jets above 1/1000 and as high as possible. For props I think the best is around 1/250 and helos is 1/160 for best prop blur.

ISO 200-400 is probably where you'll need to be to keep high shutter speeds.

It's good to have the aperture relatively high to maximize DOF. f/8 to f/16 but balance this with the shutter and ISO. You could probably go to ISO 800 to keep high shutter speeds and the aperture stopped down if it's overcast.

Me, too.
How the subject affects the exposure in Post # 47
Need an exposure crutch?

Airshow guys - prop freeze?

PhotosGuy wrote in post #5398404
Me, too.
How the subject affects the exposure in Post # 47
Need an exposure crutch?

Airshow guys - prop freeze?

There's one thing to remember. As the tip of the blade or propeller approaches supersonic speed, that is the effective aerodynamic limit. Therefore small diameter propellers will spin about 2700 rpm, larger props about 2400 - 2500 rpm. Helicopter blades are much bigger, and so spin around 1200 rpm or so. Larger helicopter blades will be slightly slower, and the smaller choppers will be a bit faster. The key is to catch the blur, so with propellers you can be successful with a 1/250 or so, but with a helicopter you must use a much slower shutter speed to catch the same blur. Trial and error is best, but armed with the rpm knowledge, you will at least have a good idea where to start . . .

Gordie