Photo Shoot Advice

The guys in my RC Aircraft club have asked me to take some pictures at their next fly in. I was talking to 1 buddy about my "New to me" DSLR (350d), and he appearently talked to another...etc... So, now I'm in a delema because I have been asked to bring out my "Fancy high-dollar camera" to get shots of guys in flight for the web page. My, "I just got this thing and am trying to learn it" protest met with, "what better way to learn" So, I'm stuck.

I'm looking for advice on taking the shots. My outfit is the following:
Canon 350d
Sigma 70-300mm 4-5.6
Canon 35-80mm stock lens.

These RC Airplanes average about 40-50 inch wingspans, and I would guess will be operating 40 to 100 ft away. I'd guess that the flight speeds will range from 1 (hovering) to 40mph. I'm sure that I'll be zooming in quite a bit.

My plans are to use a polarizer if it turns out to happen on a sunny day, none if overcast. (correct me if I am wrong). The planes covering material can be quite reflective of the sunlight depending on the angle.

Now, where I'm lost.... Photographing a moving object like the planes.... Mid range ISO? 400 maybe with a Fast Shutter? I'm learning here and its been 23 years since I took photography. I don't want to use the "green box" because I'm certain that I won't get good results. "Sport Mode" I could fall back to maybe, but I'd like to do it properly.

So, if it's sunny outside, what settings would you suggest? Overcast? Point me somewhere? Thank you, I'll continue reading and learning so that I won't have to ask silly questions like this in the future.

Allan

I would start with aperature priority if you are just trying to capture the planes, start with iso 100 or 200 depending on the available light, go higher if it is cloudy so you can keep your shutter speed up.

Now this may be tough with such small planes, but when shooting full sized prop plans you typically want to shoot with a slow enough shutter so the prop is blurred helping to show speed instead of just frozen in the air. This is usually done at 1/200 sec and slower in shutter priority or manual mode.

So maybe try slow shutter and fast just in case. Be sure to zoom in on your LCD screen to review that the prop is blurred enough and the the rest of the plane is sharp. While this isn't a substitution for reviewing on your computer, it will at least give you an idea if you are getting anything good. If not you can switch to a faster shutter speed so your day isn't completely wasted.

I also found that the circular polarizer on my 75-300 4-5.6 kept it from focusing accurately, so if you find something similar try taking off the filter.

Ask your friend to go out and fly his plane for you to practice shooting. He probably would be happy to do. You can try different settings before the real fly in. just a suggestion

You are going to want your camera AF system set to AI servo, use the center focus point with your 70-300mm lens.

This is going to be much like shooting birds in flight and so many of the same tips for that will work very well for you.

I would do a bit of search on BIF tips, particularly on the issues with metering you may encounter.

Thanks guys. I was studying the Magic Lantern Guide that I got with it last night trying to crash course myself on the operation. I did learn about the AI Servo mode and do plan on using it. Ryant, thanks for the tip on the polarizer. I'll keep that in mind.

Thanks again for the responses. They are very much appreciated.

Look at the transport section in the forum https://photography-on-the.net/forum/forumdis​play.php?f=119

All you are doing is the same as the Air show guys except on a smaller scale.

I would use AI servo, Manual (with the shutter speed as RyanT suggested), meter of a neutral area (grass or concrete work ok in general), aperture probably wouldnt be a great issue as the DOF even at narrow apertures would probably be sufficient to cover an RC plane, ISO as required to achieve the shutter speed and aperture.

Use a fixed focus point (probably centre would be easiest) and pan as the planes fly past (trying to keep the model in the middle of the frame).

I would try to get your friend to give you a trial run or 2 to give you some practise before the event.

Oh and DONT use the polariser - if you move across the sky following the plane, it will give you some very funny looking skies. It really is only of use static.

Thanks

RC jet and heli

Panning Question

Interesting. Would love to see how it turns out!