DSLR Noob on it's way to Duxford.. please help?

Dear Andy and others..

Here is my first produce, that were modified with Photofiltre.. just basis adjustments, I went for cosmetic pleasing adjustments, and probably ingored all holy style rules…:diablo:

All comments welcome..I’m here to learn

Good Information

Thanks to all on this thread. Having just got back into photography and the DSLR game I have found all the comments so far to have been very helpful. Mind you I was not having to many problems comming back after my 35mm days but it is surprising how much you forget.

Cheers all,

CD 😀

i always got told with a dslr the lens is different to a 35mm, so say 200mm is actually 290mm something to do with the way dslr works.

Not quite. It depends on the sensor size:

EOS 400D, 20D, 30D, 40D etc: sensor 1.6x smaller than that of a 35mm camera
EOS 1DMK III: sensor 1.3x smaller than that of a 35mm camera
EOS 5D, 1DS MK III: sensor exactly the same size of a 35mm camera

So you multiple the focal length of the lens by 1.6, 1.3 or 1, depending on the dSLR it’s attached to.

As above, but my £0.02 would be to get plenty of memory cards, or plenty of Gb memory cards. Shoot in RAW mode, it gobbles the memory but the pictures have more detail AND, as a nooby, there is more chance of a badly exposed picture being rescued from a RAW file. It can’t (Obviously) unfreeze a prop. but it can certainly add or remove light. Once checked in RAW, you can save them as a Tiff, and then open them in your usual editing software and save them as a Jpeg for everyday use……..keeping the original RAW’s on a disc or hard-drive elsewhere.
The trouble (Wrong word but you’ll get my meaning) with this forum is that some of the pictures posted here are of a quality which outstrips the glossy magazines. The equipment used by these people costs as much as the rescue plan for Fanny Mae.
The pictures on here gives us something to aspire to, and of course the pleasure of looking at, but we can’t beat ’em.
Good luck at Duxy.

i always got told with a dslr the lens is different to a 35mm, so say 200mm is actually 290mm something to do with the way dslr works.

I think you mean a teleconverter – or an “extender” in Canon terms. Can be gotten in 1.4x (so a 200mm lens becomes a 280mm) and 2x (so a 200mm becomes 400mm). As you rightly say, you lose some light. They are a compromise and also reduce quality of the image. To be honest, right now I think you’d be better concentrating on using the 200mm on its own, rather than diving in with a 2x as well – and in any case, 1.4x converters are easier to handle than 2x anyway Furthermore, unless you are going to stick with the 200mm long term, at this stage I’d suggest your money is better saved and then spent on a lens that goes up to 300mm or even 400mm, rather than buying a converter. However, if you can borrow a converter, by all means give it a go although expect fewer good shots (as a proportion of the total) with the converter.

Andy

oooww 🙂
great advice!! don’t understand all, but hope to get some on the job training on the bus on the way to duxford.

I guess if i screw up I can always download your pictures here on sunday evening and put them on my memorycard back in the cam 😀

Would a ring (is it called convector ring?) to increase to 400 be helpful? I know it takes light away, but shouldn’t the digital technology give more breathing space here?

Would that change any of your advice given prior?

OK, a few issues here…

Exposure / Metering mode
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Firstly, Duxford is a tricky place to shoot because the aspect is largely south-facing (i.e. into sun) until later on in the display – that is assuming we have any sun this summer! That makes exposure a little more tricky. Furthermore, with only 200mm available, the lens is going to be a little on the short side meaning that you’re quite likely to get some sky in the picture. If the sky is deep blue (fat chance!) then things will probably be OK – just set the camera to evaluative metering and let it get on with things and my experiences are that it’ll go a pretty good job. If its overcast, then you will need to set some exposure compensation – maybe +1/2 or even +1 – to compensate and make sure the aircraft details are pulled out from the dark aircraft against a still bright-ish sky. Still use evaluative, but set some exposure compensation and check the histogram (graph) after a few exposures to see if the exposure is OK – if you don’t yet understand histograms, then this is probably wasted advice as I don’t think there’s rime to explain it all and really understand it before the weekend!!!

Mode
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You can use any of the “proper” exposure modes – shutter priority (TV, where you set the shutter speed and the camera sets the aperture), aperture priority (opposite of shutter priority) or program (where the camera sets both). P is quite clever as the camera works out what lens you are using and increases the shutter speed to compensate for long lenses where there’s a risk of camera shake. However, P mode means less control and its probably not the best – use either TV (probably best for a “noob”) or AV. Whatever exposure mode you use (AV, TV, P), if you want pictures without the props “frozen” you need to make sure you end up with a shutter speed of 1/250 sec or slower. So either set TV mode and select a shutter speed of 1/250 or below, or set AV mode and select an aperture that makes the camera set a shutter speed of 1/250 or below – in the latter case you need to actually set the aperture and see what shutter speed the camera is going to select by pointing it at an aircraft. Problem is, the slower the shutter speed the more risk of blurring due to camera shake, and for a “noob” panning at less than 1/250 second is challenging and may result in more shaken shots than good ones. Practice makes perfect! If you don’t mind “frozen” props, set a higher shutter speed (say TV mode and 1/500) and that will cut down the risk of blurring due to camera shake.

ISO
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Leave it on set 100 unless its really dull or you really want/need to set a shutter speed of 1/500 or more. A higher ISO will let you select higher shutter speeds, but if you want blurred props (and by implication that means lower shutter speeds) ISO 100 is probably going to be necessary.

Lens
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As has been said alreay, 200mm is a bit short – 300mm would be good, 400 even better. If they take off left to right, my recommendation would be to stand on the tank bank at the western end of the field, as some aircraft come off the grass and get quite close to the bank. If they are taking off right to left, well, maybe still the tank bank and accept ground shots (take off) or landing shots.

If I’ve said too much and all the above is obvious, sorry. And if I’ve been far too technical – again sorry, but there’s a lot to learn and if it doesn’t all make sense then I strongly recommend either (a) some rapid practice or (b) taking a chance on what may be a bit of a lottery as to how many good pics you come away with. Remember, everyone takes some crap pics – we just don’t all admit it and we keep our rubbish hidden away from forums like this!

A

Disclamer : what you are about to read is from someone as far away from an expert as you can get.

Best advise I Could give is try and get your self some practice before hand by going to Duxford before this weekend (should be somthing flying) or a local GA Field, If thats not possible then you can practise your panning techniques on passing cars (sounds weird but it works). 200 is a tad short for airdisplay work (I have 300 and im concerned about that) but If you stand at the tank bank or the M11 end you should be able to get some decent stuff to work with. I will aim for shutter priority (dont know what its called on Cannon) and go for between 125 and 250 of a sec (playing it safe).

Like I said Im far from even experianced in the world of DSLR photography but it all comes with practise (and some helpfull tips from the Pros on here) so dont be too down if your photos dont come out too well.