Help ?

Location : Cambridgeshire Spotter Watch Member : no

Hi,

Just got my 1st digital SLR (Nikon D90 + 28-105 VR and 55-200) and am looking for a bit of advice.

My first attempt at taking aircraft in flight were not bad but not good either. I found that whereas the aircraft were in sharp focus and well exposed for detail, the sky was white ? when in fact it was a sunny day with blue skies and white clouds.

With so many metering and autofocus options available, I am a bit lost to know where to start. The camera seems to be in control of everything.

Are there any 'tried and tested' general settings which I should start out with ? I ended up selecting fixed shutter speed of 1/500 and center weighted metering.The camera was changing the iso itself ?

Any tips / advice gratefully received.

Cheers
Scotty.

Subject: Re: Help ? 2009-09-11, 05:05

Scotty,
I don't know of a general setting for taking photos as all the settings are dependant on weather conditions, light, movement, and the subject.

If you can afford the time and cash go do a photography course at your local college, or if you are strapped for cash, then go to your local library and seek out literature on Digital Photography which can give you all the information regarding shutter speeds, ISO settings, Appeture, and Priorities. Then go out and take some non Mil pics and check your results. I find most of the time it is just play and learn after understanding the basics. I am not however one of the best photgraphers on this site but I feel I am getting better and better by practicing.

I am sure if there is such general settings the better photographers who frequent this site will no doubt give you the info you require.

Happy Snapping

Location : Cambridgeshire Spotter Watch Member : no

Hi Hawks922,

Many thanks for the update. All good advice. I guess I fell into the trap of thinking if I get a good camera, I too can produce great shots of aircraft ...like many things in life, it aint that simple it seems.

I will do some reading and lots of practice. At least it's not going to cost me £5.00 for each batch of 36 shots.!

Cheers
Scotty

Subject: Re: Help ? 2009-09-11, 05:30

That is the biggest advantage scotty, you can snap like a looney and never have to worry about the processing costs, unless you are like my Brothers son who thought you had to print off every image from a compact camera to empty it, the look on his face when I pointed him to the manual that told him different.

Enjoy the hobby mate, and remember some bad photography can be hidden or adjusted using photo editors Help ? 698488

Another way of getting advice tell the ladies and gents on here when you are going to a base (Give them at least 24 - 48 hours Notice) and ask if anyone else is going to be there and see if they can give you some practical tips by meeting with them, just a thought since you are in Cambs near most of the main RAF bases.

Subject: Re: Help ? 2009-09-11, 06:09

Hi

Try a different metering mode as centre weighted looks to expose the subject matter in the centre of the frame correctly i.e the aircraft only. Not being a Nikon user i do not know what metering modes you have but look for something that averages the whole frame not just the centre. Also learn how to use the histagram as this will tell you if you are over / under exposing then you can set exposure compensation to adjust.

Andy

Subject: Re: Help ? 2009-09-11, 06:20

Hello,

If you have got ISO set to auto, then the camera will set the ISO itself. I set mine manually, as low as it will go (ISO200) unless low light conditions dictate otherwise.

Regards white sky but perfectly exposed aircraft, it sounds as though the subject was backlit. ie/ The lightsource was behind the aircraft. Your camera has made the image brighter to expose the aircraft correctly and consequently has over-exposed the sky.

Play around with different metering setting to see how that effects it, but it will always be tough when the aircraft is backlit. Look carefully where the light source is and try to shoot away from it. It may be a case of swapping side, so you are looking at the other side of the aircraft (simple with landing a/c on a East/West runway).

If your experiments in metering are not working, try changing the exposure compensation. This will tell your camera to either over or under expose the image. If the sky looks over-exposed, tell it to under expose the shot (check your manual on how to do that).

It's all about experimentation, and there are some photo-editing guru's out there, who should be able to tell you how to correct this over-exposure. The one tip that stays in my mind though, is that it's always better to under-expose than over-expose. That way it can be rescued afterwards easier, as you shouldn't have 'burned out' the details by over-exposing the image

HTH

Steve

Admin Location : Birmingham B17

Steve is quite correct in stating about using the exposure compensation button.

Also i find that U tube is a great way of learning .There are hundreds of articles to look .Some better than others.

Ephotozine and Photography Monthly are very good as well.

Hope this helps.Just get out there and get clicking and you will find a happy medium.

Jim.

Location : Cambridgeshire Spotter Watch Member : no

Thanks guys, some great info there.

I am lucky in that I am about equidistant from the LKH and Conningsby bases and Harriers overfly my house most days on the way to the ranges. Help ? 53197

I will try setting the ISO to 200 and try a different metering mode. (there are several to choose from) there is one which picks 11 spots on the frame but I was wondering if that may have meterd the sky and underexposed the aircraft.?

I hope to get around to the bases quite often, so if you see a guy in a small white romahome campervan looking confused and playing about with a camera, that'l be me. Cups of tea or coffee
always available in exchange for help and advice.

Thanks for the help.

PS Thanks Jim for the tip of using UTUBE - never thought of that - nice one.

Cheers
Scotty

Subject: Re: Help ? 2009-09-11, 06:47

scotty wrote:: I will try setting the ISO to 200 and try a different metering mode. (there are several to choose from) there is one which picks 11 spots on the frame but I was wondering if that may have meterd the sky and underexposed the aircraft.?

If the aircraft is back-lit, that is about the best thing you can do. That way you can have a play around in Photoshop to get the a/c brighter.

Location : Mildenhall

Quote :: Regards white sky but perfectly exposed aircraft, it sounds as though the subject was backlit. ie/ The lightsource was behind the aircraft. Your camera has made the image brighter to expose the aircraft correctly and consequently has over-exposed the sky.

Exactly what I thought....
Get the sun behind you and try again.....or do what I do....only photograph them on the ground !!! Help ? 711487

You'll get there, keep practicing.
Dave.

Subject: Re: Help ? 2009-09-11, 06:55

Just to illustrate the back-lit point. Two from CBY -

The first is taken from the Spotter's Car Pack early morning, and the subject was backlit. The second was taken a few minutes later from the opposite side of the runway (the Mound)

Help ? Cby140709001

Note the difference in sky tones

Location : Cambridgeshire Spotter Watch Member : no

Thanks for even more help, much appreciated.

SteveS your pics are great and do show the backlit difference very well, thanks for that. I had the bright sun in my 2 oclock position mid afternoon, so it was strongly backlit. My sky was pure white !

I just need to learn how to post images on this forum next, then I could let you see how it looks.

Cheers all

Scotty

Subject: Re: Help ? 2009-09-11, 10:11

Just remembered the Nikon setting I use - Matrix Metering. It takes the light level of the whole scene into account, rather than the centre of the frame.

Regards posting images, see here - Clicky

The main thing to realise, is that it doesn't matter what gear you have, if the conditions are not right, good photo's will always be a struggle

Steve

Location : Durham. UK Spotter Watch Member : no

The advice about shooting aircraft with the sun behind you is sound. Try to avoid shooting into an area of sky where the sun is or you will nearly always end up with a whiteout sky or very pale blue. Shooting backlit is a no-no unless you're shooting a wedding! I have my metering on my Nikons set to a small center weighted or with matrix with about 1 to 2 stops over via compensation button. Remember what works for one person with a particular make of camera may not work with another using a different make. Photography is not a precise science.

Location : Cambridgeshire Spotter Watch Member : no

Hi guys,

Excellent info, many thanks again. I will try out the settings you suggest.

Cheers and beers
Scotty.

Location : Cambridgeshire Spotter Watch Member : no

[img(417px,232px)]http://fightercontrol.forumotion.com/ Help ? F16

[/img]

This is an example of the white sky problem I encountered....the F16 looks unnatural against the white ? the sky was a blue with white clouds but the camera didn't see that.

Cheers
Scotty

Subject: Re: Help ? 2009-09-11, 16:27

Looks over-exposed to me. Have you done any editing on the computer on it? Maybe slightly over-sharpened, and seems to be quite a lot of 'noise' - the speckling effect caused by inadvertantly using too high an ISO setting

Steve

Location : Cambridgeshire Spotter Watch Member : no

Hi Steve,

Yes the camera was in auto ISO mode so I don't know what it selected and yes I have an old program from a non slr camera which does a quick 'auto fix' so I ran the picture through it. It seemed to sharpen it up a bit but didn't help the blue sky sadly. I guess i need a better program and computer next.

I hope to have another try next week and armed with all the help and advice passed on so far I should be in with a chance to do a little better next time.

Cheers
Scotty