what settings to use

Location : arbroath Spotter Watch Member : no

first of all thnx to those that have left comments about my pics.
Can someone give me a few pointers on settings and lenses plz below is a list of what i have

canon eos 350D

canon ef-75-300 1.4-5.6 usm

canon efs 18-55

All comments apreciated

Location : Bedfordshire Spotter Watch Member : No

On a sunny day with the 75-300mm lens you can shoot at about 1/800th Shutter speed for clarity with enough light. Use the AI Servo focusing setting because that will continue to focus once the object has been identified by the camera when you half press the shutter down . This is obviously ideal for fast moving aeroplanes.

For prop blur however, the story is very different regarding shutter speed. Depending on the steadiness of your panning (and that will improve over time) you can have the shutter speed as low as 1/30th on a moving plane and get perfect prop blur and crisp images.

ISO should remain as low as possible (ideally 100 or 200) to prevent noise (graininess) on the photo.

those are just my recommendations and I'm sure others each have their own preferences. TEEJ and Mark Jayne are two of the best on here (not sucking up just making an observation!) so they can probably offer much better advice than me.

hope this helps anyway,

Ben

Location : arbroath Spotter Watch Member : no

thnx for the advise ben much appreciated Thumbs Up

Moderator Location : In a layby

Just to add to what Ben has put up so far, this is what I tend to use

for jets:

AV mode
iso 200 (400 at a push on a very grey day but not recomended)
f8
one shot
centre focus point
AWB or the sunshine/cloudy settings depending on the weather

for prop aircraft:

TV mode
250 or 320th of a second (safety option less likely to blur)
AWB balance as above.

Its also worth noting that for helicopters use TV mode but it needs to be lower than prop aircaft, around 160th. If at a later date you buy another lens, IS will help with shooting props at faster speeds. Ive looked at your photos in the recent photos section and you have a good eye for shots, just practice as much as you can Wink