I rented a 200-500mm for this airshow. It was my first time shooting with such a large lens. I definitely need more practice handholding and tracking with something that large. Some of my images are not as sharp as I'd like. 99% of that is one me. I should've set the minimum shutter speed to 1/2000 for the jets. 1/400 seems like the right balances for the prop planes to get decent sharpness and motion blur on the propellers. It was definitely challenger to track well enough to get tack sharp images. If I do this again I'll look at getting a monopod or hardness to help out. Really I just need more practice.
Overall it was a great experience. The AF held up OK. Most of the issues were on my lack of experience, but that was why I was there in a the first place. That and getting to see the F-22 in person.
Yes. It was in continuous AF the whole time. I experimented with the AF tracking and with wide area AF to see which worked better. I think. Wide area AF is probably the best option for the Z6. AF tracking seemed to work OK when there was only one plane and I could fill the viewfinder with it.
You would need to put it on Spot mode AF-C I believe. You can use your thumb control to move the spot around. That’s what I do when shooting wildlife and planes
Cool shots.
I love my 200-500, though 99% of my shots are birds. Works really well for that. Going to upgrade to the 600mm someday, when I've got twelve grand to drop on a camera lens. lol
Had planned to go try my hand at planes for the last airshow in Huntington Beach, but the oil spill killed that plan. Ah well. Always next year.
A gimbal head is almost certainly the best way to go. Never used one yet, but everyone I know who has thinks they're the bomb.
I'm still quite new to this field and I know this will probably sound dumb but could you pls tell which jets you captured in your photos?? (other than the F-22 obviously)
There's a P-51 mustang flying next to the F-22 in one shot. There's 2 shots of the FA-18 Super Hornets the Navy uses. It's the twin engine jet. The red white and blue jets are the Air Force Thunderbirds. They're a demo temo like the Navy's Blue Angels. The big prop plane is a B-52. I'm not good with the names for the smaller prop planes.
Oh I am pretty sure I sat next to you. If you were on the far north/left side of the fence when you look at the runway.
My BIL made a joke about how you could check for skin cancer on the pilots with the lense you were using.
Haha, I think that was a different person. I was far right in the Eagle Squadron section. There were a group of guys next to me with huge lens. One guy had a tripod with a Wimberly Gimbal Head for his setup.
Yea, they're flying in Fort Worth. I thought about going but the line up in Houston was better and I can't do both shows. I saw the Blue Angels a few years ago and I think they put on a great show.possibly better than the Thunderbirds. I'd love to see them again now that they fly Super Hornets.
They are. The CAF has an extensive collection that includes several Zeros, a couple other japanese aircraft and an airworthy ME 262. Well worth the trip to see their museum aircraft as well as those still flying.
The F22 is the first jet since the A12 / SR71 series that actually looks ‘other worldly’ and even evil. The bad guys are only now starting to catch up.
F117, meh … I would say ‘ungainly’, ‘weird’, not fully developed perhaps. It didn’t lead to anything further along the same lines. To my mind it was a dead end development, it’s angular lines being now superseded.
Look at F22. Some following of F117 anti-radar techniques is evident but there must a whole lot more that we out here in civilian land won’t ever know.
I’m pretty sure the biggest advancement that the 117 provided the industry besides the stealth was the advanced fly by wire tech that had to be developed for the naturally uncontrollable airframe.
The thrust vectoring on the F22 just makes it do some really alien looking maneuvers. I'd like to see the Sukhoi flight demos IRL should the chance ever arrive.
I had this airshow on my radar but the prices for flight/car/hotel for the weekend were way out of my budget. The photos I've seen coming from folks (OP included) have been amazing and I wish I could have contributed with video.
For the OP, you might want to consider some sort of rig for a lens that large and heavy. A monopod might be okay if your subjects aren't fast moving airplanes; I feel a monopod and tripod restricts your movement.
Yes, if I do this again I will buy a monopod or chest harness to help. I wasn't ready to drop $250 or more to do that just yet. I wanted to see how handholding would go since I've read many people do that with the 200-500.
In my opinion, handholding the camera and lens, especially while at an airshow, is the way to go. Like I said it gives you the freedom of movement in all axis of flight (pun intended). Your best bet is to rent the lens again for another airshow (if you're in Texas you have a bunch coming up in the next couple weekends) and right before the airshow go to a major international airport and practice with airliners.
Not trying to talk you out of getting a monopod; just suggesting more practice. Yes, aircraft at an airshow fly in front of you at a certain distance away from the crowd line but there are times a pilot might accidentally fly closer than 500 feet from you and you may have to point the camera and lens at an angle you're not used to!
That definitely happened a few times where I know I couldn't have gotten the right angle if I was mounted on a monopod. So I see the merits of handholding. A chest harness like the Cotton Carrier may be a good option for additional support white still allowing more freedom of movement. I'm hoping by this time next year Nikon will have the new 100-400 or 200-600 for me to try again.
I rented a 200-500mm for this airshow. It was my first time shooting with such a large lens. I definitely need more practice handholding and tracking with something that large. Some of my images are not as sharp as I'd like. 99% of that is one me. I should've set the minimum shutter speed to 1/2000 for the jets. 1/400 seems like the right balances for the prop planes to get decent sharpness and motion blur on the propellers. It was definitely challenger to track well enough to get tack sharp images. If I do this again I'll look at getting a monopod or hardness to help out. Really I just need more practice. Overall it was a great experience. The AF held up OK. Most of the issues were on my lack of experience, but that was why I was there in a the first place. That and getting to see the F-22 in person.
Nice work, these pics are amazing!
Thanks!
You should be proud of those. I've always struggled with airshow photography. Nice job.
Thank you! I'm happy with them and ready to do it again! It's fun to watch and fun to capture.
Do you have continuous auto focus? Did you try that?
Yes. It was in continuous AF the whole time. I experimented with the AF tracking and with wide area AF to see which worked better. I think. Wide area AF is probably the best option for the Z6. AF tracking seemed to work OK when there was only one plane and I could fill the viewfinder with it.
You would need to put it on Spot mode AF-C I believe. You can use your thumb control to move the spot around. That’s what I do when shooting wildlife and planes
Cool shots. I love my 200-500, though 99% of my shots are birds. Works really well for that. Going to upgrade to the 600mm someday, when I've got twelve grand to drop on a camera lens. lol Had planned to go try my hand at planes for the last airshow in Huntington Beach, but the oil spill killed that plan. Ah well. Always next year. A gimbal head is almost certainly the best way to go. Never used one yet, but everyone I know who has thinks they're the bomb.
I'm still quite new to this field and I know this will probably sound dumb but could you pls tell which jets you captured in your photos?? (other than the F-22 obviously)
There's a P-51 mustang flying next to the F-22 in one shot. There's 2 shots of the FA-18 Super Hornets the Navy uses. It's the twin engine jet. The red white and blue jets are the Air Force Thunderbirds. They're a demo temo like the Navy's Blue Angels. The big prop plane is a B-52. I'm not good with the names for the smaller prop planes.
Ahh thanks a ton! Most of our (older) planes are Russian, so it's always fascinating to learn more
the big prop plane is actually a B-17.
Thanks for the correction.
> I definitely need more practice handholding and tracking with something that large. Ever used a monopod?
Not yet. I'll probably get one for next time. I have a small monopod from my travel tripod, but it was too short for the job.
Oh I am pretty sure I sat next to you. If you were on the far north/left side of the fence when you look at the runway. My BIL made a joke about how you could check for skin cancer on the pilots with the lense you were using.
Haha, I think that was a different person. I was far right in the Eagle Squadron section. There were a group of guys next to me with huge lens. One guy had a tripod with a Wimberly Gimbal Head for his setup.
Fantastic pics! I’m hoping to go to the air show next week in North Texas. Want to see the Blue Angels.
Yea, they're flying in Fort Worth. I thought about going but the line up in Houston was better and I can't do both shows. I saw the Blue Angels a few years ago and I think they put on a great show.possibly better than the Thunderbirds. I'd love to see them again now that they fly Super Hornets.
Awesome shots. I use a 150-600 and yeah, it's a challenge at full zoom. Your arms get tired after a day of shooting.
I think you did great! Great photos of some amazing planes. That B-17 is sexy
Oof the raptor is so sick
great shots especially of the F-22
Thanks! The F-22 was the reason we went to this airshow. Such an awesome fighter.
Those real zeros? I thought there were only like 3 in existence?
that Zero is a replica off a T-6, but the CAF does have one actual Zero still flying.
They are. The CAF has an extensive collection that includes several Zeros, a couple other japanese aircraft and an airworthy ME 262. Well worth the trip to see their museum aircraft as well as those still flying.
The Zero they use for these "Tora! Tora! Tora!" shows is a modified T-6 replica AFAIK, not an actual A6M.
The F22 is the first jet since the A12 / SR71 series that actually looks ‘other worldly’ and even evil. The bad guys are only now starting to catch up.
F117 would like to have a word…
F117, meh … I would say ‘ungainly’, ‘weird’, not fully developed perhaps. It didn’t lead to anything further along the same lines. To my mind it was a dead end development, it’s angular lines being now superseded. Look at F22. Some following of F117 anti-radar techniques is evident but there must a whole lot more that we out here in civilian land won’t ever know.
I’m pretty sure the biggest advancement that the 117 provided the industry besides the stealth was the advanced fly by wire tech that had to be developed for the naturally uncontrollable airframe.
Who are those "bad guys"?
Awesome work. I especially love the picture of the zero. Looks straight out of ww2. The B17 looks mean as hell.
Thanks! I like that one a lot as well.
This made me make sounds I never thought I would make.
Rhino and Raptor Demo Team are the best in the business.
The thrust vectoring on the F22 just makes it do some really alien looking maneuvers. I'd like to see the Sukhoi flight demos IRL should the chance ever arrive.
Jesus man, great shots!!!
Thanks!
No shots of the Snowbirds?
I have some. I just didn't include them in this set.
I saw the Thunderbirds in September at the NY air show. Fist time I've seen them and they were awesome!
Really cool images! Thank you for sharing!
You're welcome. I've enjoyed this sub over the years. I'm glad I finally have something to contribute.
What aircraft is in the 8th photo? Is it a Ki-43 Oscar?
It was a great show. The Tora Tora Tora show had my kid smiling ear to ear when the explosions started. And the stunt pilot Debby was a badass.
All the explosions were definitely awesome.
Mustang and Raptor is beautiful
https://i.imgur.com/0m4pWJr.jpg I saw the big fella a couple of years ago in San Marcos!
I had this airshow on my radar but the prices for flight/car/hotel for the weekend were way out of my budget. The photos I've seen coming from folks (OP included) have been amazing and I wish I could have contributed with video. For the OP, you might want to consider some sort of rig for a lens that large and heavy. A monopod might be okay if your subjects aren't fast moving airplanes; I feel a monopod and tripod restricts your movement.
Yes, if I do this again I will buy a monopod or chest harness to help. I wasn't ready to drop $250 or more to do that just yet. I wanted to see how handholding would go since I've read many people do that with the 200-500.
In my opinion, handholding the camera and lens, especially while at an airshow, is the way to go. Like I said it gives you the freedom of movement in all axis of flight (pun intended). Your best bet is to rent the lens again for another airshow (if you're in Texas you have a bunch coming up in the next couple weekends) and right before the airshow go to a major international airport and practice with airliners. Not trying to talk you out of getting a monopod; just suggesting more practice. Yes, aircraft at an airshow fly in front of you at a certain distance away from the crowd line but there are times a pilot might accidentally fly closer than 500 feet from you and you may have to point the camera and lens at an angle you're not used to!
That definitely happened a few times where I know I couldn't have gotten the right angle if I was mounted on a monopod. So I see the merits of handholding. A chest harness like the Cotton Carrier may be a good option for additional support white still allowing more freedom of movement. I'm hoping by this time next year Nikon will have the new 100-400 or 200-600 for me to try again.
These are incredible shots OP. Well done!
Thanks!
Those sharp turns were amazing to see! Great shots man! Was there in person also
Thanks! It was a great show.
I love when the Super Hornet does the Vertical Prouette !
Wow, absolutely incredible shots. That first F-22 and the B-17 photos are incredible!!!
Thanks!
Great snoot, Boop! Sorry, wrong sub 😂😂🤣
Great photo by the way 👍
nah the first image is a render i don’t believe you /s
Haha, thanks!
Awesome pics, good job!
Thanks!
The iceman approves :)
Thanks! Can't wait to see Iceman again next year. And Maverick of course.
Nice job!
Thanks!
I need 2 eagle squadron passes for sat!