JakeLewis From UK - Northern Ireland, joined Aug 2011, 12 posts, RR: 0 Posted (1 year 9 months 3 days 12 hours ago) and read 2453 times:
Hello All,
I have alot of interest in Aviation and I have been recording videos of it for a while now, Recently I took a few pictures on my HD Bloggie, and ever since, I have wanted to start taking pictures of planes, etc. Now I am an amateur at photography of course, So their is a budget so that I dont go out and buy a camera worth £1200 or something like that, and end up not knowing how to work it!
Budget:£320
Research of my own, has shown and concluded the following two results;
Fujifilm 'S2950' Digital Camera
- 14 Megapixles
-18x Optical Zoom
-28-504mm wide angle lens
-3in LCD screen
-AA Battery
-720p HD video
Price: £149 (RRP:£199)
Fujifilm 'S4000' Digital Camera
-14 Megapixles
-30x Optical zoom
-24-504mm wide angle lens
-3in LCD screen
-AA Battery
-720p HD video
-Dual image stabilization
Price: £199 (RRP:£299)
spencer From United Kingdom, joined Apr 2004, 1624 posts, RR: 19 Reply 2, posted (1 year 9 months 3 days 6 hours ago) and read 2400 times:
Take Viv's advice. Then go out and practice a lot in different lighting conditions, even if you have it set to basic (P) mode. See what you can get by starting off like that whilst learning the camera and basic techniques.
Spence
EOS1D4, 7D, 30D, 100-400/4.5-5.6 L IS USM, 70-200/2.8 L IS2 USM, 17-40 f4 L USM, 24-105 f4 L IS USM, 85 f1.8 USM
Baumy From Australia, joined Aug 2009, 14 posts, RR: 0 Reply 3, posted (1 year 9 months 2 days 23 hours ago) and read 2355 times:
Quoting viv (Reply 1): You would do a lot better with a used basic DSLR body and zoom lens in the range 80-300mm or so.
I agree with both viv and spencer. Definately worth getting a cheap DSLR camera and lens. If you're shooting aircraft on arrival or departure then a longer lens should suffice, but if you're doing some closer work more around terminals then a shorter 20-60mm or something like that is good. Have a look in your local camera store or on their website and see what package deals you can get. I have the Cannon 1000D and got it in a package with 2 lenses, 25-50mm (i think) and a 75-300mm. Both lenses are great and they take great photos. I use mine for more than just aviation photography too.
Quoting spencer (Reply 2): Then go out and practice a lot in different lighting conditions, even if you have it set to basic (P) mode. See what you can get by starting off like that whilst learning the camera and basic techniques.
I have a couple of books, more or less specifically related to my camera, but definately worth buying a book on the camera you're buying, or the type of photography if you can find one. Look on the internet as to what sorts of settings people use so you can get an idea as to how it works. Look at some of the other posts here at Airliners.net as there are some good suggestions.
One thing that's come up a lot:
It's not about the camera, it's about the person using it. You can take some incredible photos with a cheap DSLR if you know your camera and how to use it, compared to an expensive DLSR where there are so many settings you don't know what to use and take some average photos.