ocean773 From Australia, joined Sep 2007, 96 posts, RR: 0 Posted (1 year 5 months 1 week 14 hours ago) and read 3589 times:
Hey guys,
Just got my Nikon D5100 with 18-105mm VR lens. Need help in camera setting for taking photos of aircraft which is about 100metere away taxing past. ie, aperture setting, iso setting and shutter speed? or is it best to shoot in auto mode?
JakTrax From United Kingdom, joined Jun 2005, 4780 posts, RR: 8 Reply 6, posted (1 year 5 months 1 day 3 hours ago) and read 3387 times:
Quoting egondo (Reply 5): Will it apply for subjects longer than 100m as mentioned?
The closer the subject, the steadier the hand can generally hold the camera - although this theory can also depend on the size of the subject. The more you zoom in, the greater impact movements of the camera/lens will have on the sharpness of the image.
Sometimes you have to make sacrifices and trade-offs to get a sharp image. Aperture f/8 is generally a good choice but if you can't get a sufficient shutter speed it's fine to drop it by a couple of stops to f/7.1 or 6.3; so long as the required depth-of-field can still be achieved (if it's relevant). Another trick is to increase the ISO (sensitivity), but this of course leads to increased noise in the image.
The final solution is to turn the optical stabilisation on - but of course you have to have this feature in the first place!
As a quick guide, I aim for the following shutter speeds (without stabilisation):
1) Taxiing or slow moving aircraft:
a) up to 200mm = at least 1/250th
b) over 200mm = at least 1/320th
c) over 300mm = at least 1/400th
2) Rotating/arriving aircraft:
a) up to 200mm = at least 1/400th
b) over 200mm = at least 1/500th
c) over 300mm = at least 1/640th
Silver1SWA From United States of America, joined Mar 2004, 4553 posts, RR: 26 Reply 7, posted (1 year 5 months 21 hours ago) and read 3344 times:
Quoting ocean773 (Thread starter): Just got my Nikon D5100 with 18-105mm VR lens. Need help in camera setting for taking photos of aircraft which is about 100metere away taxing past. ie, aperture setting, iso setting and shutter speed? or is it best to shoot in auto mode?
Any advice will be greatly appreciated...
I could tell you ISO 100, f/8 at 1/250th, but that does nothing to help you learn anything and it does absolutey no good if the conditions aren't ideal for those settings.
The answer to your question is entirely dependent on the conditions. Is the sun out? Is it cloudy? Where is the sun? In front of you? Behind you? Directly overhead? These are all important factors that will have an effect on the settings needed to properly capture the scene.
Learn the relationships among shutter speed, iso, aperture and focal length. You will benefit much more from learning the fundamentals than just having someone tell you settings to use.
[Edited 2012-01-20 10:58:43]
ALL views, opinions expressed are mine ONLY and are NOT representative of those shared by Southwest Airlines Co.