Taking photos from a helicopter: If you were going to take photos from a helicopter at night of a city and you have the following items in your arsenal, canon 6D and a canon 5D Mark...

GKR

If you were going to take photos from a helicopter at night of a city and
you have the following items in your arsenal, canon 6D and a canon 5D Mark
IV. The lenses are canon 50mm, 24-105mm and a 70-200mm. How would you use
the items in my arsenal to get the best photos possible and what settings would you use.
Thank you,
GKR

vonzip Loc: cape cod

I know that your camera has to tethered to your person. vz

TheStarvingArtist

Fast shutter, high ISO, choose aperture for what you want in focus, Dfine 2 for noise reduction in post production

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Fortunately your cameras do well with high-ISO imaging, because you will need a fast shutter to eliminate vibration from the helicopter!

Kjr.7007 Loc: Boston, MA

Shooting from a helicopter at night will push your sensor and noise reduction capabilities to the extreme. My typical setup, based on experience from several doors-off helicopter shoots (usually at sunrise or sunset), is: manual mode. minimum shutter speed 1/1000, wide angle lens (typically 16-35 f2.8L or 24-70 f2.8L, or sometimes both if I’m carrying 2 bodies), widest aperture (f2.8 for these lenses), auto ISO.

Rationale:

Shutter speed: helecopters vibrate. Unless you are using a Gimbal then you’ll need a minimum shutter speed of 1/1000.

Wide angle: just looks great for cityscapes from a helicopter. If you choose to bring a telephoto lens, increase your shutter speed to 1/1250 or faster as the effects of vibration will be amplified.

Auto ISO. One less thing to think about. The last thing you want in this situation is underexposed images. My preference is to use auto ISO and let the camera determine the right value, keeping shutter speed and aperture fixed.

Wide open: everything will be at infinity, so depth-of-field is not a big concern. Do some test shots from the ground, shooting a landscape where everything is off at the distance, and make sure you can capture sharp images at your widest aperture. If not, try shooting at your next widest aperture.

FYI - if everything is not at infinity focus, then camera settings are the least of your worries.

I have several helicopter shots on my web site at www.galiptylight.com

Kjr.7007 Loc: Boston, MA

Last comments - given your lenses, I’d shoot with the 24-105 at f4 and the 50mm. I might consider renting a 16-35 f2.8, or a 14mm for the shoot if this fits your budget.

You likely won’t be able to change lenses, memory cards or batteries while in flight, so make sure your batteries are charged and you have plenty of room on your memory card.

Keep shooting. I typically shoot several hundred images in flight.

Capture in RAW! You’ll need the latitude to deal with noise.

GED Loc: North central Pa

GKR wrote:

If you were going to take photos from a helicopter at night of a city and
you have the following items in your arsenal, canon 6D and a canon 5D Mark
IV. The lenses are canon 50mm, 24-105mm and a 70-200mm. How would you use
the items in my arsenal to get the best photos possible and what settings would you use.
Thank you,
GKR

I would consider renting a gyro stabilizer for the evening if highest quality is a concern. If you shoot some images with and without you will be amazed.

ajcotterell

In shooting from a helicopter, DON'T allow your arms to touch any part of the aircraft, as vibration will be carried to the camera and may blur your shot. It's a little-known fact that helicopters actually don't fly; they vibrate and shake so much that the earth rejects them.

GED Loc: North central Pa

ajcotterell wrote:

In shooting from a helicopter, DON'T allow your arms to touch any part of the aircraft, as vibration will be carried to the camera and may blur your shot. It's a little-known fact that helicopters actually don't fly; they vibrate and shake so much that the earth rejects them.

peterg Loc: Santa Rosa, CA

ajcotterell wrote:

It's a little-known fact that helicopters actually don't fly; they vibrate and shake so much that the earth rejects them.

A loose collection of parts flying in formation.

blackhorse 1-7

Please forgive my "tongue-in-cheek" comment about helicopters...DON'T GO. I hate helicopters. Earned the Air Medal in Vietnam (26 air assaults and 9 Lightning Bug Missions) and I always associate helicopters with pain. Why sit in a vibrating piece of metal where each piece is trying to tear itself apart? Be reasonable, get in a real airplane (one with wings) and enjoy the ride and photo experience. Remember, if the engine stops while in an airplane, you gently glide down to earth and can thereafter enjoy a nice adult beverage. In a helicopter, once that big thing on top stops rotating.....you drop like a stone. Enjoy the ride and post the pics. -Dave.

Stevewayne23 Loc: Sacramento, CA

if you're doing a "windows off" helicopter shoot, a 70-200 might be too big to handle the windy conditions. I'd stick with a 24-70 or something similar in size

Burtzy Loc: Bronx N.Y. & Simi Valley, CA

I'd say land on a hilltop and shoot from there with a tripod. It's steadier and safer.

BBBruce77 Loc: Eureka, Montana

What ever you do do NOT set your camera down on any part of the chopper as the vibrations resinating through the craft will destroy your camera in short order. My experience comes from long ago when guys were using Nikon F and Leica M2 or 3's and the choppers would litterally vibrate them apart. The one camera that weathered the choppers the best were the Pentax Spotmatic's. Make sure you are strapped in and then make sure again. Be safe and have fun. I love low elevation flying of any kind.

BebuLamar

blackhorse 1-7 wrote:

Please forgive my "tongue-in-cheek" comm... (show quote)

I flew the helicopter back in Vietnam. We often shut the engine down to idle at 3000ft and land on auto rotation.