When to use Shutter Priority???? I posted pictures 'Huey Pics tell me what you think" and I want to know if my choice of shuttter priority is right when shooting out of one aircraft at...

Namwife Loc: Midwest

I posted pictures 'Huey Pics tell me what you think" and I want to know if my choice of shuttter priority is right when shooting out of one aircraft at another going up to 90 Knots and w/ natural aircraft shake shooting hand held... I want to know if I change settings can I get a better shot?

Example Shots

Taken through the door window

wrei

I have not seen your picture so my feedback is generic. When shooting from an airplane, you want to select the highest possible shutterspeed. Could not think of a more unstable position with airturbulanz, engine vibrations, and resonanze of all metal parts around you.
On the other hand, focusing should not be a problem since you will probabely have your object in the "infinit" zone outside the distance where focusing is critical.
If the high shutter speed and the largest appreture are not sufficient to properly expose the picture, you must work with the ISO setting in increase the sensibility of the sensor.
One last remark, shoot the other airplane either coming at you rather then passing in parallel unless you are flying at approx the same speed. The frontal approach will reduce the impact of the speed of the motion between the two planes.

Namwife Loc: Midwest

wrei wrote:

I have not seen your picture so my feedback is gen... (show quote)

Sorry pic didn't come through 1x...I posted an example shot...I'm not in an airplane I'm in a Huey helicopter

BBNC

You were shooting at a Huey escorting the one you were in, therefore the speed difference between you and the one you were shooting was minimal. Shutter priority is mostly used whenever there is a difference in relative speed between the camera and subject, to minimize vibration effects transmitted to the camera, or to emphasize or stop subject motion .

When I was in the Navy, I would photograph jet fighters making arrested landings on board a carrier, from the catwalk100 feet away. I had to follow the plane, moving at 150 mph., and shoot just as the hook was about to engage the cable. Shutter priority would have been the thing if it were available in 1966.

nikondaddy Loc: Mayfield,Kentucky

You answered your own question in program and auto the camera shifts shutter speed to lioght condidtions but to shutter Ap it remains constant to shutter as long as condition permit for proper exposure. So constant action stopping power on subject.

jw32003 Loc: Oklahoma

Under the circumstances, I think your images are good. You may want to check your shutter speed in your exif or photo information in photoshop. Personally, I would keep it a little on the high side. Having said that, we all have our preferences. I'll guess it was fun shooting this and again, good job. Jim

keeper Loc: Franklin, TN

I never use shutter priority. To max out my shutter speed, I set the aperture to the the lowest number. In this way, since the only variable is shutter speed, it will automatically go to the highest speed possible. If more speed is necessary, then adjust the ISO.

jw32003 Loc: Oklahoma

Keeper.....I think that could be a mistake. Please, don't take this comment in a bad way. If you shoot wide open or at lowest f stop you limit your DOF. This is not what you always want. With moving objects, it is often better to shoot at a higher shutter speed to keep it in focus. Just my opinion.....Jim

eaudirsc Loc: Virginia

BBNC wrote:

You were shooting at a Huey escorting the one you ... (show quote)

It was available in 1966 along with aperture priority. Just had to choose the correct one.

eaudirsc Loc: Virginia

Namwife wrote:

I posted pictures 'Huey Pics tell me what you think" and I want to know if my choice of shuttter priority is right when shooting out of one aircraft at another going up to 90 Knots and w/ natural aircraft shake shooting hand held... I want to know if I change settings can I get a better shot?

stop down the apeture & speed up the shutter. With the good light you had available an increase in ISO would have benefitted.

keeper Loc: Franklin, TN

Hi, No, I welcome comments, that's how one learns. Their is always a trade off. If you want the fastest shutter speed possible and that's your priority then my idea will work. If you want both speed and depth of field then you'll need to play with ISO. Correct? Years ago when I played with B&W, their were 2 main films that I used. Tri-X and Plus-X (I think). One was 100 ISO and the other was 400. I'd use the 400 and then push it to 1600. Speed and depth of field were important. Take care...

LarryD Loc: Mojave Desert

Namwife wrote:

I posted pictures 'Huey Pics tell me what you think" and I want to know if my choice of shuttter priority is right when shooting out of one aircraft at another going up to 90 Knots and w/ natural aircraft shake shooting hand held... I want to know if I change settings can I get a better shot?

You have to decide for yourself what you think a "better shot" would be..

Leaving the aircraft vibration alone and assuming you are using an Image Stabilized lens; we'll call that good..

So, the next decision is what do you want to see.... If you have a very fast shutter, you will freeze the rotors in a fixed position and the shot will appear unnatural.. A slower speed will shot rotor movement all the way up to a nice round blur..a very nice look.

I believe that your shutter speed was too fast in these images based only on the looks of the rotors.. ... It's a balance of what you want and what the lighting conditions are at the time..

So, Shutter Priority is fine - pick a shutter speed around 1/250 - then bracket at a couple of higher speeds if it's more in your comfort zone..

jw32003 Loc: Oklahoma

keeper wrote:

Hi, No, I welcome comments, that's how one learns. Their is always a trade off. If you want the fastest shutter speed possible and that's your priority then my idea will work. If you want both speed and depth of field then you'll need to play with ISO. Correct? Years ago when I played with B&W, their were 2 main films that I used. Tri-X and Plus-X (I think). One was 100 ISO and the other was 400. I'd use the 400 and then push it to 1600. Speed and depth of field were important. Take care...

You're right about the trade offs. The only problem with using ISO to merely control your shutter speed is ok if your camera has the ability to cope with the noise. I guess the best solution might be to shoot in manual then you can tell your camera what to do instead of it telling you what it's going to do. What do you think? Jim

GTinSoCal Loc: Palmdale, CA

I use shutter priority when the shutter speed is the most important aspect of the compostion. These examples, depth of field is mostly irrelevant, you have clouds and sky in the background, neither looks bad when photographing an aircraft. Whether in focus or not.
In shutter priority, the shutter will be exactly the same, creating whatever effect you wanted, depth of field will change, but in images like these, that is not much of an issue.
If you were to use aperture priority, the depth of field would stay constant but the shutter speed would vary. Causing different effects (more/less blur) with the rotors.

In the end, it is up to the artist to decide what they want. Knowing how the equipment works gives you the ability to choose.

Gordon

PNagy Loc: Missouri City, Texas

Settings for shooting out of an airplane? I used a Canon 28-300 F3.5 - 5.6, IS. The shutter speed was 1/320. I am not sure how fast the plane flew. I just shot through the windshield and the windows.