riderxlx Loc: DFW area Texas

Hey everybody, My very first question here but I trust and honor the members opinions and knowledge here so I will throw this fish out there and I appreciate the feedback.

This month in Texas we have two major airshows. I usually take my Nikon D200 and an old cheap-ass point'n shooter for videos, it has a zoom which I need. But the zoom does not work very well.
My dusty-trusty D200 does not have video. Now this time I have been looking at renting a DSLR from Aperturent in Dallas. They great prices and choices. Since I already have Nikon glass, I am thinking of just renting a DSLR.
The ones they have my glass will work on are:
D500, D810, D850, D7500, D750.
My glass except one, was from my old film camera.
AF 28-80
AF 70-300. I will assume these two are considered kit lenses.
I bought a great lens from a member here. AF VR 80-400. And WOW it is nice too.
So I think the 400 and maybe the 80 will meet my needs. They have in the past.
What I am thinking about is limiting myself to one camera and just the glass.
So, my question of the day is:
Of the DSLR bodies I listed, which one does the group think will deliver me the best fast auto focus and tracking of fast moving planes while I adjust the zoom in and out during the action.

The reason why I want to look into this is because I share these airshow photos and videos with my father. He is 93 and a WWII and Korean veteran. He loves to see my pictures and videos.
I have always done pretty good in the past but I think now is the time to just use one camera for both video and still.
Thank you for reading this long winded request. God bless you all and happy shooting.
Bruce.

chasgroh Loc: Buena Park, CA

...I'm doing the airshow here at Huntington Beach tomorrow. I'll be using my D500 hooked to my 200-400 f4 (still up in the air, haha, so might just go with my D5). The D500 offers the same focus system as the D5 and, in daylight anyway, will get you outstanding images...plus the crop factor of 1.5 (which is why I'm considering it over my D5, even though I can shoot DX on that camera...I've shot that way before and the loss of pixels is noticeable). Now, if you rent the D850 you can shoot DX, get the stretch, and have lots of pixels to work with, so maybe that's your best choice. It's up to you the shooter. Have a great outing.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Either the D500 or the D850 will be the best rental idea. The D500 will give you same view as your D200 based on the crop factor. The 80-400 zoom is fine for the flying with either body. Unless you can walk around / among the planes, you won't need another lens.

riderxlx Loc: DFW area Texas

Thank you brother.
Yea I thought about the 850 and even the 750, my glass is FX from the old skool film days. The D500 is just the flagship these days. Very tempting. I know so many members here have these models that is why I reached to the forum. The airshows here are the 19th and 20th. I have a little time but wanted to jump on this early to get a learning curve on it. Have good time at the airshow this week-end. I know your shots will be really good.
Thank you again the reply.
Bruce.

riderxlx Loc: DFW area Texas

Thank you for the reply;
I do plan as always to walk around and stick my head into anything I can. This is where the point'n shooter quickly helped me out in tight spots and close areas. The 850 is the one I will look into.
thanks again,
bruce

joanloy Loc: St. Louis, MO

I just did the airshow in St. Louis. I used my D500 with an 18-400 lens. I shot in burst mode and got some really good pictures.

kmpankopf Loc: Mid-Michigan; SW Pennsylvania

I use D7200 for walk around and D500 for the aerial events. The D500 fantastic for this purpose. When aerial events are flowing in same direction, any fast speed will work. When you have an opposing maneuver, such as a knife edge pass, you help you chances with fast shutter speeds and frames per second. The D500 is 10 FPS. The D500 also 'increases' your lens reach if you are using FF lenses. I use 70-300 lens, which is essentially 105-450. Yea, I'd like more but the 200-500 lens is double the weight of the 70-300. By 3:00 in the afternoon in the hot sun, weight is a consideration.

ORpilot Loc: Prineville, Or

Not a Nikon person, I would go for the fastest focus camera. Flying plane photos you need a fairly long lens. The planes can no longer directly fly over crowds. They will be at least 50 yards away doing anywhere from 100 mph to 300mph. Unless you are a very good sports panning , plan on a shutter speed around 1/1000 of faster. On the ramp, your space will be limited. You will need a wide angle lens. Don’t forget to enjoy the show

Doolittle Raider, 14mm


Mt Jefferson, 400mm


got one, he's going down, 135mm

User ID

Maybe that is not a problem solver. If you
ask the basically still oriented SLR to also
cover your video needs, its battery hunger
will soar, and you'd better have really fast
... and large ... SD cards in it.

Bill P

Whatever you do, don't set your shutter speed faster than 1/125th for prop planes. Anything faster will stop the prop, and the aircraft looks like a plastic model hung from fishing string. It will take you several airshows to get this, but above all learn to pan.

MrPhotog

For airborne planes set your focus to infinity and leave it there. At f/16 your depth of field will cover. Use your camera controls to overexpose 2 stops or more if you wish to see detail in the plane. This washes out detail in the sky, to some extent, but also corrects for the meter’s tendency toward underexposing large bright areas, such as clear skies.

For takeoffs, landings, or low-level flybys, if you are perpendicular to the runway, focus on the center of it in advance and use a fast shutter speed. They will only fly down the center of the runway as flying elsewhere (like over the crowd) is incredibly unsafe.

Take two cameras, one with a normal or moderate wideangle lens and the other with a long lens; or one camera with a zoom lens.

A very wide angle lens is useful to get photos of planes on the ground or plane interiors if you get a tour.

The sky can be an awful background. I’ve seen a lot of planes photographed from another plane flying above them: A colorful autumn day provide lots of foliage in reds, oranges and greens behind the aircraft, and the sun provides bright light from above. Unfortunately, At most skyshows you are in exactly the opposite position: the planes are backlit and the sky is bland.

If you can, try to frame your photo to include a horizon, trees, a tower, or some ground. The normal lens can work here. So can a short telephoto.

Try a few shots at somewhat slower shutter speeds, even with moderate telephoto lenses. Move the camera (pan) during the exposure. If it works right the plane is sharp but the foreground and background are blurred in a streak manner, accenting the impression of speed. With a normal lens try 1/30, with a moderate telephoto try 1/30 to 1/125 second.

Bill P

And I forgot to mention, don't use a tripod. That will only guarantee you won't be able to get the camera in the right position for any shot. I've also tried a monopod and found it less than useful.

carl hervol Loc: jacksonville florida

I use a video camera

SX2002 Loc: Adelaide, South Australia

If you want super fast focus and sharp pics, use the D500...Grp (Group) focus points and continuous auto focus...
These five shots a of a Tern were taken in one second using the 5 frames per second rapid fire mode.
Taken from 75-100meters away using my Sigma 150-600mm, hand held...and yes, with the 35mm equivalent it gives me the equivalent of 900mm...
Also cropped to 16:9 ratio..

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Bill P

I've noticed that most of the folks here tend to overestimate their need for a loooong lens, for airshows and for Africa. I've shot both, and I find that a 70-200 covers most bases.

I used to be that way, and made several regrettable purchases. So take this advice from Mr. sadder but wiser.