ggab Loc: ?

I was at a small airshow last weekend. Instead of shooting the standard aerobatics etc., I decided to shoot the small RC Planes.
The prop planes weren't too bad as they were slow enough to pan with. The Jets, however were a different story.
They are very small and very quick. I am posting a few pictures, however I had trouble panning and keeping the focus points on the planes.
I have shot flying birds, however I found this to be much more of a challenge.
Has anyone done this successfully and can provide some pointers?

I shot with:
EOS 7D MKii
Sigma 100-400mm Contemporary lens
Manual
Auto ISO
F/10
AI Servo with full 65 focus points.

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StanMac Loc: Tennessee

Nothing wrong with these photos when I look at them on my iPad. Even zooming in a bit I can’t see any motion blur. At normal viewing distance I think they are fine images.

I can’t say the same about the model though. Scale modeling is about emulating realism in a small scale. This model needs a pilot!

Stan

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

I think you did great, they are small, extremely fast, difficult subject - yes!

ggab Loc: ?

Thanks Stan.
They look soft to me, not crisp images that I get with slower moving targets.

ggab Loc: ?

Thank you.
They look soft to me, not crisp images that I get with slower moving targets.
George

olemikey Loc: 6 mile creek, Spacecoast Florida

I'm an RC guy and I know how fast and agile they are, and even the larger one's are quite small at any distance. My son and I have race drones and you'd be hard pressed to even acquire focus on those. Most of the Jets will be doing scale speeds in the hundreds of mph, 60mph to well above 100mph actual. I have a couple small planes (not jet) and they would be relatively easy, but they aren't burning it up!

ggab Loc: ?

Yea, they were more difficult than I thought they would be. However, that is why I shot them. I figured the masses with iPhones wouldn't be able to keep up with them.
They look like a lot of fun to fly!

Drip Dry McFleye

I do a lot of model aircraft pictures. Yes, the jets are significantly more challenging. On the jets I use shutter speeds up around 1/800 &1/1000 and even higher sometimes. I try not to let the ISO get too high because I think noise can contribute to making an image look soft. I mostly use a 70-200 f2.8 and Nikon D500. I use 5 point group auto focus. Panning skills are important. Practice on planes even if you don't want to shoot them. I try to get on the plane and stay with it well before it is close enough to shoot. Sometimes I shift my focal point group one notch in the direction that the plane is coming from to sort of give me a "lead". I always use continuous exposure and AF-C. Usually at the lower rate of the two my D500 offers. Another thing that can help if you can mange it (again, practice helps) is to zoom out to help pick up the plane then zoom in while tracking said plane as it approaches. Many say you should shut VR off at high shutter speeds. I've never tried it but probably should. As you might imagine, I shoot hundreds of frames in a few hours at an event. The delete button gets a work out. All said and done though, I have had some of my stuff in a several different model publications.

Chaostrain Loc: Hillsboro, Oregon

I agree, they do look a little soft. I still like them, though. My first thought was can you increase your shutter speed? The second was maybe the delay because of auto focus? What about shooting in bursts? I've used the last one a few times finding the 2nd and 3rd shots usually give me a sharper image.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

Focus aside, and you thought our hobby was expensive?

ggab Loc: ?

My Shutter speed was 1/2000. I figured that would be fast enough. Perhaps not.
I set the 7D MKii to delay shooting until the subject was in focus. Sometimes it shot like a machine gun, other times it was single shot while the camera tried to catch up with the little planes.

ggab Loc: ?

Thank you.

Somewhere between the settings on the camera (The 7D Mkii has a ton of focus settings) and settings on the lens, I missed a setting I think.

ggab Loc: ?

ggab Loc: ?

The shutter speed was constant at 1/2000
Looking at the ISO for these images they vary between 250 and 640, certainly not very high.

"Another thing that can help if you can manage it (again, practice helps) is to zoom out to help pick up the plane then zoom in while tracking said plane as it approaches." I didn't think to try this, Thanks!
"Sometimes I shift my focal point group one notch in the direction that the plane is coming from to sort of give me a "lead". ". Initially I used a small group of focus points in the center, then I expanded to all 65 focus points. I set the camera to automatically track. Even with this setting, the camera had trouble keeping up. Perhaps it is my panning technique.

Howard5252 Loc: New York / Florida (now)

Drip Dry has given you some good advice. I would only take exception with the zooming while tracking. That is really difficult and I would suggest trying that technique after you get better by using the other suggestions. You already seem to be aware that shooting the plane as it approaches is easier than shooting it as it passes you. Use as long a lens as you have and shoot the jet at a greater distance; it will be easier to follow. Use a very high shutter speed, at least 4X the focal length (worry about noise later and it will be relatively easy to get rid of when your background is blurred anyway). Use a cluster of focusing points. When you decide to press the shutter, shoot in bursts of about 5 shots. One other happy consequence of photographing model planes - BIF become easier to photograph. You were correct in understanding that your panning probably needs improvement. In fact that is probably the biggest single factor in getting a good shot. If you can keep the plane in the focus point(s), everything else will fall into place. Good luck, have fun, and practice ... practice ... practice.