Taking Photos Flying

[VORTIME]

Anyone know a remedy to consistently blurred photos while flying? I've held the new (high quality) digital camera very still on many occassions, allowed it focus and still get blurred photos much to my frustration when I download them.

VT

[rustle]

Clean the windows?? :D

Don't mean that to sound flippant, but it helps if the windows are clean.

Is it a focus-blur or a movement-blur?

Try setting the focus to infinity, that way it won't try and focus on the bit of crap on the window...

[bluskis]

Sounds silly, but take care not to rest the camers againgt the window, or other part of the plane. Vibrations will be occilating the camera, hence the light/film relationship.

[Skylark4]

It doesn`t matter how clean your canopy is, the camera will still focus on it if it is within range. Hold your camera virtually touching the `glass`and you should be O.K.. Better still, shoot through the D.V. Panel. Dont forget that the viewfinder and the lens are not usually in the same place on a digital, if you don`t allow for it you can get the edge of the D.V.P. cutting through your piccie.

Mike W

[Another St Ivian]

I went through that problem for a bit. I did however manage to catch this beauty:

http://www.cyborg2000.fsnet.co.uk/new.jpg


Couple of things I did, shutter speed as fast as possible, flash off, have the lens right up against the canopy and take the same shot three or four times and take the best of them. Try and position the sun in a way that will get rid of reflections and other nasty bits too. It is a real pain in the arse though and can be disappointing at times.

A.S.I

[BEagle]

An 'auto-everything' camera isn't normally much good for air-to-air shots. But if you can set the thing to 'shutter speed priority' and use (35mm equivalent) a shutter speed numerically faster than the focal length (i.e if you're using a 200mm lens, don't shoot slower than 1/200 sec), you should be OK. You might need to open it up about 1 stop above the auto solution as well; using a zone or spot metering SLR, trap a dark bit of the image, then zoom out to compose and shoot.

Or the digital equivalent. I have both 'traditional' and digital cameras, but I would never dream of using the digital for 'serious' air-to-air photography; it just isn't user-friendly enough. I far prefer the good old Canon T70 with 200 ISO film and a 35-200 zoom lens!

[carb]

All this advice seems like such a lot of hassle; vibration from holding it against the airframe would certainly cause the problem but otherwise, I think you simply need to get a different camera, and to name & shame the one you're using!

I use a Fujifilm/finepix 4700 and frankly it's perfect. I've taken hundreds (nearly thousands!) of photos inflight in lots of very scratchy and dirty old rental aircraft, in all weather and times of day, without having to give a second thought to whether I'm holding the camera near or touching the 'glass' or worrying about settings and stuff. Don't even need to hold it particularly steady. It does everything automatically, I can just pick it up, take aim and click, with no delay, and every time it grabs an awesome photo. Everything always seems to look even better when I download the images than I remember the scenes in real life.

My first digi camera was supposedly 'good' too but actually it was useless, very easily took blurred photos so I just got rid of it on yahoo auctions, managed to get back just a tenner less than I paid for it ;)

[drauk]

For a good (i.e. technically correct and useful) answer to this question, we need to know what the problem is with the pictures. The best way of knowing is to see one. Can you post a sample?

[Evo]

ASI

Nice photo! :)

[VORTIME]

I use a FugiFilm F601 - supposed to be quite good??

[DB6]

1) Take loads and loads and throw away the crap ones - digital is made for this
2) Use DV window (secure the camera first :eek: )
3) Set focus to infinity if full auto won't sort it out.
Works for me, particularly 1) :}

[incubus]

Another SI:

Lovely photo indeed, but it does show what can go wrong if you spend too much time on the photography and not enough on the aviation ;-)

[Monocock]

I knew it......I just bl**dy knew it!!!!!!!

Someone would come out with a comment like that, it was just a matter of time wasn't it.

Another St Ivian, beautiful shot

Incubus, get a life:yuk:

[rustle]

Monocock, one of us is wrong, but I suspect incubus' comment was tongue-in-cheek. Did you not see the smiley?

[formationfoto]

ASI - boring repetition I know but great shot!.
Beagle - have to disagree I'm afraid. The latest high spec digitals offer as much control as any SLR. We use Nikon D1X and providing you don't leave it on auto everything and think about what you are trying to achieve (as with a film based SLR) then you will get shots every bit as good as film. I agree with your other points though.
Monocock - you probably didn't spot the intent of the comment from Incubus which I think was both positive and tongue in cheek.

Here is my short offering:

Use an open window or door or DV panel if possible (removes the issue of poor transparency and internal reflection).

If you have to shoot through a window:
Try and choose an aircraft without a tinted window
Reduce internal reflections by blocking all light getting to the part of the window you are shooting through - Rubber lens hood is useful for this - failing that a dark sweater draped around the end of the lens.
If you can't achieve this then make sure no-one inside the aircraft is wearing anything bright.

High shutter speed will remove motion blur but this is a balance if you are shooting prop aircraft as a high shutter speed will 'stop' the prop. 1/200th is usually a good compromise.

Use as short a lens as possible for the shot required (which means being closer to the subject). This aligns with the advice from Beagle and the shutter speed issue - anything more than a 200mm on a 35mm camera is asking for shake.

Avoid direct contact with the airframe which will induce vibration (if using the rubber lens hood on the window trick hold it close enough to stop light getting to the window but not so close as to create a 'hard coupling').

If shooting out of an open window or door try to avoid having the mens or camera in the air stream - this will buffet and cause movement.

Turn autofocus off if you can and focus manually. Some autofocus systems get confused by a window you might be shooting through, a distant background and close subject, and sometimes even rotating props.

These are the things to look at related to the problem you describe. In addition you do need to think about lighting and composition but that is a lengthier subject and not one to address in a short post.

The advice of taking loads and loads can work but always better to try and get the shot right and then just take a couple of safety shots. Even if digital is so cheap (almost zero consumable cost).

Carb - glad you get great shots just pointing and shooting but you mush have a great dose of luck and skill. For most people this is not going to work to consistently deliver the sort of shots you can be proud of.

Vortime - you don't make it clear what the subject is. Are you talking scenery shots or air to air?. For scenery shots all sorts of things can conspire against you. All the things already mentioned but also haze in the atmosphere creating very dull shots indeed.

[BEagle]

formationfoto - I've no doubt that the really gucci latest digital cameras will indeed give the sort of results you're after.

I taught myself air-to-air photography by using a manual focus Canon (T70) with zone metering, speed priority set to 1/500 and a 35-200 f1:4-5.6 Tokina zoom with a Hoya UV filter. I always used Ektachrome 200 as it forced me to be selective and to get the exposure right as there's little latitude on slide film! It must have worked as I even sold a picture to the late Arthur Gibson, aviation photgrapher par excellence, at his insistence!

My little Olympus C-920 digital is fine for certain applications, but the T70's speed of manual zoom and focus for composition, half-pressure on the shutter release to trap the aperture followed by breathe in, freeze and squeeze usually got the results! Haven't had much time since Gulf War 1 to do much air-to-air stuff - but the editors used lots of my air-to-airs just after the war.

Including Airfix, who used my picture of Tornado GR1 'Armoured Charmer' on the box of their model kit without any permission!

[Floppy Link]

For nice prop disc shots some have used the Kenyon Gyro stabiliser which I spose uses the tripod bushing. Then you can use a slower shutter speed without getting the blurs (apart from the prop!), increases the depth of field too

Kenyon Website (http://www.ken-lab.com/)

Not cheap though...

Russell

(NOT Russell Munson, whose book "Skyward" shows what can be done)

[formationfoto]

Beagle:
I think the issue is really SLR or compact and manual control vs auto everything. Whilst I will argue the ability of digital to give film a run for its money in the 6Mp+ range this not the case with cheap lenses and zero control cameras.

I use digital because i can check what I have got straight away and can reshoot if I am not happy. Can also shoot a few more than I would with film (though not to the excess suggested here). The cost of copying the pics to a CD is less than £1 and the owner of the subject aircraft can walk away with the CD after the shoot.

I do, though, appreciate the skill of those who stick to film, particularly those like you who use slide film with its limited latitude. I have had to rescue loads of shots in Photoshop when, on a dull day, they just had no presence. You need to get it right first time every time and that takes more skill.