Help!

[Steffen Koschlig]

in worst light, F5.6 or anythink else shouldn't cause in much problems. But i personally recommend, that you don't use blends below F9 when sun is shining, or you want to take "good" photos.

shortly compare:

http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.p...60131&nseq=339 taken with F5.6 ->soft, black shadows in the corners

http://www.jetphotos.net/viewphoto.p...290231&nseq=44 taken with F10 ->sharp, no shadows in the corners and in still great quality

[03SVTCobra]

In my opinion every shot except the SWA looks blurry/soft

On the 55-200mm it can be a result of long zoom up to 200, or an switched on VR. When you use shutter speed above 1/320 sec, switch of the VR, it won't will help you. I made the experience, that the VR "helped" in making the pics blurry. Especially whilst trying to catch a fast take off or landing. Try ISO200, its better in worst light conditions such as the alaska 737. I personally would recommend a light correctin of +0,3 whenever and especially in bad light +0,7 or +1,0.

By the end of the night I think I was using ISO400 and Exp correction of 2.0 to be able and keep a high shutter speed. I figured the faster the shutter the less blurry it would be.

Also do I need to stop down to F8 or greater next time? I was trying to shoot at F5.6 the entire time because of the lighting situation.

[NickN]

A couple of tips I always follow:


1. Never allow the camera to do any of the editing including sharpness, brightness, etc etc etc. On my camera this mode is called "Natural" (Pentax)

2. Spot metering will help protect against burnt highlights in most instances, try using spot metering to help get your exposures right so when you adjust the levels in PP you don't lose detail.

3. Learn to hold the camera REALLY still.

4. Don't use the standard auto focus mode, choose centre point focusing.

5. Learn to become proficient with Photoshop, the JID workflow suggested is fabulous.

6. NEVER use VR (Shake reduction, Image Stabilisation etc etc) on moving aircraft as it actually makes the shots worse as the camera/lens tries to compensate for your panning motion.

7. Don't be scared to shoot in JPEG in the highest quality setting. I shoot in Premium JPEG (Pentax) at the maximum of 14.6MP and never have any issues with quality.

8. Don't just shoot one frame and then stop, taking a series of 3-6 frames at a time will ensure one of the shots is in-focus.

9. Only shoot in Tv (Shutter Priority) or Av (Aperture Priority). I almost exclusively shoot in Av.

Here are some of my recent ones to let you know how JPEG shooting can work just fine:

http://www.jetphotos.net/viewqueued_b.php?id=2053715
http://www.jetphotos.net/viewqueued_b.php?id=2053721
http://www.jetphotos.net/viewqueued_b.php?id=2055388
http://www.jetphotos.net/viewqueued_b.php?id=2055397
http://www.jetphotos.net/viewqueued_b.php?id=2053712

Keep trying and you'll crack the code!

Nick

[seahawk]

Why are using Manual exposure control. Not a setting I would use for flying aircraft. And the circumstances were also not favourable. Seems like low light, considering at. 5.6, Shutter at 1/400 and ISO400.

I would start with setting the camera to P or P* as needed and on a nice sunny afternoon or morning with plenty of light. then work from there.

[Steffen Koschlig]

In my opinion every shot except the SWA looks blurry/soft

On the 55-200mm it can be a result of long zoom up to 200, or an switched on VR. When you use shutter speed above 1/320 sec, switch of the VR, it won't will help you. I made the experience, that the VR "helped" in making the pics blurry. Especially whilst trying to catch a fast take off or landing. Try ISO200, its better in worst light conditions such as the alaska 737. I personally would recommend a light correctin of +0,3 whenever and especially in bad light +0,7 or +1,0.

[03SVTCobra]

Ok I went to KDFW today.

How do these shots look? I think I may need a longer lens. As I just don't get enough detail from a long distance out with the 55-200 VR. Especially at KDFW when I can't get within a half mile of the runway.

[Jet-fighters.Net]

I myself am not a big fan of the D-Lighting feature but what i would suggest is to try a group of shots with it off and a group with it on the same day and see what results suit you best.

For myself i get better results in Capture NX or Camera Raw.

[03SVTCobra]

While i dont know the exact setting on the D60 to set it to a fixed focus point on the D80 and D300 you can use a dial on the back to set the type of focus point. What you want to use is the focus point set right in the middle of the view finder and put that point on the center of the aircraft and let the body do the rest.

With Closest point focusing it will select the area closest to the camera and focus in on that area. so you might be focusing on the nose of the aircraft or a tree that is off to the side or below the aircraft. look in your owners manual about focus types and focus points as a starting point.

What i am really trying to say is with all of the automatic features that the camera offers about the only thing i will let it do is autofocus and image metering and i will even set the camera to where i have some control over those functions.

I see what you're saying now. Do you recommend leaving the Active D-Lighting on? A lot of people have stressed the appreciation of that feature on this camera.

[Jet-fighters.Net]

While i dont know the exact setting on the D60 to set it to a fixed focus point on the D80 and D300 you can use a dial on the back to set the type of focus point. What you want to use is the focus point set right in the middle of the view finder and put that point on the center of the aircraft and let the body do the rest.

With Closest point focusing it will select the area closest to the camera and focus in on that area. so you might be focusing on the nose of the aircraft or a tree that is off to the side or below the aircraft. look in your owners manual about focus types and focus points as a starting point.

What i am really trying to say is with all of the automatic features that the camera offers about the only thing i will let it do is autofocus and image metering and i will even set the camera to where i have some control over those functions.

[03SVTCobra]

First of all i would set the Focus point to a fixed point instead of closest subject. Next set the all of the bells and whistles to off or neutral I.E sharpening, image mode Etc. I have found that on my Nikons on a sunny day i set the EV to -0.7 to help in controlling the blown out highlights in the image.

In Photoshop you can start to make adjustments in Camera Raw. Do not use the camera to make adjustments to your images. A neutral well exsposed image will result in better images in Photoshop. If you butcher the image in the camera you have lost the flexability the computer offers you in processing.

Relax keep trying out different settings on your Nikon and you will find a sweet spot that will reward you with fantastic images.

Not sure how you mean buy one single focus point. The picture next to the setting I chose depicted a motorcycle rider in focus and the background blurred. So I figured that would be the best setting to go with.

[Jet-fighters.Net]

First of all i would set the Focus point to a fixed point instead of closest subject. Next set the all of the bells and whistles to off or neutral I.E sharpening, image mode Etc. I have found that on my Nikons on a sunny day i set the EV to -0.7 to help in controlling the blown out highlights in the image.

In Photoshop you can start to make adjustments in Camera Raw. Do not use the camera to make adjustments to your images. A neutral well exsposed image will result in better images in Photoshop. If you butcher the image in the camera you have lost the flexability the computer offers you in processing.

Relax keep trying out different settings on your Nikon and you will find a sweet spot that will reward you with fantastic images.

[03SVTCobra]

Ok I followed some editorials on that page you linked me.

How does this look?

[Powercube]

There's a difference between "OW MY EYES!" soft and "Hey, this could use a little bit of sharpening". I didn't think it was relevant at that moment, but if you're getting RAW files that you can go straight from the card to the client/JP- more power to you.

Edit: Did you "Hotrod" your body?

[Tanner_J]

My first question is, have you been doing any sort of post processing on your images? Raw images will always be soft.

I must be doing something wrong...mine aren't soft.

[seahawk]

You do want to set colours to normal, not vivid.