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  • mirrorless cameras for plane photography

    hey guys

    i was wondering if any of the canon mirrorless cameras are good for plane photography i saw the m5 or the m50 or any for that matter?

    i saw a video of a guy taking pictures with the m5 and it looked good apart from the af it was having trouble focusing on go-karts going 30-40 mph and these planes would be going over 100

    so if anybody has a mirrorless camera does the af work well with it? or should i wait a couple years before making a purchase.

    thanks in advance

  • #2
    To my knowledge the M50 is comparable to the 80D in terms of performance.

    I have both of these and I prefer my DSLR, but the best idea would be for you to rent the M50 (the M5 has been discontinued) and see whether you like it.

    Things I dislike about the M50:
    * Electronic viewfinder is not as responsive as an optical one.
    * Small form factor is nice for travelling, but very unergonomic if you're going to stick a massive 100-400mm lens on the front.
    * The battery life. The battery is tiny and the camera chows through battery life. It helps to enable the battery saver options, but for a recent trip to Japan, I took 3 batteries along to get through the day.

    Comment


    • #3
      Originally posted by jvdl View Post
      To my knowledge the M50 is comparable to the 80D in terms of performance.

      I have both of these and I prefer my DSLR, but the best idea would be for you to rent the M50 (the M5 has been discontinued) and see whether you like it.

      Things I dislike about the M50:
      * Electronic viewfinder is not as responsive as an optical one.
      * Small form factor is nice for travelling, but very unergonomic if you're going to stick a massive 100-400mm lens on the front.
      * The battery life. The battery is tiny and the camera chows through battery life. It helps to enable the battery saver options, but for a recent trip to Japan, I took 3 batteries along to get through the day.
      yea that's one of the big problems about the m50 is the battery life and the small form factor im sure is annoying aswell, but isn't there a grip for it?

      from what you said ill more than likely hold off for a newer version with better battery life

      thanks for the infromation

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by jakew04 View Post
        the small form factor im sure is annoying aswell, but isn't there a grip for it?
        Not to my knowledge, but I'm happy to be corrected.

        Comment


        • #5
          The R and RP would also be very suitable. I've seen a few guys out in the field using an R. They're obviously a lot more expensive. However even with these, I understand the battery life isn't as good as a DSLR due to the smaller batteries used.

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by B7772ADL View Post
            The R and RP would also be very suitable. I've seen a few guys out in the field using an R. They're obviously a lot more expensive. However even with these, I understand the battery life isn't as good as a DSLR due to the smaller batteries used.
            I know the RP uses a smaller battery, but does the R not use the standard Canon workhorse batteries? Perhaps EVF simply drains it quicker?

            Comment


            • #7
              Mirrorless for action shooting

              Originally posted by jakew04 View Post
              hey guys

              i was wondering if any of the canon mirrorless cameras are good for plane photography i saw the m5 or the m50 or any for that matter?

              i saw a video of a guy taking pictures with the m5 and it looked good apart from the af it was having trouble focusing on go-karts going 30-40 mph and these planes would be going over 100

              so if anybody has a mirrorless camera does the af work well with it? or should i wait a couple years before making a purchase.

              thanks in advance

              Hello,

              I think I can help with this question, because I switched over from Canon DSLRs to the Mirrorless world at the end of 2016 and I tried out different systems and solutions !

              First...
              Mirrorless are getting always better with AF, but they are not many with capabilities even close to a good DSLR !!!
              But they are a few, hold that thought we'll comme to that later !

              All the mirrorless cameras like Canon EOS M5, M50, Sony A6000 or any Panasonic Lumix, are not ment for shooting sports, even if their AF is not bad at all and they uses really nice sensors !!!

              Forget about those !!!

              My experience is that shooting aviation or wildlife with mirrorless can become very expensive if you want absolute amazing results !

              Let me explain why...

              First, because if you have intention to go for full frame, you don't have really much choices about your camera !!!
              In my opinion, only 2 cameras with 24x36 sensor are good enough for sport :
              - Sony A7 MkIII
              - Sony A9

              I let you check the prices on the web !!!

              Then, comes the lenses...
              For that system, you need good glass if you want to have good results with those amazing sensors !!!
              - Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 G OSS (which I also use and which is really good)
              - Sony FE 70-300 f/4.5-5.6 G OSS which I also used and was very good on my A6500
              - Sony FE 70-200 f/2.8 GM OSS, which will cost a lot !
              - Sony FE 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS which is a beast but very expensive
              - Sony FE 200-600 f/5.6-6.3 G OSS which will soon be available and cost in the 2'300.- USD range !

              That's pretty much it !

              I have used my Canon L glass with Sigma MC-11 adapter for a while, but somethimes the AF hunts a bit, so if you want speed and reliable AF, go for native lenses !

              In the APSC world it's a little bit better...

              I have used my A6500 a lot and now use my A6400 on a regular base... Believe me, that little "m*****f*****" has the best AF I have ever seen... Period !!!
              You can use it with the FE 70-200 f/4 G OSS (what I also do a lot), which gives you an equivalent 35mm of 105-300mm !! And damn is that lens good even wide open !!!
              With the FE 70-300 G OSS you will have an equivalent of 105-450mm which is the best compromise between size, weight, cost and performance you can get on an A6000 series camera !

              After that, you can add the fantastic Sony Zeiss 16-70 f/4 to your kit and have a perfect IQ between 24 and 450mm with only two lenses in your bag !!!

              That's pretty much all about Sony !

              The other brand that I have tested and is probably even better in the APSC world... is Fujifilm !!!

              Even an X-T2 is enough for capturing amazing aircraft pictures... But I would go for an X-T3 with stabilized lenses only or for an X-H1 (waiting the X-H2 to come out in late 2020).

              The Fuji system has a very good AF, ergonomics are the best I have ever seen and their lenses... My god these lenses !!!

              Let's make it simple... These are my recommended zoom lenses in the Fuji X world :
              - XF 10-24 f/4
              - XF 16-55 f/2.8 (wow wow wow)
              - XF 18-135 (best all rounder ever seen)
              - XF 50-140 f/2.8 (as good as any 70-200 f/2.8 for full frame at half the price)
              - XF 100-400 (even works well with 1.4x converter, it's quick and very sharp)

              Then you have primes :
              - 16mm f/1.4 (one of the best wide angle primes ever seen)
              - 56mm f/1.2 (amazing for portraits)
              - 200mm f/2 (expensive but..........)

              In any case, since I left my Canon EOS 7D2 and 5D3, the only cameras which made me feel confident shooting planes, where :
              - A6500
              - A6400
              - Fujifilm X-T2

              I did not own the others but X-T3, X-H1, A7M3 and A9 are on par or even better !!!

              All the other mirrorless cameras are OK for general purpose, but that's it !!!
              That's my opinion and it's worth what it's worth !

              I hope it will help some people to make the right decision !

              See yo soon


              P.S.: If size and weight isn't an issue... Stay with your DSLR
              Last edited by Stormo1217; 2019-07-11, 16:44.
              Best regards and have a nice flight !

              Remo G.

              Comment


              • #8
                Originally posted by Stormo1217 View Post
                Hello,

                I think I can help with this question, because I switched over from Canon DSLRs to the Mirrorless world at the end of 2016 and I tried out different systems and solutions !

                First...
                Mirrorless are getting always better with AF, but they are not many with capabilities even close to a good DSLR !!!
                But they are a few, hold that thought we'll comme to that later !

                All the mirrorless cameras like Canon EOS M5, M50, Sony A6000 or any Panasonic Lumix, are not ment for shooting sports, even if their AF is not bad at all and they uses really nice sensors !!!

                Forget about those !!!

                My experience is that shooting aviation or wildlife with mirrorless can become very expensive if you want absolute amazing results !

                Let me explain why...

                First, because if you have intention to go for full frame, you don't have really much choices about your camera !!!
                In my opinion, only 2 cameras with 24x36 sensor are good enough for sport :
                - Sony A7 MkIII
                - Sony A9

                I let you check the prices on the web !!!

                Then, comes the lenses...
                For that system, you need good glass if you want to have good results with those amazing sensors !!!
                - Sony FE 70-200mm f/4 G OSS (which I also use and which is really good)
                - Sony FE 70-300 f/4.5-5.6 G OSS which I also used and was very good on my A6500
                - Sony FE 70-200 f/2.8 GM OSS, which will cost a lot !
                - Sony FE 100-400 f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS which is a beast but very expensive
                - Sony FE 200-600 f/5.6-6.3 G OSS which will soon be available and cost in the 2'300.- USD range !

                That's pretty much it !

                I have used my Canon L glass with Sigma MC-11 adapter for a while, but somethimes the AF hunts a bit, so if you want speed and reliable AF, go for native lenses !

                In the APSC world it's a little bit better...

                I have used my A6500 a lot and now use my A6400 on a regular base... Believe me, that little "m*****f*****" has the best AF I have ever seen... Period !!!
                You can use it with the FE 70-200 f/4 G OSS (what I also do a lot), which gives you an equivalent 35mm of 105-300mm !! And damn is that lens good even wide open !!!
                With the FE 70-300 G OSS you will have an equivalent of 105-450mm which is the best compromise between size, weight, cost and performance you can get on an A6000 series camera !

                After that, you can add the fantastic Sony Zeiss 16-70 f/4 to your kit and have a perfect IQ between 24 and 450mm with only two lenses in your bag !!!

                That's pretty much all about Sony !

                The other brand that I have tested and is probably even better in the APSC world... is Fujifilm !!!

                Even an X-T2 is enough for capturing amazing aircraft pictures... But I would go for an X-T3 with stabilized lenses only or for an X-H1 (waiting the X-H2 to come out in late 2020).

                The Fuji system has a very good AF, ergonomics are the best I have ever seen and their lenses... My god these lenses !!!

                Let's make it simple... These are my recommended zoom lenses in the Fuji X world :
                - XF 10-24 f/4
                - XF 16-55 f/2.8 (wow wow wow)
                - XF 18-135 (best all rounder ever seen)
                - XF 50-140 f/2.8 (as good as any 70-200 f/2.8 for full frame at half the price)
                - XF 100-400 (even works well with 1.4x converter, it's quick and very sharp)

                Then you have primes :
                - 16mm f/1.4 (one of the best wide angle primes ever seen)
                - 56mm f/1.2 (amazing for portraits)
                - 200mm f/2 (expensive but..........)

                In any case, since I left my Canon EOS 7D2 and 5D3, the only cameras which made me feel confident shooting planes, where :
                - A6500
                - A6400
                - Fujifilm X-T2

                I did not own the others but X-T3, X-H1, A7M3 and A9 are on par or even better !!!

                All the other mirrorless cameras are OK for general purpose, but that's it !!!
                That's my opinion and it's worth what it's worth !

                I hope it will help some people to make the right decision !

                See yo soon


                P.S.: If size and weight isn't an issue... Stay with your DSLR
                well thank you for all of that very informative i read all of it and the fujifilm cameras sound great but they are expensive and weight and size isn't an issue for me so ill probably stay with my dslr for now and wait for the x-h1 in 2020

                thank you for all of that once again i hope you get great results with your mirrorless cameras

                Comment


                • #9
                  Did anybody switch to the Canon EOS R and can report, how it performs for planespotters?

                  I have seen a lot of reviews on youtube lately, but you know none of them is testing it in our environment.

                  I am very interested how the view finder works for our purpose, and the battery life of the EOS R.
                  Oliver Richter

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Mirrorless

                    I would like to add to this, as i have just purchased the Sony A7iii with the 100-400 G-Master Lens on the strength of a lot of reviews of this camera. I took it to Manchester Airport on Sunday to test it out and I am not disappointed the AF compared to my 7D2 100-400 Mk2 is amazing I took over 2000 shots and after checking back home on the Pc just over 1800 are keepers. The EVF takes getting used to in Mirrorless cameras but for the image quality I can live with that. So after many years as a Canon shooter with inconsistent AF that camera with be getting sold very soon.

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      the sony mirrorless cameras are amazing , i was mainly talking about canon because i know there lacking with mirrorless cameras. if i had the budget to get a sony with the 100-400mm i would, probably one of the best combo's in my opinion. i hope you enjoy your new toy

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        As a user of Canon 7Dmk1/6Dmk2 and mirrorless Sony A6000 with Sony 18-105 F4 G lens, I have to say, that for spotting purposes, DSLR is much better. I use Sony only for static shots, or for very slow moving aircraft. I don't feel comfortable with it for shooting aircraft at take-off speed. Yes, Sony has 11fps, but so what, when more than half of them are unsharp or blurry. I never had such problems with DSLR. And I really can't get used to EVF. You also have to take battery life into consideration. I have 2 batteries for A6000, and both of them are... not brilliant. Around 400shot is max what you can do, and it's not easy, cause for example you have turn your camera off between the shots, and use the screen as rarely as it is possible. And charging those batteries takes forever, even with Sony's battery charger. Something around 3 hours I think. On the other hand, I managed to make over 1200 shots with brand new Canon's LP-E6N, and it still had 18% of battery life. To be honest, even my 7 year old Canon LP-E6s still perform better than Sony's.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          My wife uses a Canon R full frame. She is absolutely ecstatic with its performance.
                          Last edited by brianw999; 2019-08-21, 13:01.
                          If it 'ain't broken........ Don't try to mend it !

                          Comment

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