Lens for Air to Air photography, Suggestions?

TakeFlight · August 20, 2006

Hi All,
I am looking for a lens for my 20D that is compact enough but with enough zoom and the like to take mid air photos of my flight training. Here are some samples I have taken. I was using the kit lense that comes with the 20D. Realize I have a 70-200 F2.8 IS but that is not useable in a small cockpit. I appreciate any help/suggestions for lenses or for my lack of skill:):

Andy · August 20, 2006

I've seen Paul Bowen's work in person, http://www.airtoair.net/ he's an amazing photographer and one of Canon's Explorers of Light. Believe it or not, ONE of his faves is the much-maligned 100-400 f/5.6L IS.

TakeFlight · August 20, 2006

as much as I would love to add that lense to my stable, I cannot hold the camera left or right with a lense that big on it. The cockpit of a T-45 (the plane pictured above) is pretty small. Zoom isnt the biggest factor because we fly so close together. But I would like to get the rendevous which is a manuever that starts from a good bit away and come in close. Also wondering if I shouldnt go with something IS. Thoughts?

gus · August 20, 2006

What about the current crop of 12x prosumer cameras...i assume about the same price of a lens & most have IS now to boot. From what ive seen...they dont extend too far

Just a thought...saves a lot of our DSLR hassles & the images ive been seeing from them is great.

wxwax · August 20, 2006

TakeFlight wrote:

as much as I would love to add that lense to my stable, I cannot hold the camera left or right with a lense that big on it. The cockpit of a T-45 (the plane pictured above) is pretty small. Zoom isnt the biggest factor because we fly so close together. But I would like to get the rendevous which is a manuever that starts from a good bit away and come in close. Also wondering if I shouldnt go with something IS. Thoughts?

24-105 L f4 IS

TakeFlight · August 20, 2006

And why that lense?

gus · August 20, 2006

TakeFlight wrote:

And why that lense?

Possibly because it fits the description of what you are looking for

ian408 · August 21, 2006

TakeFlight wrote:

And why that lense?

The 24-105 would fit your requirements nicely. About 1/2 the weight of the
70-200 and about half the length.

You might want to get a rubber lens hood as well. That would help get rid
of some of the ghosting in the first and last shot. What you'd do is put the
hood right up against the canopy for shooting.

TakeFlight · August 21, 2006

That makes sense. I appreciate the clarification. I dont want to drop a grand on something without proper justification:) Any suggestions on a good rubber lense hood?

ziggy53 · August 21, 2006

gus wrote:

What about the current crop of 12x prosumer cameras...i assume about the same price of a lens & most have IS now to boot. From what ive seen...they dont extend too far

Just a thought...saves a lot of our DSLR hassles & the images ive been seeing from them is great.

I think your best bet is a digicam ultrazoom for daylight stuff. If you wear a full pressure suit you might need to adapt the controls to make them easier to use, but they have a great combination of compact form and convenient range.

The LCD live preview might be a great aid for composition.

The rubber lens hood is a super idea for eliminating reflections. but a custom made "DIY" soft foam "cone" hood might be a lot easier to use. (A lot of electronic foam is dark gray and can be cut and formed easily.)

The Canon PowerShot S3 IS has a wonderful set of features, looks like it might be usable with gloves, and usable ISO 400.

Movie Mode is something not available on any dSLR, but is very mature on this camera, and you can take still images while in video mode, even while recording video. (Apparently there is a short interuption in the video.) High Speed Continuous mode allows 2.5 FPS to the limit of the card.

With Digic II image processing and a real 2-stop IS, I think the S3 could be a real solution to your problem, and a darned nice earth-bound camera as well.

Reviews:

http://www.steves-digicams.com/2006_reviews/s3is.html
http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_s3-review/index.shtml

ziggy53

Tee Why · August 21, 2006

A Canon 70-300 DO IS is a good option with good range, pretty good optics, and IS. It's a bit expensive at just over a grand though.

I also agree with using a prosumer type digicam with a 12x zoom and IS as they are very compact.

TakeFlight · August 21, 2006

I wish I would have known about these cameras before I bought a powershot SD600. That camera has pretty good video quality for a small form factor. It fits great in my G-suit pocket and works well at higher altitudes. I think I may examine the lense/rubber hood idea a little more and see if it is worth the money to have that in my bag. Thanks for your help and if anyone has anymore suggestions, please let me know!

ian408 · August 21, 2006

TakeFlight wrote:

I wish I would have known about these cameras before I bought a powershot SD600. That camera has pretty good video quality for a small form factor. It fits great in my G-suit pocket and works well at higher altitudes. I think I may examine the lense/rubber hood idea a little more and see if it is worth the money to have that in my bag. Thanks for your help and if anyone has anymore suggestions, please let me know!

That SD600 is a great little camera for what it is. You should wear it on a
lanyard so it doesn't become FOD though

TakeFlight · August 21, 2006

ian408 wrote:

That SD600 is a great little camera for what it is. You should wear it on a
lanyard so it doesn't become FOD though

Absolutely! I have my idiot strap tightly fastened to the camera when I take it in the plane. I mostly used it for videos of the flight that I took the above pictures on. It was awesome for that, though I did get a little glare of some sort from the windscreen.

System · August 21, 2006

I'll give the 24-105 a nod as well but it comes with a pretty shallow hood and might be prone to more flare in this application. I wonder if you can use a deeper hood without much trouble?

ian408 · August 22, 2006

TakeFlight wrote:

Absolutely! I have my idiot strap tightly fastened to the camera when I take it in the plane. I mostly used it for videos of the flight that I took the above pictures on. It was awesome for that, though I did get a little glare of some sort from the windscreen.

I don't know how much time you have to shoot pictures or if there's a better
spot to store the camera. However, I'm thinking you could make a "hood" for
the entire camera out of wet suit material. You need enough to keep the lens
off the canopy and maybe a bit more. But this should help get rid of the flare
caused by the canopy. Some of the same material could be used for a lens
"hood". Really, the only thing you need the rubber for is to mitigate the flare
from the canopy. Right? By camera, I mean the sd600.

I'm guessing the 20d is a bit of a headache as far as storage goes?

TakeFlight · August 22, 2006

Well as far as storage for the 20D, I just wear it around my neck with a strap and pray I dont have to eject:D And as far as a rubber lense hood for the glare, I just ordered both of these down below. Please let me know if they should do the job. I think so from what I have read, but I am very novice so...
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=11158&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=productlist&A=details&Q=&sku=11189&is=REG&addedTroughType=search

gtc · August 22, 2006

suction cups
i agree with the digicam suggestions,

as well as a lenshood you might want to think about some suction cups so that you can stick the camera to inside of canopy when shooting-this would help steadiness and allow you to kepp your eyes 'on the 'whilst shooting

ian408 · August 22, 2006

TakeFlight wrote:

Well as far as storage for the 20D, I just wear it around my neck with a strap and pray I dont have to eject:D

Me too. I think you'd lose the camera

That hood looks like it will fit the bill nicely. Though since I've ever only
flown a simulator, I can't tell you for sure it will work

Ian

TakeFlight · August 23, 2006

Well, I have 9 months of training left so I am sure I will have a chance to let you guys know if the hoods work:) Anybody know of a USB/Firewire Video Capture card that is compatible with a Mac? I want to take the HUD 8mm tapes that we get to intergrate with other footage I have taken.

Lens for Air to Air photography, Suggestions?

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