(Ron Hunter) wrote:

Almost every picture at an airshow will have the
subject more than 50 feet away from the camera, which means you
wouldn't be using the AF at all, as the setting would be, basically
'infinity' all the time.

I'm afraid you're very much wrong there. Infinity is a lot further away
than you might think. I have a lot of out of focus shots from my first
few manual focus shows to prove it. :-)

A critical issue is the camera's ability to lock on and stay locked on
without hunting. My K100D + screwdrive 70-300 can waste a lot of time
hunting through the range if it gets distracted, or my aim slips. It can
be very annoying.

You also have to factor in the need for very high shutter speeds which
lead to a narrow depth of field. So if the AF can't track fast enough you
get even more out of focus shots.

When I started out I never planned to spend so much money (40D + 100-400L)
for the airshows I enjoy so much, but I've been inevitably been led down
that path in order to overcome both my own limitations and those of my
previous hardware.

That spare will still cost many times what a set of Eneloop
(or similar) batteries, and will you still be able to buy
a battery for that camera 10 years from now?

The spares I bought for my 40D cost me less than 5ukp each (and have
plenty of positive reviews to stop me feeling nervous about that low
price) which is less than the cost of a set of 4 Hybrio/Eneloops. I'm
still a fan of the new NiMH technology but I have -- slowly and
reluctantly -- come to realise the benefit of having a camera which just
goes on and on (and on!) without me having to check the battery. I find
it very impressive indeed, even though part of me still objects to any
kind of proprietary battery (or lens fitting for that matter!)

Andrew McP