Aviation photography lenses

I've been recently starting with DSLR photography and picked up a Digital
Rebel XT that I'm very happy with. Having a non-unlimited budget, I got it
with the 18-55 kit lens (usable for some point&shooting), a 50mm f/1.4 prime
(it knocked me down my chair when I looked at the quality I can get with
that lens, just awesome), and a 75-300 f/4.0-5.6 III (non-USM, non-IS - this
lens is really disapponting me, but it's also very cheap, so I had to expect
it).

My target is to be able to take aviation photos in a quality so that
airliners.net will accept my submissions. I have a decent workflow in
Photoshop CS2 which works quite well, but the limits of the 75-300 lens
can't be corrected to a level acceptable by airliners.net. It's simply too
soft between 200-300mm, and the lack of contrast is terrible. Is this just
me, do I have a bad copy, or is the lens bad by design?

Anyway, I'm afraid I need to go for an "L" lens somewhen in the future. The
problem is that any xxx-300 "L" zoom lens, or even 300mm "L" primes, are way
too expensive for me for the moment. So I thought about 75-200 f/4.0L with a
1.4x extender.

My question: would this combination still give good, "L" quality when used
properly, or isn't this a combination that is supposed to work? Will
autofocus still be fine?

Other question: if I mail-order the lenses from B&H (I live in Switzerland),
if something's broken, who will take care of warranty, and how many months
would I be without lenses if anything breaks? Local stores carry all this
but it's at least 30-50% more expensive than in the US.

Thank you for your comments
-Manuel



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Hi,

Just a quick question ...

When you say "Aviation Photography", are you talking about airbourne
photography, or photography of aircraft (or both)?

Cheers,

CC

"Manuel W." wrote in message
...
I've been recently starting with DSLR photography and picked up a Digital
Rebel XT that I'm very happy with. Having a non-unlimited budget, I got it
with the 18-55 kit lens (usable for some point&shooting), a 50mm f/1.4
prime
(it knocked me down my chair when I looked at the quality I can get with
that lens, just awesome), and a 75-300 f/4.0-5.6 III (non-USM, non-IS -
this
lens is really disapponting me, but it's also very cheap, so I had to
expect
it).

My target is to be able to take aviation photos in a quality so that
airliners.net will accept my submissions. I have a decent workflow in
Photoshop CS2 which works quite well, but the limits of the 75-300 lens
can't be corrected to a level acceptable by airliners.net. It's simply too
soft between 200-300mm, and the lack of contrast is terrible. Is this just
me, do I have a bad copy, or is the lens bad by design?

Anyway, I'm afraid I need to go for an "L" lens somewhen in the future.
The
problem is that any xxx-300 "L" zoom lens, or even 300mm "L" primes, are
way
too expensive for me for the moment. So I thought about 75-200 f/4.0L with
a
1.4x extender.

My question: would this combination still give good, "L" quality when used
properly, or isn't this a combination that is supposed to work? Will
autofocus still be fine?

Other question: if I mail-order the lenses from B&H (I live in
Switzerland),
if something's broken, who will take care of warranty, and how many months
would I be without lenses if anything breaks? Local stores carry all this
but it's at least 30-50% more expensive than in the US.

Thank you for your comments
-Manuel



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"Cockpit Colin" ha scritto nel messaggio
...

When you say "Aviation Photography", are you talking about airbourne
photography, or photography of aircraft (or both)?

Sorry, I should have been more specific ... I'm talking mainly about staying
on the ground taking pictures of planes about to land (on final), while
touching down, or shortly after take-off. I will also take some pictures of
parked planes on the tarmac. OTOH I'm not trying to take pictures of
airborne planes way up high, I think this would need even more long (and
expensive) lenses... but I'd also like to take airshow pictures (where the
flying airplanes are quite close to the public).

As you can see, I'm looking into doing many things... :-) that's why I was
looking at zoom lenses, being aware that they're never the same quality as
the primes, but you can't have it all...

I've found out that a 300mm lens is enough to get the planes "large enough"
(but then again I might be wrong), and now I need the "best bang for the
bucks" to get a decent quality out of my pictures.

Thank you
-Manuel



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On Fri, 22 Jul 2005 10:42:08 +0200, "Manuel W."
wrote:

Sorry, I should have been more specific ... I'm talking mainly about staying
on the ground taking pictures of planes about to land (on final), while
touching down, or shortly after take-off. I will also take some pictures of
parked planes on the tarmac.

You do realize this is one step away from becoming a train-spotter.

....or have you already graduated from train-spotting?

g

Which airport are you going to concentrate on, and do you have special
access?

--
Owamanga!
http://www.pbase.com/owamanga

"Owamanga" ha scritto nel messaggio
...

You do realize this is one step away from becoming a train-spotter.
...or have you already graduated from train-spotting?
g

OMG, now that you tell me that, I'm going to sell my equipment right away
:-))
No, no trainspotting in mind for the moment.

Which airport are you going to concentrate on, and do you have special
access?

I'm concentrating on two small regional airports in Switzerland (LSZA and
LSZL) where I do have special access being a private pilot (and no, I'm not
taking pictures while flying :-) eventhough I have already done that before
with my P&S camera, but with the dirty/scratched plexiglas windows it really
doesn't make sense)

-Manuel



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Manuel W. wrote:
I've been recently starting with DSLR photography and picked up a Digital
Rebel XT that I'm very happy with. Having a non-unlimited budget, I got it
with the 18-55 kit lens (usable for some point&shooting), a 50mm f/1.4 prime
(it knocked me down my chair when I looked at the quality I can get with
that lens, just awesome), and a 75-300 f/4.0-5.6 III (non-USM, non-IS - this
lens is really disapponting me, but it's also very cheap, so I had to expect
it).

My target is to be able to take aviation photos in a quality so that
airliners.net will accept my submissions. I have a decent workflow in
Photoshop CS2 which works quite well, but the limits of the 75-300 lens
can't be corrected to a level acceptable by airliners.net. It's simply too
soft between 200-300mm, and the lack of contrast is terrible. Is this just
me, do I have a bad copy, or is the lens bad by design?

Anyway, I'm afraid I need to go for an "L" lens somewhen in the future. The
problem is that any xxx-300 "L" zoom lens, or even 300mm "L" primes, are way
too expensive for me for the moment. So I thought about 75-200 f/4.0L with a
1.4x extender.

My question: would this combination still give good, "L" quality when used
properly, or isn't this a combination that is supposed to work? Will
autofocus still be fine?

Other question: if I mail-order the lenses from B&H (I live in Switzerland),
if something's broken, who will take care of warranty, and how many months
would I be without lenses if anything breaks? Local stores carry all this
but it's at least 30-50% more expensive than in the US.

Thank you for your comments
-Manuel

Hi Manuel,

I have the Canon Digital Rebel. I also have a Canon 35mm Rebel (well,
that is on lone to a niece for shooting wildlife right now.) However,
for the 35mm Rebel, I had a 75-300 F4.0-5.6 non USM, non IS lens. I
did mount that on the Digital Rebel.
I was happy with the contrast of that lens on the 35mm. I was not
happy with that lens on the Digital Rebel. I did buy a Canon 75-300
USM, IS lens F4.0-5.6. That one is fairly nice. See if a camera store
will let you try one out for a day.

I also have an old manual focus 500mm lens that ...well, I sort of
modified by taking the screw mount off of a Peleng 8mm lens and putting
it on the 500mm lens.
This worked. I am attempting to get another screw converison to EOS
mount.
From what you are trying to do, you may want to look at something in
the range of a 500mm lens. However, this may present problems. At an
airport, shooting photos with a lens that draws attention to you in
this day and age could be trouble.
A large lens like a 500mm could be asking for trouble from the security
folks, or just people calling the police saying some terrorist is
spotting planes.

I would start by looking at Canon's 75-300 USM lens. It seems to be
better then the non USM lens.

roland

"piperut" ha scritto nel messaggio
oups.com...
I would start by looking at Canon's 75-300 USM lens. It seems to be
better then the non USM lens.

Thank you for your tips. The photographer at my local camera store
recommends the 70-300 DO IS, which has more or less the same price like what
I was looking at (70-200 f/4.0L + 1.4x extender). Any experience with that
DO lens? Is it comparable to the "L" glass, especially wide open?

-Manuel



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Manuel,

The 70-300 is not as sharp as the 70-200 L. I have the L lens and a Digital
Rebel XT, and it is awesome. Very sharp with great contrast. It's also very
light if you are going to be using it handheld.

Here's a lens rating with the two side by side:

http://www.photozone.de/active/survey/querylenstxt.jsp?filter=%22brand='Canon%20EF'%20OR %20brand='Sigma%20AF'%20OR%20brand='Tamron%20AF'%2 0or%20brand='Tokina%20AF'%20or%20brand='Vivitar%20 AF'%22

I have read that there is very little degredation with the 1.4x Canon
extender, but I do not have one.

-- Martin

"Manuel W." wrote in message
...
"piperut" ha scritto nel messaggio
oups.com...
I would start by looking at Canon's 75-300 USM lens. It seems to be
better then the non USM lens.

Thank you for your tips. The photographer at my local camera store
recommends the 70-300 DO IS, which has more or less the same price like
what I was looking at (70-200 f/4.0L + 1.4x extender). Any experience with
that DO lens? Is it comparable to the "L" glass, especially wide open?

-Manuel



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Martin Schiff wrote:
Manuel,

The 70-300 is not as sharp as the 70-200 L. I have the L lens and a Digital
Rebel XT, and it is awesome. Very sharp with great contrast. It's also very
light if you are going to be using it handheld.

Here's a lens rating with the two side by side:

http://www.photozone.de/active/survey/querylenstxt.jsp?filter=%22brand='Canon%20EF'%20OR %20brand='Sigma%20AF'%20OR%20brand='Tamron%20AF'%2 0or%20brand='Tokina%20AF'%20or%20brand='Vivitar%20 AF'%22

I have read that there is very little degredation with the 1.4x Canon
extender, but I do not have one.

-- Martin

"Manuel W." wrote in message
...
"piperut" ha scritto nel messaggio
oups.com...
I would start by looking at Canon's 75-300 USM lens. It seems to be
better then the non USM lens.

Thank you for your tips. The photographer at my local camera store
recommends the 70-300 DO IS, which has more or less the same price like
what I was looking at (70-200 f/4.0L + 1.4x extender). Any experience with
that DO lens? Is it comparable to the "L" glass, especially wide open?

-Manuel



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Manuel,

I have been thinking a little more about your stated goal of shooting
photos of aircraft on approach at an airport.

Before you spend money on a new lens... you might want to try
something.
You will lose depth of field, but you might get something you can use.

I believe this is AV mode on the camera (I don't have the camera in
front of me right now.)

Open up the aperture on your lens to the largest opening (set it on
F4/F5.6),
Then attempt to take a photo of an aircraft on approach with the lens
you currently have.

It might just be the camera is selecting what it thinks is proper for
what you are shooting, and not what is really proper for the type of
photography you are doing.

It might be worth a try. (I don't like spending money unless I really
have too!)

roland

Point you browser at ...

http://www.fredmiranda.com/reviews/showcat.php?cat=27

To read comprehensive review of all the ones you're considering.

We have an old saying in aviation: "It takes 2 things to fly - Money, and
airspeed" - generally speaking, the higher the airspeed, the more money
required. Unfortunately, I'm learning that there is a similar thing with
lenses when it comes to aperatures and other nicities




"Manuel W." wrote in message
...
"piperut" ha scritto nel messaggio
oups.com...
I would start by looking at Canon's 75-300 USM lens. It seems to be
better then the non USM lens.

Thank you for your tips. The photographer at my local camera store
recommends the 70-300 DO IS, which has more or less the same price like
what
I was looking at (70-200 f/4.0L + 1.4x extender). Any experience with that
DO lens? Is it comparable to the "L" glass, especially wide open?

-Manuel



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