Faster glass?

[cholubaz]

Hello all,

I need some advice. I am not super happy with most of my shots and then on top of that I am far from very good with Photoshop to post process them into anything astounding. I have a T3i and I really like it and it of course came with the 18-55 kit lens but for taking pics at the airport I use the 55-250mm EF-S 1:4-5.6 IS II I am shooting normally on TV mode with the shutter speed at 125 or just today I thought I could help a little bit by going to 160 but the planes are still a little blurry. Do I need a faster lens?
Is my settings not quite right or is it just that 250mm isn't cutting it. I shooting from the observation deck at DVT so you know how far away from the planes on 7R I am talking about as they are landing and taking off so i am fully zoomed in.

I was looking at some older "vintage: lenses that I could use with a converter but then of course I would have to rely on manual focusing and that might just make things worse, well at least until I get some practice in. I don't have hundreds or thousands of dollars to throw at a lens. I love finding a smoking deal on something used. Is there anything you could recommend?

Cheers,
Chris

[Scott Youmans]

One thing that strikes me right off the bat is that if you are panning with the IS on, it is probably counter productive unless that lens has two IS modes.  One for still shots (Mode 1) and one for panning (Mode 2).  If you don't have two modes, turn the IS off for panning shots.

With that camera (1.6x crop) and a 250mm lens you want to be shooting at higher shutter speeds than 160th for sure.  At least when shooting at 250mm.  Especially without IS.  Try shooting using Av (Aperture Priority) at f/8 and adjust your ISO until you are seeing shutter speeds of 1/500 or faster.  A rule of thumb is to use a shutter speed of 1/focal length.  500mm lens, 1/500 sec.  Your 250mm lens acts like a 375mm with your body so I'd definitely go with a higher shutter speed.  You also don't want to shoot wide open (f/5.6) with that lens.  f/8 is a better bet.  Try that and see what happens.

[FelipeG]

What settings are you using? When I was at DVT last week I was shooting 1/640 at ISO 200, f8. ISO100 will definitely result in slower speeds (in case that's the cause), but with the T3i you should have very clean images at ISO200. And if you try to go beyond f10 or f11 your image will start suffering from diffraction and extreme softness.

I don't think you really need a faster lens for that, because chances are, you're not going to be shooting planes from long distances at f2.8 or f4.

The EF-S 55-250 doesn't have a Mode 1 or Mode 2 stabilizer, so you should read the manual and see what it says for motion. Unless I'm doing low-speed pannings, I keep my Sigma 80-400 OS in Mode 1 (vertical and horizontal stabilizer), even for moving planes, tends to work a bit better. If I'm shooting moving planes around 1/320 and below, then I switch to Mode 2 (Panning).

[cholubaz]

One thing that strikes me right off the bat is that if you are panning with the IS on, it is probably counter productive unless that lens has two IS modes.  One for still shots (Mode 1) and one for panning (Mode 2).  If you don't have two modes, turn the IS off for panning shots.

With that camera (1.6x crop) and a 250mm lens you want to be shooting at higher shutter speeds than 160th for sure.  At least when shooting at 250mm.  Especially without IS.  Try shooting using Av (Aperture Priority) at f/8 and adjust your ISO until you are seeing shutter speeds of 1/500 or faster.  A rule of thumb is to use a shutter speed of 1/focal length.  500mm lens, 1/500 sec.  Your 250mm lens acts like a 375mm with your body so I'd definitely go with a higher shutter speed.  You also don't want to shoot wide open (f/5.6) with that lens.  f/8 is a better bet.  Try that and see what happens.

Thanks for the info. The lens only has an on or off for the IS. I'll try with it off next time. The other thing I was wondering about was the shutter speed. If I increase it any more wont that stop the prop and I wont get the nice prop blur any more?

Cheers,
Chris

[cholubaz]

What settings are you using? When I was at DVT last week I was shooting 1/640 at ISO 200, f8. ISO100 will definitely result in slower speeds (in case that's the cause), but with the T3i you should have very clean images at ISO200. And if you try to go beyond f10 or f11 your image will start suffering from diffraction and extreme softness.

I don't think you really need a faster lens for that, because chances are, you're not going to be shooting planes from long distances at f2.8 or f4.

The EF-S 55-250 doesn't have a Mode 1 or Mode 2 stabilizer, so you should read the manual and see what it says for motion. Unless I'm doing low-speed pannings, I keep my Sigma 80-400 OS in Mode 1 (vertical and horizontal stabilizer), even for moving planes, tends to work a bit better. If I'm shooting moving planes around 1/320 and below, then I switch to Mode 2 (Panning).

I was just on TV mode so the only thing I was adjusting was the shutter speed. I'll play around with it more with the IS off and try the settings you guys suggested.

Cheers,
Chris

[Joe Copalman]

You can still get decent prop blur up to about 1/320, with the benefit of sharper fuselage details.  I typically default to 1/250, though I commonly shoot at 1/160 as well, understanding that my keeper rate will be lower.

Piggybacking off Scott's advice regarding shooting wide open vs. f/8, that works the other way when shooting slow shutter speeds.  The slower you go in shutter priority/time value/whatever, the narrow your aperture will be (in the f/16-f/22 neighborhood).  Adding exposure compensation (+1/3 to +1 depending on how slow you are shooting) can give you a wider aperture (f/10-f/14-ish).

[FelipeG]

Just to show, this is 1/800, there is not too much prop blur, but the props do not look "static"


PHI Air Medical Beechcraft King Air N246PH KPHX 29DEC12 by FelipeGarcia., on Flickr

[cholubaz]

Joe thanks for that. I am having a ball trying out different things and these suggestions for you guys are going to help a lot I'm sure.

Felipe, Yeah I see what you mean. It's getting close to static but there is still enough blur there to give you the visual that it's moving and it was fast enough that you can still read the smaller print like the PHI Logo
Nice shot I love the King Air's

Cheers,
Chris

[Scott Youmans]

The desire for more prop blur definitely adds another dimension!  Jay seems to have that down.  It's called good technique!  Otherwise as Joe mentioned the keeper rate goes down with the slower shutter speeds.  Always trade-offs.

[Jay Beckman]

Better a sharp shot with "acceptable" prop blur than full prop arcs on something so blurry it's unrecognizable.

It does take practice and there are certain things you can do to maximize your chances:
- Solid Stance: Feet shoulder-width apart and square to where you intend to press the shutter
- Proper Camera Support: Left hand UNDER the lens and not grabbing it from the side.  Also, put your left hand out a ways on the lens.  Don't "T Rex" things by short-arming your left arm back into your body.
- Smooth Rotation: Pan by turning your torso and not just your shoulders.
- Practice, Practice, Practice: Don't have planes?  Go pan passing traffic on a nearby street corner.

[Joe Copalman]

In addition to Jay's solid advice, I would add "padlocking" an aiming point on the subject with your center autofocus point.  On most airplanes, depending on where the wing is placed, I'll aim for the wing root on the leading edge or trailing edge.