Setups???

[kevos1]

Hi im very new to photography and purchased a canon 1000d and 75-300mm lens kit a year ago.
Now im finding that the camera and lens is pants to say the least (average in great light) compared to some of the pics that i have seen.
I would like to change my setup soon and would like to get a general idea of what a common setup maybe.
I know there are loads of cameras out there etc but would be interested in what setups people use to try and help me decide on one to use, or get a broader picture on what an amateur would use to get a better pic than the ones i am getting.
Im looking to spend no more than £1500 pounds on a new setup and would appreciate some help as it seems a minefield out there for the likes of me.
Thanks
Kev

[Mike]

What !!!

You should be getting some fantastic shots with that gear, which settings have you been using ?

[350biker]

Agree totally with Mike R. Please tell us what you mean by "pants". Exposure? Focusing speed? Colour balance? Are you playing with the ISO number and the White Balance? Are you driving the camera or using the Auto settings? I use Canon EOS 350d and 450d with the 75-300 IS lens with good results. My brother bought his father-in-law a 1000d with the 100-400 lens - he gets some great results. Suggest you ask the experts on the forum here (not me I hasten to add) how to drive your system before thinking about binning it! Hope this helps (and saves money as well!)

[Nighthawke]

Please don't take this the wrong way - constructive comment only I assure you. The old saying " a good workman never blames his tools" may be possible. Certainly worth providing more detail of what and how you are taking photos probably posting up some examples so that others can helps diagnose the issue(s). You did say you are new to the hobby so it may not be the equipment. Again I am no expert either so probably cannot help too much. If I have caused any offnce I apologise - I do not intend such at all. Hope you can get things sorted and enjoy taking some good/great photos.

Kind Regards
Ian

[podge]

Hi Kev

I have seen some of your shots and think they are great, especially as you've only had the setup about a year. I got myself a 450D with 75-300mm lense over two years ago now and still learning about the camera. Light can be a problem at times, but what I would do is stick with what you have for a while longer and play with the setting when you're out to see what different results you get, that's what I do and every now and then I get some shots i'm pleased with. It's a big learning curve. Hope this is helpful.

Stuart

[kevos1]

Hi guys, im guessing that it might be my glass its a canon 75-300mm III no is no usm.
Ive shot over 10000 shot and probably have 50 keepers.
Ive had a sigma 150-500 lens with bad results plus focussing issues.
Here are my results from last week in the rain. Setting 1/500th iso 1600 ev 1 to 1-1/3. If i tried different setting lower to this they would be too dark.


lakenheath, marham, hall and wattisham 285 by kevos2012, on Flickr


lakenheath, marham, hall and wattisham 333 by kevos2012, on Flickr


lakenheath, marham, hall and wattisham 443 by kevos2012, on Flickr

I find that when i get home im disapointed with my pics on regular basis.

This is my best 2 pics in great light and i still dont feel there near the quality of some i have seen in bad light.


031 by kevos2012, on Flickr


IMG_9364 by kevos2012, on Flickr

The last pic, my best ever! is 1/500th ev 0 and iso 100. if i try panning shots under 1/500 it all goes wrong.
Photography is a mine field..
Although had great fun trying to take them which is always great
thanks
Kev.

[XPLUMBER]

Firstly, there is no MAGIC FORMULA, every occaision is different.

The vast majority of posters on this and other forums are still learning.

There are books and youtube tutorials, read and view these and learn your hobby.

Note down what works in various weather and lighting situations.

Make the most of what you've got, it's the same in many of the hobbies I've been involved in over the years. Fishing, shooting, racing, it's not the cost and amount of gear you have it's all about how you understand it and use it!

You don't need the best equipment to get good results, just patience and knowledge.

Oh and if you really are taking shots at ISO 1600 you are going to struggle with quality.

[The Phantom]

Hi. Certainly if you're going to change anything to start with i would lose that lens. It's always rated as one of the poorest telephoto zooms. Canon's own 70-300mm IS USM lens gives fantastic quality and is approx £415 new. That's the best non L series zoom lens they do. You can't go wrong with one of those - they are solid and give fantastic images. After that you are looking at the new release 70-300 L series or the 100-400 L series - both of which new are approx £1100. Obviously on Ebay these lens's should be available used at a better price.

[jingernut]

I honestly think you would be better of getting to grips with the camera you have (maybe buy a better lens) before going out and spending on a new camera.

[TonyO]

1. Your two best shots have been taken on sunny days, so look at the forecast and do your snapping on a sunny day. Much easier, much nicer and more satisfying results! Aircraft were built to fly on sunny days with blue skies!
2. Practice makes perfect on other subjects, Heathrow or Stansted a good place to practice your panning/framing/settings or your local GA field.
3. Try different settings, what's right for one person doesn't work for someone else.
4. Try to stick with ISO 400 and below and ideally 100/200 to reduce the noise. Makes post-processing much, much easier!

[Macc]

Tony has nailed a few good points.

With a lot (if not most or all) zoom lenses you will find the 'sweet spot' is around a full f/ stop above the minimum. So if you have a 75-300mm f/4-5.6 then the sharpest results will be when at 75mm f/5.6 or 300mm f/8. This is most useful when you get good light.

A general rule of thumb is that if your lens is 200mm then you should be able to get the majority of panned photos sharp at 1/200, with 300mm at 1/300th etc; although you will find you can often get some at even lower shutter speeds.

For aircraft display directly above you, you are often looking at twice the value. i.e. 200mm, so 1/400th of a second.

For aircraft taxi-ing you can comfortably shoot at slower shutter speeds (which eases off the ISO) as the aircraft are moving fairly slowly. Usually half the focal length of your lens is the shutter speed you should be able to get fairly constant results with.

The more you use your kit, the more used to it you get and you become familiar and able to produce greater results.

Hope this helps.

Chris

[kevos1]

Thanks for your help guys, appreciate it
I will stick with the camera i have for the time being then and perhaps invest in a slightly better lens and just keep practising. I will keep the Iso lower and keep my fingers crossed.
Thanks for the info.

Kev.

[captain scarlet]

My two penneth,

i use a canon eos400d with a 90-300usm lens and readily accept their limitations. Since i started taking digital photos about 4 years ago i've learned so much and can get quite good results even with this cheap (and cheerful) setup. Photography is one of those games where you can spend a fortune and still end up with rubbish (all the gear, no idea springs to mind). It really is a case of learn about your own gear and experiment - i know for a fact that my setup naturally underexposes so it's always set to plus 1/3 exposure compensation. Also, i only tend to take photos on a sunny day (unless it's something rare!).

Here's a shot i'm happy with -



What do you think?

The Captain

[TonyO]

Apart from the fence post and the glare on the cockpit, its pretty much spot on!

[kevos1]

I think its a great pic, and some great advice!
I will do as you said and only take pics when the sun is out or something special is going on.
Thanks alot does seem silly paying alot of money for something more complicated than one i cant get to grips with now.

Cheers

Kev

[captain scarlet]

I'm not recommending sunshine only photography, just try and get conditions that help.

I actually like stormy days as getting aircraft 'lit' and with a dark/cloudy background gives superb results!



@tonyo - it was more to show that you don't need expensive gear to get a decent shot, i think i'd have got cockpit glare and fenceposts in the photo even if i'd been using an eos1d with a 300mm f2.8 setup that would cost around 10 grand (as opposed to my few hundred pound setup).

[GOOSE]

Some of the best shots we've seen on here have been taken against moody skies!

[kevos1]

Right what im going to do is practise, but im going to buy the canon 70-300- is usm that was mentioned in earlier post.
I know it sounds like that im blaming the tools but am seriously convinced that it is part of the problem.
I will post results under this thread in case it might be of use to some other learners like myself and keep practising. Thank you for the help and info will put it to good use and thanks for saving me a grand or so (for the time being anyway)

Cheers

Kev.

[arb]

another factor could be the autofocus speed of the lens, I'm no expert but when I started with DSLR a few years ago I was using a 350d with a Sigma 70-300mm 1:4-5.6 DG and found the AF just couldn't keep up with anything, all my photos were very soft and majority were out of focus, I did some investigating and came across the canon 100-300 4.5-5.6 USM which was released in the 90's, (canon were still selling it on their UK website last year) there are quite a lot of reviews saying how good this lens is for action shots, sports etc due to the ring type USM which is really fast compared to the USM used on the current non L lenses. (although I have never used any other canon usm lens except 35-135mm which uses same ring usm) they also did a 70-210mm in the same style which is said to be sharper but obviously lacks the reach of the 300mm.

http://www.canon.co.uk/For_Home/Product ... 5-5.6_USM/


You can sometimes pick one up used on ebay or london camera exchange for around £100 http://www.lcegroup.co.uk/Secondhand-Se ... Results=48



My photos certainly aren't the best butresults I get are good enough for me and for such a cheap lens i'm happy and know i'm not going to get better glass without spending a lot more.. its my post processing that lets me down I think i'm now getting the hang of it with Canons DPP after previously struggling with PhotoShop elements.

Just some of mine taken with this lens...

In the rain and poor light at Coningsby




Heathrow departure 09R


my one and only airliners.net upload was also taken with this lens http://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-Indi ... 3d5634bd1d" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

almost all photos taken after june 2010 on my flickr account http://www.flickr.com/photos/ab-images/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; were taken with this lens (check my exif data).

Edit: I always try to use it at f8 where its at its sharpest

[arb]

just found a post by someone with good results with this same lens on another forum, don't know if they post on here. http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showth ... p=22030469" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Just remembered my brother has same lens on a 1000d or 450d... http://www.flickr.com/photos/kbutcher/