best lenses for filming, from the ground, airplanes performing in the air.

[flean]

Has anyone filmed some air shows like the redbull airshows? What would be the best glass (lense) from filming airplanes stunts, from the ground? any tips and advices on lenses?
Thanks

 

[Chris McKechnie]

Long zooms would give you flexibility. You will want to keep that shutter speed high to avoid motion blur. Shoot at F8 or above too will help keep things in focus.

 

[Robert Hart]

Long lenses and fast follows are going to give you the cruelbaddest rolling shutter skews on upright straight objects unless you have soft background focus and motion blur. Fortunate;y, aircraft are often against a sky either clear blue or with random shapes and patterns of clouds a backgrounds. The use of higher shutter speed to freeze the prop blades is cool for a few shots but not for the entire presentation.

My personal preference was a 50mm-500mm zoom for getting in as close as I could to see control surface moments. I was shooting with a 35mm groundglass adaptor so in effect the lens image was seen as if it were a 35mm sensor.

I have also shot with this lens direct to a 2/3" sensor.



I found I needed a sighting camera mounted together with the long lens camera in order to aquire the aircraft initially, then follow it with the long lens or reaquire the aircraft if it flew out of my shot.

Good practice is following seabirds or scale aircraft in flight. If you can stay with a scale aircraft, the real thing will be an easier follow.

My personal preference is to try to avoid steep high follows and no direct overhead follows. Pan and tilt movements becomes increasingly interactive the steeper the tilt angle. The view also rotates instead of passing by, the higher the tilt angle is. Take-offs and landings I prefer to cover from as close to the direction of the runway as I can get and allow the aircraft to do the work rather than try for pan follows.


If you are intending to chase aerobatic aircraft, try to talk to the pilot first. You may be able to get a copy of the figures the pilot will fly in the display you intend to film. Povided you learn them or have somebody call them for your as you film them, you can anticipate and lead the motion of the aircraft and achieve better framing and composition.



I have dealt with my methods in posts here and at dvinfo.net quite extensively in the past. I will wait and see if others provide useful info for you. I tend to go on a bit too longwinded on this topic.

 

[Dustin Veneman]

Probably these :]


source: Flightline Films

 

[Robert Hart]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AO9MnBxppx4

Sony Z1 using inbuilt lens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRLAkwjXGok

Sony Z1/Agus35/Sigma 50mm-500mm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uog_t33oAec

SI2K/TV-Nikon 8mm-125mm 2/3" ENG zoom with doubler.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCIFj1NVR08

SI2K/Sigma 50mm-500mm.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvNAP-fwSe0

Sony PMW-EX1/Letus Extreme 35mm adaptor/Peleng 8mm and Nikon 105mm f1.8.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTKHh6zH3w0

SI2K/Sigma 50mm-500mm. (Note: Dust inside lens rear element or sensor specks are aggravated by use of tight apertures on long lenses..Lens also does not have constant aperture over zoom range. so tele end of the zoom range is also darker.) Try to stay in your lens iris sweet spot to minimise the speck artefact. Use ND to also stay out of the tighter zone where diffraction may detract from the lens image quality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lh-Aazbr1f0

SI2K/Sigma 50mm-500mm. (Note: Dust inside lens rear element specks again.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txNrThVCu44

SI2K/Sigma 50mm-500mm. (Note: More dust.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVHX0kJxGjU

SI2K/Sigma 50mm-500mm. (Cockpit cam - Nikon Coolpix?)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6UvcQUKwSE

SI2K/Nikon 200mm f2.

　

Ground-to-air follows with long lenses will not be satisfactory without a good fluid head tripod.

For camera suppport my personal preferance has been for older black Miller fluid heads for 35mm cine cameras. They do not have cam/spring counterbalance so for me at least, are more controllable for ground-to-air follows.

Others may prefer the cam/spring counterbalanced tripod heads. 35mm lenses used direct onto a Super16mm sensor may yield interior sharpness results.

 

[flean]

Great post Robert. Very useful. Thanks for the links.