Beginner Aviation photography - entry level!

[Sunshinesmiles]

Hello
My son has recently taken a great interest in aviation photography. Each time a plane goes over our house he is out there trying to take photos of it but my old camera just isn't doing a good enough job. My camera is a Fujifilm Finepix SL1000.

Can anyone offer any advice on an entry level camera that we could look into that would be able to zoom in on passing planes etc much better than what we currently have? It would need to be something relatively easy to use in order for him to stick with it.

Any advice at all would be gratefully received!

thanks

 

[Craikeybaby]

How low are the planes when they fly over?

 

[NPUK]

I don't know a lot about aviation photography specifically but from looking at your existing camera, it has 50 x optical zoom so I would think focal length is unlikely to be an issue. It has a small sensor though because it's a bridge camera.
Have you got a budget in mind ?
Sounds like he needs to get closer.

 

[woof woof]

I don't know a lot about aviation photography specifically but from looking at your existing camera, it has 50 x optical zoom so I would think focal length is unlikely to be an issue. It has a small sensor though because it's a bridge camera.
Have you got a budget in mind ?
Sounds like he needs to get closer.

To a plane flying over? Good luck with that.

 

[Harlequin565]

You don't mention how old your son is, but it can often be easy to blame the camera when the fault might be between the floor and the shutter button. If you could post a sample image we might be able to better discover what the issue is. As said above, a 50x zoom is pretty impressive, but if the shutter speed is so slow that the image is really blurred, or the ISO is pushed beyond that camera's comfortable range (about 400 according to the article I read), or focus has been missed, then it could simply be an issue of settings/practise/experience rather than a new camera.

If your son isn't interested in learning the technicalities, or you think that perhaps it will put him off, then this is very specific, but I didn't know until quite recently that Manchester Airport had a viewing/spectator area. (https://www.manchesterairport.co.uk/at-the-airport/attractions/) If you live close to an airport/airfield that has something like this it might help with the valid "get closer" suggestion. This might make the whole experience a bit more exciting, will definitely improve the results, and might provide the impetus to learn a bit more about photography in order to be able to get better pictures from the house. A local airfield near where I used to live (Booker Airfield, but 20 years ago now!) had a cafe with outdoor seating next to the runway and did great bacon butties.

If you can post a picture he's taken that he wanted to be better along with what he thought the problems were, we can also probably help.

Buying a new camera with similar reach (around 1200mm in 35mm terms) is going to be a similar "superzoom" bridge camera with similar issues your current one has, and it would be very disappointing to spend all that money if the problem is behind the shutter.

Hope that's useful, and good luck!

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

...but my old camera just isn't doing a good enough job. My camera is a Fujifilm Finepix SL1000.

It should be able to provide some acceptable images, so we need to see examples of what is going wrong.

In the meantime, here are example images from cameras in a similar class to your own SL1000 with a similar size of sensor. The first is from a Panasonic TZ40 and the second from a Nikon S10. Compare them with your son's results and let us know what you think...

 

[NPUK]

To a plane flying over? Good luck with that.

Can you really not imagine a way to do that..? You know, such as perhaps by going near to an airport ? Perhaps going to events ?

 

[AndrewFlannigan]

Can you really not imagine a way to do that..? You know, such as perhaps by going near to an airport ? Perhaps going to events ?

Both the shots I posted were simply made in the street.

Of course, it depends which street you're on!

 

[gogleddwr]

Good afternoon, welcome.

A trip to the airport

have not seen this airline before, Howard

www.talkphotography.co.uk

These were taken by the perimeter fence of Manchester Airport. If you live in Cheshire or the North West this is easily accessed with some on-road parking spots.

Howard