Photographing Fighter Jets: feat. Fujifilm X-T20+70-300mm

[@ChocolateThunder6]

I took some pretty good photos at a Blue Angels practice show with my X-T3 and 55-200 lens. Never done it before so the technique I came up with was to zoom out and follow the plane until intersected a point I wanted to shoot. While moving the camera and tracking my subject I’d slowly zoom in then press the shutter. This really helped to frame my shot and grabbed some pretty darn good shots even with 100mm less range than the 70-300. Just passing along what worked for me.

[@jaistealth]

Planning to get 70-30mm for my xt20😊

[@oxeneers]

He's back! Always so excited for work from you!!

[@taimurchoudhry.]

Great Pictures... For someone taking aerial photos for the first time, I would never have been able to tell if you hadn't mentioned it. I wish you would share with us the settings and focal lengths of the pictures you showed us as well. Thank you

[@kamurray82]

Thinking of replacing my XC 50-230mm OIS with the XF 70-300mm. Nice to see you can get good results even with older bodies such as the X-T2/20.

[@KentuckyMan30]

The 70-300 definitely delivers the goods! Someone who's more experienced at this sort of photography could have no doubt gotten better results than I did with the X-T20. This was literally my first attempt at a completely different genre of photography and there was a STEEP learning curve. That said, I don't feel like the gear I was using was holding me back in any way, just my lack of experience. Haha.

[@kamurray82]

@@KentuckyMan30 yeah, I know what you mean. I haven't tried aviation photography with my Fuji kit just yet. I'd be using it for telephoto landscape shots. Have to be saving up the pennies to get it though!

[@olakunlesmith1092]

Hi Ken, it always a delight watching a video of yours. Great content.

[@furkanerben2760]

Amazing

[@shaunraymond65]

very nice good see back dropping some content

[@TennesseeMike]

Cool shots of cool planes 😎 👌

[@cameraman655]

Missed ya, glad to see you back. I've been been shooting air shows for years now, and for your first time, you nailed some great photos. Jets are tough but getting a prop with the appropriate amount of blade blur keeping the plane sharp all the while handholding a 300, 400 or 600mm with a shutter speed of 1/125, that is tough.

[@KentuckyMan30]

Thanks! Yeah, I read somewhere that with prop planes, you want that blur. The OIS on that lens works great, but I still couldn't bring myself to go below 1/400th. Even then, I thought I nailed a sharp image on so many just looking at the back of the camera, but when I got home, I was quite humbled. Haha! It was a big learning experience, but definitely a genre I'd love to do more (and get better at).

[@britneynicole8903]

Wow! This is awesome!

[@ianbridges7929]

Yep great stuff. And a good deal on the xt 20 and lenses 👍

[@KentuckyMan30]

Thanks! Yeah. $800 for all that? Seems like a lot of bang for buck!

[@Roshan-xn8oy]

Which film sim did you use for these beautiful shots?

[@taterandy3958]

Great picture!!! I was looking at maybe 🤔 getting the Fujifilm 15-45mm lens for my X-T 1 X-E2 what is your opinion on the lens? Great deal on your X-T20 I have been looking at that camera 📸 too ...or gfx 50r?

[@KentuckyMan30]

I actually have a video on the 15-45mm scheduled to go up this morning. My takeaways from using it for the past couple months: fantastic image quality, optical image stabilization is awesome, VERY close focusing distance especially at the wide end (pseudo macro) is awesome and I enjoyed the focal range. Cons are: cheap build quality, power zoom is sluggish and sometimes unresponsive and I'm not sure how it will hold up long term. I used it extensively for a couple months and I can tell I got some dirt in it and can feel some grit when I zoom now. That said, I've captured some fantastic images with it in a very short time and it's definitely sharp enough for me!

[@robari2410]

Nice pics BUT disappointed that my man did not share how (techniques and tips) you were able to get those shots with the 70--300mm 4.0--5.6 I guess we should just admire the pics. Thanks. BTW, I bought an XT1 a couple of years ago because of your vids. One of my best buys ever. Thanks! 🙏

[@KentuckyMan30]

Man, I was such a noob when I did this. Not sure I really had any tips. Haha. Technique wise, I just used AF continuous on basic settings, pointed it at the planes as best I could and shot in burst mode with a decently fast shutter speed. That's about as complex as I got. Haha.

[@簡昆祥]

Nice video ! I have X-T30ii with 14-45mm lens. ( Your another video of X-T20 with 15-45 is wonderful too) I plan to travel in UK about 3 weeks and I am considering to buy a long lens. Is the 70-300mm suitable for me for this long travel ? Is the weight ok ? Or you suggest other solution ? Many thanks!

[@AntonyGeorgeBoltzzz]

Hi I own an XT30 and use it with 18-55 and 55-230 kit lenses. The 55-230 is a very good lens at a very good price with good image quality and good for 85% of the use scenarios. I am only considering to get the 70-300 only for extra zoom range to use at airshows and amateur wildlife photography.

[@davidbryant88]

Classic chrome?

[@KentuckyMan30]

Everything was shot raw and I actually ended up using a Classic Neg preset in Lightroom on a lot of them. Some were Classic Chrome though.