The EASIEST Camera Setting For Airshows and Aviation Photography!

[@JKAdams]

Just posted a new video on my autofocus and button mapping on the R7! kzbin.info/www/bejne/bmnKomudnqxppJI

[@earlyprimate]

Wife and I follow your Blue Angels pic, big fans of them as well. We both love military aircraft. We are just dipping into photography because of the Blues. We have a Canon EOS R100 and using a 55-210 lens. Going to use your settings this weekend out at McDill Airfest as a test run to the Pensacola Beach Airshow in July. Looking forward to more tips.

[@JKAdams]

Thank you! Yall have fun out there

[@VXriderVS]

Here's a little Canon trivia: if you're wondering why the shutter priority mode is labeled Tv, it's because it stands for "Time Value".

[@georgeeckart9135]

Kyle - It's really kind of you to share your knowledge with us rookies! Your passion for the Blues really comes through in your pics. They are awesome!

[@JKAdams]

Thank you George!

[@jetdrivr1]

Thanks for quick tutorial and as always....your photos are amazing! Keep getting after it!

[@JKAdams]

@@jetdrivr1 Thank you!

[@MarvinBoydCo]

props you can get more forgiving with blur in the prop at I found the max was 1/350 and that was with a B-25. if you are going full disk then slower ones like mentioned or lowered will do the trick. ultimately the more you shoot props the more you will start to figure out how much shutter you need for either a blurred prop or full disk

[@c0b1a69]

Thank you sir! Great info here!

[@JKAdams]

Most welcome!

[@marshalltravis3217]

I went to the Toronto air show yesterday with my Canon 70D, and my Sigma 150-600 contemporary lens in shutter priority mode. For props, I shot at 320th of a second and got excellent motion blur. The fast movers were shot at 2000th of a second. Again with excellent results. I did watch this video prior to the event. Good tips. Thanks.

[@JKAdams]

Thats awesome! Glad it helped

[@jimdavison4077]

Different strokes for different folks but never be afraid to try things. I set my camera up with TV and AV set for props and fast movers. With a flick I can which back and forth. I find if you are shooting into the sun or with the sun changes what speed you need for that prop blur. I find from 1/90th to 1/150 if I want as much of a full disc as I can get. Then again props with painted ends will give you a better result than unpainted props. That 100-400 L V2 is a sweet lens for aviation. There is some debate about full frame vrs crop but what's the old saying, the best lens or camera is the one you got and you can make either work for you. Both ACP and full frame have their advantages. You have some killer shots my friend. Proof is in the pudding.

[@courtneyfoster4697]

ahhh, you're JK Adams, I've seen your stuff, I'm imagesbyfoster .... glade to finally meet you Sir.

[@JKAdams]

@@courtneyfoster4697 You as well!

[@officialgmusic]

I’m currently using a rebel t7, with a 70-300 and a cpl attached … always looking for some awesome settings

[@valentinodunn8972]

I am always enjoy your pictures....

[@JKAdams]

Thank you!

[@RAWBANDerson]

Love your shots Man!

[@JKAdams]

Thanks man!

[@RAWBANDerson]

@@JKAdams You're welcome Man! Keep it up!!!

[@jimowens2283]

I would also add to practice proper hand holding techniques with your gear. Solid feet placement, with your panning timed to get the best light as the aircraft fly across your field of view. Elbows tucked tightly by your side giving yourself the the most stable position that will result in less camera shake.

[@davidsdiamond3269]

Great video. Looking to shoot my first airshow next month. I'll be using the Canon EOS R10. I'll be taking my EF 75-300mm F4-5.6 IS USM & the RF 100-400mm F5.6-8 IS USM. I'm considering buying the EF 70-200mm f/4L USM. Any thoughts concerning the 70-200 or the 100-400mm?

[@JKAdams]

Both are great lenses, for the airshow id be going with the 100-400 all day.

[@inSurfersParadise]

Legit question. Is it possible to set your lens to infinity and turn off autofocus when doing this kind of photography?

[@doghouseriley4732]

Amazing lens. I have used mine for 8 years. The R7 though..... small buffer, slow read out causes very bad rolling shutter, and finally poor weather sealing. Canon EU wants £1200 to repair a unit with water danage. Try the Fuji X-HS2. A bit more money but you get a stacked sensor, huge buffer and proper weather sealing. Using the Fringer adapter you can still use the Canon EF 100-400 L Mk2. too.

[@JKAdams]

My buffer problems disappeared when I switched to the Kingston canvas react SD cards, super fast write speeds. As far as rolling shutter, shooting in mechanical or EFCS eliminates it. You lose the speed of full electronic, but 15fps is plenty for me. Weather sealing, well, I stay home or have a cover handy if there rain in the forecast. For $1200 you can get a new body lol, and at that price point its a very solid camera. I am interested in trying Fuji and other camera makers one of these days tho!

[@RobM-u9f]

Hi JK , do you use the same gear for your great video's? If not what is your video gear setup please?

[@JKAdams]

I use the camera for some clips, but most of the video is shot on my iPhone mounted to the top of my camera.

[@patrickalix7751]

Bonjour Kyle. Merci pour les conseils. Pour regler menu AF p2 du R7 : servo/zone AF spot/ suivi sujet ON/ sujet voiture/ detect oeil desact/ changement sujet 0/ ? P2 : cas 2 (-2,+2) ou cas 1 (-2,+2) ?

[@valentinodunn8972]

Jk...youre one bad dude....with the Blue Angels photographer....I was at the Blue Angels show at Maxwell.... couple weeks ago....I am a Nikon geek...I enjoy taking photo of vetted and classic cars....

[@peterfox2538]

Are you setting it on none or vehicles .

[@JKAdams]

None

[@DanielVeazey]

I noticed your OIS was turned off. Do you shoot air shows like that? I shot my first air show this weekend and had OIS on, and every single shot was at least slightly soft, even after I got better at panning. I wondered if the OIS was thrown off by the panning.

[@JKAdams]

I usually turn it off if Im shooting anything over 1/1000. When Im panning at a slower shutter I turn it on in Mode 2 on the 100-400

[@DanielVeazey]

@@JKAdams thanks for the reply. Most of the planes at the show I went to were prop, so my shutter speeds were 1/500 or lower. My Fuji X-T5 with 150-600mm doesn't have a panning mode for OIS, so I just need to get better at panning. 😁

[@anthonyhershko]

I got the R5 along with Sigma 150-600 mm. Recently, after updating to the latest Canon R5 firmware (2.0), all of my pictures come blurry . I wonder, should I change something in the settings? Can you do a video about what's the best settings for aviation photography? Like, what's the best case? Case 1 or 2? Should I change something? Should I some Customize buttons or so? I've shared the whole KZbin, and there's nothing. I'm simply hopeless... Thanks

[@JKAdams]

I had the Tamron 150-600 for a little over a month to use with my R7. The hit rate for sharp shots was considerably lower that my 100-400L II lens. anything over 500mm was probably less than 10% keeper rate, pretty bad. When it hit, the photos were great...but it didnt happen often. As far as autofocus, I made a video recently about my setup on the R7, it should be pretty similar to your R5! kzbin.info/www/bejne/bmnKomudnqxppJI

[@Bladez1964]

Awesome stuff man! Hope to see ya on the flight line soon :) Do you also use this camera for video or do you have something else?

[@JKAdams]

I do some video with it, mostly use my iPhone mounted on the camera lol.

[@LamChop-s]

Hey man is the Sony a7 2 a good camera for aviation

[@JKAdams]

@@LamChop-s Its decent, with a good lens of course. For my taste its a little slow with burst (5fps I believe) and for full frame I like to have a little more resolution for cropping.

[@LamChop-s]

Would the r100, 7D MK 2 or the Nikon d7100 be better my price range is around 700$ i also have a canon t3I rn for aviation with a 55-250

[@billz4795]

Question (dumb) would like to try this type of photos. I set up my 5dsr simular and use back button focus. Now for the question - do I need to continuously hold down my back button focus while hitting the shutter release.

[@JKAdams]

@@billz4795 If your camera is in AI Servo AF mode, holding the focus button down will make the camera conitinuously focus while shooting, but slows down the burst rate. I usually hold until im ready to shoot then release the af button and start firing.

[@billz4795]

@@JKAdams thanks - just so I'm clear hold down the focus button while pressing the shutter release will "follow" what ever i intially focused on - Yes ?. your second sentence i do not understand - it sounds like your method is NOT using rear button focusing ?

[@JKAdams]

@@billz4795 As long as you hold down the focus button, the camera will try to focus on whatever is on the focus point or area. Ill hold down the back focus button to hold focus, and release it as I start shooting to reduce the chances of the camera trying to hunt if I move the focus point off of the subject.

[@richardmartinez4279]

I need some Help, I've have couple of Canon R10 and the 90D and Rebel t7i. I like going to Airshows and some of my pictures have come out pretty Good and I've been using the Tamron 18-400 mm Zoom and the Tamron 100-400mm and I been getting some Good Shots, But looking at Your page today! Your Photos are Great. I wrote down the Settings that You had said, Now My Question is! I got a Tamron 150-600mm SP F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 and I'II probably be using both of My Camera's the 90D & R10, can you tell me what Settings to use and will the Sittings be Okay to use on either Camera.. Thanks for Your Help..

[@JKAdams]

I use the same settings on any camera im using for aviation stuff. Same as when I was using my 80D

[@aviationtyler2879]

what would be the best starter camera ?

[@JKAdams]

What are you looking to spend?

[@peterdisbury]

AFF for me - Servo ( Auto Focus Flexiible)

[@cheesegrits196]

What do you think about the 200-800 rf on your r7? About 1300 on the crop sensor.

[@JKAdams]

I cant wait to get my hands on one to try it out! It looks like it could be a game changer for what I do

[@Brummiemartin]

Not all prop planes are the same. "Know your plane" is important, so that as an example, the Airbus A400 Military Cargo plane, has 2 pairs of contra-rotating propellers. Getting a 360 degree "prop disc" loses the charm of the fact that the propellers are spinning in different direction. A 1/200 or 1/250 shutter speed gives some prop blur without losing the essence of the plane. ALSO I save the settings for fast jets into C1, prop planes into C2 and helicopters & Ospreys (with a 1/60 shutter speed) into C3. So much easier to switch between the settings without having to worry about shutter speeds. FINALLY, I'd be interested to hear what you have to advise about exposure compensation. I notice your camera is 1 stop over exposed. I use 1.66 over exposed. Discuss.

[@JKAdams]

Yep different prop planes all have their own characteristics and the same shutter speed can give different results across the board. As far as using the C1-C3 modes, that ends up being more of a chore than simply shooting in shutter priority, especially when sky conditions can change dramatically from one side off the airfield to the other. I rarely need a certain aperture as most planes are far enough away that DoF doesn't become a factor. Also I will use more than just 3 shutter speeds for a demo. For the Blue Angels alone I will sometimes shoot below 1/100 during takeoffs or low maneuvers to get background motion blur, 1/6400 to freeze the solos when they cross, 1/250-500 to get a one sharp and one blurred jet when the solos cross, and something like 1/1600 as a general speed for most of the demo. For EV Comp it depends on what Im shooting and the sky conditions. The Blue Angels are dark aircraft, and against a bright clear sky I will bump the EV to +2/3 or +1 stop to make sure I dont clip any of the shadows on the jet and have excess noise when bringing up the blacks and shadows in post. Id rather wash out a little bit of the sky, but generally that doesnt happen unless I get close to shooting directly toward the sun when tracking them.

[@richposz6050]

Looking to get a better lens, would you recommend the EF 100-400 or the RF 100-500? I have the R7 body so wondering it is worth spending the extra cash for the RF lens?

[@JKAdams]

If I didnt have the 100-400 id spend the extra for the 100-500. But, its probably not worth the $1200+ for and extra 100mm and a little better IQ for myself. That being said, if I had a bunch of expendable cash Id def have that 100-500!

[@mikedarren6658]

I shoot Nikon but I'm curious about your thoughts on using or not using image stabilization when you're shooting flying aircraft. Do you tend to use it "on" and, if so, what shutter speed range do you find it useful/not useful?

[@JKAdams]

I generally keep it on and in "panning" mode (mode 2 on my 100-400) if im steady shooting at under 1/1000. Higher than that and I turn it off.

[@mikedarren6658]

@@JKAdams I've had mixed results using image stabilization ON with shutter speeds faster than 1/1000. I think I'll commit to keeping it off above 1/1000 for an airshow I'm going to here in Alaska in 1-1/2 weeks.

[@johnguz76]

What lens and adapter you using?

[@JKAdams]

100-400L II and the basic Canon ef-rf adapter.

[@maxs4986]

Thanks for the video! I have found that the auto ISO often completely over exposes the image, depending on the day i tend to manually adjust iso but usually on nice clear bright days its 160-200 iso for me. Then lowest f stop possible for all that natural light. Then usually 1/2000 shutter speed works great with these, might have to bump the iso up a few notches depending on lighting. This is just what i have found works best for me, wondering if you had any input on if i should be doing it differently?

[@JKAdams]

If thats the case you might be using the wrong metering mode or the camera isnt performing correctly. I hardly ever have overexposed shots with this setup.

[@bubbanezz]

I’m assuming you’re also using AI servo for the focus mode and a center spot for focus?

[@JKAdams]

Ill use servo and single shot at different times, and usually a small single point or center zone.

[@Bladez1964]

What focus area do you use? I.e wide, zone, center or flexible spot.

[@JKAdams]

I use several different zones during a demo, I usually prefer single point tho. For me I get a higher hit rate with single.

[@peterdisbury]

I use Multi Coverage, guaranteed to lock focus

[@peterfox2538]

I shoot airliners and i still cant get a sharp shot with the R7 ive done the things you said by when i compare my shots to a dslr there way better.

[@JKAdams]

I ended up selling the r7 and got an R5m2. I did get a bunch of good shots with it, buf I feel like it was always the first or second shot of a series. I think shutter shock was an issue with that camera.

[@peterfox2538]

Back button focus on mechanical or electric.

[@michalis_ptr]

when we take photos, we set the af operation to one shot af or servo???????

[@JKAdams]

I use both, but lean toward one shot and hitting focus then shooting. Ive missed several shots using servo when it starts to hunt mid sequence.

[@michalis_ptr]

@@JKAdams thanks

[@terrillcockeram8472]

Do you use back button focus? I am hoping to get some good pictures this summer of the Blue Angeles when they are in town

[@JKAdams]

I do! Im going to make a video on my AF setup that should help out :)

[@Bladez1964]

@@JKAdamsany news on when the AF video will be out. Just got my R10 today!

[@v1rg]

@@JKAdams Exactly what I am looking forward to :-). Stupid question regarding back button focusing: Do you center the single point AF point on the plane and keep the back button presse all the while you're paning and fully press the shutter button, or do you focus on the plane once, let go of the back button and fully press the shutter (multiple times) when the plane gets closer? Love your photos - can't get enough of them!!

[@JKAdams]

@@Bladez1964Took me a minute, but here ya go! kzbin.info/www/bejne/bmnKomudnqxppJI

[@JKAdams]

@@v1rgCanon R7 Custom Autofocus Mapping by JK Adams Photo! kzbin.info/www/bejne/bmnKomudnqxppJI

[@peterfox2538]

What do use use the setting for vehicle or none and do you disable the eye and lens setting ,1 or 2

[@JKAdams]

On the R7 I use none for tracking. Case 2 is the AF setting I keep it on most of the time.

[@vjmom]

I wish I had've watched this before the Gulf Coast Salute Air Show!🤦‍♀ Now I've really gotta get serious with it before I go see the Blue Angels! Absolutely LOVE your work!💙

[@JKAdams]

Appreciate that!

[@joits]

Does aperture matter at all when shooting airshows?

[@JKAdams]

Not much. Everything is far enough away that depth of field rarely becomes an issue.

[@Buckshot00fan]

​@@JKAdamsso my plan was to get the 180-600mm f5.6-6.3 on my Z8 but if aperture doesn't matter What do you think about the Z 28-400mm f4-8 or even a 28-300mm f3.5/56 on my crop camera giving me a reach of 42-450mm. Z8 45 MP and 34 on the crop. And do you use ND filters or polarizer and what would you reccomend for any of those 3 combinations? That 180-600mm is gonna get heavy....so I might bring it with the z8 and keep the cropped dslr with the 28-300mm on it in my bag. I'm just looking at quality vs weight...because I know quality is gonna suffer later if my arms get too tired. I got front row flightline seats so I figure the wide angle may come in handy occasionally.

[@TurnNBurnPhotography]

I tried these settings with my T7i and most of my shots were under exposed or the sky was washed out.

[@JKAdams]

Shoot me a raw file and Ill see whats up. I shoot like this weekly and never have exposure problems. Been doing it the same since I was rocking my 80D. If I had to guess, your EV comp is set to underexpose or there is a metering issue.

[@hussunitube139]

lucky you for having a camera, i have a 32 year old cam recorder i take vids with