Military Aircraft: airshows, operational, whatever, lets see what you have!

[Roo]

For those of you who shoot with a 70-200 f2.8 IS II (with or without 2x III), do you hand hold or use a tripod/monopod?

I tried to use a monopod at my last airshow for the year, and for certain shots of the properly aircraft, it seemed to work. But I'm wondering if a tripod and gimbal head would be better? I can't see myself using it for fast jets, so it's use is already cut down to roughly half the show content. But my dad is willing to go halves on a secondhand Benro GH2 in nearly mint condition. Wondering if it makes a real difference or not.

My share would be about £75 so this could be a bargain, but I'm not reading stellar reviews of it. I may be able to negotiate it even cheaper if bought with a 40mm pancake (at least that is my hope anyway).

On the other hand, I'm noticing some better results handholding, without the 2x attached and just cropping more, even on a 7D with its noise problems. But the monopod did seem to work well when the prop aircraft were flying slow to land.

Any thoughts?

I always handhold when I'm using the 70-200 or 150-600. I've tried a monopod with a ballhead and, while it was good for slow shutter shots of old and slow C-47s, I found it too awkward with aerobatic prop planes and fast moving jets. I wouldn't mind trying a gimbal head on a tripod though.

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Folks.
Well I promised some from Goodwood, some are from the Revival, some from the Battle of Britain fly off.

IMG_7737_DxO by Graham Stretch, on Flickr

IMG_7765_DxO by Graham Stretch, on Flickr

IMG_7773_DxO by Graham Stretch, on Flickr

IMG_7778_DxO by Graham Stretch, on Flickr

IMG_4651_DxO by Graham Stretch, on Flickr

IMG_8611_DxO by Graham Stretch, on Flickr

IMG_4587_DxO by Graham Stretch, on Flickr

IMG_4673_DxO by Graham Stretch, on Flickr

IMG_4713_DxO by Graham Stretch, on Flickr

Cheers, Graham.

 

[Click]

Hi Graham,

Beautiful pictures. I especially like the first one.

Well done.

Cheers

 

[Roo]

Nice shots Graham. Love the juxtaposition of the Warhawk amongst all the Union Jacks and its good to see a Seafire flying as well

 

[bass3d]

Hi everybody,
this shot was taken during the 55th anniversary of foundation of the Italian aerobatic team Frecce Tricolori.
This is an Italian Eurofighter Typhoon displaying during the event.
The Typhoon is an air superiority fighter, with exceptional maneuverability, easy to pilot, very fast and agile.
Every pilot wears a customized helmet, with eye-driven targeting and voice controlled commands.
Ciao from Italy
Stefano

Canon 6d + Tamron 70-300

 

[Roo]

Hi everybody,
this shot was taken during the 55th anniversary of foundation of the Italian aerobatic team Frecce Tricolori.
This is an Italian Eurofighter Typhoon displaying during the event.
The Typhoon is an air superiority fighter, with exceptional maneuverability, easy to pilot, very fast and agile.
Every pilot wears a customized helmet, with eye-driven targeting and voice controlled commands.
Ciao from Italy
Stefano

Canon 6d + Tamron 70-300

Nice shot Stefano and welcome

 

[Click]

I really like your picture. Well done, Stefano.

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Click, Roo.
Thanks for the feedback, I tried for the P40 and others in the flags, I didn't think I had any good shots so I was pleased with this one.

Cheers, Graham.

 

[LukasS]

Hi guys, some update from Nato Days 2015


Saab JAS 39 Gripen | Nato Days Ostrava 2015 by Lukasz Bien, on Flickr


Saab JAS 39 Gripen | Nato Days Ostrava 2015 by Lukasz Bien, on Flickr


Saab JAS 39 Gripen | Nato Days Ostrava 2015 by Lukasz Bien, on Flickr


ORLIK - 8x PZL-130 TCII | Nato Days Ostrava 2015 by Lukasz Bien, on Flickr


ORLIK - 8x PZL-130 TCII | Nato Days Ostrava 2015 by Lukasz Bien, on Flickr


Saab 37 Viggen | Nato Days Ostrava 2015 by Lukasz Bien, on Flickr


MiG-29AS | Nato Days Ostrava 2015 by Lukasz Bien, on Flickr


IKEA Team | Nato Days Ostrava 2015 by Lukasz Bien, on Flickr

 

[Click]

Hi guys, some update from Nato Days 2015

Awesome. Stunning pictures. I especially like the first one. Well done, Lukasz.

 

[Roo]

Nice shots Lukas!

Here are some I took today. The planes are a CA-18 Mark 21 (Australian built version of the P-51D) and a Curtiss P-40N Kittyhawk.

 

[Click]

Very nice shots, Roo. I especially like the 3rd picture. Well done, Sir.

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Lukasz.
Very nice shots, do IKEA sponsor the team, or actually own the planes?

Cheers, Graham.

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Roo.
Great shots, nicely done.

Cheers, Graham.

Nice shots Lukas!

Here are some I took today. The planes are a CA-18 Mark 21 (Australian built version of the P-51D) and a Curtiss P-40N Kittyhawk.

 

[LukasS]

Hi Lukasz.
Very nice shots, do IKEA sponsor the team, or actually own the planes?

Cheers, Graham.

Thanks Graham, Roo and Click!

Actually IKEA Team is a term used by Polish spotters , I got it after a while - IKEA because the all the jets (correct name for the group is: The Swedish Air Force Historic Flight) are Swedish and IKEA is also Swedish .

 

[LukasS]

Hi guys, some update from Nato Days 2015

Awesome. Stunning pictures. I especially like the first one. Well done, Lukasz.

Even my 5D Classic with 70-200/2.8 has been used (for "wider" shots) with great results.

Had perfect spot on the show but there were only our Polish ORLIK's with some smoke trails for effect.

 

[dhr90]

As I mentioned a few pages back, I recently went to the Duxford airshow. I have now finally finished going through all my shots and keeping the best.

1. Spitfire formation. I don't consider this to be a particularly good photograph in terms of how it looks. But I really like it for its content. 16 Spitfires and 2 Seafires in one formation!

Spitfire formation by Matt, on Flickr

2.

Spitfire formation by Matt, on Flickr

3. Sadly this isn't quite tack sharp I think. Please don't zoom in! :-[

Untitled by Matt, on Flickr

4.

B17 - Sally B by Matt, on Flickr

5.

Spitfire formation by Matt, on Flickr

6.

RAF Red Arrows by Matt, on Flickr

7.

RAF Red Arrows by Matt, on Flickr

8.

RAF Red Arrows by Matt, on Flickr

9.

RAF Red Arrows by Matt, on Flickr

Comments and criticism to help future airshow shots are very welcome! There are maybe another 30-40 shots on my flickr for those interested. I didn't think it would be appreciated if I posted them all here ;D

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Matthew.
I like the second squadron shot, the light glinting off all the wings is great. I have several shots from Goodwood that I don't consider worthy of posting here or Flickr, they are of 12 planes at a time, the most they massed before departure, they are purely for me, to evoke the memory of the event.
Some really nice shots in the rest of the series.

Cheers, Graham.

 

[Valvebounce]

Hi Lukas.
Thanks for the explanation.
My apologies if I got your name wrong with including the z, it gets confusing with different user names, I see you use an S on here and the z on your images. Please let me know which you prefer, I feel I'm being rude to people when I get their names wrong, even though it is accidental.

Cheers, Graham.

Hi Lukasz.
Very nice shots, do IKEA sponsor the team, or actually own the planes?

Cheers, Graham.

Thanks Graham, Roo and Click!

Actually IKEA Team is a term used by Polish spotters , I got it after a while - IKEA because the all the jets (correct name for the group is: The Swedish Air Force Historic Flight) are Swedish and IKEA is also Swedish .

 

[dhr90]

Hi Matthew.
I like the second squadron shot, the light glinting off all the wings is great. I have several shots from Goodwood that I don't consider worthy of posting here or Flickr, they are of 12 planes at a time, the most they massed before departure, they are purely for me, to evoke the memory of the event.
Some really nice shots in the rest of the series.

Cheers, Graham.

Thanks! I managed to get a couple of shots where the light glinted like that. Having it occur on all planes at the same time was down to luck more than my skill at capturing it
I agree that photo isn't what I would consider worthy of sharing, it would usually either not be taken or just deleted to save disk space. But thought some might like to see so many grouped together hence sharing it.