Civilian Aviation

I have a Finepix SD6500, it's not the best but can't afford another one Doe's any one have one and know the best settings?

Many thanks,
Dan

HI Dan/all
i also have a finepix s6500,i use the anti shake mode,just went up to EDI On 24/7 it was dull and overcast all day and my photos are sht!!!,i tried manual mode but found the shots were focused and sharp but too dark,my trip to EDI SAW the camara shooting landing and take off shots at 1/320-1/420 at iso 200-800!,needless to say the results were disapointing!,i'm now looking for a new camara

Yes it is a disappointing camera but as I said before, I can't afford another one.

Although not familiar with the camera, I assume t works the same as most digital cameras. To get better images, this very rough guide should help

1) Set the camera in to Aperture Priority (Either "A" or "Av")
2) Use either the menus, or if it has a button to do it, that button, to set the ISO to the lowest possible value
3) Start to work out how far you can zoom in without loosing quality (If it has digital zoom, if it doesn't you can ignore this)

The camera will then automatically choose the correct shutter speed for the light, and hopefully give you decent shots. For props, put it in to Shutter Priority ("P" or "Tv") and set it to 1/250th or thereabouts.


Hope that helps. I'm sure there are more complex guides, but that's the basics

thanks chris
but won't a slow shutter speed create blurring,some of my shots look, good but when you zoom in you can see slight blurring due to too slow a shutter speed,i preffer 1/500 but you can't shoot at that speed in low light without a loss of quality,i'm heading up to EDI Agaiin tommorow and will do some experimenting

mike

Hi

Whilst not an expert,I've taken 50,000 aviation pics so am reasonably well versed.I bought a Fuji 9500S and tho' I live in the Southwest,it's first outing was to Edinburgh on an unexpected business trip!I had 7 hours to kill at Kirkliston and NEVER got a decent shot with it.Neither did a friend who bought one a week later.
We spent months trying various modes but the shutter lag was impossible for this hobby.....both of us ultimately "binned" them.2 years later Asda were selling off 5800S's.I bought one.OK as a sightseeing camera but equally useless on anything moving.
I know you say you can't afford to replace it but I doubt you'll ever get it to "perform".If you ever can replace it,make sure it's successor says "Panasonic" on it.... nothing can beat 'em for our hobby if you're talking compact or "bridge" cameras,SLR's are a different story.
I'd recommend a Panasonic FZ18,used off Ebay

Barry

Mike s wrote:thanks chris
but won't a slow shutter speed create blurring,some of my shots look, good but when you zoom in you can see slight blurring due to too slow a shutter speed,i preffer 1/500 but you can't shoot at that speed in low light without a loss of quality,i'm heading up to EDI Agaiin tommorow and will do some experimenting

mike

Indeed it will, you have to "pan" with the aircraft on slow shutter speeds, if you get it right it looks good, if you don't, well it'll look like a smudge

This is one of mine that was taken with a slow-ish shutter speed, that I didn't quite manage to keep up with, so it's a little blurry;


Of course, it's all about learning the limitations of your equipment. For a couple of year I used a Canon Powershot A530 and I got excellent results from it;
http://www.airliners.net/photo/UK---Air ... 1583789/L/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Obviously that wasn't really moving, but I knew that my camera was no good with aircraft flying



Looking at what Barry says, static aircraft are probably going to be more of what the camera can do