MF AERIAL images

[Richard Osbourne]

Richard,

Do you feel that the shutter speed of 1/1000 sec or 1/2000 sec was adequate to prevent any camera vibration from affecting your pictures when shooting from the helicopter? I was just curious to know what you think; the one time I took photos out of a helicopter I was using a gyroscope type device to help prevent camera vibrations. Next time I may forego the gyro.
Thanks,

John

Hi John, for some reason I didn't get any notification of your question. I found 1/2000 sec more than adequate to stop camera shake. Even when the helicopter was being buffeted by gusts of wind, the photos were all sharp. So, for the next trip, 1/1000, F8, ISO400 is the next test. That 40-80 lens is outstanding edge to edge at F11. It's a question as to whether it is still at F8 or even F5.6. The IQ3100 isn't great at ISO800, surprisingly. I thought it would have less noise and better colour as it looked quite rough at 100% and needed a fair bit of p/p. I suspect it will improve a lot at ISO400. Next trip will be in a couple of months so I'll try to update the blog post.
best,
Richard

 

[ejpeiker]

Hi John, for some reason I didn't get any notification of your question. I found 1/2000 sec more than adequate to stop camera shake. Even when the helicopter was being buffeted by gusts of wind, the photos were all sharp. So, for the next trip, 1/1000, F8, ISO400 is the next test. That 40-80 lens is outstanding edge to edge at F11. It's a question as to whether it is still at F8 or even F5.6. The IQ3100 isn't great at ISO800, surprisingly. I thought it would have less noise and better colour as it looked quite rough at 100% and needed a fair bit of p/p. I suspect it will improve a lot at ISO400. Next trip will be in a couple of months so I'll try to update the blog post.best,Richard

My experience with the XF-IQ3100 in aerial photo situations from helicopters with no doors is that pixel level sharpness continues to improve the faster you get with the shutter speed until you get to 1/2500, after that there's little difference and in order to get faster shutter speeds you start to degrade the image too much due to the higher ISO required. Between 1/2000 and 1/2500 there is sometimes a slight difference but more often than not there is none. Once you get slower than 1/2000 the number of shots with some blurring at the pixel level becomes more and more noticeable. My basic set-up for aerial with the XF is shutter priority at 1/2000 or 1/2500 and ISO 400. Of course focal length makes a difference too. These numbers are my standard for the 80mm.

I suspect that you will have significantly degraded results at 1/1000 compared to 1/2000. Now if you do need to go much slower, I highly recommend a Kenyon gyro stabilizer coupled with slow flight or hovering if possible. In that scenario, I have taken sharp shots at shutter speeds as slow as 1/10s.

 

[Richard Osbourne]

Thanks, that's very useful. I suspect at wider focal lengths on the 40-80, 1/1000 will show less shake. What apertures is shutter priority giving at these speeds/ISO?

My experience with the XF-IQ3100 in aerial photo situations from helicopters with no doors is that pixel level sharpness continues to improve the faster you get with the shutter speed until you get to 1/2500, after that there's little difference and in order to get faster shutter speeds you start to degrade the image too much due to the higher ISO required. Between 1/2000 and 1/2500 there is sometimes a slight difference but more often than not there is none. Once you get slower than 1/2000 the number of shots with some blurring at the pixel level becomes more and more noticeable. My basic set-up for aerial with the XF is shutter priority at 1/2000 or 1/2500 and ISO 400. Of course focal length makes a difference too. These numbers are my standard for the 80mm.

I suspect that you will have significantly degraded results at 1/1000 compared to 1/2000. Now if you do need to go much slower, I highly recommend a Kenyon gyro stabilizer coupled with slow flight or hovering if possible. In that scenario, I have taken sharp shots at shutter speeds as slow as 1/10s.

 

[ejpeiker]

Thanks, that's very useful. I suspect at wider focal lengths on the 40-80, 1/1000 will show less shake. What apertures is shutter priority giving at these speeds/ISO?

Generally between f/4 and f/8

 

[pentaxitin]

First of all, thank you everyone for sharing your experience on this rare genre of photography.

About two decades ago, while shooting with Canon EOS 100, 35-105 zoom and Ektachrome E100SW (underexposed by 1/3rd stop), I mostly shot from a chopper without doors at 1/500 Sec and got mostly sharp images. The shutter speed will also depend on the elevation. With image stabilised lenses/cameras, giving anywhere from 3 to 4 stops advantage, I think 1/500 at base ISO of 100 should be adequate. I am hoping to shoot Pentax 645Z with 28-45 f/4. 5 SR Lens in about three months time, if all goes well. They will be mostly oblique shots, with a few by banking the chopper as much as my pilot would feel comfortable with.

 

[Greg Haag]

Kalalua Beach on Kauai from a helicopter. The doors off helicopter tour in Kauai is not to be missed. Hope to do again in December.

Cambo AE, Rodenstock HR32, IQ180:

Beautiful image Ed, my wife and oldest daughter are headed there Wednesday. I will show them your picture and maybe that will help calm their nerves on traveling right now.