Chris558 wrote:A Nikon D50 SLR Digital. And of course, for our hobby, I had to get a zoom lens aswell: a 70-300, but as it's digital, it's comparible to an 'old-type' Camera lens of 450 zoom...Nice!
On a bright day, the shutter speed is so fast, that it freezes Rotor-blades and Propellers - not usually very desirable
Chris,
This is a problem faced by all aviation photographers.
My best advice is to learn to 'pan' and then expect at best 1 in 10 photos to be of high quality.
To 'pan', follow the aircraft, press the shutter and continue to follow the aircraft after the shutter has released - try to keep the motion as smooth as possible (a monopod can help).
I also use a 70-300mm lens (Nikon 70-300 F4 - 5.6 ED, on a Nikon D100) and find that a shutter speed of 1/500 sec will give a slight blur to props, while freezing the aircraft. With a good 'panning' technique, 1/320 sec or lower will give better results.
Set the camera to 'shutter priority' and select the desired shutter speed. As DaveB says, do not use the camera program modes.
Panning takes some time to master and you may not be ready for Kemble, but keep at it and you will be richly rewarded.
Don't forget to change back to a fast shutter speed for the fast jets!
Looking forward to seeing your pictures.
Regards.
Kevin