EOS Rebel T7 Recommendations for Airshow Use

[Canonbassist909]

hey everyone ! ill be heading to the airshow at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego  and since ill be Using the canon rebel T7, with the 75-300 lens attached, 

id like to know some aperture, shutter etc, settings that I can use to try and get some solid images ! this Is really my first jump into photography and all.. 

cheers all ! 

Alexander 

[kvbarkley]

Practice on airplanes and helicopters at home, first.

[Canonbassist909]

most fly at higher altitudes where I live.. won't get a good image .. but on occasion our law enforcement agency will fly over and literally say hello over the p a to us on the ground if there is a group of us outside at a park or something .. 

[kvbarkley]

OK, use birds, then. You don't need a good image, you need practice. The further away the better because it can be hard to track small targets with high focal lengths.

[ebiggs1]

Alexander,

I just got through shooting an air show. My settings I used are as follows. My camera is my 1DX or 1D Mk IV.

Av node is my most favorite when I am using long telephoto lenses. In this case it was my Sigma 120-300mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM Sports Lens on the 1D4 and my Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Sports Lens on my 1DX.

In Av mode I usually fix the aperture around f5.6 or f8 for air shows. ISO is 400 and WB is Daylight, of course always Raw format. This generally renders a SS around 1/2000 but keep in mind your conditions may warrant adjustments.

[Canonbassist909]

beautiful shots !!! got to love the blues ! .. in fact ill be seeing them at Mcas Miramar in a few weeks 

[dkane1990]

Hi there, I get this post is from August, but hopeful lol. My son wants this camera specifically for an airshow in May and plane spotting. How well did your camera do? What zooms etc did you use? Thank you so much

[BurnUnit]

That Amazon ad for their "kit" is a hoot. Description says the camera has a 30" screen! And the picture leads you to believe it comes with two lenses, though they're both 18-55mm. The second picture shows a universal zoom of unknown origin. It appears to be a fixed f8.3 aperture with a 2x telextender and an adapter ring that might fit a Canon body. No A/F and no I/S. Half of the accessory items you'll never use, assuming that they even survive shipping intact. RUN AWAY!!!

The Canon refurb deal would be the way to go. Though it looks like they're currently sold out. No wonder at that price. But there is box you can click that says "Notify Me When Available". Sign up and hopefully you still get one without too much delay.

Then find some slower planes to practice on. 😋

[dkane1990]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'VE ALREADY DONE ALL THAT SO HOPEFULLY THEY GET RESTOCKED. 

[zakslm]

You are welcome.  I think the community really stepped up and is attempting to help you.

Since your son is 11 years old (say a 5th or 6th grader) and we don't know how physically mature he may be, I'll assume he's pretty average (and not 6 feet tall and can bench press 200lbs).  The T7, it's standard 18-55mm kit lens and the 55-250 lens I recommended isn't too heavy or cumbersome but it's not feather light either.  The IS (image stabilization) feature of both those lenses will come in handy.  A big, long heavy lens may not be the best option for him.

Also, I'm sure there are Youtube instructional videos about shooting airshows.  Also there are beginner tutorials on using the T7.  He should begin watching some of those even before he gets a camera.  Then when he gets the camera, watch them again.  

Above all, have fun!  

[kvbarkley]

As I say, as soon as he gets the camera he needs to go outside and shoot birds, moving cars and airplanes.