R5 on AirPower 2022

SigZero wrote:

Karl_Guttag wrote:

SigZero wrote:

This year I've decided to visit AirPower airshow in Zeltweg Austria.

All taken with my R5 with RF 100-500, some with 1.4x converter.

As for parameters: all on electronic shutter, Tracking AF (all area) with subject set to "none", Av with Auto ISO (with manual modifications for some propeller photos)

Thanks for sharing the photos (here and on your site) and your camera settings. I particularly liked the heat blur off the jet engines. I also liked how you didn't just crank up the 1/3000th and freeze everything on the jets.

I'm curious why you chose to use Av with Auto ISO. My go-to for air shows is Manual with Auto-ISO. I typically leave the RF100-500 at f11 and then adjust the shutter speed based on the motion blur I want to achieve (vs. the better hit rate at higher shutter speeds). I typically use an ND4 with prop planes to keep the ISO above 100 at slower shutter speeds.

This is my long-term habit, which (in my opinion) gives me the option to shoot at lowest possible ISO. With 20fps (this is really stupid with Canon that there is no way to set slower frame rate with ES on R5) I can sacrifice shoots with motion blur (I always get some non-blurred in series for each "scene").

It would also be nice if there were an optional audible click. It is very hard in the heat of the action to tell when the camera is taking a shot in ES mode and when it stops if the buffer is full. Certainly, at low shutter speeds, it is a numbers game where with experience, you guestimate your hit rate at a given shutter speed and shooting situation.

But using M with fixed aperture and shutter speed for sure will be my option for next airshow (unfortunately that will be probably next year).

Thinking about this makes me wonder whether I should shoot in Tv mode with Auto-ISO rather than M, at least sometimes. With aircraft shooting a single plane in motion, the shutter speed (for motion blur) is the primary variable with the RF100-500. The plane is far enough away that depth of focus is usually not an issue, and at least with prop planes at low shutter speeds, it will not call for below f8 anyway.

I typically shoot with an ND4 filter when shooting prop planes (and take the filter off for jets) which on a sunny day via the Sunny-16 rule puts the ISO 100 at a shutter speed of ~1/53th at f11. I like to shoot between 1/60th to 1/250th, so this keeps the ISO in a "comfortable" range (~ISO100 to ISO400) at f11. But then I had to stop down if I wanted to try something like 1/30th. If the planes are backlit against the sky, I will usually dial in ~+1ev. If clouds block the sun, then the ISO can creep up but generally to less than ISO1250, or I have to open up the aperture a bit or take off the ND filter.

If I used Tv (what I used for action shooting in the past but stopped doing with M and auto-ISO) with Auto-ISO, the f-number lower limit would vary with the zoom (I don't think there is a way on the R5 to limit it like you can with the Auto-ISO range or Shutter Speed in Av mode).  In TV with Auto-ISO, the ISO would stay as low as possible (but over ISO100) and vary the aperture.  Anyway, just something I am thinking about.

What IS mode did you use on the RF100-500? I think I am settled on Mode 2 as being the best when shooting moving subjects.

Exclusively IS mode 2. Mode 1 is (for obvious reasons) useless in any moving subject scenario and IS mode 3 is not comfortable with me - It is more difficult to track subject in frame with mode 3 comparing to mode 2.

That is the conclusion I have come to but wanted to check. I will change to Mode 1 if the plane is stationary.  I also find ES is better than EFC or Mechanical shutter for the EVF and for the focus tracking.

Br, Pawel