Lufthansa Retrojet @ Dublin today

w@ll3gurl

Got an ok shot of it but pity my camera is fairly useless with zoom. Comes out all fuzzy in the other close ups I have. Can anyone recommend a good camera for plane spotting?

moss.ie

best thing is for you to decide on a budget first, then buy the best you can afford.

w@ll3gurl

Cheers moss, just saw there is a photo thread!! Your pics are amazing!! Especially the National 747, the best looking livery ever!
(Sorry mods for posting this as new thread)

This is off topic I know (maybe you can point me to a camera discussion) but other than budget, should I look at pixels or how much zoom?? Your close ups are crystal clear on those shots. Thanks for your help!

moss.ie

hey w@ll3gurl,

thanks for the positive comments, i started off a couple of years ago with a nikon d40 6mp + 18-55 lens, which was fine for people, landscapes and static pics but my preference if to capture aircraft in the air, the smaller lens didnt suit this and was very limiting having to crop too far into pics to get a decent result, so i trawled thru ebay and found a nikon 70 - 300 zoom lens with vibration reduction. result! it opened a whole new world to be honest.
Last christmas i upgraded a nikon d3100 body 14mp (and still have the same zoom lens) and altho i find the body a bit small ( shovels for hands) its great.
my advice is still the same, due to the fact that there are so many beginners camera options, decide on a budget and get the best equipment u can afford (new or second hand). imo for decent pics the amount of MP available is not as important as a good lens (try get at least up to 300, dont get a 200 youll only end up frustrating yourself vurrry quickly) and also decent editing software, i use nikon viewNX and photoshop, but theres a free programme called Gimp which is excellent.
heres a link for you to have a look at the photography section of the board for more expert advice.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056053341

happy hunting

Plowman

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Tenger

Plowman wrote: »

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Cabin pressure I believe.........


To the OP:
What are you currently using? While the Nikon 70 may be a great camera, it may be a big step up for you and/or not what you want to lug around with you.

In terms of pocket cameras the Canon SX120 has good specs. 14x optical zoom, 14MP, handy size. It has the same spec's as my 4 year old Canon S5IS, which is pretty adequate for me. (Personally I would prefer to stay with a bridge camera so am hoping to upgrade to the SX30IS) Examples of S5 shots below:
AF B747: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tearbringer/3426197097/
KSC from approx 20,000 feet: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tearbringer/5641927576/in/photostream
Dublin from the air: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tearbringer/4091707077/in/set-72157622775001940
Sunrise at DUB: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tearbringer/3584656193/in/set-72157622775001940
USAF historic flight: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tearbringer/3842672437/in/set-72157621979278161

homerjay2005

was that a passenger flight? i travel the lufthansa frankfurt flight alot, so if it was, i assume it was on that route?

frankfurt airport is amazing place, really is top not spotting for anybody into their fleets, lufthansa have one of the best around and you get to see them all in frankfurt.

w@ll3gurl

hi Moss.ie and tenger! Thanks so much for the links and advice.

tenger, I have a wee tiny Canon IXUS 80 so its really basic. I might check out the model you mentioned as well, because it sounds nice and compact.
although, Moss, the shots you got of overflights from the ground....I would be in heaven in the garden getting those kind of pics lol So maybe I should consider something more beefy. Anyway, thanks for the link to photography section, will start hunting.

@ homerjay2005 Yeah it was the 11.05 LH flight in from Frankfurt on Monday. Just by pure chance, I actually went up more specifically to get a few shots of the Etihad and then hung about. Nearly fell off the rock when I saw the LH coming in. It was a good day for pics because they switched runway about an hour after I arrived so got a few different take off views.

Terrontress

w@ll3gurl wrote: »

Got an ok shot of it but pity my camera is fairly useless with zoom. Comes out all fuzzy in the other close ups I have. Can anyone recommend a good camera for plane spotting?

Good enough picture for me. A beautiful livery as well!