Each year we make a 350-mile journey from our home in Grand Rapids to attend EAA’s AirVenture - more commonly called the Oshkosh Air Show. This year is much the same in the past - we awaken at 4AM for the five hour car ride. The big difference this year is that I’m lugging a new Nikon D700 with me.
I’ve had the camera for only three days. To tell you the truth I’m not very familiar with its features and controls. Furthermore, as a long-tme user of Canon cameras, I’m not very familiar with the Nikon system. I promised myself that I wouldn’t read the manuals; I would learn the features the hard way so that they would stick in my head easier afterwards. I’ve already decided that I’m going to put the D700 through its paces even if I have to fumble around with its buttons, dials and menus.
As you might expect, air shows such as Oshkosh are filled with hundreds of aircraft. Most aircraft are sitting on the ground where the attendees can see them up close. Referred to as static displays, they are the only chance that I’ll get to sit in the pilot’s seat. Other aircraft are on their way to or from a runway. These are moving slowly but are often a few hundred yards away. And of couse, the exciting part of an air show is watching the aircraft in flight - at much higher speeds and longer distances away. So for most of us, picture-taking at an air show is a combination of three types of photography: static portraits, distant slow speed and and very distant, high speed action.
Often the static aircraft are positioned very close to one another so there isn’t a lot of room to back up to take a picture with a normal lens. For the up close photos, I’m using a second camera, a Canon XSi with 10mm-22mm wide angle. This is a very light camera that lets me frame an entire aircraft from very close - perhaps 25 to 30 feet away. But for medium and long distance photos, I have two lenses for the D700 - a 24mm-120mm medium zoom and an 80mm-400mm long zoom.
I decide to scour the exhibit area for a few hours. For this I use the medium zoom. As I’m walking the exhibits, I’m attracted to a bright orange aircraft. The Quest Kodiak is a large, attractive utility plane. I snap a few photos of its huge single propeller, another of its large wings and then walk to the passenger door to photograph the cockpit instruments. Just as I snap, the man sitting in the pilot’s seat turns around. Coincidentally, I can see that the pilot is actor Harrison Ford. Perhaps he thinks I’m a member of the paparazzi, so I hereby apologize to Mr. Ford if I startled him. I feel a little embarassed by this surprise encounter so I back away from the cockpit door. I circle around to the other side of the aircraft to take a few more photos of the actor from a position that is more “public“.
Photo Data for Harrison Ford: 1/125 sec at f/5.6, ISO 200, lens 120mm
Next I head over to the Honda exhibit. Honda is showing a slew of small motor bikes in front of their large pavillion. This no doubt is a response to the high gas prices. I walk inside and am immediately struck by the beauty of their new HondaJet. You can immediately tell that the display was designed especially with photographers in mind. You can walk around this gorgeous aircraft a full 360 degrees and have a fantastic view and with excellent lighting from any side. Any photographer can take wonderful pictures with a set up like this.
 Photo Data: 1/200 sec at f/7.1, ISO 200, 24-120mm f3.5-5.6 lens at 24mm |
 Photo Data: 1/100 sec at f/13, ISO 800, 24-120mm f3.5-5.6 lens at 45mm |
 Photo Data: 1/10 sec at f/36, ISO 200, 24-120mm f3.5-5.6 lens at 120mm |
 Photo Data: 1/200 sec at f/7.1, ISO 200, 24-120mm f3.5-5.6 lens at 58mm |
| I’m in the bright sun on my long walk to the flight line on the North side of the airport. For this I choose Program mode for the D700 at the ISO 200 setting. |
 Photo Data: 1/200 sec at f/7.1, ISO 200, lens 120mm This is the new control tower at Oshkosh’s Whitman Field. |
 Photo Data: 1/200 sec at f/11.0, ISO 200, 80mm-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens at 400mmKC-135 Stratotanker from the Wisconsin Air National Guard. BTW, these aircraft regularly fly to the Grand Rapids airport to practice approaches. When they do, we can stick our heads out of the front door of our offices to see these monsters roam the skies. |
| When I reach the flight line adjacent to runway 18-36 I plop myself down on the small canvas stool that I’ve attached to the tripod strap of my camera bag (sans tripod). I replace the medium zoom with the longer one on the D700. This 80mm-400mm lens has enough reach to capture most of the activity around this area. From where I’m sitting, I’m no farther than 150 yards from the runway. I set the D700 to Shutter priority mode. To shoot arriving and departing aircraft I first change the mode to Shutter priority, the ISO to 200 and a shutter speed between 1/500 to 1/1000. With today’s bright sun, there’s plenty of light. |
| Here’s a few of the shots: |
 Photo Data: 1/800 sec at f/9.0, ISO 200, 80mm-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens at 260mm |
 Photo Data: 1/500 sec at f/14, ISO 200, 80mm-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens at 370mm |
 Photo Data: 1/400 sec at f/13, ISO 200, 80mm-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens at 400mm |
 Photo Data: 1/500 sec at f/14, ISO 200, 80mm-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens at 400mm |
 Photo Data: 1/500 sec at f/14, ISO 200, 80mm-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens at 400mm |
 Photo Data: 1/250 sec at f/10, ISO 200, 80mm-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens at 80mm |
 Photo Data: 1/320 sec at f/11, ISO 200, 80mm-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens at 300mmThat’s well-known aerobatics champ Sean Tucker taxiing the Oracle Challenger biplane. |
 Photo Data: 1/400 sec at f/13, ISO 200, 80mm-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens at 80mmThis is “Duggy”, a brightly painted DC-3. Earlier in the day, I spent 15 minutes resting in the shade provided by its large wings. |
 Photo Data: 1/400 sec at f/10, ISO 200, 80mm-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens at 280mmThis camera stand is adjacent to the flight operations center. As you can see it’s quite a popular destination for photographers. BTW, Nikon shooters are also welcome. |
 Photo Data: 1/800 sec at f/7.1, ISO 200, 80mm-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens at 280mm |
 Photo Data: 1/800 sec at f/14, ISO 200, 80mm-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens at 400mmHere’s an F/A-18 leading a group of other military aircraft in a memorial fly-by. |
 Photo Data: 1/800sec at f/8.0, ISO 200, 80mm-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens at 270mmOshkosh 2008 is the venue for the world debut of this new Cirrus Jet SJ50. |
 Photo Data: 1/800 sec at f/10, ISO 200, 80mm-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens at 400mm |
 Photo Data: 1/1000 sec at f/7.1, ISO 200, 80mm-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens at 400mmThis is the Collaborators Aerobatics Team flying in formation. |
 Photo Data: 1/800 sec at f/5.3, ISO 200, 80mm-400mm f/4.5-5.6 lens at 200mmDon’t you envy this shooter? He’s at the controls of a Canon 1DS Mk III with a 400mm f/2.8 lens. WOW!!!! This lens weighs in at 50 or 60 pounds. From the looks of things, he’s shooting a mosquito sitting on top of the KC-135 Stratotanker |
Wrap Up
Using the D700 for the first time in the field was a slow experience for me. Being unfamiliar with any of the Nikon systems, I was quite deliberate (read: SLOW) as I changed some of the camera settings. Due to this, I missed a few shots. I’ll need to gain more experience with the camera until I feel comfortable using the D700 as one of my regulars. A case in point is changing lenses: I’m used to Canon lenses which twist in one direction; the Nikon lenses twist in the reverse direction. While this is a minor point, it slowed me down.
One feature that I discovered early on is the focus point control. It took me a few minutes to determine how to move it around, but I was able to choose any of the 51 locations for the focus point in the viewfinder. This proved handy especially when shooting the aerobatics aircraft which were spread randomly in the viewfinder.
I also figured out how to set the shutter for continuous shooting mode. Several times, I fired off a series of at least 8 shots of the sleek F/A-18 passing overhead and other fast moving aircraft - all in focus and framed adequately considering that I was hand-holding the 80mm-400mm lens.
All in all, I’m satisifed with my first outing with the D700. I didn’t lose too many shots and I’m quite satisfied with the quality of the images. But the main reason that I am attracted to the D700 is its low-light capabilities. At Oshkosh I wasn’t forced into any available light situations, so my field test will have to continue when the sun isn’t so bright.
I hope to report my low-light experiences with the D700 when I continue my field test soon.
August 15th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Your blog is interesting!
Keep up the good work!
August 30th, 2009 at 5:15 pm
Thanks for writing this great blog I really enjoyed.
September 22nd, 2009 at 3:46 pm
Nice photos and write-up. I wanted to mention that the Canon 400 f/2.8 weights about 12 pounds, not 50 or 60. =)