RAF BBMF - Once in a lifeltime opportunity - help!

I am sure that many of you - especially those interested in air shows or specifically the BBMF (Battle of Britain Memorial Flight)will have already heard that the one remaining air worthy Lancaster outside the UK is being flown over from Canada to join the one remaining air worthy British Lancaster for a series of airshows in August.

This is a once in a life time opportunity to see the only 2 remaining Lancasters flying together.

The RAF No 1 group are working together with the owners of Humberside airport to bring this all together and the Canadian aircraft will be based at Humberside airport for part of the time it is here. It will also be operating 'commercial' flights over Lincolnshire for a limited number of people willing to shell out £3,500 for the experience.

Which leads me on to my own once in a lifetime opportunity. Through my work, I have a long standing relationship with the owners of Humberside Airport.

In preparation for the events this summer - The BBMF will be put through it's paces from RAF Coningsby next month - and I am extremely privileged to have been invited as a 'VIP' guest for the day giving me access to the aircraft and crew and the opportunity to watch them prepare - take off - fly and land etc. at fairly close quarters. I may also get the opportunity to go 'air-side' at Humberside in August to photograph the Canadian aircraft taking off and landing

Now the help required.

1. To upgrade or not to upgrade - that is the question...

My experience of photographing the BBMF is limited to 2 visits to the Sunderland airshow and a few 'random encounters'.

Before going to my first airshow - I decided that it would be best to use 2 bodies with different length lenses attached to reduce the chances of missing shots.

The 2 bodies I have available are a K5 and a Kr so I had the Sigma 150-500 on the K5 for the long shots and the Sigma 50-150 on the Kr for the closer encounters. When I have checked back, I have realised that in 2 years - I did no get a single decent shot with the Kr + 50-150 combination.

Kr not up to the job? bad lens choice? poor workmanship? I know my limitations and am certain part of the problem will have been me - but the level of difference between my work with the K5 and the Kr suggests this was not the only factor.

Having already treated myself to a couple of new lenses this year, I had decided to hold off on upgrading the Kr until next year - however, with this opportunity looming - I am now asking myself whether upgrading the Kr to a K5IIs would significantly increase my chances of getting this right - any advice/ opinions most welcome.

2. Optimum lens combination

In terms of which lens combination to use - the lenses I have that are potential contenders are:

Pentax SMC DA 17-70mm f/4 AL [IF] SDM
Sigma 50-150 F2.8 EX DC HSM
Tamron SP AF 70-200mm F/2.8 Di LD [IF] Macro
Sigma 120-400/4.5-5.6 APO DG OS HSM
Sigma 150-500mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM

Any opinions on which combination to use would be welcome.

3. General tips for airshows

...and finally - It would be great to receive any practical advice/ tips form those much more experienced in this sort of photography than I am.

Carl

Not used a KR, but I can vouch that the K5iis is a superb piece of kit, I use one with a Sigi 100-300 F4 attached and the standard K5 with a Sigi 70 - 200 F2.8.

IMO, that way the iis is better with the F4 as the ISO can be ramped up a lot more if necessary and the std K5 is great with the 2.8 allowing a decent shutter speed / aperture combo

The KR is too small for large lenses and difficult to handle and balance. Great opportunity, I can't help but think you need a regular zoom to capture the pilots and cockpit shots, surely those opportunities are going to be better than regular air show shots which everyone will be able to capture.

Hire a K-3, and a lens you want?

How about this - Buy or hire a DA*300mm for the K5 and use a short prime on the Kr? then leave the Sigmas at home. The Sigma lenses are awful heavy for a full days carting about and you'll probably miss opportunities trying to decide between them on the day. The speed and sharpness of the primes will make up for any lack of in between zoom range.

Better the devil you know than the devil you don't.
Surely you're best using the camera/lenses you're familiar with as all Pentax DSLR's are more than up to that job. Enjoy the day.

I missed the kit list at the end of your first post, the DA* 17-70 would be good instead of the small prime. As you say it's a once in a lifetime experience but JAK has a point. I'd still vote for the DA*300 but if you can, rent it for a while before the day to get used to it.

Hire a "Bag Boy" to carry your equipment. Choose the right one and I'll let you borrow a DA*300.

If you get a chance for inside the aircraft you may well need something down in the sub-16mm range - there is not much space in there.

I would stick with a mid-zoom, maybe the 50-150, but this strikes me as a bit 'long', especially if you have access at close quarters. I would be tempted to take the 17-70 instead, or as well as the 50-150. You can always take a backpack for different lens choices.

The 150-500 is a good choice, if you can comfortably carry it about all day. I would recommend a decent monopod to assist with the 15-500.

Regards
David

Best answer by far IMO.

Worst thing to do is suddenly start changing your kit to something unfamiliar right before the most important shoot of your life.

My only other advice is take lots of cards and don't hesitate in the shutter button

With five months to go, there's plenty of time to get familiar with new kit and this really is a once in a lifetime experience. You're never likely to see two Lancasters flying side by side again.

Given that you already have a K-5, then coupling a K-5 IIs to that would be very logical. There's no learning curve involved and the AF is a bit snappier, especially in very low light.

As regards lenses, then trying what you have with the new body would be a good first step, after which a second evaluation of where you stand with lenses could be made.

There is plenty of time to make sure there are no glitches with the new body and any new lenses that you might go for.

Thanks for all of your comments.

Just to clear up a couple of misunderstanding - my once in a lifetime event is next month - so not a whole lot of time to familarise myself with a new lens and I tend to agree with those who suggest that it would be best to stick to what I know.

Re the close shot opportunities - agree with all the comments and hadn't mentioned this part of the day as I am reasonably confident that the 10-20,17-70 and 35 LTD will do the job nicely.

My main area of concern was and still is the 'in flight' shots.

I may go up to the airport at the weekend and compare the 150-500 to the 120-400 as one thing that I do know is the 120-400 is much easier to hold for long periods of time.

....and am still tempted to get a K5IIs if one became available at the right price.

Carl

You are photographing the Lancaster?

In which case it's very unlikely you will need anywhere near 500mm, depending how close you are I would imagine 300mm would be a bit much as well. Personally I would be looking at the 10-20mm for quirky wide shots, 17-70mm for people/portrait/interior and the 70-200mm or 120-400mm for the Lancaster photos (really depending on available light on the day)

As for settings ... AF.C, centre focus point, TAv mode, shutter speed will need to be in the 1/250th region (to get decent prop blur ... nothing worse than a prop plane in the air with a static propeller) and an aperture that gets you a decent ISO. As with all panning, keep following the plane for a moment after pressing the shutter button.

Personally I would be up the airport practising as it's unlikely you will get a second chance at this ... very jealous btw.

Great little masterclass for those of us who've never tried anything like this.

Me too... what a fantastic opportunity. Look forward to seeing the shots