All Forum Comments
Comment by simonkit posted on A flight around the Isle of Anglesey at 24/05/2010 - 08:47
PeteL wrote:
Hi Simon,
I`m glad it was of some use! The Cessna was back in action today but it was quite hazy everywhere especially around the Anglesey coast due to some mist rolling in, Though by the time of you`r flight in the afternoon it would probably have cleared a bit, Snowdon is looking lovely at the moment with a warm evening glow on it and no cloud. I usually peek at the Snowdon web cam if i am heading off that way as it points towards Snowdon from the opposite side from where i live.
Incidentally you`r wife could still have gone in the Cessna as it too has 4 seats but it would have been rather draughty with your window open!!!
Yes you do have to think fast, I know the place like the back of my hand yet still i get caught napping and miss something! Sorry you`r DOF was lacking in some shots, Were you using the full 300mm on some?
Best Regards - Pete.
The wife will be pleased to here there's another space in the Cessna, I'd definitely go with Mona Flying Club again, they actually didn't charge any extra for the wife to fly too - looking on the Caernarfon Airport website they seem a bit keener on the financial side of things.Hi Simon,
I`m glad it was of some use! The Cessna was back in action today but it was quite hazy everywhere especially around the Anglesey coast due to some mist rolling in, Though by the time of you`r flight in the afternoon it would probably have cleared a bit, Snowdon is looking lovely at the moment with a warm evening glow on it and no cloud. I usually peek at the Snowdon web cam if i am heading off that way as it points towards Snowdon from the opposite side from where i live.
Incidentally you`r wife could still have gone in the Cessna as it too has 4 seats but it would have been rather draughty with your window open!!!
Yes you do have to think fast, I know the place like the back of my hand yet still i get caught napping and miss something! Sorry you`r DOF was lacking in some shots, Were you using the full 300mm on some?
Best Regards - Pete.
Most of my shots were between 55 - 100mm, I just had a couple around 210mm. The DOF problems were on the shots where the view was pretty much sideways on so lots to get in the frame - I'll be more aware of it next time
Comment by simonkit posted on A flight around the Isle of Anglesey at 23/05/2010 - 22:50
If budget is limited then I'd personally get the Tamron 70-300, from my own experiences it's sharper than the Sigma, although it does suffer purple fringing.
If budget is a little more flexible then without doubt the Pentax DA 55-300 is the best consumer zoom available at the moment - it has the sharpness of the Tamron without PF and nicer colour/contrast rendition
Simon
If budget is a little more flexible then without doubt the Pentax DA 55-300 is the best consumer zoom available at the moment - it has the sharpness of the Tamron without PF and nicer colour/contrast rendition
Simon
Comment by simonkit posted on tamron vs sigma at 23/05/2010 - 22:43
Thanks everyone, it's a bonus to get some shots as well as the great trip.
Pete....thanks for your advice, it made a big difference. I used TAV mode to keep the shutter speed at 1/800 and aperture at F5.6 (mostly). Unfortunately a few shots needed a bit more DOF which I forgot to change - lesson learnt for next time !! Sorry about missing the house too
It's certainly "seat of your pants" photography, no time to contemplate things like I have with my landscapes
Simon
Pete....thanks for your advice, it made a big difference. I used TAV mode to keep the shutter speed at 1/800 and aperture at F5.6 (mostly). Unfortunately a few shots needed a bit more DOF which I forgot to change - lesson learnt for next time !! Sorry about missing the house too
It's certainly "seat of your pants" photography, no time to contemplate things like I have with my landscapes
Simon
Comment by simonkit posted on A flight around the Isle of Anglesey at 23/05/2010 - 08:42
beebee wrote:
What a fantastic present - I have hinted loudly to my hubby and he is well impressed with your shots - my fav is the Penmon lighthouse. If you could choose the perfect conditions for the flight to get the best images - what would they be?
To be honest I'm planning on going back and doing the Snowdonia route, in summer I'd say early morning is the best bet, before the haze builds. Personally though I'm thinking that a late evening in September/October would be pretty good for Snowdonia (& Anglesey too no doubt).What a fantastic present - I have hinted loudly to my hubby and he is well impressed with your shots - my fav is the Penmon lighthouse. If you could choose the perfect conditions for the flight to get the best images - what would they be?
You've two options with flights...Caernarfon or Mona Flying Club on Anglesey (who I used), it's worth talking to both - it's worth asking if they have a plane with windows that open to avoid the risk of dodgy perspex (I was lucky I think)
Simon
Comment by simonkit posted on A flight around the Isle of Anglesey at 22/05/2010 - 22:31
The wife bought me a flight around Anglesey as a Christmas present and today was the day.
The flight was terrific, I'd highly recommend it to anyone.
We had good news and bad news though. It was pretty hazy so we decided Snowdonia wasn't a great idea and the Cessna I should have flown in was out of action - a Piper was the alternative (no opening windows).
The good news was the haze on Anglesey wasn't nearly as bad and the Piper had room for a passenger so the wife took the trip too
Anyway to get to the photos - all taken through perspex unfortunately as the windows on the Piper didn't open, at least the perspex was very very clean
Caernarfon Castle
[IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/STKITCHIN/IMGP1803_nosharp.jpg[/IMG]
The Radio 1 Big Weekend on the Vaynol estate
[IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/STKITCHIN/IMGP1806_nosharp.jpg[/IMG]
Beaumaris Castle
[IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/STKITCHIN/IMGP1810_nosharp.jpg[/IMG]
Penmon lighthouse
[IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/STKITCHIN/IMGP1814_nosharp.jpg[/IMG]
South Stack lighthouse
[IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/STKITCHIN/IMGP1866_nosharp.jpg[/IMG]
Llanddwyn Island
[IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/STKITCHIN/IMGP1887_nosharp.jpg[/IMG]
The flight was terrific, I'd highly recommend it to anyone.
We had good news and bad news though. It was pretty hazy so we decided Snowdonia wasn't a great idea and the Cessna I should have flown in was out of action - a Piper was the alternative (no opening windows).
The good news was the haze on Anglesey wasn't nearly as bad and the Piper had room for a passenger so the wife took the trip too
Anyway to get to the photos - all taken through perspex unfortunately as the windows on the Piper didn't open, at least the perspex was very very clean
Caernarfon Castle
[IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/STKITCHIN/IMGP1803_nosharp.jpg[/IMG]
The Radio 1 Big Weekend on the Vaynol estate
[IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/STKITCHIN/IMGP1806_nosharp.jpg[/IMG]
Beaumaris Castle
[IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/STKITCHIN/IMGP1810_nosharp.jpg[/IMG]
Penmon lighthouse
[IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/STKITCHIN/IMGP1814_nosharp.jpg[/IMG]
South Stack lighthouse
[IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/STKITCHIN/IMGP1866_nosharp.jpg[/IMG]
Llanddwyn Island
[IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/STKITCHIN/IMGP1887_nosharp.jpg[/IMG]
Comment by simonkit posted on A flight around the Isle of Anglesey at 22/05/2010 - 21:20
PeteL wrote:
It all depends on how long the flight is, There are several routes that you can take (or you can choose your own) To get Snowdon summit only you will need around 30 minutes straight out from Dinas Dinlle,(Caernarfon Airport) I was lucky to get some nice shots of a paraglider over a frozen Glaslyn during the winter when there was snow on the summit. Unfortunately it was too cold to have the window open on that one!
When you take off watch out for Fort Belan below if you take off towards Caernarfon and an Iron Age Mound at the Dinas Dinlle beach end.
The other route is down the Menai Strait You should take in Caernarfon Castle, Plas Newydd, Both Bridges, Beumaris Castle, (If you are quick you might glimpse nearby Aberlleiniog castle too) Puffin Island, Bangor Pier,A slightly longer flight will take in the Great Orme and Llandudno Pier. Of course there are lots of other things that you can photograph besides! There are other flights over the Lleyn Peninsula but i have not tried them yet!
I hope that helps
Hope too that the weather is good!
PS. If you do have the window open then the pilot will throttle back so allow for a slightly longer flight!
Regards - Pete.
I have 1hr flying time so I'm thinking that Snowdon is a bit over optimistic..I like the idea of the menai straits etc so will ask the pilot if it's ok.It all depends on how long the flight is, There are several routes that you can take (or you can choose your own) To get Snowdon summit only you will need around 30 minutes straight out from Dinas Dinlle,(Caernarfon Airport) I was lucky to get some nice shots of a paraglider over a frozen Glaslyn during the winter when there was snow on the summit. Unfortunately it was too cold to have the window open on that one!
When you take off watch out for Fort Belan below if you take off towards Caernarfon and an Iron Age Mound at the Dinas Dinlle beach end.
The other route is down the Menai Strait You should take in Caernarfon Castle, Plas Newydd, Both Bridges, Beumaris Castle, (If you are quick you might glimpse nearby Aberlleiniog castle too) Puffin Island, Bangor Pier,A slightly longer flight will take in the Great Orme and Llandudno Pier. Of course there are lots of other things that you can photograph besides! There are other flights over the Lleyn Peninsula but i have not tried them yet!
I hope that helps
Hope too that the weather is good!
PS. If you do have the window open then the pilot will throttle back so allow for a slightly longer flight!
Regards - Pete.
Is it possible to change/take 2 lenses as the more I think about it the more I can't make up my mind - I have the DA 17-70 & DA 55-300, I'm concerned the 55-300 might not be wide enough
Simon
Comment by simonkit posted on Best way to take photos from a plane? at 21/05/2010 - 19:37
PeteL wrote:
Hi,
I use the Cessna from Caernarfon quite a lot, If you ask nicely you can open the window in flight, But it`s best to remove your headset whilst taking photo`s as the wind noise get`s really high. I would put the strap around your neck too! Also keep the lens out of the airflow as much as possible. You will be in the left hand (Port) seat for a trial lesson. Are you using the trip as a trial lesson or for taking photo`s?
A trial lesson will be at a higher altitude than a pleasure flight or a SPECIAL flight (The one i use). It will probably be quite hazy at around 2,000ft but you could get some nice shots of the Menai Straits with the 17-70. If you are using the trial lesson just to take photo`s (as i sometimes do)then you can go much lower and circle some of the many places of interest. For this i would choose your longer lens at around the 100-150mm mark.
I tend to use 200 iso and set the shutter speed to 1/800th sec and either take a exposure reading before take off and leave it unaltered (as long as the light doesn`t change with cloud etc) or use shutter priority.
Have a great flight.
Regards - Pete
Thanks for the advice Pete, much appreciated....based on this I'm going to go with the sightseeing option and take the 55-300 instead of the 17-70 - hoping to get a nice shot of Penmon/Beaumaris/Menai BridgeHi,
I use the Cessna from Caernarfon quite a lot, If you ask nicely you can open the window in flight, But it`s best to remove your headset whilst taking photo`s as the wind noise get`s really high. I would put the strap around your neck too! Also keep the lens out of the airflow as much as possible. You will be in the left hand (Port) seat for a trial lesson. Are you using the trip as a trial lesson or for taking photo`s?
A trial lesson will be at a higher altitude than a pleasure flight or a SPECIAL flight (The one i use). It will probably be quite hazy at around 2,000ft but you could get some nice shots of the Menai Straits with the 17-70. If you are using the trial lesson just to take photo`s (as i sometimes do)then you can go much lower and circle some of the many places of interest. For this i would choose your longer lens at around the 100-150mm mark.
I tend to use 200 iso and set the shutter speed to 1/800th sec and either take a exposure reading before take off and leave it unaltered (as long as the light doesn`t change with cloud etc) or use shutter priority.
Have a great flight.
Regards - Pete
I was hoping for a few mountain shots but I guess we won't be high enough to get anything of Snowdon etc
Simon
Comment by simonkit posted on Best way to take photos from a plane? at 21/05/2010 - 18:24
I've tweaked the original slightly - still going for something a little dramatic but hopefully this time a bit more subtle
[IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/STKITCHIN/ALL%20PHOTOS/IMGP1745-1.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/STKITCHIN/ALL%20PHOTOS/IMGP1745-1.jpg[/IMG]
Comment by simonkit posted on Bolton Abbey in mono at 20/05/2010 - 17:11
Having owned a few of the tele offerings, based on my personal experiences, I'd rank them at 300mm as:
1st: Pentax 55-300
2nd: Tamron 70-300 (probably equal to Pentax in sharpness but rendering/contrast not quite as good, quite a bit of purple fringing too)
3rd: Sigma 70-300 APO - my copy was quite soft at more than 240mm (although it could have been sample variation looking at Terrys shot)
I see Sigma has just released a new 120-400mm
http://www.dpreview.com/news/1005/10051401sigma120mm400sonypentax.asp
Simon
1st: Pentax 55-300
2nd: Tamron 70-300 (probably equal to Pentax in sharpness but rendering/contrast not quite as good, quite a bit of purple fringing too)
3rd: Sigma 70-300 APO - my copy was quite soft at more than 240mm (although it could have been sample variation looking at Terrys shot)
I see Sigma has just released a new 120-400mm
http://www.dpreview.com/news/1005/10051401sigma120mm400sonypentax.asp
Simon
Comment by simonkit posted on A zoom longer than18-55 for birds and wildlife? at 20/05/2010 - 12:42
i have been up with them was a flight around Anglesey in their Piper Arrow. Unfortunately i was in a rear seat on that occasion and was trying to shoot through badly scratched perspex. Lots of PP there! Still it was free and we did do a complete circuit of the island. All 125 miles in 1 hour!!!
Regards - Pete
Simon