I took some more shots at night on 21 Oct 2008. The pictures are reduced to 800 pixels (width) for slower connections. Results are very bad yet for night/dark shots as i have to properly configure my camera for quality shots, therefore sharing with you some of the selected ones.
Pictures were taken while the flights were on finals for Kuwait Intl. rwy 15R
your problem here is that the pics are underexposed ... so to get around this you need to do two things
1) increase the ISO setting. I believe you can go up to 1600 ISO on your camera
2) you will also need fast shutter speed to avoid blur and to capture high speed motion.
you can also try longer shutter speed and panning your hand to match the movement of the subject but this takes a while to master. its even more difficult the more zoom you apply.
Try this out and see how you get on. Part of the fun of a SLR is experimenting with all the settings to see what happens !
Also i noticed that forum member AN is a dab hand at night shots, any suggestions from AN?
First thing is sure that these are just experimental shots and without flash. I was around the airport territory and was not able to take any sort of risk and not using the flash is also a factor for reduced quality. regarding panning the camera along with moving subject need a lot of practice.
If you save the pictures on PC and check the properties for individual picture, you can find the settings used for the pics. All of the pics posted were with shutter speed 1/4 sec. and ISO 800 except 1 or 2 which were with shutter speed 1/5 sec (indian express pic) and ISO 1600 (jazeera airways pic).
Anyhow, will visit that area again as i have spotted a location near 6th ring road over which the flights pass through and will let you know with any further improvement.
Try this : Take a photo ... transfer it to canon zoom browser ( which you should have installed on your computer by now ) ... now comming up tricky point ..... use any photo programme ( I use Jasc Pain Shjot Pro .
Click on File ..click on import ....click on screen caputre .... click on start.. here you are... your photo with full pix... does not matter how many .. save it Jpeg file ( I use memory stick just for pics).. send this pic to photo bucket ... and post it on HOP with no loss of quality what so ever. Jasc Paint Shop Pro 8 is about £10 from Amazon.
^ nopy99; i can post the photos with modifications but prefering to post the pics with original captured zoom details only.
Regarding the above posted night shots, if i post the 100% actual zoom picture with modification (croping the extra area on 4 sides), you can get a better idea about the details.
Last evening i have had few more shots and now i am thinking to start a photos thread in General forum as those are related to general view.
^ In the particular pic, its a Boeing 747-400; i will post a closeup picture sooner.
Nadirali wrote:American airlieners fly to the middle east!?! I know they used to fly to israel, but kuwait?
As per the information available through Kuwait Airport website; its only United Airlines that operating direct flights to Kuwait. Other than this, we use to witness some other American carriers flying special charter flights for US / Allied forces.
Arrival Airline FLT AC Route Day Time From Till
UNITED AIRLINES 982 777 WASHINGTON DC DULLES Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu. Fri. 1650 27/10/2008 31/10/2008
Departure Airline FLT AC Route Day Time From Till
UNITED AIRLINES 981 777 WASHINGTON DC DULLES Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu. Fri. 2340 27/10/2008 31/10/2008
Last evening, modified the shots with Jasc PSP, here is the result with 70% - 80% than of 100%. Putting the pictures in 100% actual size was giving too much noise and clarity was reducing.
When you use a higher ISO setting, specially over 400, noise is always going to be a major problem. For pictures such as these, detail is king and noise kills detail.
However, there is another way (as opposed to a high ISO). Since you're using an SLR, maybe consider investing in a low-light lens. Basically, what you're looking for is a lens with a decent focal length (maybe 35mm - 200mm) but with a very low minimum aperture value - such as f/1.4 or f/1.8. The only drawback is that a lens like this will cost you a fair amount of money.
The cheaper option is to buy a lens with a fixed focal length (no zoom). An example is the Nikon 35mm AF-S DX f/1.8 lens. It is a fairly versatile high speed low light lens and costs only $200. I'm actually trying to get one of those soon.
Bottom line (in my opinion): aside from photo-journalism, a high ISO value is never a solution.
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