Lens selection

[nivlekgant]

Need help selecting lens. I'm planning to charter a chopper to fly over some active volcanoes in Hawaii. What lens should I use?

[arampan]

WOW ! ! ! !

Are you doing this for a hobby or for work???? I'm into video production... any chance you need me to shoot pro vids???

www.amaranthine.com.sg

[TMC]

hmm dun think anyone here has the experience to suggest a lens for you. might want to check out the forums at www.robgalbraith.com should hve more pros with the right experience to give pointers.

[Clown]

Originally Posted by nivlekgant Need help selecting lens. I'm planning to charter a chopper to fly over some active volcanoes in Hawaii. What lens should I use?

nothing too wide or u'll end up shooting parts of the heli. something from 28mm onwards should be good after the 1.5x crop..

[Terence]

You'd need a telezoom with pretty wide coverage. With a helicopter, I assume you can get pretty close to the features you want to photograph. A wide angle in the 24-120 range along with a 80-400 will cover most situations.

Beware of the increased vibration levels when shooting from a helicopter platform. You'd need relatively high speeds (1/500 or higher to be safe) to get clear shots. Best to shoot in early morning or towards the evening to get the best lighting conditions. If possible, I'd shoot with 2 bodies since it's not a good thing to have one body fail while chartering an expensive helicopter. It'd also give you the flexibility of mounting 2 different lenses, ready to shoot.

Try to shoot from an open window or door, shooting through the glass can cause unwanted reflections.

Sounds fun, all the best.

[brian]

I suppose vibration is the main concern. You'll probably need to go wide (both focal length and f-stop) so that the vibration wont be noticeable or carry along a VR lens. Wide primes might be sufficient if you wont be flying high and you're allowed to stick your head and gear out of the helicopter (not sure if that's allowed). I've read somewhere that you'll ideally need a shutter speed at least twice the reciprocal of the focal length to compensate for the vibration. e.g. if you bring with you a 35mm f1.4, try and get >1/60 (i.e. 1/125 of a sec) shutter speed.

Of course I've never been on a heli before, so let us know if you managed to improvise something.

[Terence]

While I'm a big user of primes, I wouldn't recommend it for aerial photography. With the dynamic environment you're going to be working in, a zoom is most effective in terms of flexibility. And if you're going to be shooting the same subject in different lengths, eg a closeup of the crater or an overall view of the volcano, a telezoom will allow you to do that without changing lenses or asking the pilot to go closer or higher.

1/125 is definitely not fast enough. And with wide angles, careful not to angle your cam too high or might catch the rotor blades. With a fast shutter speed, there's a chance of freezing the blades enough to cause a distraction in your frame.

[pipefish]

This article might be helpful:

http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/mul...id=7-6454-6928

[Vario_Elmar]

Originally Posted by nivlekgant Need help selecting lens. I'm planning to charter a chopper to fly over some active volcanoes in Hawaii. What lens should I use?

Hey Pal, U r really lucky to have such opportunities. How much does it cost to get such chances?

[Ian]

Originally Posted by TMC hmm dun think anyone here has the experience to suggest a lens for you.

Don't bet on it.

[Ian]

Originally Posted by nivlekgant Need help selecting lens. I'm planning to charter a chopper to fly over some active volcanoes in Hawaii. What lens should I use?

What you'll need will depend largely on your intended use of the images. If you are shooting for newspaper/magazine publication then image quality is not as critical as for advertising purposes for example.

Normally when I'm shooting 135 format from choppers I take at least 4 bodies, each fitted with a different lens, 3 of which are zoom lenses and one is a fisheye, my typical lens selection is as follows:

Film bodies:
17-35/2.8 AFS
28-70/2.8 AFS
80-200/2.8 AFS
8/2.8 FE

For DSLR's I'd use something like the following:
10.5 FE
12-24
28-70
80-200

Before making any lens choices talk with the chopper pilot or company and find out how close they will be taking you to the volcanoes. Ideally you'll need to keep shutter speeds as high as possible in keeping with good image quality. A minimum of 1/1000th keeps most vibration from the chopper at bay. Don't hang outside in the airstream as the turbulence causes all sorts of problems with camera stability. VR is helpful but not essential.

[Terence]

Depending on the platform you're shooting from, there might be a constraint in cabin space so having 4 bodies and all that gear may not be feasible if you're working from a Robinson R22.

2 bodies with 2 different lenses is a must, the more the merrier of course.

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Terence Depending on the platform you're shooting from, there might be a constraint in cabin space so having 4 bodies and all that gear may not be feasible if you're working from a Robinson R22.

There's no way in hell I'd get in to an R22, I'd rather walk.

[Terence]

Originally Posted by Ian There's no way in hell I'd get in to an R22, I'd rather walk.

What's wrong with a R22? Don't like single engine birds? Us mere mortals (financially constrained) can't afford to be choosy with our camera ships.

[agape01]

I have tried shooting from a chopper in Hawaii before. Two times in fact.

I would recommend that the lens be suited to cover the range between 28mm to 105mm at least. You would most likely see some multi-level waterfalls on the way and you would kick yourself for not carrying a long lens.

I do remember that I brought two lenses. One 28-105 and one longie 200-400 at that point of time. If I were to do it again, I would very much bring what Ian just mentioned for digital photography.

However, it would depend on the company on whether how much they would allow you to bring inside the helicopter.

[nivlekgant]

Hi All

Thanks for all the advice.

With my limited budget, I guess I have to stick with my kit lens and whatever primes I have.

BTW - the heli joy ride is part of my short break. So it ain't work related.

[Ian]

Originally Posted by Terence What's wrong with a R22? Don't like single engine birds? Us mere mortals (financially constrained) can't afford to be choosy with our camera ships.

I don't have a problem with single engined choppers at all, Just with the R22 as it's way too small for carrying the kit I need to complete assignments. Most of my work with choppers has been with Jetrangers and similar.