What camera for aerial photography?

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Soldato
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I'm currently doing my hour building towards my CPL (commercial pilots license) and will be doing a lot of flying around Europe with a friend. I'm looking to take a lot of photo's as its a memorable time and should also have some magnificent photo opportunities.

I'm a novice photographer but have spent quite a bit of time over the last couple of years taking various shots with my Mum's Nikon D1 so I have an idea at least of the various settings/modes. The camera will need to be digital, I'll be taking vast amounts of shots and since the camera will quite often be hanging out of a window to avoid the relevant parts of the airframe it needs to be reasonably light. What would you guys suggest? Cost isn't an issue so recommend whatever you like. Thanks.

- Edit, I should mention that I will be taking ground shots too, some of which will be at the Moto GP's since we're going to follow them around Europe over the summer.
 
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Exactly what i want to be doing in a few years time!

I would suggest something like a 350D or 30D and then some nice lenses.

such as :

100-400 L
70-200 f2.8 IS L
 
inferno said:
Exactly what i want to be doing in a few years time!

I would suggest something like a 350D or 30D and then some nice lenses.

such as :

100-400 L
70-200 f2.8 IS L
Click to expand...

Not exactly a lightweight recommendation ;)

If you don't want to go DSLR, I suggest a Canon Powershot S3 IS
 
I'd recommend sticking with a Nikon dSLR - that way you're going to feel immediately at home with the controls.

For supreme lightness, I recommend a D50. Still not too heavy would be a D200 - that may be pushing it on the weight side a touch, though. Somewhere in the middle would be a D70s.
 
Went into COMPETITOR! today just to have a feel of some of the cameras in mind, no way I'd actually buy from there since their prices are insane compared with online but it gave me a better idea.

Tried a few of the IXUS ones, a powershot S3 IS and a 350D/D50, it turns out that I will be able to take the D1 for my ground photography anyway if I want it since my Mum bought a D2X a couple of months back and has the D1 spare. From what I saw earlier it would seem the Powershot S3 would make a great buy since I need an LCD viewfinder as I won't be able to actually hold the camera to my eye when flying or hanging out of a window if my friend is flying. There anything better than the S3? I've been able to find it for £290 online which seems a great price.
 
The Canon 350D is a relatively small SLR camera, I have one and they go in a small area if thats what you are looking for..

Took this last week on my way to Spain at 33,000 feet with a wide angle lens.

woolly-clouds.jpg
 
Yes I had a play with the 350D in the shop, was nice and compact, I just think I may have a problem with the viewfinder being difficult to use as with any normal SLR camera since my shots aren't going to be behind a glass window, they're going to be hanging outside whilst the plane is banked over.

That's a great shot btw :)
 
leedrummond said:
Canon Over Nikon all the time !

Im an aircraft photographer , unfortunately not got many shots from the cabin, as i mainly take landing and take of shots .
Click to expand...

Wrong way round, especially as his mum already has Nikon kit, hence can borrow/share it, and youll find the millitary (RAF) chose Nikon over Canon for all their photography.

Other than that, its the usual debate, but i chose Nikon over Canon every time.
 
at the end of the day a digital SLR is like owning a Ferrari, its what lense you put on it will be your bottleneck

i would agree if you wish to share lenses then in your case you would be better going for the nikon to save cash.

However each camer has its advantages / disadvantages, eg the canon takes more shots pewr second, and has faster focusing ( so its ideal for sports usage, fast moving objects. as in my interest

eg look at what all the photogrpahers use at a football match ! No Nikons in sight, as they are too slow

then theres the argument about nokon tend to over expose and the canon under exposes,
in my opinon i prefer an image to be under exposed so it can be tweaked, easier than tweaking an over exposed image

I know a lot of photographers who own the nikon, and are selling em for the reasons ive pointed out, however i know a portrait photographer who wont touch canon, as the nikon gets that better image, so its upto you

Like i said either way, Canon or Nikon, you got yourself a hell of a good camera
 
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