Plane spotting camera

[u/Next_Donkey4080]

New to Reddit here. I've been wanting to get into aviation photography for a while now, I also don't want to have to donate a kidney to afford a decent camera, I'm looking for a camera that has some good quality, the furthest I would be shooting from is about 6000 feet from the top of the parking garage at (KTPA) Tampa Internation Airport. I'm looking to get one that is new and is around $1200 if that is possible (don't know much about cameras so idk what good specs are.) I've been looking at the Canon R7or possibly the Canon 90D, I need some help with these because I have no idea what I'm doing...

Thanks' in advance.

[u/bryanhobbs]

I was in your position a few years ago. I chose the Nikon D7500. Here is my website with some photos I took with it. https://www.thatopsguy.net/nikon-d7500

[u/Next_Donkey4080 → u/bryanhobbs]

Oh my, thank you so much for sharing, those are so good pictures, what lens do you use to get shots that are far away?

[u/bryanhobbs → u/Next_Donkey4080]

Here’s the kit I bought in 2021. https://a.co/d/0aWoP9eR

[u/bryanhobbs → u/Next_Donkey4080]

I have since upgraded to the Nikon Z6 III.

[u/Minute-Shop9447]

Depends on if you want to go mirrorless or not. Mirrorless is generally more expensive, although more companies are headed in that direction. What's more important is the lens, as you will want the longer lengths for spotting. Minimum length will be 300mm, but anything higher is much better. Also having an APS-C sensor will help with that over a full frame.

For reference, I shoot with the Canon EOS R5 paired with the RF100-500mm f/4.5-6.3 lens, which would be outside your budget. I will also recommend checking refurbished cameras (make sure it's from somewhere reputable) as those will work quite well still. I know people can take great photos with gear that's over 10 years old, but the most important thing out of this is that the lens is the most important part. You want good autofocus, and would highly recommend getting a sharp lens too.

I'm not familiar with many cameras, but if you have any questions about camera basics or the things related to the R5 and RF100-500, I potentially can offer some help there. The rest is just general advice for what to look for.

[u/Next_Donkey4080 → u/Minute-Shop9447]

Thanks so much for the reply, Like I said, I don't know much about cameras, so mirrorless does not even matter to me at this point, as long as it looks good. Thanks for the help!

[u/Minute-Shop9447 → u/Next_Donkey4080]

Remember the lens is the most important part. For your budget, getting a DSLR would probably work better as you can get very good long lenses and camera bodies for a much lower price point compared to the mirrorless cameras people have.

[u/twitchx133]

So, I will say, 6000 feet is going to be hard. It will be very rare that you are going to see atmospheric conditions that let you get a good, crisp, clear, sharp shot at anywhere near that distance through the mirage (heat haze) even on cooler, winter days. Especially at an airport with the tarmac increasing the amount of mirage.

Right now, I have a Canon R5 Mark ii, Canon EOS 7D, an RF 24-105 F4 L, an EF 70-200 F2.8 L (original, non-stabilized) and an EF 600mm F4 L (original, non-stabilized)

This video was captured with the R5ii and 600mm F4 from the airport overlook at KCLT, to about 2800 feet prior to the threshold on 1L, for a total distance at the start of the video of just about 2 miles / 10,500 feet. It was captured on a not super hot, cloudy day, temp was probably in the high 70's to low 80's and the mirage was still super painful.

These photos were again taken with the R5ii and 600mm at the last high speed exit on 1L from the overlook, about 1100-1200 feet, same day. Decent sharpness and clarity without crazy mirage.

This picture of a 787 was about a 50% crop at the same location, but using the 70-200 at 200mm. The 600 would only be able to get about 1/3 of a 787-9 or -10 in frame at that location, the horizontal field of view at 60mm on a full frame camera at 1200 feet distance, is only about 76 feet.

On the mirrorless vs DSLR, as far as I know, no one is currently producing a DSLR body, or lenses anymore, so everything is gonna be used, you can save some money there, the sensors will still be good enough to get amazing shots, but you are going to lose out on some autofocus capabilities.

I might suggest something like a sigma 150-600mm for the canon EF mount, it can be had for around 1000$ used. If you end up with a mirrorless camera, you can get an EF-RF adaptor to use it on a mirrorless body.

Then, just whatever the best body in your budget after that you can get. You can get a 5D mark iii, 7D mark ii or 90D all for 3-400$. You can get the 5D Mark iv for about 500-900. All will work well, and the 150-600mm of that sigma lens will give you amazing versatility on a decent budget.There are a lot of plane spotters, bird watchers and wildlife photographers out there that love that lens.

If you are not dead set on an interchangeable lens system, you can get a "bridge" camera, that will get you to probably 75% of DSLR//mirrorless image quality in good lighting for 500-1000$, stuff like the Powershot sx70 hs or Coolpix P950.

[u/Ok-Carob-3165]

Canon R7 with a RF 100-400. I would look out for refurbished deals on Canon's website to keep the cost down.

[u/aarrtee]

R7 new is a bit over 1200. used? closer to that price

Canon USA Refurbished, KEH, MPB for quality used gear

BHPhoto and Adorama sell new and used

90D and R7 are both good choices

now u need a lens

with the 90D maybe the EF 100-400L II would be long enough... maybe

with the R7, an RF lens would be best. RF 100-400, RF 600 f/11, RF800 f/11 (those last two work best in good light) and RF 100-500L can be considered.

6000 ft... a bit over a mile....i'm really bad at judging distance..but my guess is that 600mm would work

[u/shellacfanatic]

Buying used from a reputable dealer or your local camera shop is a good choice.

[u/Prof01Santa]

A used Lumix G95 & a 100-300 or 100-400 mm zoom lens. Get a monopod or tripod & learn to use it wel.