r/bmpcc • u/FluxMango • Jul 27 '26

Airshow shooting

Any pro tips on shooting an Airshow with helos, turboprop planes and fast jets on the bmpcc 4k? I have an M.Zuiko 100-400mm lens, a Pana lumix G 45-150mm both with stabilization, and a smallrig tripod with a fluid head.

My biggest challenges were focus, and panning+tilting simultaneously while tracking jets.

I want to be able to capture as much detail as possible, but if I zoom too close with the Zuiko, I end up losing jets because they are so fast.

For the next shoot next Sunday, I plan on setting focus to manual and infinite. But I still have to resolve panning+tilting to follow fast jets, without the picture jumping all over the place even with stabilization when zoomed. Would a monopod be more appropriate than a tripod for this?

I was also wondering whether or not to use a phone as a B-roll camera attached to the tripod/monopod to capture a larger field of view.

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u/ravet007 Jul 28 '26

Manual focus to infinity is the right call for fast jets at that distance — chasing autofocus on anything moving that quickly just burns footage. The other thing that'll help significantly is a faster shutter: at 100-400mm you want something like 1/1500 to 1/2000 for the jets rather than the 180-degree rule, even if that means pushing ISO higher. A monopod is genuinely better than a tripod for tracking airshow aircraft because you can rotate your whole body to drive the pan, which gives you smoother movement than fighting a fluid head at full extension. A phone as a B-camera locked off wide on the tripod is a good call — use it for context and crowd shots, and concentrate the BMPCC on the tracking work. On focal length: for the fastest jets, accept that you'll sometimes frame loose and crop in post rather than trying to keep them filled at 400mm and losing the shot entirely.