Advise needed - Air Show this weekend.

[esvcasm]

Hi,

I did some searching, and found several threads with photos (very cool ones by the way) from air aerobatics shows all over the world... and some good comments. However I could not find tips or suggestions on how to take the best pictures at a show like that.

I have:

- Canon T1i (500D)
- Sigma 18-200mm (the non-OS version)
- Canon 35mm f2.0
- Polarizing filters for both lenses
- Plenty of memory (2x 8GB)

The show is this Sunday, from 10am (all day), finishing with a pyrotechnics demonstration at 5:30pm (sunset should be just before 6pm). I was wondering about tips on:

- Whitebalance (should I set it to auto, daylight, or custom)
- Polarizing filter (I assume this would be a "yes" for all shots, except the ones in the late hours, and the pyro show)
- Exposure (should I set +EV on the pictures to avoid normal skies with dark planes in them? or should I just let the camera decide?)
- Shutter speed (should I try to set the aperture wide, and use fast speed, or small aperture with slower shutter speed?... and what speed would be recommended for the shots? Fast for sharpness, or use slow and follow the plane?)
- Aperture (Should I use smaller aperture to avoid focusing problems?)
- I don´t have experience shooting/processing RAW files... but is this an event where I should definitely try RAW?

I was worried that the camera might have problems focusing on a moving plane against a clear blue sky (this time of year we have little cloud cover), so I don´t know if I should depend on the autofocus or set to manual and infinity.

Sorry for the long post, and multiple questions, but the last air show that I went to was over five years ago, and I want to get it right.

Cheers,
Carlos

 

[molested_cow]

Can't answer most of your questions, but you will have to depend on AF for sure.

Speed wise, if there's no background(clear blue sky), then there's no point using slow shutter speed unless you are confident with your panning ability. I'd use whatever is good enough to capture the plane still.