Taking photos from a plane?

[picturetaker1239]

I need to know what kind of lens would be reccomended to take pictures from a plane of agricultural farms and buildings from teh air. I dont really know which altitude but I'm assuming that there would be some sort of zoom lens like 100mm to 350mm or something like that. I dont actually know which lenses would be good but I'm hoping I can get some imput. I would like to take pictures of agriculture like this so that I can make money over the summer. I hope I get some good reccomendations. P.s I have an olympus evolt e300 so lenses are kind of expensive. but I dont think it should be too bad if I get a good idea of what I'm taking on. thanx.

[another view]

I think most small single engine planes fly around 2000' so I don't think you'll need a lens as long as you think. The Olympus DSLR's have a 2x crop factor so more of a normal lens should be fine. Obviously you'll be shooting hand held so you'd need a really fast shutter speed to use a long lens especially with a plane moving around a lot.

I'd probably use my 28-80 mostly but an 80-200 might come in handy too - but my sensor has a crop factor of 1.5x.

[I_Fly]

I shoot with a Canon 1D, which has a crop factor of 1.3 and have used a Canon 28-135 several times very successfully. I've also got a friend that does aerial photography professionally using Nikon equipment and I believe the only lense he uses is a 28-80. It really depends on whether or not you want to zoom in on a particular building or get a wider shot of a farmstead or field.

Unfortunately I can't suggest anything for your camera since I'm not familiar with what Olympus offers. But something in the range of 28-80 should work.

[Ronnoco]

I hung out of a plane without a parachute using a 80mm to 200mm zoom with a polarizing filter. Haze is a difficult problem to overcome. Early morning or late afternoon is best for lighting as long as mist is not there to complicate the shots.

Ronnoco

[picturetaker1239]

thanx guys that really helped me get a feel for the concept