F14 Tomcat

Attended an airshow how this weekend. This plane makes a deafening roar that reminds me of the NASCAR maxim that you have to be there in person to really appreciate a race. I'm going to post this on the critique board, too, in case you wish to offer any suggestions.

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Originally Posted by Lava Lamp

Attended an airshow how this weekend. This plane makes a deafening roar that reminds me of the NASCAR maxim that you have to be there in person to really appreciate a race. I'm going to post this on the critique board, too, in case you wish to offer any suggestions.

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Great shots!!! This is my all time favorite fighter, probably because of the "Top Gun" movie a couple of decades back. Were any these cropped? If so, all the more amazing.

Leon

Still my favorite fighter jet. Nice pics... :)

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Originally Posted by Lava Lamp

Attended an airshow how this weekend. This plane makes a deafening roar that reminds me of the NASCAR maxim that you have to be there in person to really appreciate a race. I'm going to post this on the critique board, too, in case you wish to offer any suggestions.

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I LOVE that third shot!!! The second one is my second favorite. They are all great, but that third one...

My only "Critique"...
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I wish I had taken these!!!!!!!

Amazing shots! They take my breath away! Honestly!

Yeah...my hubby was stationed in VA Beach at Oceana Naval air station(avionics tech) and I miss the sound of the planes flying by at all hours(it got to be soothing) we lived about 1/2 mile from the main airstrip...AWESOME shots---especially the one from the back...with the orange glow,,,....thanks for the trip down memory lane... :)

I'm sure these were taken with your D70. But which lens did you use?

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Originally Posted by Speed

I'm sure these were taken with your D70. But which lens did you use?

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I used a D70 with a Nikon 30mm f/4 lens and a Tamron 1.4x Teleconverter, which works out to a 630mm equivalent lens. On a bright sunny day, you can set the ISO at 400 or 800 and still get f/5.6 and 1/1600 of a second.

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Originally Posted by Lava Lamp

I used a D70 with a Nikon 30mm f/4 lens and a Tamron 1.4x Teleconverter, which works out to a 630mm equivalent lens. On a bright sunny day, you can set the ISO at 400 or 800 and still get f/5.6 and 1/1600 of a second.

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Got to love that 1.5 X factor Nikon Digital gives you. Then a 1.4 Teleconverter on top of it...now that's focal length!

How do you like the 300mm f4? Is it an easy handling lens? I've never used one, and I'm just curious. It looks to be about the size and weight of a 80-200mm f2.8.

Awesome shots my friend. Thanks for the information!

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Originally Posted by Speed

Got to love that 1.5 X factor Nikon Digital gives you. Then a 1.4 Teleconverter on top of it...now that's focal length!

How do you like the 300mm f4? Is it an easy handling lens? I've never used one, and I'm just curious. It looks to be about the size and weight of a 80-200mm f2.8.

Awesome shots my friend. Thanks for the information!

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I've been kinda trading up on my lenses over the last few years. I had the Tamron 100-300, the Nikon 70-300 G, and then the Nikon 75-300, and just picked up the Nikon 300mm (non AFS) last month. Each has been progressively better. The 300mm f/4 is all metal and the biggest, heaviest (maybe two lbs.) lens I own. I don't even notice the weight when I'm shooting, but you notice it when you're carrying it around before and after. The autofocus is slower than on the zooms. I hear the AFS version is much lighter (mostly plastic) and has much faster autofocs, but it is twice the price - even used.

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Originally Posted by Lava Lamp

I've been kinda trading up on my lenses over the last few years. I had the Tamron 100-300, the Nikon 70-300 G, and then the Nikon 75-300, and just picked up the Nikon 300mm (non AFS) last month. Each has been progressively better. The 300mm f/4 is all metal and the biggest, heaviest (maybe two lbs.) lens I own. I don't even notice the weight when I'm shooting, but you notice it when you're carrying it around before and after. The autofocus is slower than on the zooms. I hear the AFS version is much lighter (mostly plastic) and has much faster autofocs, but it is twice the price - even used.

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Seems to be a common thing among photographers. :-)
Guess our wants exceed our means - at least mine do! So we upgrade as we go. More expensive in the long run, but if it gets you there...

Not that I can complain. My Quantaray (made by Sigma) 70-300mm is a fantastic lens considering that it only cost $200. And while I would love to have the Nikon 28-70mm f2.8, (drool), my Sigma 28-70mm f2.8 works just fine. I did get the Nikon 50mm f1.4 from the start - and I love it.

I'm planning on getting a D70 and the Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 early next year. Of course, I'll have to have a SB-800 to go with the D70 as well, since my SB-28 isn't digital compatible. A man's got to do what a man's got to do. ;-)

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Originally Posted by Speed

Seems to be a common thing among photographers. :-)
Guess our wants exceed our means - at least mine do! So we upgrade as we go. More expensive in the long run, but if it gets you there...

Not that I can complain. My Quantaray (made by Sigma) 70-300mm is a fantastic lens considering that it only cost $200. And while I would love to have the Nikon 28-70mm f2.8, (drool), my Sigma 28-70mm f2.8 works just fine. I did get the Nikon 50mm f1.4 from the start - and I love it.

I'm planning on getting a D70 and the Nikon 80-200mm f2.8 early next year. Of course, I'll have to have a SB-800 to go with the D70 as well, since my SB-28 isn't digital compatible. A man's got to do what a man's got to do. ;-)

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The SB-28 sort of works with the D70, but no information transfers, so it's a bit of a guessing game to get the settings right. So far, I've only gotten usable results when I bounce it off the ceiling. I'm going to sell it and probably buy the SB-600. The problem is I cant't get much for the SB-28 -- maybe $125-$150 for a flash that cost $300.

WOW, those are some beautiful shots of a beautiful plane. The F-14 is my all time favorite fighter.

Gosh, all these people saying the f-14 is their favorite plane- makes me wonder what they'd say if the jets in Top Gun were A-10 Warthogs. The Hog is my personal favorite- the toughest bird ever made. You could blow half of it off and it would still fly. It's been called the plane that won Desert Storm. Those things would come back from missions with hundreds of bullet holes, wings blown apart, one engine gone, tail section gone, and still flying. Any pics of A10s?
And yeah, I like the Cats too. So sleek, so fast! Great shots!

The shots are really great. I have to really wonder why you are shooting at high ISO's though. In bright sunshine that you were shooting at ISO 100 would be the absolute highest I would go. You can get 1/800 easy with this at f/5.6. There is just too much noise.
They are not flying fast enough to warrant 1/1600 shutter speed.

I spent a week at the Reno Air Races with the 100-400L, which is f/5.6 at the long end. I never used anything but ISO 100 the entire week. I had no problems at all shooting the slowest prop airplanes to the USAF, USN jet demos.

I really thing you are giving up too much in quality to shoot at higher ISO's.

Just my opinion though.
See this for examples: http://www.aafo.com/hangartalk/showthread.php?t=2015

Whwere did you take those shots?

The third, though, is fantastic.
Great job LL.

Just a sad side note. The F-14 Demo team flew it's last demonstration ever at Nellis AFB this past weekend. Most likely you will never see this plane at an airshow again.

Too bad, this is one hell of an airplane. I will never forget all the demos I have seen of this baby.

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Originally Posted by adamsti

Just a sad side note. The F-14 Demo team flew it's last demonstration ever at Nellis AFB this past weekend. Most likely you will never see this plane at an airshow again.

Too bad, this is one hell of an airplane. I will never forget all the demos I have seen of this baby.

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Very sad indeed. I've never seen a demo flight by the F-14. Seen them fly overhead, but never a demo flight.

It is also ironic, that the last Demo flight by this Navy jet was at an Air Force Base.

It is an awesome plane and those are awesome shots to compliment it. it was always my favorite. I do have to say that the raptor F22 is an incredible piece of machinery and a sweet looking plane. I have been doing some work for a company that makes some of the electrical connectors for the plane and they've got some cool shots of it.

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Originally Posted by ZJChaser

It is an awesome plane and those are awesome shots to compliment it. it was always my favorite. I do have to say that the raptor F22 is an incredible piece of machinery and a sweet looking plane. I have been doing some work for a company that makes some of the electrical connectors for the plane and they've got some cool shots of it.

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So share! Give us a link. While I think the F23 was a cooler looking plane, the F22 is an awesome piece of machinery.

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Originally Posted by Speed

I'm planning on getting a D70

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Had to read that twice! You'll love it. BTW, the SB28 isn't too bad on my Fuji S2 - I use it in "A" mode but TTL mode is worthless. Since you won't get much for the SB28, you might want to consider keeping it as a backup or experimenting with two flashes.

Great shots, thanks for sharing!

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Originally Posted by Speed

So share! Give us a link. While I think the F23 was a cooler looking plane, the F22 is an awesome piece of machinery.

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They aren't online...they are in booklets and procut prochures or personal prints of theirs. they company build electrical connectors for lots of the military so they've always got some cool things laying around.