I apologize if this question(s) are in the wrong forum.
I'm about to go to my third (and last) airshow of the year and would appreciate any tips from the pros out there. My keeper rate remains at about 10 percent with most throw-aways due to blurriness. I typically shoot in AV mode and meter for the plane--bump up 1/3 or 2/3 for a dark plane against bright sky, etc--and only shoot in TV mode if I'm shooting a prop. I shoot between 1/125 and 1/160 to get decent prop blur, but my panning skills still need a lot of work. Only practice will fix that. I try to keep the frame "filled" as much as possible so I don't have to crop as much in post-processing. For larger aircraft which are fairly predictable and slower, that's not so much a problem, but for smaller planes that fly erratically and are more difficult to track, I'm forced to zoom out a little. I also shoot in AI Servo, with focusing set at center point expansion and I aim for the "center of mass" (shooting term). Lastly, I keep the lens's autofocus turned on, and mode set to 1. Mode 1 SEEMS to help make up for camera shake. While I understand Mode 2 is for panning, when following a smaller aircraft, it's not always "passing by"--it's sometimes coming right at you. I cannot switch back and forth between Modes 1 and 2 without looking down at the lens. Lastly, I've been shooting at ISO 400-650 lately because it helps me get a faster shutter speed. I can generally clean up any graininess during editing. Am I missing anything?
Canon 50D (mine) with Canon 70-200 2.7L IS Mk II (mine)
Canon 7D (rental) with Sigma 150-500 5-6.3 APO DG OS HSM (mine)
I prefer to use the 7D 90% of the time because of it's higher frame rate, better sensor, better focusing. The 70-200 is by far the better lens, but doesn't have the reach I need most of the time.
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