We did get some flying today. The Chinook flew two displays and the little Chipmunk, who only took off to do a met. report, put on a very good low level flying display that had the crowd clapping.

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I knew that

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I knew what both of you knew.. ???

Chippies rock 8) 8) 8) 8)

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Very kind of you but that's debatable. We haven't seen what you can do yet. I have far more practice than you & you only get to see my better efforts. I decided against the converter as I don't want the bother of changing lenses in a hurry. I have enough problems as it is. Unless you use a tripod or stabilsed lens I imagine it's more difficult to get a sharp picture at maximum zoom due to the exaggerated shake.

I find 10x zoom adequate for most purposes & have a bad habit of zooming in too far which ruins what might have been a perfect shot. I still find it difficult to prejudge the amount of zoom as this depends on the size of the aircraft & how far away it will be from the camera when I take the shots I want. That & the shutter delay are the main problems with this type of camera over a proper DSLR. As Charlie will confirm, I don't like remaining in the same spot & am continually wandering around looking for the best angles. I must walk several miles during the average air display.

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This should all come with practice Steve. I don't think it's the camera as they're all very similar & Olympus is a good make. With moving objects like aircraft I prefocus on the subject then follow it until it's at the right angle. Keep panning after pressing the button due to the shutter delay I mentioned earlier. If it's not focussed properly you will get the blurred results in your shot. I could show you plenty of my failures, some much worse than that.

PS. Don't take just one shot or hesitate waiting for the right moment. It might never happen. Keep following the subject & take as many shots as possible. One of them might turn out to be the perfect shot you wanted.

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Thanks Doug, however it's just too relaxed about the focusing, it whirrs in and out a bit, stops, thinks about it, whirrs again, then says "ok you can click". I like it but it's too automatic and too relaxed, and it's only got a 3x zoom.

I really appreciate the recommendation Roger, as we've been looking at the s5500 (I think the s5600 is due out very soon) and I think that's what we'll go for.

Cheers

Steve

Just as an addition.
A teleconvertor will in most cases create a little more graining and reduce the overall quality of the pictures. Not having used any of your cameras i am in no position to offer specific suggestions, best thing is practise 61. In all weather, use all the settings till you find the right one.
Great shots:)
I love the Chippie

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The Fuji lens is actually very good and I can't tell from looking at the uploaded shot if it was taken with or without the lens. The major down side is the telescope effect you get when you zoom out. It really is only any good at max zoom as you end up with this if you are not careful.

I know some of the non-Fuji lenses are more powerful, upto about an extra 3X zoom but I understand with these you do loose some image quality.
Glad you like the Chippie Craig