[SonicHedgehog]

Does anyone know if it is possible to take photographs of cities at night through the window of an airliner? I'm talking about the cockpit windows, so actually getting the picture in the viewfinder is no problem. The difficulty comes through the low levels of light, light vibration and the fact that you're moving at anything up to 500mph. There are some really great photos to be taken, but I'm doubtful if even one of the new high ISO DSLRs plus a seriously low f-value prime will be enough. Thoughts?

[mmayson]

I'll let you know, I'm flying a 747 tonight.

[T0MAT01]

It's possible, but tricky to say the least!
For starters, I would expect there to be some reflections from lights in the cockpit and the vibrations you mention will mean that the shutter speed has to be increased way beyond the normal 1/focal length.

Take this photo I took from a moving ferry going into Portsmouth harbour as an example:

...OK, so a ferry isn't going 500mph but the subject was a lot closer than the ground should(!) be in an airbourne aircraft, so the rate of movement will be similar I expect and the ferry was of course bobbing up and down on the waves.

It was taken at 50mm f/1.8 ISO 1600 underexposed a couple of stops IIRC and still I could only manage 1/100th. While it looks alright on the web, in print you can see that there is still a little motion blur at the top of the tower. So hopefully it shows you how valuable the shuter speed is.

My advise would be to get the fastest lens you can (DoF wont be such a problem from high up) and a camera with good high ISO capabilities and give it a go.

Good luck with it and if you ever feel the need for a second shooter up there, let us know!!

[SonicHedgehog]

Thanks for the replies and sorry I took so long to get back to you. When you look out the cockpit windows the lights below look amazing. They are crystal clear and you can make out each individual light. However, even at f2.8 , 1/2sec and ISO 1600 on my 40D the lights all merge together. It looks ok, but there is little point taking lots of pictures of different cities because they all come out looking roughly the same. Cockpit lights aren't a problem because we have a light switch. So, TOMATO1, I think I have had it. I'm going to need a D700 with something like an f1.2 to even stand a chance. If only Boeings hovered!

Mmayson, you know you weren't really flying the 747. You organised your snack tray, arranged the newspapers, did a quick brief before blasting off and then engaging the autopilot. You then spent several hours in the bunk before returning to the cockpit for food and drink and chat about which bar you'd be going to after landing. There is a pretty good chance we work for the same company so don't try and deny it!

[denno75uk]

Originally Posted by SonicHedgehog

However, even at f2.8 , 1/2sec and ISO 1600 on my 40D the lights all merge together.

Surely that's to do with such a slow shutter, or is that the best shutter you could get to see the lights? Were they just too dark at faster shutters?

[SonicHedgehog]

I set ISO 1600, f2.8 and and adjusted the shutter speed until it showed a 'correct' exposure. I tried faster speeds, but you just end up with fewer lights and more black. Very tricky.

[T0MAT01]

Originally Posted by SonicHedgehog

I set ISO 1600, f2.8 and and adjusted the shutter speed until it showed a 'correct' exposure. I tried faster speeds, but you just end up with fewer lights and more black. Very tricky.

The 40D will go to ISO 3200 if you set it in the menu. It's the expanded ISO option.
You're right about needing a faster lens tho. Even a cheap 50/1.8 is over a stop faster than your 2.8, going for something like f/1.2 is going to cost BIG money.

I wouldn't worry about getting a 'correct' exposure, since the camera will try and make the scene middle grey which isn't really what you want for a night time shot. Underexposing by a couple of stops should give you an exposure that looks about right. Don't worry about the lights looking dull, you can just bring up the highlights in PP. Also don't worry too much about noise, as you can just drop the shadows a bit and cover most of it up before running the shot through noise reduction software.