How to start spotting

Hello, I’ve always wanted to do airplane photos but I can’t ever get a good photo. Could anyone one help me. Also what would be a good starter camera (more on the cheaper side of things) for aviation photos. How do you guys find good spots and so on?

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This topic is extremely helpful, I highly recommend reading it through.

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If you are just starting out I think your typical phone would take you long ways, just make sure there isn’t too much motion blur and the angles are good.

Also look at the topic @Dylan_M posted it’s helpful

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If you’re just starting to spot, try using your phone, if it has a good enough (relatively new) camera. You probably won’t be able to get really good photos of planes taking off, but ones that are taxiing and parked are probably fine, as long as your airport has some spots that are relatively close to where the action happens.

It’s not the camera that’s the problem, it’s the lens. I have a lens that costs more than my camera.

I recommend the Sony A6300 but that isn’t a beginners camera.

@TheFlyingPotato I love your name! The Flying Potato!

Something i do is look for what planes are coming first, and if you’re talking of “bad pictures” usually they need a little editing, a good camera is a plus to. If you have some extra money you can buy usually a good used camera and good optic whit quite the small price but you can get a camera whit a optic that has a 60x zoom.

This picture was horrible but now its better after editing.

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My camera that i have used is the Sony Alpha DSLR-A200. On ebay its around $95 and it takes great photos. For farther shots you may need to purchase a lense for extra zoom but over all, it’s a great starter camera and its easy to use. My instagram that i haven’t used in a while has a bunch of my planespotting pictures on it. my instagram is @dfwspotta. the camera is great and id recommend it for sure. if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Haha thanks, its quite a funny username. :D

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You Don’t Need an Expensive Camera. I have a Cheap Camera that Does the Job!

Look up ICAO Spotting Guide to find spots. I used to say make your lens more expensive than your camera but with the advent of budget lenses i don’t think its necessary if you’re starting out. I recommend a D3400 or Rebel T6. As for shooting, use a high enough shutter speed and don’t shoot backlit

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