advice on starter camera and lens for aircraft photography

Posted 22nd Apr 2023

My teenager son likes aircraft and wants a camera to take photos of aircraft which are flying in the air.

Does anyone have any advice on what would be a good starter camera setup?

Also, is there anywhere that you could recommend selling used cameras?

Thanks in advance for the advice

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Attic45
22nd Apr
When you say flying in the air do you mean like at an airport viewing area or when he sees them flying over your house at 35000ft?
Helpful567 Author
23rd Apr
He has an app on his phone which tracks planes.

he would like to be able to take photos of planes flying over the house.

we are also going to an air show soon and he would like to take pictures of those planes flying
ripkord
22nd Apr
To get decent pictures of aircraft at for example an air show is going to require a very good lens and a very good camera and a fair bit of skill. The zoom alone required is going to be prohibitively expensive for the majority of new cameras with interchangeable lenses. You could look at something like the Nikon P1000 or the Sony RX10.
Helpful567 Author
23rd Apr
Would Canon EOS 2000D be a good choice?

Also, are second hand lens from CEX any good? (I have seen a Canon EF 75-300mm f/4-5.6 III Black Lens for a good price)
darlodge
23rd Apr
When I was doing photography as a sideline\hobby a lot of photographers had a long range zoom lens like a 100-400 (Canon make one).

That covers your ground and airborne planes.

At airshows you'll be a long way from the planes for safety reasons so having a camera that can bring that closer isn't cheap I'm afraid.
rimtiggins
23rd Apr
Canon R50 and the 100-400mm F5.6-F8 would be an ideal starting point. Very sharp lens and a bargain for that kind of focal length