Aviation Is the Sony 400–800 Too Long for Airshows?

[Tim Mayo]

I went to a local airshow (RIAT) a couple of weeks back on the Friday which features a shorter flying display than Sat/Sun but since I was feeling rough that was fine with me.

I've not had the 400-800 for all that long so decided to take it over my 200-600 which I still have. I was a little concerned that it would be too long at 400mm for some of the closer shots and the additional weight would also kill my arms quicker. I wanted to pack my Sigma 500 F5.6 as well but ran out of space in my bag.

As expected it quickly became apparent that 400mm is far too close to fit the entire plane or helicopter in when they come in very close, or are taking off and landing. Although I'm not so fussed about these shots myself and you can always pick out details to shoot instead like close-ups of the cockpit if you really want to.

I certainly felt the weight but I typically tend to take a few photos of each display then put the camera down and enjoy it through my own eyes, so it wasn't so much of an issue really. I did wish that I was holding my Sigma though.

As expected, focusing was fast and there was plenty of light so f/8 was no issue. There was horrendous heat haze on the day however so I don't think the additional 200mm of focal length really brought any benefits when shooting anything too far off.

I'm glad I took the lens with me to try out but I think next time I'd be taking the 200-600 if I still have it or my Sigma, although the Sigma would be even more restrictive for the closer shots.

I think the last time I visited RIAT was back in 2018 or something and I took the Sony 100-400 with me which worked really well. I don't own this lens any more though so that's no longer an option for me.

So what's everyone's goto lens for airshows?

Lockheed Martin F16c Fighting Falcon

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 541.0 mm
• ƒ/7.1
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 800

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 400.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 500

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 800.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 1250

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 800.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 640

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 800.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 800

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 780.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 640

Pilatus PC-9M Hudournik

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 600.0 mm
• ƒ/11
• 1/160 sec
• ISO 100

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 800.0 mm
• ƒ/13
• 1/160 sec
• ISO 100

Spitfire

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 563.0 mm
• ƒ/16
• 1/125 sec
• ISO 100

Spitfire

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 693.0 mm
• ƒ/13
• 1/200 sec
• ISO 100

Royal Navy Black Cat

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 607.0 mm
• ƒ/13
• 1/80 sec
• ISO 100

Leonardo AW101 Merlin

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 481.0 mm
• ƒ/11
• 1/80 sec
• ISO 100

NH90 TTH

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 400.0 mm
• ƒ/16
• 1/125 sec
• ISO 100

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 400.0 mm
• ƒ/11
• 1/125 sec
• ISO 100

F/A-18C Hornet

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 486.0 mm
• ƒ/7.1
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 1000

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 581.0 mm
• ƒ/7.1
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 1000

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 800.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 1000

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 800.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 1250

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 547.0 mm
• ƒ/7.1
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 800

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 800.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 1600

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 450.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 800

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 450.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 640

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 414.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 320

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 400.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 500

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 770.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 800

Eurofighter Typhoon

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 800.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 1000

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 800.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 800

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 800.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 640

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 800.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 500

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 474.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 640

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 795.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 400

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 637.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 500

SAAB JAS-39E Gripen

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 400.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 400

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 400.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 320

Boeing Rivet Joint

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 400.0 mm
• ƒ/6.3
• 1/3200 sec
• ISO 500

Rockwell B-1 Lancer. This was supposed to be flying but unfortunately mechanical issues kept it grounded.

• ILCE-1
• FE 400-800mm F6.3-8 G OSS
• 800.0 mm
• ƒ/8
• 1/1000 sec
• ISO 400

 

[Tim Mayo]

I also captured a little video footage from the viewfinder but it's a very crude edit. It's pretty shaky as when recording with the Atomos Ninja you can't look through the EVF which makes it harder to keep the camera still, then there's the additional weight of the Ninja on top of the camera. It's also more difficult to spot and track with this setup as well. Anyway, that's my excuses out of the way for my dodgy footage Just make sure your speakers are turned on!

 

[Richard A]

Great stuff! We rarely if ever get air shows here locally. Last one I went to here was very cloudy, very windy and very dusty which is far from ideal for photography. BTW, the one you have listed as a Hurricane is actually another Spitfire.

 

[Tim Mayo]

Great stuff! We rarely if ever get air shows here locally. Last one I went to here was very cloudy, very windy and very dusty which is far from ideal for photography. BTW, the one you have listed as a Hurricane is actually another Spitfire.

Thanks Richard. We are fortunate and do get quite a few over here, unfortunately the kids won't sit still for very long so I normally have to go on my own if I want any chance of taking photos. Thanks for the spitfire correction too!

 

[Paul stuart]

Great shots tim this is sonys best attempt at a air show lens i would take it over the 200-600mm, 300mm f2.8 ,100-400mm ,possibly the big whites would still knock spots of it but i always need a zoom at airshows my sigma 500mm 5.6 stayed in the bag mainly becuase it rained on and off on the sunday and did not want to do lens swaps ,my sigma is better on the arms for sure after 6 hrs of hand holding and 5,000 shots later my arms where shot with 400-800mm but i also get full fps with the sony ,its about as good as you need or expect a super tele zoom to be ,i find f8 to be ok for airshows more of killer for wildlife for me ,i can still see me swapping and changing it out for a 300mm f2.8 though its still cumbersome for bif ,especially small eratic ones.

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

I've not had it long enough to say yes or no, yet, but as I've mentioned elsewhere, I think the balance issue is more the restrictor than the weight, it's front heavy, which makes it handholding above shoulder height more of a challenge. I think the focal lengths are perfect though. So far I also find F9 is a sweet spot. I don't ever worry about higher ISO now, thanks to software it's a non issue, especially for this kind of thing.

 

[AlphaWorld]

I've not had it long enough to say yes or no, yet, but as I've mentioned elsewhere, I think the balance issue is more the restrictor than the weight, it's front heavy, which makes it handholding above shoulder height more of a challenge. I think the focal lengths are perfect though. So far I also find F9 is a sweet spot. I don't ever worry about higher ISO now, thanks to software it's a non issue, especially for this kind of thing.

I agree about holding above head level (it's difficult to hold high!), but I've not had any other issues with balance. I use it with the A9 III and A1 II - it balances well with those in my experience. What camera are you using?

 

[Uncle Kevriano]

I agree about holding above head level (it's difficult to hold high!), but I've not had any other issues with balance. I use it with the A9 III and A1 II - it balances well with those in my experience. What camera are you using?

A7RiV and A1. It's definitely nose heavy. The point of balance with the 200 600 is bang on, you can put a finger at the lens base and it will balance. That point on the 400 800 is way nearer the front element.