Olympus E420 with Zuiko 14-42mm and 40-150mm (300MM effective at full zoom).
I have both 2GB CF card and 2GB XD card loaded (E series have dual slots)
I usually take two batteries, haven't needed a third yet.
Soon I shall upgrade to a 4GB CF card and a third battery.
I have also been known to use my Sony Ericsson K800 3.2MP AF on occasion : (8GB M2 card, over 8000 picture capacity!)
I'm pleased to see some other Olympus shooters here, I was afraid I might be the only one.
I shoot with an Olympus E-3 and mostly the ZD 90-250 lens for the extra reach.
Great shot! You can almost see the whites of their eyes! I'm saving up for a 300mm zuiko lens. I can't afford the pro lenses, they are astronomically expensive. Well, maybe one day I'll get one - who needs a new car anyway :
The Olympus E series are great cameras with excellent ergonomics, and the Four Thirds format has many advantages. The only real disadvantage in my experience is the performance at high iso's (800 and above). The advantages outweigh this minor inconvenience (though I do love my tripod A LOT, especially since I have the E420 - no Image Stabilisation).
Thanks for the nice comment. I can't see their eyeballs, but their sunglasses are clearly visible -- Raybans?
Regarding equipment, I know what you mean, my lens is new, but the car I drive is 13 years old.
On the subject of high ISO, I rarely shoot above ISO 100 for prop planes and ISO 200 for jets. Prop planes (and helicopters even more so) are difficult to photograph well because you don't want to freeze the prop/rotor, or the image looks unnatural -- I shoot helicopters and props in shutter priority with 1/200 for choppers, 1/250 or 1/320 for pistons, and 1/400 for turboprops, and at ISO 100 that often already takes me into apertures that give me more DOF than I would like.
Jets are far easier because I don't need to worry about freezing things that shouldn't be frozen (though I have some pictures with compressor blades that are standing still -- that's what happens at 1/8000). That's why I shoot jets in aperture priority at F4.0 to make some allowance for getting the focus on a fast-moving object right.
As far as IS is concerned, I don't use it at all unless the image is static or the camera will try to correct for intentional camera movement. Even if you enable panning (vertical stabilization only), there is usually enough vertical movement to cause problems, either because the plane is in fact moving vertically while landing, or because you are shooting from an elevated position and the plane moves diagonally through the frame.
I don't think the ZD 300mm would make a good lens for aviation photography (unless you are talking about the ZD 70-300) -- for birding maybe, but for planes that are often moving quickly towards me, I would want the ability to zoom and frame the shot with some flexibility. At longer distances atmospheric distortion can also become severe, I've got quite a few shots where heat radiating off the runway ruined an otherwise nice image, and the problem obviously gets worse with distance -- check out the office buildings in the background:
Cheers!
Some good points. Re the 300mm, I was talking about the zoom, though aviation is only a small part of my photographic interest, I do hate swapping lenses and zooms are great even given their disadvantages compared to telephotos.
Regarding the heat, I have also a few ruined shots due to this. An otherwise nice pic of a Royal Flying Doctor Service I took recently ruined by the jet wash of a 737 that had passed in front of it prior to the shot. I didn't notice until I looked at the pics on the computer. (I've only started taking airport photos rcently so I'm still learning!)
Thanks for your comments on shutter speeds and props, this will come in handy for me. I can see what you mean regarding ISO and aviation - so high ISO isn't really necessary. I find it rare that I need to step up into high iso's even in other forms of photography - perhaps the time I miss it the most is for night photography of people, where usually a tripod and slow shutter speed is unsuitable.
BTW, that is a beautiful biplane, very crisp and clear photo. The building problem actually enhances the image in my view as it adds to the character of the shot - you can almost feel the heat coming of the tarmac. Nice shot!