Planespotting with the entry level Canon 200D at Sydney Airport’s “Shep’s Mound”

I am fascinated by planes, and I love playing around with digital cameras.  The problem is I’m not a great photographer, don’t have too much time to learn anything more than the basics. So for an afternoon of planespotting I decided to give the new Canon 200D a go.

A few months ago I got to have a go at the latest Canon 6DII – this high end DSLR has almost all the bells and whistles, but that complexity was daunting.  At the same time I saw the 200D and was drawn to it’s features.

This is a great little camera that should set you back around $900 with an 18-55mm lens.

The problem is, that 18-55 lens won’t do much for you when plane spotting.

At the newly constructed “Shep’s Mound” alongside the main runway at Sydney Airport, you’re going to need 200mm to get some cracking shots that will impress your family and mates.

Here’s what an 18-55mm lens on full zoom will give you from Shep’s Mound:

And if you dip into the pockets another $900 for an extra Telephoto lens – in my case a 75-200mm, and zoom that in – you’ll get a whole lot closer:

It makes a huge difference.

You’re going to get shots of all sorts for as long as you can stay.

And here’s the thing.  I took almost all my shots in Auto mode.  Point-and-shoot.

Simple.

But here’s where the 200D comes into it’s own. If you’ve used or own a Digital SLR camera, you’ll have the Tv, Av, P and M modes on the dial.  Rather than spending hours on YouTube learning about Aperture Priority, the 200D uses the large read display to help you learn.

This handy guide teaches you the basics of the “F Stop”.  It’s the aperture of the lens, the pupil if you like.  Different F-stops will result in a more or less blurred background – and that’s shown to you in simple style right on the back of the camera.

Likewise Tv mode – teaching you about the use of the shutter speed to achieve different results.

Honestly, I know photographers wouldn’t be seen dead buying something as simple as a Canon 200D – but, for someone who just wants to take the odd photo and wants to understand the different functions this is one hell of a camera.

If you’re in Sydney and looking for some great plane spotting head to the recently completed “Shep’s Mound” which sits under the control tower and was built to formalise a spot where planespotters have traditionally gathered and was named in memory of Bruce Christopher Shepherd who was a well known member of the Sydney planespotting community

[schema type=”review” rev_name=”Canon EOS 200D” rev_body=”A great starter camera teaching you the basics of DSLR photography while taking great shots!” author=”Trevor Long” pubdate=”2017-10-19″ user_review=”4.5″ min_review=”0″ max_review=”5″ ]