In article ,
"Indrek Aavisto" wrote:

I have been going through the pictures that I took at the Duxford airshow,
and am struck by how many of the airborne shots came out fuzzy.

It looks as though I have a focus problem. I am using centre weighted
continuous focus which means that it is possible to take a picture even when
the autofocus has not achieved proper focus. The advantage is that there is
no delay between pressing the shutter release and making the exposure. I
have noticed that when I use burst mode, a fast moving aircraft does not
stay in the same relative position in the frame in each exposure. Could it
be that the autofocus temporarily focuses on a patch of sky rather than on
the aircraft?

I know the camera and 70-300VR lens that I use are capable of taking sharp
pictures, so the problem must be in my technique. Do I need to practice
panning more?

I would appreciate having the experts weigh in on the subject.

Thanks in advance,

Indrek Aavisto

My humble thoughts - if you pan, the background will blur out as motion
blur and if you pan correctly, your target will be in focus... if you
hold steady, prefocus on distance you believe the target will cross your
view and then good luck in timing shot.