Shooting the Canadian International Air Show with a Vintage Canon nFD 70-210mm f/4 Macro
The Canadian International Air Show filled the skies this weekend, and I couldn’t resist bringing something a little different along for the ride. Instead of modern RF glass, I dusted off a Canon nFD 70-210mm f/4 Macro, a classic vintage zoom lens, to see how it would handle fast-moving aircraft.
At first glance, this lens doesn’t scream vintage character. It’s not swirly, dreamy, or wildly imperfect like some older lenses. But what it lacks in obvious quirks, it more than makes up for in versatility. The 70–210mm zoom range is incredibly versatile, letting me quickly adapt to jets approaching, passing overhead, and disappearing into the distance.
Air Show Sample Photos
What immediately stood out was the beautifully damped manual focus ring. Tracking fighter jets manually isn’t easy, I definitely collected my fair share of blurry frames early on, but once muscle memory kicked in, the experience became incredibly rewarding. Shooting an air show with a manual focus lens forces you to anticipate motion rather than react to it, and that extra level of involvement makes photography feel more intentional and immersive.
That’s one of the reasons I love shooting vintage lenses. They slow you down just enough to reconnect with the craft. Ironically, spending a day manually focusing high-speed aircraft also reminded me how incredible modern autofocus systems have become, especially when clients are standing in front of my camera waiting for sharp results. For this outing, I paired the Canon nFD 70-210mm f/4 Macro with the Canon EOS R5 Mark II, a powerhouse camera that delivers incredible performance.
If you’re interested in adapting vintage lenses to modern mirrorless cameras, be sure to explore all of my vintage lens content here. You can also browse posts organized by specific lenses if you’re looking for inspiration or researching your next vintage pickup.
Note: I’m not sure what changed recently, but Squarespace image compression seems noticeably more aggressive. My images aren’t appearing quite as crisp as they used to, so if you’ve noticed the same thing, you’re not imagining it.
