Spotting at Doha (DOH) - Dealing with Heat Haze?

Hey folks, I've been doing some plane spotting at Doha Hamad (DOH) lately, and man, the heat haze is really a challenge! Especially during those scorching afternoons. I'm using a Canon EOS 90D with a 100-400mm lens, but my shots often end up looking kinda wavy and distorted due to the heat.

Does anyone have tips on minimizing that effect? I've tried shooting early in the morning or later in the evening when temperatures are a bit cooler, but it's not always possible. Would love to hear if anyone's had success with specific camera settings or techniques to improve clarity. Or maybe there's a post-processing trick I haven't tried yet?

Appreciate any advice or experiences you can share!

Heat haze can be such a pain! One thing that might help is shooting from an elevated position if you can find one. Being higher up often reduces the amount of ground-level heat distortion in your shots. Also, try using a polarizing filter; it won't eliminate the haze, but it can sometimes improve contrast and color. In post-processing, playing with clarity and dehaze sliders in Lightroom might help a bit. Have you tried those yet?

Yeah, heat haze is brutal in Doha. I've been there and it's a real struggle. One trick I've tried is using a longer focal length to minimize the amount of heat distortion in your frame. Kinda counterintuitive, but if you focus on a smaller section of sky, sometimes it helps. Also, try manual focus if your camera has a hard time locking on due to the distortion. Post-processing wise, maybe try some dehaze filters in Lightroom. Not perfect, but they can help a bit.

Heat haze is the worst, right? You might wanna try using a polarizing filter. It won't completely get rid of the haze, but it can help cut through some of that glare and make things a bit clearer. Also, maybe try manual focusing. Autofocus can get tricked by the distortion. Post-processing-wise, playing with contrast and sharpness can sometimes salvage a shot, but results vary. Have you tried shooting in burst mode to see if one frame comes out better than the others?

I get what you're going through. Heat haze is a killer. One thing that sometimes works for me is trying to shoot when there's a slight breeze. It can break up the haze a bit. Also, have you tried using a faster shutter speed? It might not fix everything, but it can help reduce some of the distortion by freezing the action a little better. For post-processing, maybe try some dehaze tools in Lightroom if you haven't already.

Heat haze is such a pain! One thing that sometimes works for me is to shoot from a spot with some natural shade nearby, if you can find it. Trees or buildings can sometimes help block some of the heat coming off the ground. Also, have you tried using a lens hood? It doesn't eliminate the problem, but it might reduce some of the glare and improve contrast a bit. Curious if anyone else has tried shooting through glass, like from inside a terminal?

I've dealt with heat haze a lot, especially in places like Doha. One thing that's helped me is shooting from a spot with a cooler surface nearby, like grass instead of asphalt, if that's an option. Also, maybe try using a lower ISO to reduce noise, which sometimes helps in post-processing. In Lightroom, you could try the dehaze tool a bit, but don't overdo it or it'll look unnatural. Anyone else tried that?