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This weekend I will be going to the New Jersey Motorsports Park to shoot some car races. I want to try some panning shots but would love some tips on both camera settings and technique. My setup will be an EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS mounted on a 50D.
What shutter speeds work well for panning a race car?
One shot focus? Servo focus?
Itheone : We have a similar setup and you take amazing pictures so I'd love to hear from you!
Any help is appreciated :)
My experience tells that if you're looking for getting the background into smooth motion blur, you will need panning and make sure that you shoot when the line of motion of the car is perpendicular to your eye sight, just as when the car is exactly facing you sideways.That way you get the most effective motion blur as your camera is moving at the fastest speed relative to your background.
Sometime tracking a very fast moving object is extremely hard, especially like a race car passing by at a very short distance. I always balance between low hit rate and not very satisfactory motion blur effect - the more you zoom in, the better motion blur you will get (for the same aperture and speed setting); but the more you zoom in, the harder to get the car exactly fit into the right space of your frame.
Shutter speed depends on what kind of effect you want the most. If you're just looking for a stand still car shot, I don't find 1/2000s to be a problem yet. You can shoot a lot less than that most of the time depends on the speed of the car and your distance from the car. You can give a try on the first a couple of shots to get an idea.
If the distance between you and the track will remain the same and you shoot when the cars are at a specific spot, you can use one shot focus and then lock it at that place by switching to manual focus. However, if your position changes a lot or there isn't a fixed spot on the track where you may want to shoot at, use Serve focus but expect some out focus shots. However, if you're far enough from the track and your framing is loose, it's not likely that you will get out of focus shots as most of your frame will be infocus anyway.
I also slightly feel that the 100-400 on a 50D is too long for the job as it's hard to track something moving very fast with such a focal length. Of course that will depend on what distance you're working with. But you may want to consider one of the 70-200 lenses as well if they're handy to you. They're faster too, good when not having a lot of light.
My $0.02.
Thanks for the info Benjamin. I actually am going to be bringing most of my kit (what I can fit in my backpack) which will include a 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS. The reason I chose this particular setup was because I know that <a>Itheone[/URL] has shot races with a 40D and 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS with fantastic results. I have never been to this track before and I have no idea how close to the action I will be. I will be there from noon through the afternoon so unless it's cloudy I should have plenty of light. I know that there are a ton of variables but since I can't provide most of them I'm just looking for some general pointers. What I am trying to accomplish is taking a few pics that don't look like the car is "parked" on the track. I know I'll get plenty of those because machine-gunning at around 1/4000 should at least provide some sharps shots to go home with if my introduction to panning doesn't work out for me :) This is just for my own enjoyment by the way so if I don't get anything good then it's just another day having fun with my camera!
Mark;
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Mark....go to Image Critiques and look for my post "Capturing fast
cars".....I asked this question and gave some settings (w/pics) I used at
Lime Rock Park (LRP) over Memorial Day wkend. <o:p></o:p>
I used the 40D and the 100-400IS.
This was my 2<sup>nd</sup> time shooting race cars and what I learned from
the first (Montreal GP) time was not to “park the car”…..another words, don’t
stop the wheels, use slower shutter speeds. <span>IMHO, this type of photography is all about
motion.<span> Though my pics will show I need
more practice.
I’m not familiar w/the track you’ll be going to, but LRP is a small (first
time ever for F1s at LRP) and photographer friendly (close track vantage
points).<span> I found the 100-400 perfect for
all my points of shooting, making use of the lens’ full zoom range.
After I became accustomed to the speed of the vehicles, I didn’t have any
issues w/keeping them in the frame while panning.
Here's a link to my flick site w/more pics from Lime Rock Park;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/29409592@N03/sets/72157618665805181/
Suggestions for shooting;
My favorite shots were taken w/the following settings; Shutter: 60-320, ISO:
200-500, F stop: 8-14 w/a rare couple at 16, AI Servo, high speed, spot
metering.
Get to the track early and walk around (if possible) for vantage
points.<span> While at these points take some
pics at various zoom lengths and lighting settings to see what works.
Day time….take a CPF, but minimize your equipment.<span> I carried the camera, lens, CPF, spare
battery, memory cards and a monopod (never used it).<span> It was a bright, sunny, hot day when I shot.
I’ve also removed the AF from the half way point on the shutter release and
use the AF-ON for my focusing…..just something I prefer.
Good luck and post some shots
Bill
Bill,
Thanks so much for the great pointers. I really liked your shoots. You definitely get the sense of motion which what it's all about! If they aren't too embarrassing I'll post a couple of mine next week :)
As soon as I'm done typing this response I'll go search for the thread you mentioned at the beginning of your post.
Mark;
Forgot to add: don't forget to put the 100-400 on Stabilizer Mode 2 and AF 6.5m.....apologize if this is too basic, but I do it all the time...forget that is.
And the next time I'm shooting this subject I will be dropping my shutter
speeds down lower than a 60th (40, 30, 25). I want to see if I can get
crisp shots of the cars and more background blur. Do me a favor and
give it a try on some of your panning shots.....I'd like to hear what
you have to say and see a pic or 2 of the results.
quote "Mark Elberson" If they aren't too embarrassing I'll post a couple of mine next week :)
Post 'em if you got 'em.
Bill
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill W
No, that's great! That's exactly what I was looking for. Sometimes it the small things that get missed :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill W
Will do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill W
Sure thing. Wish me luck!
Bill,
Those are great shots! I like that degree of motion blur - not too much but not too little.
Trying to shoot sport at 1/30s or so is also a interest of mine. I tried a couple of times but not very successful - all i can say is that I got the background more blurred than the subject, but both of them are all in motion blur. I guess it depends on what kind of motion it is, I tried to shoot casual (not on track) bicycles and motorcycles; but if it's for sportcars on the track with very predictable and linear path, it should be quite doable - but they are a lot faster than my subjects i suppose.
Good luck trying everything!
Ben
<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000;"]Hi Mark<o:p></o:p>
<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000;"]Thanks for the kind words. I looked at the link you provided, looks like a great track for photography. Your setup will give you awesome results. <o:p></o:p>
<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000;"]I like to get to the track early, I don't have Photog Creds so I have to shoot from the spectator areas. I scope out the best areas around the track, (best straightaways, best curves...) then depending on the suns position, I get set up at onethat hasthe sun at my back and move accordingly throughout the day. All my pictures are handheld, shutter priority mode, AI servo,CP filter, lens set to mode 2 IS. You are going to want to set the shutter speed according to the speed of the vehicle, shooting a formula one going 200mph is not the same as shooting a bike going 100, that's where trial and error come to play. Practice makes perfect,so go with lots of memory cards, you'll need them. 1/100s-1/150s will give you decent background blur on vehicles going around 150mph. It will give you nice motion efect in the wheels. More blur=slower shutter sped but slower shutter speed also means you have to pan longer and have a bigger chance of making the whole image blurry.<o:p></o:p>
<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000;"]Depending on the event, you'll have different access to the track, some events will let you on the paddock area, cold pits and bridges around the start/finish lines, some will have all that locked down. If you can get acces to these areas use it, you can get some cool shots.
<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000;"]Hope this helped, feel free to ask questions and good luck and have fun at the event.<o:p></o:p>
<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000;"]You can check out my site for tons of racing images, all the EXIF's are included:<o:p></o:p>
<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000;"]www.prphotographyonline.com<o:p></o:p>
<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000;"]<o:p></o:p>
<span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: Verdana; color: #000000;"]Peter<o:p></o:p>
Quote:
Originally Posted by Itheone
Just what I was looking for :)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Itheone
Thanks Peter. I am currently studying your pictures for inspiration [:D]