Hey everyone,


There is an evening bike race in town this coming weekend, and I'd like to go try out the new camera and get some shots of the racers....you know, in focus rider, blurred wheels, legs, and background. Last year, I tried it with my S2 IS, got one good shot out of about 100.


This year, with my increased knowledge and new camera (450D, 17-55 f/2.8 IS), I hope to get better results.


I've searched this forum for info on panning shots (mostly read about technique from the threads about shooting race cars), and here is what I've gathered:


1) My lens doesn't have 2-mode IS, so it is better to have IS off (?)


2) Shutterspeed of 1/100 to 1/60 would probably produce good blur (I would be shooting from about 30 to 35 feet from the riders)....maybe I need slower shutterspeed for subjects that close?


3) I need to make sure I'm shooting in AI SERVO mode


4) I need to make sure the subject is traveling perpendicular to my viewpoint, maintaining as close to the same distance as possible from the lensthroughout the pan.


5) Have fun, be patient, experiment with settings


Is that pretty much a good sum up of what I will need to do?


Thanks everyone, I really love the great responses on this forum!


alex