Am I being unrealistic?

omens

omens

Messages
2,082
Edit My Images
Yes
So I went to GTI International at the weekend. Took some pics of cars which have come out okay (I'm still learning about taking better photos eg interesting angles).

Decided to try and take photos of the cars on the drag strip. Hit a few problems:

1. Visibility - the cars were largely hidden by barriers. I feel that had I sat higher up in the stands, I might have been able to see more of the car.

2. Speed - the cars were going too fast for my G12 to take photos of them - I was either missing them completely or caught them at the very start/end of frames.

3. Quality - of the pics I did manage to take, there was a lot of blur even at higher shutter speeds eg 1/500.

Would the Canon 70D be adequate enough? It was my planned upgrade. Or should I be looking at the 7D?
 
Without sounding too funny any DSLR that has a low shutter delay will do if you have the skills in the first place.

an 1100D at 3FPS can more than adaquately take panning shots of fast cars or bikes... how do I know??

Because I still have one to go with my 60's.

So basically, if a 1100D can, a 60D certainly can do then a 70D is more than adaquate.

People that say you need 10 thousand fps to take motorsport need to get out more... because you don't.

It might help with potential keepers, but it certainly doesnt make or break it.
 
But to go with regards to the points..

1. Visabillity- you just have to search for places.

2. Speed- You need to guess if your camera isnt quick enough.

3. Quality- Unfortunately the blur can be removed by two options, higher shutter speed to freeze the picture totally... becomes boring shots.

OR

You may need to improve your panning as 1/500 is pretty high and when panning with a car would make it look pretty still.

I don't know anything about the g12 but is it a fast reacting camera to your input?

I.e not much delay between pushing button and the shutter going?
 
Last edited:
I didn't think it was slow to react but looking at the photos, if I pressed the shutter as soon as the car was in view on the left side (having pre-focussed), it'd be on the right side one the final image.

I guess I also need practice with panning and with car shots.

The reason I felt I had to post the thread was because I keep getting other people on other forums hammering me into getting a 7D when I think that a 70D would be adequate for my needs. Felt I needed to get other peoples' viewpoints to make sure it wasn't just me being a numpty.
 
lets put it this way, the 7D is a superb camera, it smashes out 8FPS and can capture great shots.

Then we look at it this way, along with other photography I sell images and take images for the 750Motorchampionships being the BMW Compacts official man... I do this on a 60D with only 5.3FPS.

How many fps a camera can do is all well and good but to be honest it can equate to many things, twice as many bad shots if they are all bad or twice as many good shots if they are all good.

Eitherway its alot of photos to go through, only you can know what you do or don't need but trust me, for people to say you need a 7D or faster for birds, planes or cars... they need to practice more because you just don't, its simple as that.

A good panner can nail 80% of shots with a 1100D and a mere 3fps.

So personally I would go feel the cameras, then make your choice.

Not my best example but all the others are on my external drive, but heres a quick one...


and one more I downloaded from my facebook page so excuse the quality




or a link to my page and some of the cars are in the albums

www.facebook.com/dalewoolgarphotography
 
My friend used a 5d mk2 its sloooooow bud does the job, any camera does the trick just aslong as you no what your up to :-)
 
Precisely my point, people place all the emphasis on the gear but when people are honest gear can't get you as far as technique.
 
Thanks for the reassurance. I did figure it was them just trying to show off their fancy hardware.

Was already happy with the 60D but have now decided to sit on the fence for 70D.
 
as dalegt said its all about getting out there as much as you can practice the panning as much as you can here is a photo taken with a 1100d and a 50 mm lens on a cold misty/foggy day think the speed was about 1/400 or there abouts my first time at a track with a camera


photo9 by hoochy1, on Flickr
 
I use a d3100 which ( I think ) is only 3fps. It's fine for drag racing ( take a look in my Flickr ) so would've been fine at Inters too

Remember to track the car and keep panning even after you've taken the shot. Don't just hold the camera still and push the button when the car enters the viewfinder as they'll all be blurred then.
 
Last edited:
depending on the speed of the car, u need a higher shutter speed to freeze it, like 1/1000, shutter lag is the other one, dslr's and sony slt's are very fast compaired to most? other types of camera, with those you would have to lead your target more.
 
There's a good thread on panning technique somewhere on TP, a quick search will find it. Technique is important, plenty of practice is also needed as the subtle changes in light, object distance and speed will all effect settings. But once you've got a base setting you can adjust for the conditions.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top