Bewildered and Befuddled

Wheels

Wheels

Julian Keeler
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Julian
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I was hoping to go and snap some go kart racing today, I have been trying to read up how to set up the camera specifically for moving objects such as cars/bikes/gokarts. After 2 hours reading I am still none the wiser.

I read so much yet nothing seems to have sunk in, I keep getting mental blocks regarding the camera:lol:
 
You want a fast shutter speed to freeze the action, somewhere in the region of 1/250th of a second will probably do the trick.

As you're getting to grips with your new toy, you might be best putting your camera in 'S' mode, which means that if you set the shutter speed, it'll sort out the aperture for you automatically. It's a nice bright day out today so you shouldn't have an issue with keeping the ISO nice and low - maybe put it at iso400, or even 200. If it's inside, it might be more of an issue and you would be looking to put it at iso 800 or even 1600 if needed.

hope this helps.
 
itsdavedotnet said:
You want a fast shutter speed to freeze the action, somewhere in the region of 1/250th of a second will probably do the trick.

As you're getting to grips with your new toy, you might be best putting your camera in 'S' mode, which means that if you set the shutter speed, it'll sort out the aperture for you automatically. It's a nice bright day out today so you shouldn't have an issue with keeping the ISO nice and low - maybe put it at iso400, or even 200. If it's inside, it might be more of an issue and you would be looking to put it at iso 800 or even 1600 if needed.

hope this helps.
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Much appreciated, I am not sure if Im brave enough to venture out with the gear yet! I am tinkering with the "S" mode as we speak.
 
Wheels said:
Much appreciated, I am not sure if Im brave enough to venture out with the gear yet! I am tinkering with the "S" mode as we speak.
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go for it! it's insured after all, and makes a far better camera than ornament :D


and yeah, auto iso is pretty neat on the D300s, if you want one less thing to worry about :)
 
itsdavedotnet said:
You want a fast shutter speed to freeze the action, somewhere in the region of 1/250th of a second will probably do the trick.

As you're getting to grips with your new toy, you might be best putting your camera in 'S' mode, which means that if you set the shutter speed, it'll sort out the aperture for you automatically. It's a nice bright day out today so you shouldn't have an issue with keeping the ISO nice and low - maybe put it at iso400, or even 200. If it's inside, it might be more of an issue and you would be looking to put it at iso 800 or even 1600 if needed.

hope this helps.
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grum said:
What Dave said - although you could also put it in auto ISO mode.
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I have put it in S mode and its flashing next to it Bulb is that right? ISO is at 200
 
itsdavedotnet said:
go for it! it's insured after all, and makes a far better camera than ornament :D


and yeah, auto iso is pretty neat on the D300s, if you want one less thing to worry about :)
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Ermmmmmmmm auto ISO how the hell? :lol: sorry I know Im thick at this
 
uhhhhhh it's buried in the menus somewhere... 1second.....

edit: can't find it in the menus lol.... stick to 200, if it's not liking it and your pictures are coming out dark, then go to iso 400 :)



no, you don't want it on bulb, you want to twiddle the shutter speed dial waaaaay down until it gets to 1/250th.
 
I seem to remember from my brief go on a D300s - hold the ISO button on the top left, and move the dial nearest you until it says auto?
 
Hi Julian, what I used to do is put my bridge camera in auto mode for the relevant photo. Panning, head on shots and so forth. Then have alook at what sort of settings the camera had selected for itself, start with those settings in S, M or P modes and go from there making your own adjustments along the way. I've found myself preferring the Manual mode on my Panasonics and use that 99% of the time for my motorsport shots (ok all my photography as I rarely find myself shooting anything else).
As for you not being brave enough to venture out with the gear, of course you are.
 
itsdavedotnet said:
uhhhhhh it's buried in the menus somewhere... 1second.....

edit: can't find it in the menus lol.... stick to 200, if it's not liking it and your pictures are coming out dark, then go to iso 400 :)



no, you don't want it on bulb, you want to twiddle the shutter speed dial waaaaay down until it gets to 1/250th.
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Done thanks matey

grum said:
I seem to remember from my brief go on a D300s - hold the ISO button on the top left, and move the dial nearest you until it says auto?
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Doesnt come up with auto, but then again it might be me doing something wrong but thanks for your advice

nilagin said:
Hi Julian, what I used to do is put my bridge camera in auto mode for the relevant photo. Panning, head on shots and so forth. Then have alook at what sort of settings the camera had selected for itself, start with those settings in S, M or P modes and go from there making your own adjustments along the way. I've found myself preferring the Manual mode on my Panasonics and use that 99% of the time for my motorsport shots (ok all my photography as I rarely find myself shooting anything else).
As for you not being brave enough to venture out with the gear, of course you are.
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Hi Neil when Darren set the camera up for me he left it in P mode and thats what I have stuck to until now. I have just done those settings as suggested in S mode. Not sure if the racing is on its meant to be the qualification day today for tomorrows race, but I cant hear any engine noise today.
 
The Auto ISO is in the "shooting menu" it's called ISO "sensitivity settings" press right on the dial control and you see it's the 2nd option. Though to be honest I'd leave it off as it tends to just selct the highest ISO it can in any of the Auto modes like S, or A.

Set the ISO as low as you can get away with and stick to S mode
 
Wheels said:
Done thanks matey



Doesnt come up with auto, but then again it might be me doing something wrong but thanks for your advice
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nope, doesn't work sadly... would be neat if it did, but alas.

You should be fine with iso 200 today :) pointing my camera out the window right now gives me 1/320th at f5.6 iso 200 as 'correct' exposure, so it's about perfect infact - what a guess :D
 
18-270 said:
The Auto ISO is in the "shooting menu" it's called ISO "sensitivity settings" press right on the dial control and you see it's the 2nd option. Though to be honest I'd leave it off as it tends to just selct the highest ISO it can in any of the Auto modes like S, or A.

Set the ISO as low as you can get away with and stick to S mode
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Cheers Chris much appreciated :thumbs:
 
18-270 said:
The Auto ISO is in the "shooting menu" it's called ISO "sensitivity settings" press right on the dial control and you see it's the 2nd option. Though to be honest I'd leave it off as it tends to just selct the highest ISO it can in any of the Auto modes like S, or A.

Set the ISO as low as you can get away with and stick to S mode
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Can't you set a maximum value for the auto ISO though, or are we just getting too confusing now? :)
 
Hi Julian.

I'm flying back from Canada today, landing early Sunday am so I don't think I'll in any shape to pop down to three sisters this weekend, but I do go there quite often and I'd be happy to offer what help my limited experience can if I see you there.

For now though, you need to set the focus to 'continuous'.
Set the shutter to 250 as mentioned, a little quicker to start with if you like while getting the hang of panning.

Be prepared for some frustrating moments and it's great when you get it right!
 
grum said:
Can't you set a maximum value for the auto ISO though, or are we just getting too confusing now? :)
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LOL Yes you can but then the camera just selects that one! OK if you're in bright light as you can set the max to 400 and it's handy, but in low light you may as well just set it to 1600 and be done with it! :lol:
 
Wheels said:
Ermmmmmmmm auto ISO how the hell? :lol: sorry I know Im thick at this
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Now if it was a Canon I could help LOL not so sure on a Nikon, hope you are enjoying the new gear, don't worry too much about settings just give it a go.:)
 
18-270 said:
LOL Yes you can but then the camera just selects that one! OK if you're in bright light as you can set the max to 400 and it's handy, but in low light you may as well just set it to 1600 and be done with it! :lol:
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You've also got to select the maximum shutter speed allowed before it bumps up ISO.

I can't say I'm having the same problem you're having, and I have it on Auto ISO whenever I'm not in manual mode. But you've got to make sure you have the maximum shutter speed setting at an appropriate level for the type of shooting you're doing.

:)
 
Well given you've not posted for a couple of hours I hope you made it out and about in this great weather Julian.

For a fellow noob I would guess that you should just break it down into 2 areas.

S Shutter priority, this should be your first point of thinking. What's the lowest sutter speed I can go to freeze a subject. Also play around - find a waterfall, 1/500 will freeze the water, 1/4 will give the water a pleasing blur.

A Aperture priority, where you need a depth of field, e.g. Portraits at f2.8 will isolate the subject and blur the background. f8-f11 is the sweet spot for most lenses and gives a greater depth of field.

Remember ISO too, it may need to be adjusted if the camera cannot cope with the exposure -but the camera will usually tell you with 'lo' or 'hi'.

I guess the third you should have a go at is panning, especially if you're at the karting. Set the shutter to 1/125 or 1/80 and pan the camera with the subject, use a burst of 3 or 5 images.

Good luck
 
Dazzler said:
Well given you've not posted for a couple of hours I hope you made it out and about in this great weather Julian.

For a fellow noob I would guess that you should just break it down into 2 areas.

S Shutter priority, this should be your first point of thinking. What's the lowest sutter speed I can go to freeze a subject. Also play around - find a waterfall, 1/500 will freeze the water, 1/4 will give the water a pleasing blur.

A Aperture priority, where you need a depth of field, e.g. Portraits at f2.8 will isolate the subject and blur the background. f8-f11 is the sweet spot for most lenses and gives a greater depth of field.

Remember ISO too, it may need to be adjusted if the camera cannot cope with the exposure -but the camera will usually tell you with 'lo' or 'hi'.

I guess the third you should have a go at is panning, especially if you're at the karting. Set the shutter to 1/125 or 1/80 and pan the camera with the subject, use a burst of 3 or 5 images.

Good luck
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Hiya Gavin

Myself Mrs and eldest went round 3 sisters nature reserve instead, I took 107 probably only 2 I like. Im annoyed with myself :bang:

:D
 
Wheels said:
Hiya Gavin

Myself Mrs and eldest went round 3 sisters nature reserve instead, I took 107 probably only 2 I like. Im annoyed with myself :bang:

:D
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That's a standard outing for me and I've had my D60 for almost a year... don't be too hard on yourself! ;)
 
Daysleeper40 said:
That's a standard outing for me and I've had my D60 for almost a year... don't be too hard on yourself! ;)
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I took them in Raw so I am going to see if I can salvage any. While I was taking them I thought that they were going to be the dogs wotsits. :(
 
Wheels said:
Hiya Gavin

Myself Mrs and eldest went round 3 sisters nature reserve instead, I took 107 probably only 2 I like. Im annoyed with myself :bang:

:D
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LOL - 2% success rate a little low :) but most on here will admit to binning 80% of their shots. I think from any given set you end up with about 10-25% acceptable with, one hopes, a few that look great and even possibly one that you might put in a frame.

The most important think is you ask yourself why the shots didn't quite hit the mark, was it a too low a shutter speed, were you shooting into the sun, is the background distractring. It's only day 4 though.

Hope you had the sun cream on.
 
These are the only 2 I think are only OK. even though the 1st 1 the flying thingy is blurred
1.
3sisterstoday057rawedited-1.jpg


2.
3sisterstoday067rawadjusted-1.jpg
 
Wheels said:
I took them in Raw so I am going to see if I can salvage any. While I was taking them I thought that they were going to be the dogs wotsits. :(
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Welcome to the club.I've had some great shots while I'm out and on the way home the pixel fairies get to work and shift things around too make them look out of focus.
 
Considering how long you've had the camera those are great shots. Obviously you are hampered because it's a Nikon.
 
Love the colours and the contrast in the first one.

Like your swan too - the plumage has come out well

congratulations !!
 
Thanks, why is my exif data missing? will picassa have lost it?
 
Seriously - how many shots have you now taken with that new toy ?
 
I know the feeling :D

Stop beating yourself up - you are doing absolutely fine
 
You've done very well there Julian, I hope that doesn't come across as patronising, as for the first shot I wouldn't say the insects were blurred just not sharp the focus seems to be down in the water to the right or that looks sharpest to me. The swan has come out really well, great depth of focus. I like the squirrel too lovely capture. Keep it up. :thumbs:
 
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