help with motorsport??

[355858]

hi guys im new to dslr photography and tommorow for the first time i'm tryin to do some motorsport photography at sneterton raceways, does anyone have any tips? i.e. what iso what shutter speed etc? do i try to pan or focus on one point and wait for them to drive to that point?

 

[Big A]

i'm probably at Snetterton tomorrow. if you see me (i'll be wearing a vest with my website info on) just give me a shout and we can talk through a few things.

Essentially though, if you are panning start in Shutter priority mode at around 1/250 and gradually work your way down to around 1/60. For snetterton i would suggest you start at the esses / bombhole as you can try out a number of differnet shots there.

what kit do you have? is the 105mm your longest lens?

 

[355858]

hey sorry i didnt get your message in time, yeah 105 was longest lens got some good shots although for some reason it seemed as if they were coming out good at 1/600 which seems to fast? my setting for good photos were around 1/600 f/8 iso 200? any help appreciated for the next time though

 

[pete.rush]

Essentially though, if you are panning start in Shutter priority mode at around 1/250 and gradually work your way down to around 1/60. For snetterton i would suggest you start at the esses / bombhole as you can try out a number of differnet shots there.

First of all he's new to motorsport, so suggesting work down to 1/60th sec shutter speeds isn't a great deal of help. He's got a sports mode on his camera, so I would suggest setting it to that and practice the panning. Have a smooth pan and keeping this motion smooth throughout is way more important than shutter speeds for someone starting out.

Ok he's going to be limited with a 105mm lens, but we need to start somewhere. Ok, so the sport mode will complete freeze the image, no motion blur etc, but he'll have an idea of what settings (shutter speed) to play with in the conditions and have some images to start with. Once he feels comfortable and get some images he's please with, then switch to the TV mode and play with the shutter speeds.

Personally start at 1/400 sec and slow work down. Its cars this weekend so you could by the end of the day get down to shutter speeds of 1/150 sec to acheive motion blur, but 1/200 or 1/250 sec depending on where you are and what your taking will still get some motion blur and definitely more chance of a sharp image. For Bikes, I wouldn't go below 1/250 sec, in most cases you may need a slight faster shutter speed.

But the important thing is a smooth panning technique and continue with the motion after you've taken the shot. Next will be buying a longer lens, but that will be another thread.

Peter

 

[photobiker]

i agree
get the panning right then work on composure, which is something i see very little of in the pics i get submitted to me
few togs actually capture the action
so its body positioning and looking through the view finder before getting too technical

the lens limitations may mean working on pits and paddock shots first
which can be a very complex subject matter in itself

 

[andrewc]

in my experience sports mode is fine for football where the fastest possible shutter speed is needed, but less good for motorsport.

I'd suggest focussing mode into continual mode, shutter priority mode at around 1/320 or 1/250. Adjust iso to achieve desired DOF and f-stop.

 

[Big A]

First of all he's new to motorsport, so suggesting work down to 1/60th sec shutter speeds isn't a great deal of help.

Peter

Apologies, I meant over time, once the panning technique had been perfected, that he may like to experiment with slower shutter speeds, but this wasn't clear from my original post. my excuse is that i was half asleep

as an aside, the racing wasn't great today, processional in places, so if that was your first time at Snett it does get better

 

[355858]

thanks for the help guys i read about the limitations of my lens and went out and brought a nikkor 70 -300 Vr i know that it doesnt go any lower than f/4 but i couldnt afford anymore than that, lol sneterton was a good day out and a big insight into how motorsport photography is so different for anything ive done before, i'll definately be doing it again though, thanks for all your help, and i'll upload some of my favourite shots from sneterton tonight when i get home..

Cheers Ben