Panning - can anyone identify the problem?

[bigbigblue]

Hi,
Went to mallory Park yesterday to get some panning practice. Here is one of the shots I took which is typical of the results I achieved using a 100mm lens on a D700, and 1/60th second shutter speed :

Looking at this closely, the logos on the door are pretty sharp - here is an example at 100%:

However the front and back of the car are subject to significant motion blur - example at 100% :

I am a bit puzzled as to why. I think it may be because I rotated the camera as I panned, but I would appreciate views on what you think I may be doing wrong.

Cheers
Pete

 

[Strangways]

It looks to me that the motion blur on the back and front is vertical blur which you cant do much about.

 

[spcomp]

A pan at 1/60th of a second is going to produce a lot of motion blur. I try to keep between 1/100th and 1/200th depending on the position on the track and the speed of the vehicle. Try again starting at 1/200th and work your way down until you find the balance between sharpness and motion blur.

I have managed to get some down as low as 1/25th but they were slow moving vehicles on a tight corner.

Example:-

Steve

 

[srhmoto]

Don't you just love the laws of physics!

You are not exactly sideways onto the Golf in the shot posted - the car is moving diagonally away from you, even if it is only by a small amount. However, what that means is that different parts of the car are moving at different speeds relative to the plane of focus and the cameras sensor. At 1/60th of a second, you just won't ever get this shot at this angle sharp in all places. A faster shutter speed would lessen the effect, but also make the car appear more static.

Hope this helps.

Simon.

 

[Edward Bancroft]

As srhmoto says, you are panning against an object moving diagonally relative to you. Only the part of the object that is moving the same as your panning motion will be sharp.

The way to improve this without having a faster shutter speed, is to move further away, so that the effect is relatively less, and/or to take the shot with the object perpendicular to you.

Ed

 

[SuperCNJ]

Looks to me like a combination of low dof and not precisely tracing the movement of the car during panning...

 

[HoppyUK]

As srhmoto says, you are panning against an object moving diagonally relative to you. Only the part of the object that is moving the same as your panning motion will be sharp.

The way to improve this without having a faster shutter speed, is to move further away, so that the effect is relatively less, and/or to take the shot with the object perpendicular to you.

Ed

Agree with srhmoto and Ed. You don't normally see too much of this effect, but because you are shooting at quite close range with a 100mm lens (as you can only do at Mallory ) plus a longer than usual shutter speed, it is noticeable.

Move back with a 300-400mm lens, at 1/200sec or less, and it goes away. On the other hand, it can look quite good in a blurry/impressionist way if you move close, shoot with a short lens and longish shutter speed - only one part of the car sharp, and both ends curved, blurred and stretched.

 

[bigbigblue]

Thanks everyone for the feedback, got some good tips there

The main purpose for taking them was to get practice for panning pictures of low flying jets, which is why I was so close - being close to the cars meant their angular velocity was similar to a jet, which of course is moving faster but is further away. The effects of DOF and the slight differences in speed of the various parts of the vehicle should be less when photographing the jets.

Cheers
Pete