Panning - what am I doing wrong??

AndyS2

AndyS2

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Been to Cadwell Park today to watch the Time Attack series, I took around 400 pics most of which were panning shots of the cars on circuit. I got quite a few good shots but I had a huge failure rate due to being out of focus. Here's an example, two shots taken within seconds of each other on the same settings.





This shot I'm particulaly annoyed about, I captured the car jumping over the mountain whilst shooting flames out the exhaust and it's out of focus!

Here's a list of the settings I used:-
Canon 450D with 15-85mm lens
Set to TV mode
Shutter speed around 1/80
Focus set to single point, centre on AI servo mode.

Am I doing something wrong or could there be a fault with the camera??
 
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It's not out of focus, well I can't really tell but it looks like you need to work on your panning technique and maybe start from 1/250 and work your way down. You could always focus on the bit of the track where the cars will be and switch to MF then you don't need to worry about the camera getting the AF right.
 
Agree shutter speed on the low side.
When you pan are you taking a single shot ?
Try taking a number of shots on continuous starting just before the desired point and carry on just after this point.
Another common mistake is to stop panning once the object has reached the desired point, you need to follow thorough if that makes sense .
 
As above... To elaborate on what janesy said the shot is blurred because you haven't been able to match the tracking speed as well as the first (which is also a little off), not the camera but the user, you need to pick a point on the car and keep the focal point locked to that position, not to achieve 'focus' but to ensure you pan at the same speed and keep things sharp..... Also remember that if the car's jumping it has vertical as well as horizontal movement which will cause blur. Panning always has a low success ratio especially at these speeds, just a fact of life... Practice will improve it but if you can get to a point where you are binning 50% most people would agree you are doing well...if 1:2 of my pan shots were ok I'd be thrilled lol

I'm guessing you were shooting handheld but a monopod can help...although you tend to get funny looks with shorter glass :)
 
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I usually get around a 25% keeper with this type of shooting (MX)
It really boils down to a numbers game...Some you loose, Others you still loose :mad:
Seriously it's a technique that requires 50% Skill 50% dumb luck..

So where i go wrong with 25% is a mystery :runaway:
 
What this makes you think though is if panning is this hard how does a copper keep a small beam on a number plate of a car that could be doing over 60 mph :thinking:
 
Raptor Mike said:
What this makes you think though is if panning is this hard how does a copper keep a small beam on a number plate of a car that could be doing over 60 mph :thinking:
Click to expand...

I guess the fact that the car is travelling towards the copper and so very little relative movement.
 
Raptor Mike said:
What this makes you think though is if panning is this hard how does a copper keep a small beam on a number plate of a car that could be doing over 60 mph :thinking:
Click to expand...

The car is coming towards him, he's not trying to read the numberplate from the side of the car...
 
huffy said:
I guess the fact that the car is travelling towards the copper and so very little relative movement.
Click to expand...
Janesy B said:
The car is coming towards him, he's not trying to read the numberplate from the side of the car...
Click to expand...

Good points, but if he's sat in a layby hiding behind some bushes it's go straight at him is it ;)
My point was about how difficult it is to keep a small spot in the same place on any moving object whilst keeping a steady hand.
 
slowest i can go panning is 1/200 of a second tried lower = useless have a look at my flickr for my second time at brands hatch :) cheers mike. takes lots of practise!!
 
Thanks for all the good advice, I'll have a read of the thread linked and keep practicing.
 
AndyS2 said:
Canon 450D with 15-85mm lens
Click to expand...

Is this the image stabilised one? If so, it doesn't appear to have a panning mode so turn off IS or you'll be fighting against it as you're moving the lens which won't help the resulting shots.
 
Practice, practice, practice and big enough memory card for the practice :D

My suggestion is not the camera setup (you have enough infos from previous comments), I have problem when I have my backpack on.

Also if you see me or other photographers (and they look like proper ones) just ask them. I will be in donington on the 1st November.
 
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