Monster Truck/Freestyle Motocross Need Help

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Ok so this was a fun event, but I wish I could have tweaked my camera a little more to get better pictures. It was an indoor civic center with bright lights flooding the arena. I just couldn't seem to find the perfect setting for getting a good clear focused motion picture. I think the lighting was just not adequate enough, but I would love to hear some suggestions for how I could have made these better. I was shooting with a Sony A100 with a 75-300 lens, no flash, IS was on. Here are a few samples:

The rest of these pictures can be found here:
http://www.albumflip.com/gallery/6074298_TXHTN#380992249_oZebc

I wish this event had been held outside, sunlight would have made it much easier to get a nice motion shot. What could I have done to make these better? Could I have done anything at all? Looking for suggestions.

This one I was able to get a clearer image but it is not bright enough:
Camera SONY DSLR-A100
Exposure Time 0.01s (1/100)
Aperture f/4.5
ISO 800
Focal Length 75mm (112mm 35mm)


This one has the same problem with lighting and motion blur:
Camera SONY DSLR-A100
Exposure Time 0.0333s (1/30)
Aperture f/5.0
ISO 400
Focal Length 110mm (165mm 35mm)


This one turned out a little better, still would have liked it clearer:
Camera SONY DSLR-A100
Exposure Time 0.025s (1/40)
Aperture f/5.0
ISO 800
Focal Length 90mm (135mm 35mm)


An example of the truck in motion. This was one of my more focused shots, any suggestions?:
Camera SONY DSLR-A100
Exposure Time 0.01s (1/100)
Aperture f/4.5
ISO 800
Focal Length 75mm (112mm 35mm)


And here is a picture that is horribly blurred from the motion:
Camera SONY DSLR-A100
Exposure Time 0.0166s (1/60)
Aperture f/4.5
ISO 800
Focal Length 75mm (112mm 35mm)

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I do have an external flash that I could have used, but I didn't bring it thinking that i would be too far away. Would the flash have helped here?

Thanks,
Jeff

torags

Your shutter speed is too slow. You can see in #4, faster shutter = sharper shot of a moving object. Forget about panning, get faster glass and rely on bokeh for subject separation.

f4 is a little small for those dark conditions. Probably 2.8 or 3.5 would be better.

just my .02

jonh68

With the lens you have, bumping ISO to 1600 would have helped.

Tee Why

Main thing is the shutter speed. You may be introducing camera shake and subject movement blur.

For a 75-300mm lens on a 1.5x crop factor body, your shutter speeds should be about 1/75 x1.5 -1/300 x1.5= 1/120-1/450 sec's. Having the IS would allow you to reduce the needed shutter speed by a factor of 2 (2 stops) or 1/30-1/175 sec or so without worrying about camera shake causing a blurred image, but this is where IS tend to not help much b/c to freeze fast moving subjects, you need a fast shutter speed.

I would guess about 1/500 or so for a fast moving motorcycle but the shutter speed required to freeze a moving subject depends on many factors. Anyway I see on the first shot that it was at f4.5, 1/100sec, ISO 800.

If you increased the ISO to 1600 or 3200, then you would get the following shutter speeds of 1/200 and 1/400 respectively, which may have been better. If you had a faster lens like a f2.8, opening up the aperture to f2.8 would just over double the shutter speed from 1/100 to 1/200 or so as well. This is why "fast" lenses that are f2.8 or even faster are popular with low light settings.

I think a flash probably wouldn't have helped as the subject looks too far, but if they aren't then a flash would let you use manual mode and freeze the subject if it's used to illuminate the subject. But the fast shutter speed would probably cause the background to go completely dark and you may end up seeing motorcycles floating in black space. There is a relatively advance technique of "dragging the shutter" with a flash but that may be a bit advance if you are getting started.

Another way to go about it is to pan, which uses a slow shutter speed and you pan and follow the bike through the air, it may allow for better exposure and a relatively well focused rider with a very blurred background which would convey a sense of motion.

Good luck and keep experimenting.

albumflip

thanks for the replies, i agree the f2.8 would be better, i just need to save up for one. lots of great info,

thanks,
jeff

BCSPhotoguy

Finally a thread that I can throw my hat into! I do ALOT of Monster Truck/Freestyle shows. You picked the hardest event to take pics of - when its indoors! I normally shoot Manual and about 1/250th at iso1600. Reason for being on manual, the lights normaly throw off the exposure if its not on manual. I have upgraded the body since then so I may be able to bump the iso higher. The lens is at 2.8 the whole night!

Flash helps somewhat - but most times i dont use it. You are right, outdoors - Anything goes!!

Let me know if you want to see any pics, I have tons!!