I need a crash course!

Lucky Hack

I need your help...
I'm going to be shooting a fast moving vehicle on Sunday and I'll only have a couple of chances to get it right. I'm using a D70 with a 70-200 lens, the photos will be taken at dawn. Any tips (camera settings, metering, focus, all that stuff) you have on how to get it right would be totally appreciated.

hoping this message finds you well -Ian

Angelo

Hiya Hack: I can't offer advice, only good wishes. Hope everything turns out "grinnin"

patch29

Ian,

I merged your other thread here in the how to forum, since that is what you need.


Do a quick search on panning here. I know we have some good threads on it. If you can use that technique you should be ok. Morning light can be tough, so do what you can to keep your shutter speed up and pan with the action.

Seamus

Lucky Hack wrote:

I need your help...
I'm going to be shooting a fast moving vehicle on Sunday and I'll only have a couple of chances to get it right. I'm using a D70 with a 70-200 lens, the photos will be taken at dawn. Any tips (camera settings, metering, focus, all that stuff) you have on how to get it right would be totally appreciated.

hoping this message finds you well -Ian

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=7490

There are some links and advice in this thread.

Shay.

mercphoto

Lucky Hack wrote:

I need your help...
I'm going to be shooting a fast moving vehicle on Sunday and I'll only have a couple of chances to get it right. I'm using a D70 with a 70-200 lens, the photos will be taken at dawn. Any tips (camera settings, metering, focus, all that stuff) you have on how to get it right would be totally appreciated.

The following advice assumes you are taking a side (profile) shot of the car, not a head-on shot.

First pass, use a fast shutter to ensure at least one keeper. Take multiple shots as he passes by. Try 1/1000 second (if you can get it in that light). For fastest possible shutter, go to Av mode and open the lens wide open.

Switch to Tv mode and got for 1/500 shutter, then 1/250, then 1/125. You will need to move the camera with the car as it goes by. Follow it with the camera. Don't stop just because you hit the shutter button. Plant your feet, rotate at the waist. The further you are from the car the easier this is, because you will be twisting at a slower rate to follow the object.

Use a focusing mode that tracks a moving object. In a Canon that is AI Servo mode. It constantly adjusts focus as you keep the shutter half-pressed. Use an evaluative metering mode. If you use flash, set it to second-curtain synch, and have the flash high-speed synch on.

wxwax

Excellent advice by merc.

Lucky Hack

patch29 wrote:

Ian,

I merged your other thread here in the how to forum, since that is what you need.


Do a quick search on panning here. I know we have some good threads on it. If you can use that technique you should be ok. Morning light can be tough, so do what you can to keep your shutter speed up and pan with the action.

thanks Patch! -Ian

Lucky Hack

Angelo wrote:

Hiya Hack: I can't offer advice, only good wishes. Hope everything turns out "grinnin"

Thanks for the good wishes Angelo -Ian

Lucky Hack

shay wrote:

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=7490

There are some links and advice in this thread.

Shay.

Thanks for the tips Shay -Ian

Lucky Hack

mercphoto wrote:

The following advice assumes you are taking a side (profile) shot of the car, not a head-on shot.

First pass, use a fast shutter to ensure at least one keeper. Take multiple shots as he passes by. Try 1/1000 second (if you can get it in that light). For fastest possible shutter, go to Av mode and open the lens wide open.

Switch to Tv mode and got for 1/500 shutter, then 1/250, then 1/125. You will need to move the camera with the car as it goes by. Follow it with the camera. Don't stop just because you hit the shutter button. Plant your feet, rotate at the waist. The further you are from the car the easier this is, because you will be twisting at a slower rate to follow the object.

Use a focusing mode that tracks a moving object. In a Canon that is AI Servo mode. It constantly adjusts focus as you keep the shutter half-pressed. Use an evaluative metering mode. If you use flash, set it to second-curtain synch, and have the flash high-speed synch on.

Thanks so much for all the advice,
I'm a Nikon guy, is Av mode the same as Aperture priority? (and Tv shutter priority?) Also, what if I were to take a straight on shot?

hoping this message finds you well -Ian

wxwax

Lucky Hack wrote:

Thanks so much for all the advice,
I'm a Nikon guy, is Av mode the same as Aperture priority? (and Tv shutter priority?) Also, what if I were to take a straight on shot?

hoping this message finds you well -Ian

Yup, that's right.

As for head-on, just get the fastest shutter speed you can. No point in trying to get motion blur if the car's coming right at you.

Unless you happen to be in a car driving in front of it, in which case you can go back too slower shutter speeds to get the road and adjoining land to blur. You see those shots a lot in car mags and they're very cool.

Lucky Hack

wxwax wrote:

Yup, that's right.

As for head-on, just get the fastest shutter speed you can. No point in trying to get motion blur if the car's coming right at you.

Unless you happen to be in a car driving in front of it, in which case you can go back too slower shutter speeds to get the road and adjoining land to blur. You see those shots a lot in car mags and they're very cool.

COOL! Thanks wxwax, I hope I get a good couple of shots. -Ian

ps. if you don't mind me asking what is the genesis of the name wxwax?

wxwax

Lucky Hack wrote:

COOL! Thanks wxwax, I hope I get a good couple of shots. -Ian

ps. if you don't mind me asking what is the genesis of the name wxwax?

There's a thread in Wide Angle about names, I think. I work for a company that specializes in weather information (that's the wx), and I write material seen by lots of people (that's the wax.)

Lucky Hack

wxwax wrote:

There's a thread in Wide Angle about names, I think. I work for a company that specializes in weather information (that's the wx), and I write material seen by lots of people (that's the wax.)

Cool, I like it, it's the only one I hadn't been able to figure out. (insert lame Karate Kid joke here:lol4) But seriously, thanks again for the tips. I really appreciate it.

hoping this message finds you well -Ian

joechiu

Lucky Hack wrote:

Thanks so much for all the advice,
I'm a Nikon guy, is Av mode the same as Aperture priority? (and Tv shutter priority?) Also, what if I were to take a straight on shot?

hoping this message finds you well -Ian

It's now Sunday morning, and I *just* saw this thread. I hope it went well!

If I saw it sooner, I would have suggested: wide open aperture (using aperture priority), picking a position that would maximize light return from the car, and using a monopod.

I hope you had a fast lens. I think the 70-200 is a f/2.8?