Help with action shots please

[fourpawsover]

I have a canon 400d, just got it as a present for myself

I am totally new to this sort of camera, and all the fancy settings :amstupid:

I recently took some shots of the dogs training, the do run fast and i seem to be having trouble catching the actual dog without it blurring like this:

I just did it on sports mode, and the lighting isnt great as the sun was setting behind me. Some people have said black dogs are harder to capture than others, but it was also doing it on some of the other faster dogs.

Any ideas for next time?

Thanks Em!

 

[mattyh]

Looks to me like you've missed the focus.. there's a sharp area on top of the tunnel..

the dog looks sharp, but out of focus to me, sadly I can't currently see the exif, so someone else will have to confirm

 

[andrewc]

I would try manually focussing on the area where the dog will be and try again. Then I would try increasing shutter speed (in Tv mode).

 

[Snowball]

I would try manually focussing on the area where the dog will be and try again. Then I would try increasing shutter speed (in Tv mode).

I would do exactly what Andrew has said, it might be worth trying in complete manual mode and setting the camera up ready for the shot.

High Shutter speed, lift the ISO if required, shoot quite wide open, depending on how fast the dog is running - take some test shots and wind up the shutter speed until its crisp and sharp.

 

[fourpawsover]

Thanks everyone for thier quick response

Okies, lots to take on board but i will definatly try to do that!!

 

[andrewc]

The reason I suggested pre-focussing manually was that if the dog comes out of that tube as fast as they seem to on the telly, then the AF may not be able to react quickly enough.

 

[jimybell]

Put something where the dog will appear, use a tripod with lead, focus and wait!
Jim

 

[Waggy]

Hi I have taken shots of dog agility and my suggestion would be to stick it on AV and as said as far open as it will go....set the AF to AI servo and high speed on drive..pre focus on the far edge of the tunnel and then half press the shutter button as you anticipate the dog to emerge..the pan the camera following the dog as you press the shutter......Also as point I would be on my knees as the shot will look a lot better at dog eye level.......

 

[Werecow]

You would need a very high shutter speed for the situation in the photo you have posted.

You could try panning with the dog to get the dog sharp in the frame. This could make quite an interesting action shot with a sense of the dogs movement.

Av mode on the widest aperture and a good high iso will always help and servo af mode