Newbie in need of motorsport photography help

bungle29

bungle29

Suspended / Banned
Messages
241
Name
colin
Edit My Images
Yes
hey all

i just bought my first dslr camera a sony a200 which has a 18-75mm lens and a 50-200mm lens. im off to thruxton this sunday for the bsb bike racing and just wondered if anyone could give me any tips? are there any good settings to try?
also how do you change the shutter speed is the the iso part of the camera?

any help is welcome:)
 
I deally you want a shutter speed of around 1/125 so that when you pan you get some background blur and also wheel blur so you get the impression of speed. It is less critical with bikes if shooting them in corners as the angle of the bike indicates speed so a higher shutter speed is perhaps more suitable in those situations. A smallish aperture say f8 or f11 will help with focusing issues unless you really want to seperate perhaps a lead bike from those following in head on shot situations, in which case try f2.8 if your lens is that fast. Obviously adjust the ISO speed to get the correct exposure.

You should get something like this if you pan your shot correctly. It takes practice so take plenty of shots.

IMG_H0660.jpg
 
Last edited:
Hi and welcome to TP.

You might find that 200mm is a bit short for Thruxton but you'll probably get some better idea once you've had a play! At least the shorter focal length will allow you to use a slower shutter speed should the light levels be a bit lower than ideal. I generally shoot motorsport at around 1/125th s and pan (follow the car/bike), often firing a short (3-5 shot) burst in the hope that one or two will be good keepers.

Not 100% sure how Sony label Shutter Priority but it's probably labelled "S" (Canon use Tv IIRC) on the selector switch (usually on the top to the left hand side as you point the lens (no final e!) at the subject. ISO is almost always adjustable by the user - check the manual for how to alter it. It'll probably be either a button on the camera or in a menu somewhere. The higher you set the ISO, the noisier the results will be - have a play to see how high you can go before the end result looks too bad - up to 800 should be OK and some cameras can cope with even higher (but lower will give cleaner images).

Don't feel you have to catch every rider in every race - enjoy the spectacle with memories as well as through the lens! Have a great day.
 
hey all thanks for the advice :)
not entirly sure about which iso to use ive heard people say not to have it higher than 300? is there any pics sholwing higher and lower? also don't understand what f8 f10 is seen it on the camera but not sure what happens when its altered?
thanks again
 
See this for a comparison of shots at minimum & maximum ISO (Not a DSLR)
It is part of the tutorial linked above.
I feel it is best to use the lowest ISPO possible that gives you the shutter speed and aperture you want. It can be much better to have an image that is a bit noisy than one ruined by unwanted subject or camera motion.
Keep in mind the end use of the image (making it smaller for web or small prints) may disguise the noise. Also you may be able to reduce when post processing.

http://digital-photography-school.com/forum/tutorials/134172-exposure-2-iso-intro-aperture.html

See this for some more on aperture.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aperture
 
OK, as its obvious you've only got the camera.

You need to put the camera into continuous focusing mode, Canon call it AI SERVO, but I don't know what Sony call it.

You need to be able to choose the focus point yourself. The middle one or the middle lower, for example.

Use shutter priority mode 'S'. Lets start with 1/250. When you're at the circuit, raise or lower the ISO until you are getting photos around f/8

When you're at the circuit, pick up the bike you want by holding the shutter half down, allow the AF to lock on and keep the focus point over the rider, and once he's in the right place, squeeze the shutter more and fire off a shot or two.

Panning requires a smooth motion, a bit like a golf swing. Its in the legs and hips.

As you get better at panning you can drop the shutter speed down to maybe 1/125 (or 1/80). Adjust the ISO as well.

If its bright sunshine ISO 100, if its overcast, ISO 400, gloomy / rain possibly ISO 800 or higher. Make a rudimentary waterproof cover from a carrier bag and an elastic band.

Don't forget to enjoy the racing as well and not to get too caught up in photos.

Periodically review what you've shot, delete obvious ones there and then, but ones your not sure about wait until you can see on a decent screen.
 
thanks for the advice:thumbs: im going to give it a go and i'll post my best

thanks all :)
 
Have a read of this, it explains about the differences in shutter speeds which will help you set up your camera.

http://behindthefence.co.uk/?p=37

Also have a look at read of this about the effects of using the wrong shutter speeds. Basically "how slow can you go" advice on panning should be ignored until you're confident of your abilities which will take a long time to achieve consistently

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=476283

And have a read of this about shooting through fences, although having a long lens is still very much an advantage.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=475439
 
hey all heres a couple of my good ones






and a couple i wish came out better but don't know what went wrong :shrug:





is it me or the camera?
 
bungle29 said:
hey all heres a couple of my good ones






and a couple i wish came out better but don't know what went wrong :shrug:





is it me or the camera?
Click to expand...

Bit of both ;D
Firstly I think 1 and 3 are the best, 2 and 4 look as though you arrived a little late for the party ;)

I'm guessing here because I can't see the exif data.... Probably could have afforded to turn the ISO up a notch on such a dull day to get a slight faster shutter speed with a bit more depth of field (to help with focus) and the white balance might also have benefit from a manual preset, instead of (im guessing) auto.

The problem with motorsport is getting a sharp focus on a fast moving object... On anything other than a nice sunny day, it takes some skill and planning.

That said, I think you've still done better than I did on my first DSLR outing at Shelsley Walsh :lol:
 
thanks for the reply, there not bad i just wish i could zoom more.
the iso was about 400 the next step up is 800 is that too much?
and you right the white balance was on auto what setting would you recommend?
 
bungle29 said:
thanks for the reply, there not bad i just wish i could zoom more.
the iso was about 400 the next step up is 800 is that too much?
and you right the white balance was on auto what setting would you recommend?
Click to expand...

800 isn't too much for those conditions, although the second the sun pops out, you'd need to drop it.

I find 6000-8000 works well during daylight, under cloud cover, this is the "cloud" / "shade" preset on my D90. I'm not sure if you get those settings, but I always find auto WB makes everything look a bit too cold and lifeless. The alternative is to shoot in RAW and then you can change all that later (which is something I do a lot more lately).
 
If you are shooting bikes at around 1/125th I 'd guess that's about right. Obviously it depends on their speed though. I was at a small drifting event the other weekend & because the cars were travelling so slow I was down to 1/50th to get a decent effect & was difficult to shoot.
Most of the ones you throw away will be down to panning technique once you get the shutter speed sussed. It just take a lot of practice but it's good to learn :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top