Camera Labs

Hi All,

I recently bought my first SLR! As one can imagine my learning curve is steep right now. I'm not bad at still photo's but I'd really like to get some crystal clear action shots of my dog......in fast motion.

Can anyone advise me on the which mode to be in, f number, shutter speed, White Balance mode and ISO? Here are some examples of my some of my shots......not bad shots but all a bit blury. I'd like them to be crystal clear!!

I own a Canon 60D and a 15 - 85mm IS USM 3.5 5.5 lens.


Strecth by jucoco, on Flickr


Scout and Blue by jucoco, on Flickr


Evil by jucoco, on Flickr

Thanks for any advice!!!

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Canon 60D
EF-S 15 - 85 IS USM
EF 70 - 300 IS
EF 50 1.4
EF 100 - 400L

In general to prevent motion blur, you need a "fast enough" shutter speed. That can and does vary with the subject motion. For a quick starting point, go into S mode, auto-ISO, auto-WB. Set the shutter to say 1/500 or 1/1000 and see how you like the results. Faster shutter (1/x where x is higher) means less motion blur, but you also need more light for it to be effective.

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Canon DSLRs: 7D, 5D2, 1D, 600D, 450D full spectrum, 300D IR mod
Lenses: EF 35/2, 50/1.8, 85/1.8, 135/2+SF, 28-80 V, 70-300L, 100-400L, TS-E 24/3.5L, MP-E 65, EF-S 15-85 IS
3rd party: Zeiss 2/50 makro, Samyang 8mm fisheye, Sigma 150 macro, 120-300 f/2.8 OS, Celestron 1325/13
Tinies: Sony HX9V.

Hi mscott,

In addition to popo's excellent advice, it's worth noting that your 60D has very fast auto-focus. However, even with fast AF and 1/1000 sec you can still get unfocused images quite easily, simply because a moving dog can be hard to track and acquire focus for.

If you use higher F-numbers, your depth of field will be wider and increase your chances,. Furthermore, using a zoom at a distance instead of a wider, up close, the depth of field will be wider and increase your chances.

Finally, making sure that you have continuous AF can also increase your hit-rate for sharp shots of fast moving subjects.

Cheers

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Nikon stuff and other stuff, but not nearly as much stuff as I really want!

Another thing is to make sure you are in AI Servo focus mode. Put it in continuous shooting and hold the button down to take several shots (you are probably already doing this.) Good Luck, and congrats on the new Camera!

Edit: Sorry didn't see LahLahSr already recommended continuous AF (It's calle AI servo on the Canon)

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Rebel T2I, Tamron 17-50 2.8, EF 70-300 f4-5.6, 50mm f 1.8

flickr

Thanks so much for all the great advice. Shutter speed, F number and the final piece of the puzzle was getting the continuous focus setting turned on. I was busily going through my settings last night trying to find Continuous focusing so the AI Servo was a great post as well. Here's a couple more shots. Still need to play around with the settings more but big improvements!

Thanks again to all.


Flying by jucoco, on Flickr


Clear Spit by jucoco, on Flickr

_________________
Canon 60D
EF-S 15 - 85 IS USM
EF 70 - 300 IS
EF 50 1.4
EF 100 - 400L

Looking much better! Looking forward to seeing more.

_________________
Rebel T2I, Tamron 17-50 2.8, EF 70-300 f4-5.6, 50mm f 1.8

flickr

And I'm not going to knock my ball over your backyard

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Sony A77, Sony A580, Sony18-55,Minolta AF28-85,Minolta AF 75-300,Minolta AF 50mm f2.8 Macro,Minolta MD 50mm f1.7,Minolta MD 135mm f2.8,Image MD 28mm f2.8,Minolta MD 50mm1.2
http://s1131.photobucket.com/home/bundy58/index
http://www.flickr.com/photos/67754225@N05/