Camera Labs

The American Le Mans series was at my local track (Road America) this month and I was able to get out and take some photos. First time "panning" and shooting such a fast subject. Lots of fun though, here are some of the results. C&C welcome, I can use all the advice I can get! -Allan

1

IMG_2117ps by supermotoxray, on Flickr


2

IMG_2147ps by supermotoxray, on Flickr


3

IMG_2009ps by supermotoxray, on Flickr


4

IMG_1951ps by supermotoxray, on Flickr


5

IMG_2030ps by supermotoxray, on Flickr

_________________
Canon EOS 450D / Rebel XSi
Canon EF-S 18-55 f3.5-5.6 IS / Canon EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM / Canon EF-S 28-135 f3.5-5.6 / Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 EX DC HSM

Nice panning and great shots!

Could you give us some hints and tips of what settings and techniques worked well for you? Also what lenses, positions etc...

I know this great link for tips
http://www.dslrtips.com/workshops/How_t ... hoto.shtml

Great shots Allan the panning are superb. my favorite would be the first photo, too bad it's not a Porsche.

The panning turned out great! I like them all.

_________________
Flickr

Awesome panning. My favourite is actually the non-panning one of the m3 though but thats probably just because I am BMW mad...

_________________
Justin
Canon 50D
EF 50mm f1.8, 70-200mm f4L IS USM, 18-55mm IS
430EX speedlight
Photoshop CS4

+1 to the above

Cheers

_________________
Nikon D7000, D40X, Nikkor 18- 200 VR II, f3.5-5.6, 70-300 AF non VR, Kit Lenses.

Superb job!

I got a really hard time doing that on the 18-55 mm lens, and from a hundred I usually got one that was not even remotely as sharp as your ones. I guess it's difficult to do with such a short focal length as the thing goes just too fast. Also the 18-55 has a rather slow focusing speed, so I'm gearing up either for the 55-200, 70-300 or 55-300mm new lens.

Any experience in panning cars with 18-55 mm lens?

_________________
Karol Mozdzierz
__________________________________________

Nikon D5000, 18-55 DX 3.5-5.6, 70-300 4.5-5.6

Wow they look great! I have the same questions as Gordon. Please do share.... Camera, lense, technique, tips?!?!

Thank you all for the positve feedback! All of these shots where done with a Canon Rebel XSi/450D and my Canon EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM lens. PP was done with Adobe Photoshop elements (croping/light/color adjustments). To be honest I watched the video workshop on www.dslrtips.com in the morning before I drove down to the track. I started with a shutter speed of 1/60 and I found it to slow so switched to 1/80 and seemed to do the trick. I set my camera to shoot continuously and just tried to keep pace with the car as it drove past. I got lucky on the picture of the Ferrari, there was a hill to the left so I just had to listen and try to time it right. I alway's tried to find somthing to "lean" on a bit to keep steady. If you click on the pics it'll take you to my Flickr page, there you can look at the EXIF to get all the exposure details.

_________________
Canon EOS 450D / Rebel XSi
Canon EF-S 18-55 f3.5-5.6 IS / Canon EF 70-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM / Canon EF-S 28-135 f3.5-5.6 / Sigma 10-20mm f4-5.6 EX DC HSM

So you can thank Gordon for the great tut. I've noticed it depends on how close and how fast he cars are, the lighting too... Great shots supermotoxray.

So I discussed the thing with a friend of mine that's been shooting motorsport events for quite a few years now and here's what he's got to tell:

To get decent panning, you have to:
1. get a long lens - something from 100mm up should do. If you only have something like 18-55, then sorry, but it's going to be very difficult unless the cars go really slow.
2. try to close the aperture a bit (when it's bright and sunny, then it's not a problem, aperture priority will do it on its own). It should help with getting the whole car in focus, though you should not rely on it too much and expect it to be that much helpful.
3. instead of going for continuous shooting, try to have 2 or 3 shots, focusing between the shots themselves (or if you have a good AF performance, just stick to continuous AF and it should do with continuous shooting).
4. be patient and try until it works good for you I've had at least 200 or 300 attempts and never got anything really good.

I will try it this week during a rallycross event in Poland :] Hopefully there's something to share with you after the weekend:)

_________________
Karol Mozdzierz
__________________________________________

Nikon D5000, 18-55 DX 3.5-5.6, 70-300 4.5-5.6

Excellent shots! Rich in colors & well focused

_________________
Gear: Nikon D80, 18-105mm, 35mm F/1.8, 85mm F/1.8, SB-600
Visit my work here