MotoGP - Advice on action shots

[sv_goon]

Got back from the MotoGP race at Laguna Seca with 2 cards full of pictures, the vast majority of which were quite blurry. Of the ones that were reasonably sharp, this is probably the best. But I think it's still a little lacking in sharpness. There are some others on my Flickr page.

I was panning and shooting in shutter priority mode so I could play with the shutter speed to try and capture the speed of the bikes, and it seems that 1/1000 was about the slowest I could manage without the whole subject being out of focus. Because I'm just a spectator, I was a pretty good distance from the track. I had no tripod or monopod, and no IS in the lens. Is this just a reflection of the need for skill acquisition, or do you think it's an error in setup somewhere?

Thanks in advance.



EXIF:
Camera: Canon EOS REBEL T1i
Exposure: 0.001 sec (1/1000)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 180 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

[RichardTaylor]

Shutter priority is fine. I usually shoot around 1/320.
Try setting your focus to centre focus point only active and focus tracking is on (AI servo)

Mostly it is practice with panning.

You may find this panning tutorial of mine helpful.

Panning: Motor sport

[sv_goon]

Thanks! I actually saw your tutorial before leaving, which got me very far in the right direction. I picked the center focus point and put it in Servo AI mode, as well, for a while. But got frustrated at the blur I was getting of the main subject at slow shutter speeds.

Sounds like the best answer for that is to practice panning smoothly.

This is the best of the "real" motion blur shots. Still a little shaky on the rider. Guess I'll need to go to Indianapolis in August and keep trying.

Cheers...



EXIF:
Camera: Canon EOS REBEL T1i
Exposure: 0.02 sec (1/50)
Aperture: f/32.0
Focal Length: 130 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire

[Celt64]

I'm no expert but I like the Nicky shot. It's got all the elements. Practice may be the answer but what's the harm in that????

I read an article about two photographers that had a show here in Richmond, VA. One spent six months shooting for the show and took 4000 + shots.... 12 made it into the show...

Think about it...

[morsm]

Hmmm...the fact that you still have trouble getting exactly focused shots at 1/1000th of a second, makes me wonder if your problem isn't AF tracking speed, instead of shutter speed. I used to have that problem frequently with my 75-300 mm came-free-with-the-camera lens, and far less often with the 100-400 mm L lens that I sold some of my kids for

I also have a workaround: not to use AF! Focus manually on a spot where you know the bikes will be, such as a kerbstone or a braking zone, and then pan as usual, not worrying about focus anymore. Depending on your focal length, you may wish to reduce your aperture to give a little greater DOF, which in this case equals more tolerance.
Other than that, shoot in burst mode while panning and always complete the pan, even after you've stopped shooting. This works for my motor skills, anyway. It feels more natural to complete the sweep.

[sv_goon]

Originally Posted by morsm

Hmmm...the fact that you still have trouble getting exactly focused shots at 1/1000th of a second, makes me wonder if your problem isn't AF tracking speed, instead of shutter speed. I used to have that problem frequently with my 75-300 mm came-free-with-the-camera lens, and far less often with the 100-400 mm L lens that I sold some of my kids for

I also have a workaround: not to use AF! Focus manually on a spot where you know the bikes will be, such as a kerbstone or a braking zone, and then pan as usual, not worrying about focus anymore. Depending on your focal length, you may wish to reduce your aperture to give a little greater DOF, which in this case equals more tolerance.
Other than that, shoot in burst mode while panning and always complete the pan, even after you've stopped shooting. This works for my motor skills, anyway. It feels more natural to complete the sweep.

Thank you Morsm! The 300mm lens I have is decidedly cheap, so you may be on to something. I'll try prefocusing next time and see what happens.

Cheers...

[sk66]

With slow shutter speeds and panning a monopod/tripod is almost a necessity. Current VR helps too. without any of that it's all technique...The 1/50th shot is too slow SS for consistency, 1/250 seems about right usually (depending on distance).
A trick I use is to start panning way ahead of where I want to take the shot so that my "swing" is well established and more stable when I pull the trigger.

[Chris Weller]

I agree with the others that practice is important.

Not to toot my horn, but I have written an article on panning that you may find useful An Introduction to Panning in Motorsports. I hope you find it helpful.

Chris

[sv_goon]

Thanks Chris, good article.

I did make my way to Indianapolis, but there are big fences all the way around the track, making getting good unobstructed shots tough. It was so frustrating I didn't even bring the camera to race day on Sunday. This is Casey Stoner opening the throttle on his Ducati during practice on Saturday.

This one came out OK (really slow shutter, now that I look), but I am looking forward to getting to some track days over the winter and practicing some more. And the venetian blind idea is really cool. I'll be trying that as well.

Cheers...



EXIF:
Camera Canon EOS REBEL T1i
Exposure 0.013 sec (1/80)
Aperture f/22.0
Focal Length 109 mm
ISO Speed 200
Exposure Bias 0 EV
Flash Off, Did not fire

[RichardTaylor]

That's a good catch.