kodak p850 newbie here

[cmsmom1998]

I would appreciate any advice you can give I have had this camera a couple of years and have never really "gotten to know it" so now my husband and boys have gotten into motocross and wanting me to take great pics. So I'm looking for advice on how to do this. I would say out of 150 pics taken today there were only 5% that were decent I did try several different ways on the sports scene. I know I need to do some changes with shutter speed etc the Fstop f/3.6 exp 1/250 sec IS0 100 exposure bias 0 step focal length 60 mm max aperture 3.6 metering mode pattern 35mm focal length 362 and the picture was blury and too bright washed out what can I do different?

[peeperita]

welcome to the forum, mom....

since you felt that this thread should be moved....(and i agree).....i felt the best section for it was critique....besides, you've been kind enough to supply all the information neccessary....

motocross is exciting and fast paced so i am getting the impression you were panning with the action....or possibly, it's simply a matter of your camera's focus point was on something other than the rider and his bike......or!.....you might have been so excited for the jump you "clicked" before your camera beeped to signify that it had made focus.....

stuff to consider.....if i'm not wrong, these motocross trails have specific jumps that your riders will be making again and again.....next time, do as you did this time and set yourself at an angle to the rise that you're fairly certain your rider will be coming through the frame.....manually pre focus your camera on the top of the rise.....or even a foot or so closer to the lens.....and wait for that moment....
i also noticed that your aperture was at 3.6....a fairly shallow depth of field.....tighten that up a bit to 5.6.....and if that doesn't do it.....further to 8 or more..that ought to give you more depth for your focus to make you happier......you will probably need to bump up your iso to keep your shutter fast......

as far as the exposure is concerned, i would consider nailing the focus aspect of it first.....gain your confidence with that and then on the next shoot.....remember what your learned and start considering exposure.....a cloudier day could be your best friend.....

peeper

[Jim Bryant]

Shoot at ISO 400 and a higher shutter speed...maybe 1000 above. That should stop your action and camera shake. That should work!

[cmsmom1998]

Thank you so much for the input I will try these tips and post again after the last time I was at the track!!