Motocross shots...help?

[evader]

I took some shots at a motocross show where they were doing some tricks and was just wondering if anyone could give me some tips on how to get better shots in this type of situation?
It was late evening so it was starting to get a bit dark. I had the camera (Nikon D60) set to the sports mode and had the ISO set to auto...camera was also set to burst mode. I tried panning some what with the bike but it was tough considering where we were sitting.
Just wondering what a better set would be with the camera in regards to settings for these types of pictures?
I did get some that were a bit clearer but they all seem to have too much noise...is that just because the ISO was so high? Should I set the ISO to a specific number? Should I have the camera set to a different mode rather than sports mode?
Any help/advice/suggestions would be greatly appreciated.



Camera: Nikon D60
F-Stop: f/4.1
Max Aperture Value: f/4.1
Focal Length: 72 mm
ISO Speed: 800
Flash: Did not fire

[PhotoPhix]

Larger aperture, higher ISO, faster shutter speed, find the right combination of all three. Auto ISO might have been your problem as the subject seems to be backlit.


Armando

[Tii3]

I am new to this, but when shooting at a baseball game with low light, I set it on Shutter priority (Tv) and set the ISO to 1600. That way I could get the quickest shutter speed possible reducing the blur.

[MOmilkman]

That's about the best advice I could give you ^^^^^^^^^^ same as above... Use Tv mode and try to get your shutter speed up anywhere from 1/500 to 1/1250 if at all possible. I know you said your lighting was low but if you cant get up past 1/250 you don't have much of a chance of no motion blur.

The only other thing I would suggest is try to manual focus. Find a point where you know you want to take the shot, switch over to manual focus and when the rider comes though, bam, it's already pre-focused.

And don't forget, as others mentioned, get that ISO as high as possible for fast action shots. Espically if your in low light. If you have good light then you should be able to get the shutter speed up with a ISO of 400.

For instance, this was shot on a fairly overcast day with a ISO of 400 and that allowed me to get my shutter speed up to 1/1250. Trust me, he was going by pretty quickly when i took this.


Maybe not the best composition on this one but I was just looking for a example for you.

[gturner]

yep, you are never going to nail it in any of the automodes, you need to go manual

if you want to autofocus, set the focus to AI servo and keep the bike centered to help track.

If you are taking of a specific places, manual focus as above.

I prefer not using Shutter priority, rather full manual.

Find the correct exposure with no rider, then double you ISO, aperture in balance to keep the exposure perfect whilst increasing your shutter past 1/500 up to 1/2000.

Backlit subject are very difficult unless you have fast glass (F2.8 or better)