Panning - Need Critique

[wrdm]

This is my first go at panning



Camera: Nikon D5000
Exposure: 0.05 sec (1/20)
Aperture: f/8.0
Focal Length: 34 mm
Focal Length: 34.6 mm
ISO Speed: 3200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash

I think I understand the technique, pre-focus (half press) on an area, wait for a subject to come into your frame, depress the shutter and track the subject - all done in shutter priority with a speed of circa 1/60. If this is wrong can someone please correct me, I'm new to the world of DSLR, I've only had my D5000 for a month.

I cranked the ISO upto 3200 so there is some noise, I'm not sure how to take the photo at a lower setting though.

Thanks in advance.

[RichardTaylor]

See this thread.

Panning cars

I havn't tried it at night.

[Chip]

For panning, while I'm sure there are lots of ways to get a good photo, I've never pre-focused on an area. Rather, I just wait until the subject gets relatively close and the focus and start tracking at the same time.

For shutter speed while panning at night, I've used 1/30th and 1/40th. I think it just depends in large part on how fast your subject is moving. If there's a hard set rule, I haven't found it yet.

For your ISO at 3200, maybe try opening up the aperture by at least 1 stop? That would let you lower your ISO to at least 1600. (Although your camera should be able to handle ISO 3200 pretty well as long as the shot isn't underexposed.)

Panning is fun, but a bit difficult. It just takes practice to get a good feel for the settings. And even then, if one car is coming by at 35 miles an hour and the next one is coming by at 25 mph, then in all likelihood the same settings won't work well for both. So, a bit of luck is always involved.

[MOmilkman]

Dont forget if your lens has the ImageStabilization function - Disable it for panning

[kingmsport]

That is a great first attempt. I really like the shot of the Silver VW on your Flicker page.

My first recommendation is not to try to pre-focus on a spot until you have gained confidence in being able to "hit that spot". The only time I pre-focus on a spot is when I cant see the object coming in time to let the Servo Focus (see next recommendation) lock on. Then I go to One-Shot, pre-focus and then try to "hit the spot". Much more difficult to do.

Second recommendation. If you have Servo-Focus set it to that so the camera is constantly trying to focus as opposed to the One Shot pre-forcus method. I have a Canon so terminology may be different.

Third set the shutter mode to continuous. If you can take multiple exposures during a single pan you are more likely to get a keeper. At 8 frames a second, I love my 7D :-)

The exposure settings you have are okay and vary with conditions and the speed of the object. You just have to experiment til you find the right combination based on a shutter speed of 1/60 or slower. The faster the object the faster you can go with the shutter. But the slower the shutter the better the blur. It is just harder to keep the object tack sharp.

In holding the camera, you want your elbows tight to your chest and you want to rotate at the waist. Wide stance. Some like one foot forward, some like both feet even and perpendicular to the motion of the object. Setting a solid foundation is essential to getting a tack sharp photo. Some use monopods but I have found them to limit my swing path and make it harder to keep the object stationary in the veiwfinder.

I found a neat little device SteadePod Camera Accessories that I want to try this year. It is essentially a wire connected to the tripod mount of your camera. You stand on the other end of the wire and gently pull up on the camera to get tension in the wire. The tension in the wire stabilizes the camera and should eliminate camera shake while not interfering too much with your range of motion. I made my own.

In my viewfinder (Canon 7D), I can turn on the focus points and a grid. Alternatively you can use your metering brackets. But I try to put one of those reference points somewhere on the object and keep it on that point of the object as I pan with the object. The key is to pan smoothly while pushing the button but keep moving both before and after pushing the shutter.

You may also want to read your manual to see what triggers your Servo Focus function. My XTi initially establishes focus based on the center focus point. I did not know this until recently. Thus when I would pan with a vehicle and took a single shot, the center of the image was in focus while the vehicle which was 1/3 right or left was slightly out of focus. this did not happen every time but enough that I noticed it. When I turned on the continuous fire and I was getting more keepers because it would then lock on to the "stationary" item in the viewfinder.

With my new 7D however you can specify which point initially locks on the object. (This is when I learned about the limitation of the XTi) Thus when I am panning on a vehicle from right to left, I can set the right focus point to lock on and if the vehicle is traveling left to right I can turn on the left focus point. I can even set it to automaticly sense when I turn the camera from landscape to portrait to autimatically use the top or bottom focus point depending on which way I rotate the camera. Technology is great!

Here are a couple of my shots. Experiment. They don't have to be tack sharp to be a good photo. One of my favorites is the last one. I really like the light reflecting of the helmet. One of these days I will try to PS the green lens flare above the car.

Good luck and keep practicing.