Panning, need some help!!! - DPChallenge Forums

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

02/25/2005 04:36:31 AM · #1

Took these after work F8.0 1/15 ISO 100 ........light was ok, late afternoon, bit dull. Still not right!!

What settings would have worked better? Bit difficult keeping focus on the subject when subject is a dog who bobs up and down LOL It was fun taking these, both for me and Bailey.

thanks - sue

edited......bit sad when I can't even spell my own name, and it's only 3 letters!!!!

Message edited by author 2005-02-25 04:37:51.

K_Pugh

Nikon D80

02/25/2005 05:00:50 AM · #2

Hi Sue,

I havn't found the best camera settings for taking pics of my dog yet either, i'm not sure what metering mode to use but i think i've found a shutter speed that's right for my dog.

As far as i can see from your pics your shutter speed is too slow, no matter what you do i think your dog moves too much to keep him in focus. I don't know what focal lengths these were taken at but generally matching the focal length to shutter speed almost guarantees a good sharp photo (i.e. 80mm 1/80" sec, 200mm 1/200" sec) i think this would be a good starting point for you and just fine tune from there.

Another pointer that you may like to try is moving your AF point from the centre to either the left or right depending on what direction the dog is moving. This would enable you to keep the dogs head the AF point whilst having it at the left/right of the image (so you don't chop off his tail etc)..

Here's a few examples (not the best, but i'm still learning the basics too)

1/60" @ 80mm Probably a little slow as it's not pin sharp..

1/200" @ 200mm In Focus but maybe not enough motion blur?

good luck and get more pics up!

Message edited by author 2005-02-25 05:02:34.

e301

02/25/2005 05:03:20 AM · #3

The fourth one is wonderful, I think. Has character, dynamic, interest, and great movement - and his eyes are near enough in focus to give it a starting point of interest visually.

e

K_Pugh

Nikon D80

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

02/25/2005 05:04:35 AM · #4

oh yeah and like said above, the 4th one is great.. maybe the big stick kept his head from bobbing for a minute lol

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

02/25/2005 05:22:31 AM · #5

Thanks Kevin and Ed :) I'll try those different slightly faster shutter speeds next time Kevin. What a gorgeous dog you've got!!

sue

K_Pugh

Nikon D80

02/25/2005 06:21:04 AM · #6

No problem Sue,

The only thing about faster shutter speeds is less motion blur.. just depends on what kind of shot you're after i suppose. Anyway, i'm sure your dog doesn't mind going out all the time while you play with your camera lol.. Everytime i pick up my camera my dog circles me and jumps up at the door.

Have Fun!

pawdrix

Nikon D700

Nikon AF Nikkor 85mm f/1.4D IF

02/25/2005 06:34:45 AM · #7

If I were to set things for my first try I would have used a quicker shutter speed, of at least 125 (that should be ok in any daylight?)and I would have set a higher ISO 400-500-640. On the D70 there's not much of a noise problem, I don't know about the Canon. I would have also used the burst to see what flew. Again, on the D70 3fps, pretty quick. I assume this would help you follow the pooch and pop away.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM

02/25/2005 06:48:02 AM · #8

Was trying to get that blurred b/g, feeling of movt. Have got a number of stopped motion shots, but the pannings something new for me.

One of my recent stopped motion doggy friends

bod

02/25/2005 07:18:57 AM · #9

1/15s is a hella slow shutter speed! You've done a cracking job with the 4th one though so what the heck.

The slowest I've shot motorsports is 1/30s or 1/40s, and that's with a smooth, predictably moving target. Typicaly I shoot between 1/50s and 1/100s.

The slower the shutter, the lower your hit rate, but the better the motion blur when you get it right. It's a trade off and depends entirely on how many keepers you want to come away with.

One last tip - try and stay centered on the head. Should be easy enough :P

adyus

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

02/25/2005 07:59:03 AM · #10

Just a small tip I picked up somewhere: the fourth picture came out great because of the one element every photo needs to be considered relatively sharp, the eyes are in focus. So next time you pan, try using only one focusing point and try centering it on the eyes/face. I can't pan half as good as you can, so this is all hearsay.

Tranquil

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro for Canon

02/25/2005 08:11:57 AM · #11

I'm pretty sure that this hasn't been said before...

But I use whatever the regular exposure reading is on my camera. It really tends to work if things are moving fast enough. This way, the subject is completely sharp and you still get the motion blur in the background. The only time that this has been really difficult to do is with slow walking people... As long as you stick to the basics of panning, in which your subject is at a ninety degree angle while you pan, your camera's regular settings should work. I am going to go load a random example or two of what I did yesterday... hold up :)...

Here is just an example of panning under regular camera metering.

Lee

BobsterLobster

Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II

02/25/2005 08:24:54 AM · #12

They are gorgeous shots, with loads of character, and I'd be tempted to leave some of them as they are without trying to get them sharper. Having said that, it would be interesting to see them with fill-in flash so you can keep that lovely blurred background and have the dog a tad sharper. It would have to be offboard as you need a flash that's daylight callibrated.