Discussion
Right..whats the best way to get a complete car in focus in an action shot?
I usually use f 8 and 1/500 or greater. ISO depends on the conditions but what I also use is centre spot continus autofocus, I find this more useful than the wide ones which can sometimes pick up things you don't want in a car action shot.
From time to time the spot will only focus on a small section of the car though, suggestions?
I usually use f 8 and 1/500 or greater. ISO depends on the conditions but what I also use is centre spot continus autofocus, I find this more useful than the wide ones which can sometimes pick up things you don't want in a car action shot.
From time to time the spot will only focus on a small section of the car though, suggestions?
The spot focus will focus on the bit of the image that you point it at, how much of the car is in focus has no bearing on whether you use spot focus or not.
The amount of the image in focus front -> back is controlled by the aperture, the wider the aperture (small number) the smaller your "depth of field." meaning less of the image is in focus either side (front to back) of the point that you have focused on.
However as you say you are shooting cars i would say that is more likely that it is movement causing the blur, either side of where you have managed to track the car.
I would suggest tracking the number plate with the centre focus point and using a slower shutter speed, maybe 1/125, this will give you a nice background blur to add movement to the image but keep the front of the car sharp.
It does however take practice, lots of it. The slower the shutter speed the harder it will be. I probably got about 1 keeper in 20 shots at the FOS on thursday.
The amount of the image in focus front -> back is controlled by the aperture, the wider the aperture (small number) the smaller your "depth of field." meaning less of the image is in focus either side (front to back) of the point that you have focused on.
However as you say you are shooting cars i would say that is more likely that it is movement causing the blur, either side of where you have managed to track the car.
I would suggest tracking the number plate with the centre focus point and using a slower shutter speed, maybe 1/125, this will give you a nice background blur to add movement to the image but keep the front of the car sharp.
It does however take practice, lots of it. The slower the shutter speed the harder it will be. I probably got about 1 keeper in 20 shots at the FOS on thursday.
Can we see examples?
My camera can't focus fast enough to cope with a car coming straight at it. In fact it can't cope with a toddler running at it.
The amount of focussing needed if the car is travelling parallel to the film (or sensor) is less.
Depending on how you are framing them, you might want a focus point slightly off centre - the DoF will extend slightly further behind the focus point than it will in front, so ideally you should focus slightly in front of half-way along the car if it is passing at an angle, if that makes sense?
My camera can't focus fast enough to cope with a car coming straight at it. In fact it can't cope with a toddler running at it.
The amount of focussing needed if the car is travelling parallel to the film (or sensor) is less.
Depending on how you are framing them, you might want a focus point slightly off centre - the DoF will extend slightly further behind the focus point than it will in front, so ideally you should focus slightly in front of half-way along the car if it is passing at an angle, if that makes sense?
I can't tell exactly what the problem is. When you select a focus point, the camera will try to get that part of the scene in focus. Which sounds like what you are describing. I.e. it's working how it's meant to.
If the problem is that the parts of the car in front of and behind the focus point are not in focus, that is because there is not enough depth-of-field. Search the web for "depth-of-field" to learn more, but basically you need to either change the composition and/or use a smaller (higher number) aperture.
If the problem is that the parts of the car in front of and behind the focus point are not in focus, that is because there is not enough depth-of-field. Search the web for "depth-of-field" to learn more, but basically you need to either change the composition and/or use a smaller (higher number) aperture.
Thought about this a bit more.
Assume: car travelling at 45 degrees to camera from right to left.
Car framed so joint of front and rear doors is over focus point - camera focuses, you decidce to take a picture, shutter mechanism releases
I guess the time from you thinking "press the button" to the camera actually firing wight be about 0.1 seconds. More if you don't have an SLR.
In that time a car doing 100mph has covered almost 4.5 metres, which if you are close enough to it is enough to make it totally out of focus, but at range may mean that only the back quarter is in focus.
All hypothetical, but hopefully you see the logic.
What you do about it depends on the shots you want and the control you have over the camera.
Assume: car travelling at 45 degrees to camera from right to left.
Car framed so joint of front and rear doors is over focus point - camera focuses, you decidce to take a picture, shutter mechanism releases
I guess the time from you thinking "press the button" to the camera actually firing wight be about 0.1 seconds. More if you don't have an SLR.
In that time a car doing 100mph has covered almost 4.5 metres, which if you are close enough to it is enough to make it totally out of focus, but at range may mean that only the back quarter is in focus.
All hypothetical, but hopefully you see the logic.
What you do about it depends on the shots you want and the control you have over the camera.
Crafty_ said:
1/200th (preferably lower) and pan with the car..
Can't pan if it is a near head on jump...Example of one I took here
http://i.imgur.com/ccuKA.jpg
PSBuckshot said:
The panning thing is slightly misleading. Some photographs you might want to pan for, others not. The solution to an unsharp non-panning photograph is not to pan.The photograph you posted: the problem may be, at least in part, motion blur. You've removed the metadata so I can't see what shutter speed you were using, but I suspect it may have been too slow.
PSBuckshot said:
Right..whats the best way to get a complete car in focus in an action shot?
I usually use f 8 and 1/500 or greater. ISO depends on the conditions but what I also use is centre spot continus autofocus, I find this more useful than the wide ones which can sometimes pick up things you don't want in a car action shot.
From time to time the spot will only focus on a small section of the car though, suggestions?
No idea what the camera is but that sample shot looks like about 1/500th (as you suggest you use) without sny sharpening in PP.I usually use f 8 and 1/500 or greater. ISO depends on the conditions but what I also use is centre spot continus autofocus, I find this more useful than the wide ones which can sometimes pick up things you don't want in a car action shot.
From time to time the spot will only focus on a small section of the car though, suggestions?
Try 1/1000th or higher for that sort of angle and subject speed at that distance.
Now if you want panning and background blur and still need a fully sharp subject things get more interesting. Keep the shutter speed, try and find a greater distance from the subject (crop later to fill the output frame if you have the resolution to do so and keep it sharp). Keep the aperture at about f8 for DoF but you may need to adjust ISO to compensate and that could tend to soften things up again. Using a suitable ethid for sharpening in post production - it may be best to use a couple of settings for that and sharpen in stages but it depends on what you are starting with and which applicaion you are using.
If you just want sharp, not concerned about background blur, simply go for the fastest shutter speed available for the light you are working with. Maybe use some flash too but only if you are stuck wth poor light and still want everything as sharp as possible or are fully conversant with the effects of flash and sync speeds for your system.
Seldom will DoF be the issue with unsharp panning shots.
Motion blur has been mentioned a couple of times and can be a factor. Most often, though, using a shutter speed low enough to convey movement also raises the likelihood of subject blur caused by the direction of the pan not being consistently perpendicular to the direction of the vehicle's travel.
Motion blur has been mentioned a couple of times and can be a factor. Most often, though, using a shutter speed low enough to convey movement also raises the likelihood of subject blur caused by the direction of the pan not being consistently perpendicular to the direction of the vehicle's travel.
PSBuckshot said:
1/320-1/400th is more than sufficient for that shot. If you venture into 1/1000th territory you're risking frozen wheels and the shot will look rubbish. Aperture around f8 will do the trick too.Most racing shots invlolve an element of panning as the car will be moving across the frame, unless you're doing a direct head-on shot. Tracking the car for a few seconds before you fire will let the AF settle. If you can't track the car, then pre-focus is the way to go.
For a shot like that i would also use a lower AF point and put it over the number plate or radiator grille.
Edited by MonkeyHanger on Saturday 30th June 15:53
I was at exactly the same spot last year:
Both these are at the same settings:
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/1000)
Aperture f/6.3
Focal Length 70 mm
ISO Speed 640
Wheels are a bit stationary at 1/1000, but the car is sharp.
Audi Sport Quattro by Suggs, on Flickr
Manta 400 by Suggs, on Flickr
Slightly slower shutter speed:
Exposure 0.002 sec (1/640)
Aperture f/6.3
Focal Length 70 mm
ISO Speed 640
Car not as sharp, wheels are better.
Prodrive Mini by Suggs, on Flickr
All the shots are with the camera set to continuous focus so you pick the car up with half a press and then blast away as it comes past. 10 shots of each car, but that's what big SD cards are for!
Both these are at the same settings:
Exposure 0.001 sec (1/1000)
Aperture f/6.3
Focal Length 70 mm
ISO Speed 640
Wheels are a bit stationary at 1/1000, but the car is sharp.
Audi Sport Quattro by Suggs, on Flickr
Manta 400 by Suggs, on Flickr
Slightly slower shutter speed:
Exposure 0.002 sec (1/640)
Aperture f/6.3
Focal Length 70 mm
ISO Speed 640
Car not as sharp, wheels are better.
Prodrive Mini by Suggs, on Flickr
All the shots are with the camera set to continuous focus so you pick the car up with half a press and then blast away as it comes past. 10 shots of each car, but that's what big SD cards are for!
AndWhyNot said:
Seldom will DoF be the issue with unsharp panning shots.
True but the example is more of a 3/4 head on shot and, if you stand back with a longish lens that may be quite wide open in order to get 1/1000th to freeze the car (more than it already is in the sample shot) then DoF MAY become an issue. It would be the equivalent (but not the same) to standing in close and have different parts of the vehicle moving at different rates and in different planes relative to the lens/sensor ccombination on the camera.One could argue, as the later examples identify, that freezing the action for all over pin sharp focus is not at all necessary ... but the OP asked how to freeze it and have over all focus for the subject.
A high shutter speed goes a long way to a full proof answer. On the other hand I know someone who reckons that rarely use more than 1/250th shooting circuit stuff with mostly 7/8ths head on shots using a 500mm lens (and monopod) wide open. They work pretty well from the places he chooses as shooting locations.
As you can see I put the ISO up to 640 so I didn't have to run any more open and could maintain a reasonably large DOF.
f8 would have been nice, but I didn't want to push the iso any higher. Although now I have lightroom 4 I'm safe for another couple of stops and can still pull it back.
f8 would have been nice, but I didn't want to push the iso any higher. Although now I have lightroom 4 I'm safe for another couple of stops and can still pull it back.
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