Nikon D60 --- best set up for F1 photography

[mike360]

Hi guys bit of a newbie only bought this bit of kit today , and was wondering what i should have it set too for shooting f1 @ silverstone this weekend ,, things like fps and apertures etc

thanks

[4hero]

Hi Mike, take a look at the " Motorsport Photos - How To' thread, some pretty good examples with all the exif!

[valve bounce66]

a few i took from gts. at oulton park,set at fully auto apart from manual shutter speed set to approx 1000 sec ! with my Nikon D40

http://i42.tinypic.com/2qsp01y.jpg

http://i43.tinypic.com/25hl9b9.jpg

http://i43.tinypic.com/2gsh06u.jpg

Edited by valve bounce66 on Thursday 18th June 00:36

Edited by valve bounce66 on Thursday 18th June 00:37

[mike360]

valve bounce66 said:

a few i took from gts. at oulton park,set at fully auto apart from manual shutter speed set to approx 1000 sec !

http://i42.tinypic.com/2qsp01y.jpg

http://i43.tinypic.com/25hl9b9.jpg

http://i43.tinypic.com/2gsh06u.jpg

they look really good , assume these were with a d60? ,, and so you mean you selected auto mode on the camera then went into the menu setting and chose the fps? ,, struggling to find the fps setting in automode anywhere on the camera :S

[valve bounce66]

mike360 said:

valve bounce66 said:

a few i took from gts. at oulton park,set at fully auto apart from manual shutter speed set to approx 1000 sec !

http://i42.tinypic.com/2qsp01y.jpg

http://i43.tinypic.com/25hl9b9.jpg

http://i43.tinypic.com/2gsh06u.jpg

they look really good , assume these were with a d60? ,, and so you mean you selected auto mode on the camera then went into the menu setting and chose the fps? ,, struggling to find the fps setting in automode anywhere on the camera :S

no a D40,got camera set at s mode so i can alter the shutter speed only,works fine for a novice like me !

[mattdaniels]

What lens / lenses do you have and how close to the action will you be? Also if the kit is new to you then unless you have had some practice at panning, I'd suggest you put the camera in to sport mode and use the menu system to change the shooting mode to "continuous shooting". This means 1) the camera will use a fast shutter speed and continuously auto-focus whilst you hold the button half way down, and 2) when you press the button fully it will continuously shoot photos at a rate of about 3 per second.

Edited by mattdaniels on Thursday 18th June 08:47

[Simpo Two]

There's some confusion here, and a lot of variables. First, when saying 'auto' you need to distingush between 'automatic exposure' (AE) and 'automatic focus' (AF).

You then have Single Shot AF (AF-S) or Continuous Shot AF (AF-C). Most Nikons have this as switch near the lens mount but it looks like on the D60 it'll be in a menu somewhere. The former locks focus before firing - not much use if the car is moving to or away from you! - whilst AF-C allows the camera to keep firing and re-focus as it goes. (Don't get this kind of AF-S confused with the AF-S you see on lenses that refers to silent-wave focusing).

You then need to set the shutter release to Single (S) or Continuous (C) - looks like that's in a menu as well.


Now that you have a DSLR try to avoid extra and needless confusions called 'shooting modes'. Modes change things in the camera without you knowing, so you lose control and understanding of what's going on. I recall that one chap recently wanted nice panning shots, used 'sports mode' and as a result got parked cars because it set a fast shutter speed that he didn't want.

There will also be (I suspect) several ways to set up your AF modes. Worth getting the manual out!

[mattdaniels]

Simpo Two said:

Now that you have a DSLR try to avoid extra and needless confusions called 'shooting modes'. Modes change things in the camera without you knowing, so you lose control and understanding of what's going on. I recall that one chap recently wanted nice panning shots, used 'sports mode' and as a result got parked cars because it set a fast shutter speed that he didn't want.

Whilst I agree you should avoid sport mode if you know what you are doing and are comfortable panning and setting the correct exposure settings, if - as in the OP's case - it's all new and you are going to a one off event, it's better to have some sharply focussed shots of cars than risk getting some blurred shots of half cars.

On the other hand of course if you are sat in the same place during the race you have about 60 opportunities to practice panning one car lol

[Simpo Two]

mattdaniels said:

On the other hand of course if you are sat in the same place during the race you have about 60 opportunities to practice panning one car lol

Well indeed - digital means you can check as go you and adjust accordingly I normally use 1/125th or 1/200th for panning but it depends on the subject speed and lens.

[mike360]

Thanks for all the replys, will use sport mode and continuous shooting,,

currently using the kit lens it came with which i realise may be useless for f1 photography ,, is there a rental website where i can rent a lens for the weekend , or which lens should i be looking at


M

[mike360]

no where has any lens's left for rent,, thought about getting an 18-200 from Jessops using it and taking care of it over the F1 weekend and then returning it ,,, can anybody see any flaws with this ,, i know they opperate a 30 day return policy

this is the lens http://www.jessops.com/online.store/categories/pro...

anything better for similar ££

Edited by mike360 on Thursday 18th June 17:12

[jon-]

mike360 said:

Thanks for all the replys, will use sport mode and continuous shooting,,

currently using the kit lens it came with which i realise may be useless for f1 photography ,, is there a rental website where i can rent a lens for the weekend , or which lens should i be looking at


M

http://www.lensesforhire.co.uk/ have a decent rep, but require a 100% deposit. I'd try and get friendly with the local camera store, they'll be much more flexible.

You need at least 200mm, ideally with IS as you're new to the game. Ideally I'd be wanting to rent this.

http://www.lensesforhire.co.uk/sigman-apo-120-300m...

[mike360]

jon- said:

mike360 said:

Thanks for all the replys, will use sport mode and continuous shooting,,

currently using the kit lens it came with which i realise may be useless for f1 photography ,, is there a rental website where i can rent a lens for the weekend , or which lens should i be looking at


M

http://www.lensesforhire.co.uk/ have a decent rep, but require a 100% deposit. I'd try and get friendly with the local camera store, they'll be much more flexible.

You need at least 200mm, ideally with IS as you're new to the game. Ideally I'd be wanting to rent this.

http://www.lensesforhire.co.uk/sigman-apo-120-300m...

Unfortunatley there out of stock as are most places due to F1 & Wimbledon , although they did have a 400-800 which i think would be far to big

[jon-]

mike360 said:

jon- said:

mike360 said:

Thanks for all the replys, will use sport mode and continuous shooting,,

currently using the kit lens it came with which i realise may be useless for f1 photography ,, is there a rental website where i can rent a lens for the weekend , or which lens should i be looking at


M

http://www.lensesforhire.co.uk/ have a decent rep, but require a 100% deposit. I'd try and get friendly with the local camera store, they'll be much more flexible.

You need at least 200mm, ideally with IS as you're new to the game. Ideally I'd be wanting to rent this.

http://www.lensesforhire.co.uk/sigman-apo-120-300m...

Unfortunatley there out of stock as are most places due to F1 & Wimbledon , although they did have a 400-800 which i think would be far to big

Depends on
a) how far away you're sitting. You've a cropped sensor with a 1.5 factor so that's actually 600-1200mm
b) how adventurous you're feeling. You could get some very interesting tight shots with a mono pod
and
c) how strong you're feeling. I'd expect it will weigh a ton!

[mattdaniels]

If you're anywhere near Bromley you can borrow my Nikkor 70-300 for the weekend if I can have a go of the Ferrari

[mattdaniels]

Simpo Two said:

mattdaniels said:

On the other hand of course if you are sat in the same place during the race you have about 60 opportunities to practice panning one car lol

Well indeed - digital means you can check as go you and adjust accordingly I normally use 1/125th or 1/200th for panning but it depends on the subject speed and lens.

The slower you go, the better the wheels look, but the harder it is to pan and keep things sharp.

1/320th @ f/8:


1/200th @ f/10:


1/160th @ f/9:


1/125th @ f/11:

Edited by mattdaniels on Friday 19th June 08:36

[4hero]

paah, 1/125 is for big girls

all hand-held

1/50th


1/50th, does that say R8 on the front calipers?


1/40th


It's a bit hit or miss at these speeds though

[mattdaniels]

4hero said:

It's a bit hit or miss at these speeds though

Clearly! GLOL

What's your hit rate out of interest? I'm not stead enough to get to 1/50th, even at 1/125th I get about one shot out of 6 or so.

[4hero]

Hit rate at these speeds is probably around 1 in 10 shots, it all depends on the weather conditions at knockhill

[Dogsey]

jon- said:

http://www.lensesforhire.co.uk/ have a decent rep, but require a 100% deposit.

No they don't, they'll even hire with no deposit at all!