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Photography Forum

Discussion in 'Riders with Cameras' started by Lurch, Oct 25, 2010.

  1. Lurch
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    Lurch Capt. Sense of Direction Administrator

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    Ask and thou shalt receive.
    If it doesnt play, then I'll just roll everything into the Geeks on Bikes forum

    - Lurch
     
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  2. Lurch
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    Lurch Capt. Sense of Direction Administrator

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    Seeing as this forum has gotten limited use, I'll give it another month, then the reads will get rolled to another forum and this one closed.
     
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  3. Peanut
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    Peanut Member

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    That is sad, but fair.
     
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  4. steampunk
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    steampunk Member

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    wait till ado gets some free time again. he was posting some fairly technical stuff that would be useful in a forum section like this.
     
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  5. adr1an
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    adr1an Curator Administrator

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    Yes, I haven't really touched my camera except a brief stint in BrisVegas...

    Am getting back into it slowly.. will post up anythin exciting from Vegas...
     
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  6. Peanut
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    Peanut Member

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    What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas...
     
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  7. Aiji
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    Aiji Member

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    Okay I'll pose some questions - I have a canon 1000D(Rebel XS) - what lenses do you recommend for capturing those cornering moments?
    Is it better to use a tripod or go handheld for the panning?
    What setting are you using - aperture wide open and fast shutter speed - or slower to get the motion sensation as you pan?
     
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  8. supamodel
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    supamodel Secret Aaaaaagent Man Staff Member Moderator Supporter

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    Handheld for the panning, imho. I can't really speak for Canon lenses, but depends how close you're going to get. You're going to want something in the range of 50mm and upwards, imho, to better get the background out of focus.

    Slower shutter speed to get the sense of motion. It takes a bit of practise to pan correctly, and, on an IS lens (using the Canon terminology), you'll need it set to a mode that works with panning. The shutter speed will depend on how much blur you want. The slower the shutter speed, the harder it is to keep the bike sharp. I would try something in the order of 1/250s or maybe even a bit faster and then get to slower shutter speeds as you get better at it :).

    It takes practise though!

    Final thing: panning technique. You have to start the pan before you hit the shutter button, and you need to follow through with the pan after the shutter is released. On SLRs it can be hard to track where the object is during the exposure because the view finder is black, the secret is making sure that whatever was in the centre of the finder when you started the shot is still there when you follow through with the pan.

    Also, I find I prefocus. So, I work out where I want the bike to be, pick up focus there, then go back and pick up the bike or whatever, and pan through, hitting the shutter button when I've got the bike where I want it. This means you want it on a singular autofocus mode, not a continuous one. How one sets that on a 1000D I don't know, since I shoot with the other guys :D.
     
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  9. MickLC
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    MickLC Member

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    Yeah, it depends on the autofocus on the camera, mine works pretty well on autofocus for panning and lets me catch a few more shots that I would've missed otherwise.
     
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  10. supamodel
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    supamodel Secret Aaaaaagent Man Staff Member Moderator Supporter

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    I mean, on my D90, the continuous autofocus is good. But I just prefer to prefocus, just works better for me :). Once the shutter button is fully released, though, the single servo autofocus will then refocus for the next shot if I so choose to grab it...
     
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  11. Peanut
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    Peanut Member

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    Supa's on the money about panning technique and practice. I'm a fan of servo AI focusing for cycling and motorcycling because it tracks the trajectory of the object and focuses on where it anticipates the subject will be at exposure based on the motion before the shutter release... bikes tend to move in predictable lines (although fast) and the canon system laps it up... (not so easy for dogs chasing unpredictably bouncing balls though...)

    As for lenses, that depends on what you'll be shooting and your budget. When I was starting, I filled out the zoom range with budget/mid range lenses and now have almost doubled over it with f4L zooms... The next step would be to either get the f2.8 zooms or to consider getting more primes (the 50mm II prime is incredible and best value for money in the canon range)... If I were starting from scratch (like if I were to switch to Nikon), I'd get the primes first and then do the zooms... but that's more a function of how my photography has evolved... it takes a while to believe that the best zoom is your legs...

    Also, keep in mind that the rebel has a crop factor, and that if you upgrade to a lower number body as you improve (but the latest rebels are better than the 40Ds I think) you'll lose some of your long end but regain the wide end of your lens range...

    Oh, and for shutter speed/aperture combos, make sure you know just how high an ISO you can grab before you get too much noise to post process away...

    Lastly, get intimate with your buffer and get used to watching the indicator in the viewfinder (or spring for a really fast body/card combo)...
     
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  12. Aiji
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    Aiji Member

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    Many thanks - that's all helpful advice :)
     
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