help Photographing Motor Rally

[gt112]

Hi all

I am fairly new to decent photography. I recently purchased a Canon Powershot S2 IS, let me tell ya - I love it.

Here's the latest problem,
This comming weekend, there's a Motor Rally near where I live so I want to go along to a couple of the stages and try and get some decent action shots.

I have been wondering how do I use the S2 for these kinda setups.

Normally - when I press the photo button halfway, The camera adjusts itself to get auto focus, then when everything looks sharp, I take the snap. That all works fine for stationary or reasonably slow moving subjects.
But what about Rally cars, they are gonna be movin fast, by the time my camera has focussed, the car will be another 30 feet nearer me and I imagine that that by the time I frame the car just right etc, the focus will be lost.

So basically - I am askin for a brief idiots guide to photographing something fast moving.

Can anyone please help and give me some simple pointers...

Many thanks

gt

[dissembled]

I recommend continous shooting mode with a small aperture (f5+ or above)
You won't need to focus on them because well, with that small of an aperture..everything will be in focus.

Also use a high ISO setting and a fast shutter speed.

[frs]

You could also try pre-focusing on a part of the track, then when the subject gets there take the shot, with fast shutter speed and continuous shooting.

Also panning is possible. Theres a small section about this technique in your S2 manual. I tried this but still cant get it right.
I recall someone in this forum does excellent panning shot with the S2, cant remember who though...:confused:

[Pixel9ine]

^^^ I agree with frs. If the action is coming towards you or at an angle, then prefocus on a particular spot and "lock" it there (hit the MF button once AiAF figures out the focus).. then simply burst your shots continusouly as the cars are coming by.

If however the action is passing in front of you, you can try panning. In fact, I believe the S2's Image Stabilization has a "panning" mode that will stabilize only vertical shifts.. if so, as long as you keep your horizon straight, panning should be a piece of cake.

[frs]

Dont forget to post your Rally shots!:D

[gt112]

ke ke ke ke will do or at least try to
Thanks everyone for the replies. I will eh try what everyone suggests.

I see a few problems......
Some people are suggesting that I lock focus on a certain part of the track and then continuous shot the cars at that spot. That is certainly one way to do it but its very limiting - I am stuck with that part of the track and practically an identical shot of each car that way.

I am guessing that a combination of all the above and maybe more is whats needed, I guess its down to practice.

The panning shot is one that IO am certainly interested in. Again I ask the question - how do I focus when I'm panning a very fast moving object?
Will dissembled's post above work here - small aperature f5+ or above?

[Pixel9ine]

Again I ask the question - how do I focus when I'm panning a very fast moving object?
Will dissembled's post above work here - small aperature f5+ or above?You will essentially want to cut down on the time your camera takes to autofocus, or you'll miss the shot. Using manual focus is ideal, but you're right in saying it's very limiting. As a compromise, disable AiAF - use Flexizone instead and choose the most likely focus point. You'll get faster reaction times out of your camera since you'll cut down on the amount of "thinking" it has to do.

Also, since you're shooting a race, you'll want the fastest shutter speeds you can manage.. I'd suggest at least 1/125 second. In order to get enough light at that speed, you may want to keep your aperture open as wide as possible. It's a tradeoff between having greater Depth of Field and a fast enough shutter speed.

I wish you all the best with your shooting.

[gt112]

Many thanks Croesus...

Excuse my absolute ignorance but could you explain the following....

AiAF - (i'm guessing that the AF part is AutoFocus but what is Ai?)
Flexizone - what is this?

Many thanks
gt

[Pixel9ine]

Many thanks Croesus...

Excuse my absolute ignorance but could you explain the following....

AiAF - (i'm guessing that the AF part is AutoFocus but what is Ai?)
Flexizone - what is this?I'm sorry, but it seems I'm the ignorant one here.. I was drawing on my knowledge from a different camera.

However, the S2 IS has both "focus lock" and 1-point AF modes.. you can use these to your advantage in the situations described. 'Flexiszone' was simply a similar mode on lower Canon models.

[snowrdr]

I am guessing that a combination of all the above and maybe more is whats needed, I guess its down to practice.

The panning shot is one that IO am certainly interested in. Again I ask the question - how do I focus when I'm panning a very fast moving object?
Will dissembled's post above work here - small aperature f5+ or above?

I've had some good luck with panning shots of motorcycles on the track with these settings:

ISO 50
Focus set to Continuous
IS set to Panning Mode
White balance set to sunny or cloudy to match the day

Tv Mode is a good one to start with at 1/125sec to 1/250sec.

If you have good light, the S2 will give you the green focus square very fast. It's then up to you pan smooth with the subject and take the shot.

Here is one of my examples, in Av mode at f/6.3 and 1/200sec

http://www.pbase.com/image/45393901.jpg

[gt112]

oh very cool. I love that picture

[gt112]

sorry for the delay in getting back folks. I was dissapointed with the shots. Here is a gallery of the best ones. There ar eno action or cool panning shots, none of them came out well at all.

http://www.kieranstafford.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.ShowItem&g2_itemId=3921

Ah well, half the fun is in the learning.

gt

[frs]

Hi, thanks a lot for posting,
there are no action shots, but your photos are gorgeous!

:)

[WRC]

Never mind bud. You'll have plenty of chances to get more shots next year. And hopefully Rally Ireland will get in as a full WRC round, rather than just a candidate.

Why not hang out a bit in the sports section of this forum? There are a number of excellent photographers that shoot a lot of rallying that you can get tips from for next year

Edit: Oh and go Atko :) 4th was pretty good in a Group N car. Now if only he can keep it together in his Subaru WRC instead of flipping the thing off the road at every opportunity!

[NOsquid]

http://adcuz.co.uk/how-to-articles/how-to-perfect-panning-sports-motor-sport/

Try posting in the motorsports forum here.

[GoHokiesGo]

Definitely read the tips in the motorsports forum. That's where I learned a lot of good tips with racing shots. I go to the Sebring Lemans race every year, and I end up taking quite a few hundred photos while I'm there.

If you for through the Speed Challenge #95 thread, a few people made suggestions on how to get those nice action shots. Here is a link to the post I made in there, with a link the an album also:
http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showpost.php?p=4264016&postcount=18

For me, focusing on a spot in the track first works the best. I know what you mean about having all the cars in the same spot, but move it around then. I would take shots of 5-10 cars passing in one spot, then travel on to another portion of the track. By the end of the race, I had quite a few good shots of nearly every car I wanted. Since you're using an S2, or any point-and-shoot, I think using a little prep (ie-pre-focusing) goes a long way. You dont have that really quick focusing or lack of shutter lag that dSLR's have, so you have to work around that. You can still get great shots from the S2 though. I have a few hundred that I love, and a few I printed that look great on the wall. After a little bit of practicing, it's really easy to get some slick panning shots.

Here's the link to my favorite sebring photos I took in March, all my photos were done with the S2:
http://picasaweb.google.com/JPeacott/Sebring2007

[NOsquid]

Here's one with my S3.

http://i15.tinypic.com/6srl402.jpg