First Time user!!! MX Pictures

[MWKE]

Hello,,,,New here....Been Cruising around for a While though....SWRToad Turned me on to this site....Great place to hang out!!!!

Anyway,,,I bought this Rebel XTI thing...Never had a Camera like this before,,,Just the Digital Point and Shoots....So I bought this and Took it to the Track....I have lots to learn But I am having fun doing it....Oh yeah,,,I also bought the Books Understanding Exposure and Learning to See Creatively...I hope to Learn how to use this Damn thing....:lol:
Anyway,,,,Here are my Very First Shots.....:o
This thing is Freakin Addicting!!!!! I took over 200 Pictures in 30 minutes:rolleyes:
BTW...You guys probably know that is in the Auto Sports Setting

Ill get it....Just hang on

[MWKE]

I was having trouble Taking pictures of my Sons races at the indoor Track so SWRToad suggested the 50mm 1.8 Lens...WOW!!!! What a Difference:cool:

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k85/MWKE/IMG_1253.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k85/MWKE/IMG_1248.jpg
http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k85/MWKE/IMG_1227.jpg

[BGrounds]

Hey MWKE welcome to POTN, you heard right this is a great place to hang out. DSLR's do take some learning before you get really spectacular photo's, believe me my photos show I'm still learning to. Some tips for shooting moving objects like MX races is to slow down the shutter speed to about 1/25 and follow the subject with the camera also know as panning. This get the main subject sharp, while the background and tires look as if they are moving. It's just one thing that will help MX photo's stand out a little more. One good tip I can give you is to post lots of pics and ask for comments, people are always willing to help out here. And here's a link to some photo's I recently posted, it was my first time panning.


http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=275529

[MX_Ant]

slow down the shutter speed to about 1/25
I would say that would be generally way too slow. Even in the trees with a flash you don't often need to go under 1/80th. If you go too slow you'll lower your strike rate and get frustrated! For motocross 1/250th is ample for getting spinning wheels and the shot below was taken at 1/320. For the inside stuff you're doing invest in a good flash unit - all the pro supercross photographers like Simon Cudby etc us flash inside all the time.

[lauxin]

I'd agree with Ant. Slower than 1/125 and you'll probably get frustrated.

Also, I like the third one, but the first two seem kinda OOF.
I'd toss a couple bucks into a zoom lens or something... Just a suggestion.

[varanus]

all dependant upon what focal length your using you wouldnt need anything like 1/300 with a 50 1.8 but with a 400mm you would want a must faster SS

[NordieBoy]

all dependant upon what focal length your using you wouldnt need anything like 1/300 with a 50 1.8 but with a 400mm you would want a must faster SS

Not dependant on focal length at all.
Totally dependant on how much motion/wheel blur you want.
Shooting with the 50 1.8 you'd want around 1/160th or so and for 300mm you'd still want 1/160th or so to get the same blur.

With (motor)sports the 1/focal-length type arguments get thrown out the window (and driven over by the car behind.)

[MX_Ant]

Not dependant on focal length at all.
Totally dependant on how much motion/wheel blur you want.
Shooting with the 50 1.8 you'd want around 1/160th or so and for 300mm you'd still want 1/160th or so to get the same blur.

With (motor)sports the 1/focal-length type arguments get thrown out the window (and driven over by the car behind.)

I see what he's saying, and that is true of the degree of blur in the wheels, but in relation to the background there will naturally be a bit more blur as you have to be closer to the subject causing the camera to pass over more background through the duration of the exposure.. other thing to think about is the minimum acceptable shutter speed for the focal length of lens - if you want a sharp subject you generally don't want to go much slower than the lens length (eg. I chose the speed of 1/320th for my shot above because I was using my 200mm lens x 1.6 crop factor = 320mm equivalent).

[varanus]

I see what he's saying, and that is true of the degree of blur in the wheels, but in relation to the background there will naturally be a bit more blur as you have to be closer to the subject causing the camera to pass over more background through the duration of the exposure.. other thing to think about is the minimum acceptable shutter speed for the focal length of lens - if you want a sharp subject you generally don't want to go much slower than the lens length (eg. I chose the speed of 1/320th for my shot above because I was using my 200mm lens x 1.6 crop factor = 320mm equivalent).

that was the way I was taught to treat it aswell works ok for me but hey I dont claim to be amazing at this and im perfectly open to other peoples ways of shooting if they work

[NordieBoy]

that was the way I was taught to treat it aswell works ok for me but hey I dont claim to be amazing at this and im perfectly open to other peoples ways of shooting if they work

Normal shooting - yes.
Panning - sometimes.

Whilst 1/320th may be enough to blur a spoked MX wheel it is far to fast to blur a car's 3 spoke mag wheel.

To really blur a wheel the spoke has to move through at least it's own width in the time the shutter is open.

And then there is the type of background blur you want as well.

Just play around with different speeds and you'll find ones you like for different situations.