best settings

[jenny3989]

my husband races this saturday where i wont have access to the middle of the track( its a circle track) so i wont be able to use my flash ill be on the backstrech i get great pictures when the sun is up before it goes down but i just cant figure out the best settings to use with no flash any sugestions? im new to photography and tryin to learn i have a canon 20d and a 70-300mm lens

[peeaanuut]

additional info would be how close is close and what kind of racing? Motorcycle, sprint car? etc, etc

This will help the guru's help you out.

[jenny3989]

ill be right on the out side of the track on the backstreach coimin out of turn 2 it will be sprintcars and modlites

[jenny3989]

i couldent upload a pic that i took a few weeks ago so i set it as my avatar so you can see how close i was last time

[TustinMike]

Well not really a guru , but for starters you'll want AI Servo, fast or medium frame rate, center point or center point expanded autofocus...I'm sure I'm missing plenty of the finer points

[DC Fan]

Originally Posted by jenny3989

my husband races this saturday where i wont have access to the middle of the track( its a circle track) so i wont be able to use my flash ill be on the backstrech i get great pictures when the sun is up before it goes down but i just cant figure out the best settings to use with no flash any sugestions? im new to photography and tryin to learn i have a canon 20d and a 70-300mm lens

Night racing from a Canon XTi and a Canon 70-300mm IS lens. No flash, available light.



Focal Length: 200.0mm
Aperture: f/5.0
Exposure Time: 0.017 s (1/60)
ISO equiv: 1600
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: shutter priority (semi-auto)
White Balance: Manual
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB





Focal Length: 180.0mm
Aperture: f/5.0
Exposure Time: 0.017 s (1/60)
ISO equiv: 1600
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: shutter priority (semi-auto)
White Balance: Manual
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB





Focal Length: 165.0mm
Aperture: f/5.0
Exposure Time: 0.017 s (1/60)
ISO equiv: 1600
Exposure Bias: none
Metering Mode: Matrix
Exposure: shutter priority (semi-auto)
White Balance: Manual
Flash Fired: No (enforced)
Orientation: Normal
Color Space: sRGB



With the conditions and equipment you mentioned, you're facing compromises that will not be comfortable. You'll need a slow shutter speed to get a potentially useful exposure, but slow shutter speeds are hard for novices to handle. Your highest ISO imager sensitivity will be about the same with the 20D as with the XTi, which will further limit the chances of getting useful images. And the lens' largest aperture will impose further limits.

Your best bet is to use the camera's highest ISO, run some tests with the camera in Program AE to learn what autoexposure settings the camera will choose to get a decent exposure, then switch to shutter priority to search for a balance between useful motion-stopping performance and good exposure. If the above images look too dark, it's because of the shutter speed compromise selected on the night of racing that was photographed.

[JacobPhoto]

ISO 1600, shutter priority mode, start at 1/100 and see what your aperture is at.

Although, with a 20d and a 70-300 lens, you may run into the upper limits of what the camera can capture.

[jenny3989]

thank you guys ill take the advice wright it down so i dont forget and see what i can do and ill let ya know how it came out