Help with dirt track

[bigbowtie]

This coming sunday I will be going to the local dirt track races. I just got camera and havnt had much time to learn the different settings yet. I would love to be able to work on my panning shots but i'm not sure what settings to use. What should I set the camera to as far as TV, AV, or just sports? I know I will have to go in and play with the shutter speed untill I can get it down but I'm not sure where to start from. Also the races will go from 6pm to 10pm which will give me 1.5 hours under the sun and 2.5 hrs under lights. The third pic in this post is sort of what I am going for...http://photography-on-the.net/forum/...d.php?t=325181

Thanks a ton guys!

Dan

[DDan]

I shoot race cars in the desert and would suggest Tv as the shutter speed is the critical setting for stopping action. I find that 1/60 to 1/250 work for panning. Verify that you have a proper aperature range for those speeds by setting ISO.

[DL64]

I shoot in AV mode all night long,Start out with 400iso and then up it to 800iso after dark.Panning is hard it takes alot of pratice i still don't have it down yet.do you have a Flash?

[ruchad1]

Originally Posted by DL64

I shoot in AV mode all night long,Start out with 400iso and then up it to 800iso after dark.Panning is hard it takes alot of pratice i still don't have it down yet.do you have a Flash?

what flash you use? do you use it off camera?

[DL64]

I have the 580ex,no i dont use it off the camera.I use it in Manual Mode.

[DDan]

Originally Posted by DL64

I shoot in AV mode all night long,

I'm always interested in learning something. What is the advantage to using Av instead of Tv?

[bigbowtie]

No I don't have a flash, other than what is built into the XTi, so I am much at the mercy of the track lights.

[DL64]

Dan, I have better luck with shooting in AV better can really explain why.
Big,you better get a flash because most dirt tracks light are horrible.

[DDan]

Originally Posted by DL64

Dan, I have better luck with shooting in AV better can really explain why.
Big,you better get a flash because most dirt tracks light are horrible.

OH. OK. I understand. It is certainly possible to do it that way it just seems backwards to me.

[DL64]

the one i know is when i have the flash on it doesn't matter what shutter speed you have it goes to 1/250.maybe that's one reason is why i use AV mode.

[yodasarmpit]

When shooting motorsport I pretty much always use TV mode, that way I'm in control of the type of shot I get.
For panning shots I aim for between 1/60th and 1/125th, as I'm only concerned about getting the car or bike in focus the DOF isn't an issue so AV is of no concern to me.
If I want to get a stop action shot then I'll try and get 1/1000th or above, depending upon lighting conditions.
I would only use AV for head on or rear shots where I wanted to control the DOF, I would then use the appropriate ISO setting to achieve shutter speed I want.

For me the most important aspect of taking motorsport shots is the shutter speed, varying the shutter speed to match the type of shot you want.

[DDan]

Originally Posted by yodasarmpit

For me the most important aspect of taking motorsport shots is the shutter speed, varying the shutter speed to match the type of shot you want.

Yep. I agree. Thats the way I look at it. I adjust the shutter speed to get more or less blur. With me its usually less. I always err on the side of sharpness.

[DL64]

Originally Posted by yodasarmpit

When shooting motorsport I pretty much always use TV mode, that way I'm in control of the type of shot I get.
For panning shots I aim for between 1/60th and 1/125th, as I'm only concerned about getting the car or bike in focus the DOF isn't an issue so AV is of no concern to me.
If I want to get a stop action shot then I'll try and get 1/1000th or above, depending upon lighting conditions.
I would only use AV for head on or rear shots where I wanted to control the DOF, I would then use the appropriate ISO setting to achieve shutter speed I want.

For me the most important aspect of taking motorsport shots is the shutter speed, varying the shutter speed to match the type of shot you want.

What would you do at night with not so good lighting.keep the info coming i can always you more help.

[yodasarmpit]

Originally Posted by DL64

What would you do at night with not so good lighting.keep the info coming i can always you more help.

At night a lot comes down to your equipment to be honest, that's where I'm limited.
You either have to increase the ISO, which may introduce unwanted noise, get nice wide open glass which will cost a lot more, or if you are really close to the action then an external flash will help.

For me, with my level of gear I'm pretty much restricted to daytime shots, although I was able to get some decent speedway snaps using IS0 800 and ISO1600 in failing light.

[DL64]

that's one thing i got going for me at the one track i go to i can get with in 20 ft of the track.The track I was at last night in Hagerstown,Md you can stand by the guardrail and be with in a foot of the cars(to close for me).