Historic GP cars at Goodwood

[flat-planedCrank]

I seem to have misplaced a lot of my original photography books however one called "The Outdoor Photographer" (Gibbons and Wilson) is a useful intro. Whilst it focuses upon landscape photography, it covers all the metering basics etc and in many ways, other than panning and follow-focus, you can learn most of what you need to for sports photography by getting the basics right on something that moves a little less quickly

It's probably out of print but here are some Amazon sellers with a copy:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/offer-listin ... dition=all

Another book that tends to get recommended is "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson

Currently £9.89 on Amazon (has the 'look inside' link to let you read a few pages online)


Cheers.

[graeme]

Eh? Higher ISO = more sensitive 'film' = even more over-exposed surely?

I did think about this for a wee while (I was tired when I wrote it!).

On reflection, I think you are right...in which case the setting has to come down the way but on my DLSR (Sony A-100) the lowest setting is 100 ISO anyway.

Grad grey filter in that case methinks.

Some of Greg's shots were taken at ISO 400. Greg, get that down to 100 by default. Only raise it in low light conditions. Higher ISO means more image noise (reduced quality). If the 450D has an 'Auto' ISO setting, you could use that until you're ready to think about another variable.

I disagree with the filter idea Campbell. I don't think Greg would benefit from another complication at this stage. I don't think those shots strictly needed the filter and you've got to walk before you can run and all that.

Also, I don't think you meant a grad filter did you? A grad filter would have been useless in those shots as they are fairly uniformly bright.

Do you reckon we could collectively knock up a "SEers guide to picking up a newfangled DSLR for the first time and taking a half-decent trackday shot?"

G

[Rag_It]

Before I get told to sh*t up - what are the tiny minuscule chances of having a photography section to the forum?

[campbell]

Apologies Graeme, tired AGAIN

Indeed no, didn't mean a grad grey, meant a uniform grey but point taken, extra steps for Greg will only make him, sorry matters (!) worse.

As for a Photography subforum, may well not be a bad idea although would need to define it carefully to consider / avoid overlap with Gallery etc...

Again for avoidance of thread drift, this is one to start up on its own thread, perhaps with a poll or some generally suitable questions about what people would seek to get out of such a sub-forum.

To be closely followed by the SE Golf sub-forum eh

[GregR]

Guys.

Sincere thanks for the contributions on this thread, all of them have been extremely useful :thumbusp

An idiots guide would help me no end, and a photography section (particularly a 'what did I get wrong here?' section!) would be brilliant.

Thanks again guys - really

[flat-planedCrank]

A photography forum sounds like a good idea Could have a 'don't-just-post-a-bunch-of-images-in-here' sticky thread at the top with some 'rules' ?


Quick point on ND filters + motorsport....

If you are using a 'pro-sumer' level lens + camera body you may find you approach the limits of the cameras auto-focus system if you add a ND filter in-front. Many non-pro zoom lenses are rated at f5.6 when fully zoomed - for Canon non-pro cameras (not sure about Nikon, etc..) this is the limit for the autofocus system.
If an Nd filter (or CPL filter, though that's a whole other topic ) is added then you may experience reduced AF performance - it may 'hunt' back and forth, particularly if you are tracking moving objects.
(If its a bright sunny day then you may get away with it )

On the whole, I'd probably try to manage without using ND filters. If its a bright day and I want to use a slow shutter then dropping the aperture down to something like f22 (and living with any diffraction issues) is probably preferable


Cheers.

[campbell]

It always helps to have someone who really knows their stuff

Interestingly, I sometimes revert to manual focus for motorsport stuff if I'm training the camera on the same bit of track for panning shots etc.

[flat-planedCrank]

Interestingly, I sometimes revert to manual focus for motorsport stuff if I'm training the camera on the same bit of track for panning shots etc.

Yeah, think its not-uncommon to pre-focus a certain area of the track you know a car is about to pass through, even if your using AF then I find its easier to pre-focus a little to give the AF a 'head start' on where to focus

Certain situations can certainly push you to not using AF - if you have a fence (or trees if you are watching rallying) then panning and forcing the AF to pull back and forth as the obstacles move in front of the camera can be a hassle In general I have focusing and the shutter release on two separate buttons - it allows you to selectively track moving objects, or prefocus on an area of the track without having to actually switch the camera to one-shot AF (or actually switch the lens to manual).
If you are using shutter-priority, then this also has the added benefit of allowing you to track a moving car without also locking the exposure - you can select when the camera meters and take the shot independently



Cheers.

[smee]

Digital exposure handbook is a good one.

Also not really a fan of post production black magic but you could blur the background and wheels using layers in photoshop. Good article in digital photo magazine.

[jason]

Thanks for the BTT, smee. I hadn't seen these pics, Greg... looks like something I need to get to one year. Loving Stirling in the Merc

Agree with FPC - keep things simple. Turn off Auto ISO (if your camera is set to that) and set it manually to ISO100 if that's the base ISO value for your camera. Then, for panning shots where shutter speed is what matters set the camera to shutter priority (as FPC said) and select your desired shutter speed for motion blur... the aperture will then be set automatically for correct exposure

I don't see anything particularly challenging about the dynamic range in the shots you posted (ie. the range from shadowy bits to highlights), so the camera should be able to give you good exposures without needing to worry about compensation, etc at this stage.

Yeah, think its not-uncommon to pre-focus a certain area of the track you know a car is about to pass through, even if your using AF then I find its easier to pre-focus a little to give the AF a 'head start' on where to focus

Interestingly, I sometimes revert to manual focus for motorsport stuff if I'm training the camera on the same bit of track for panning shots etc.

Again, top advice. This is precisely what we did before these fancy, newfangled autofocus cameras were invented! ("When I was a lad", "cameras today..", etc ). Still a useful practice with AF so the camera/lens has less work to acquire your subject each time. Think about what you are asking the camera to do for you, and whether you can help it IYSWIM.

[Shug]

Photography section is called the Gallery BTW - feel free to create a Q&A thread in here and we can sticky it.

[smee]

Forgive my ignorance but what does BTT mean? Been trying to work it out for 10 minutes and head hurts now. Sorry.

[Shug]

Back To Top I think - a thread bounce when it'd started slipping down the list.

[jason]

Indeed, as Shug says. I was thanking you for bouncing a thread I hadn't seen

But I typo'd, and meant to say 'BTTT' - Back To The Top

[smee]

thanks