settings for motor racing

C

chau

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2007
Messages
613
Reaction score
0
Hi all.
There is motor racing this weekend and i would like to go down and take some pictures (well as many as my battery can take on one charge). This is my first time taking pictures of fast cars and i would like to hear from you guys that have taken pictures of cars: what would be a decent aperture to shoot at, what part of the car should i focus on? i know i must have a high shutter speed, AI servo, a clean lens and a fully charged battery. what other settings and tips do i need?
thanks guys and girls
 
Where you headed?

When I went to Scribante last year I traded off between my Canon EF70-200mm f/4L USM (for the focusing speed) and the Sigma 28-300 (for the range) - next time I'll want to give my new(ish) Sigma 150-500 a try.

I'm not expert but the corners seem to me to be a good place to stand.


ISO 400, F/9, 1/1600, 200mm


ISO 400, F/9, 1/1250, 200mm
 
Last edited:
its Nationals this saturday at Scribante so i want to head down. I haven't had a chance to watch/take photo's at any racing events so this would be a first to watch and take pictures. would you be attending?
A friend told me about a nice spot to stand/sit, it overlooks a very fast straight and there's a hairpin to our left as well. im looking forward to this event
 
chau said:
its Nationals this saturday at Scribante so i want to head down. I haven't had a chance to watch/take photo's at any racing events so this would be a first to watch and take pictures. would you be attending?
A friend told me about a nice spot to stand/sit, it overlooks a very fast straight and there's a hairpin to our left as well. im looking forward to this event
Click to expand...
I think I know the spot you're talking about - problem with the straights is they're pretty boring imo but you can always decide for yourself.

Hadnt thought about going but then again I didnt know about it until now. I'll have to see what's happening on Sat. Thanks for the heads up though.
 
You can go for a really quick shutter speed but then your lense will be wide open - that causes depth of field problems.

A slightly blurred shot will create the impression of movement.

You could try panning, i.e. following the car with your lense as you take the shot. Car will be in focus and the background slightly blurred.

Composition - allow a bit of space in the front of the frame for the car to 'move' into.
 
Albereth said:
You can go for a really quick shutter speed but then your lense will be wide open - that causes depth of field problems.
Click to expand...
Or use a higher ISO. Provided it's a nice day (as promised by the weather report) he shouldnt need to go too high.
 
Yeah, Def go for a position on a corner, you get the best "action" shots when you can see the cars suspension loading up.

I have a few pictures up on my flickr page from a few weeks ago at an auto-cross event held in Durban.... Have now had a few of the drivers asking if I'll be at the next one so that I can try get a sideways shot of their car as they're sliding around a corner :)
 
ToxicBunny said:
Yeah, Def go for a position on a corner, you get the best "action" shots when you can see the cars suspension loading up.

I have a few pictures up on my flickr page from a few weeks ago at an auto-cross event held in Durban.... Have now had a few of the drivers asking if I'll be at the next one so that I can try get a sideways shot of their car as they're sliding around a corner :)
Click to expand...

yeah i want to go to some corners and get some shots of the guys coming around. I really like chicanes but i dont think this circuit has any


Albereth said:
You can go for a really quick shutter speed but then your lense will be wide open - that causes depth of field problems.

A slightly blurred shot will create the impression of movement.

You could try panning, i.e. following the car with your lense as you take the shot. Car will be in focus and the background slightly blurred.

Composition - allow a bit of space in the front of the frame for the car to 'move' into.
Click to expand...

the weather forecast for saturday says 30degrees and sunny, but you know how PE is... it says that now but come race day its going to be overcast or rainy or snowy.
i was also thinking about getting a lower shutter speed and panning with the car to get the motion blur.
 
Anyone decide to go?
 
I had.. but then the plane ticket got in the way :p

I would love to find a motor racing event around Durban sometime soon.. best I can hope for is the occasional auto-cross event for now.
 
ok guys. got quite a few pictures from the event. i just need to sift through them and see how they came out first before i start posting. :)

bwana said:
Anyone decide to go?
Click to expand...

did you make a turn?
 
chau said:
did you make a turn?
Click to expand...
I was there for a while - had to leave before the V8's though.

3336440142_60985186be.jpg


http://www.flickr.com/photos/bwanarsa/tags/scribante/
 
ToxicBunny said:
Nice shot bwana....
Click to expand...

Thanks. I'm still getting used to the lens. I couldn't believe how quickly IS killed my battery. :eek:

Looking forward to seeing what you got chau.
 
Last edited:
bwana said:
Thanks. I'm still getting used to the lens. I couldn't believe how quickly IS killed my battery. :eek:
Click to expand...
I take it this was taken with the 150-500??

Nice shot, btw! [insert thumbs up smiley here]
 
Yep. The 150-500. No point me showing the exif as aperture thinks it is a canon 135 or something.
 
ok guys and gals, i've added a few pictures to flickr
www.flickr.com/chau001
i was very disappointed at most of the pictures mainly because i struggled to focus properly. but i did manage to get some half decent shots
 
I wouldn't complain too much chau, alot of those are very good shots.
 
Chau & Bwana, stunning pics of the racing. Real crisp with some nice exhaust flame freezes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X