have got others but they are all of the same theme lol


http://www.quantum-capture.co.uk/kh/kh.html

Some very good shots there, nicely panned... especially like the last one (Merc).

Nice work!

Shades

cheers. still learning this panning lark

I've had a go at trying to pan, but most of my pictures seem to come out blurred.:( I use a shutter speed of about 1/125 ISO400 and let the camera set the aperture.
Is it best to use a tripod or monopod to steady the camera? Any tips would be appreciated as I am off to Silverstone this weekend to see the WTCC.:)

Chris

No - don't use anything. Handheld panning is the key, but doing it smoothly isn't as easy as some make it look. You'll often have a mediocre hit/miss rate anyway - so expect quite a few blurred ones, but hopefully (if you're getting the hang of it) a few that are nicely blurred in the background, with 'moving' wheels - and a pretty sharp car.

Helps if you hold the camera very steadily, elbows in tight to stop too much camera shake, and twist from the hips - don't try to just twist the shoulders round.

I use manual exposure when panning, and quite often manual focus as well (depends on the situation). There's a greater chance of you bagging the shot you're after, correctly exposed, than the camera either focus-hunting or under-exposing the white car / over exposing the background of the black car, etc. that way.

I aim to take the shot when the car is pretty much parallel on track with me - so I know the focus position - and dry tarmac is a pretty good mid-grey, so set exposure manually on the tarmac during a dull moment (remembering to adjust if the lighting changes) and away you go...

1/125s is a good starting point for panning shots on tracks, though the speed to use really depends on the speed of the vehicles - some, if you're panning slowly, may need going down to 1/60s or even slower to get a good result, whereas a fast F1 car or similar would easily be shot at 1/250s or faster as you're panning much faster.

Practice, as with most things, helps - so expect the hit/miss ratio to be fairly low to start with, but practice should improve it. Even the pros still have a mediocre hit/miss rate when panning - so do what they do, and take as many shots as you can!!!

20% of 20 shots is only 4 good ones, but 20% of 200 shots is 40 good ones - so make sure you take plenty of memory-cards, and most of all - enjoy yourself (and obviously show us some of the 20%!)

Shades

Find a nice A road and practice on the passing traffic
You get some funny looks....well more that usual :D

Thanks for the help shades I guess it just takes a bit more practice, I'll see how I get on this weekend.

Chris

I practice at a duel carridge way at the supermarket.
the 360 GT2 car was shot at 1/80, the old blue car was 1/20s the rest between 1/40-1/60s. my hit rate is around 1 in 12 with 1 in 20 good enough for a print. the first pic of the 360 I printed out today 40cmx30cm @ 240dpi and it's very nice. bit of movement at the front but acceptable for my level