Please can anyone help with taking pictures of moving cars... I really like the shots where the road is in motion but the car is perfectly in focus...

I have a canon EOS-300D

Much appreciated!!

Mikey

I use AI-Focus on my 5D for this, but I'm not sure if the 300D has it or not but it does help a lot.

I tend to set the shutter speed to be around a 100th -> 160th of a second. Enough to get a bit of blur, but fast enough to get a sharp image. Focus on the car and pan the camera with it, keeping the same point in the viewfinder pointing on a fixed point on the car.

It takes practice :)

http://www.iainbyoung.co.uk/gallery/fiagt2006/photos/IMG_1114.jpg

Great advice, thanks very much... I'll give it a try this weekend.

Top Photo!! :D

I use shutter priority mode with AI SERVO focussing, shutter set to around 1/250s for front 3/4 shots or less for side pans.

There is the Wasia hack which replaces the 300D firmware which unveils some extra features...
www.jjmb.nl - wasia (http://www.jjmb.nl/content/content.php?Name=wasia)

The shutter speed you use really depends on how fast the car is moving. I have been to track days where I've had the shutter speed down to almost a 50th before I got the desired effect, (for old classic cars). Basically, the faster the car, the fatser the shutter speed that you will need. For example, for F1 cars going at full pelt, I have gone as quick as a 200th...

As you might no, I'm an amature at photography, but are learning the basics... Whats this feature AI Servo? And what price range of camera's will I be looking at to get it?

AI servo basically means that you focus on a moving subject (i.e. a car), and as long as you keep your finger half pressed on the focus button, it will automatically keep that object in focus as it moves towards / away from you. Very handy for panning shots of moving vehicles.

As for cameras that have it, I'm not sure. I know that my old 10D had it, and my current 5D has it. Not sure about the 300D though.

My 350D has it, not sure if that was one of the improvements over the 300D...

I never had a 300D but I think its one of the things that was disabled for the 300D but the hack unlocked it.

Canon used a 10D firmware but disabled a number of features which some enterprising people cracked and restored functionality.

All good so far, I'll add...
Plant your feet.
Turn from the hips, not just your head.
Pick up the subject early.
Inside radius of a bend is the easiest but elswhere can give pleasing effects.
Tilting the camera slightly can give you more margin for error in getting the car in the frame as it's travelling across the diagonal, this can be corrected by cropping later.
Shutter speed also depends how close you are to the subject and how much is in the frame, this is where digital REALLY helps.
Practice.
Practice some more.
And then get some practice. :D

I think the 300D (unhacked) has something called 'AI focus', in which the camera tries to decide whether it should use one-shot or continuous (AI servo), but doesn't give you the choice. If it gets it right - presumably it picks AI Servo mode if you initially try to focus on a moving target - then it should be OK. If it gets it wrong, it'll focus once and then if the target moves, it'll just become blurred.

This stupid restriction was, as others have said, put in to stop the 300D stealing sales of the 10D - but the hack may fix it. Failing that, the 350D wasn't crippled in software and is (IMHO) a much better camera for it.

Also be aware that a desire to shoot moving targets can lead to the spending of silly money on cameras with ever faster and more accurate AF... ;)

Also be aware that a desire to shoot moving targets can lead to the spending of silly money on cameras with ever faster and more accurate AF... ;)

Many a true word... :D

there you go spending my money again! :lol1:

More than happy with my 300d when taking motorsport shots. As above, go for a manual focus first, then choose a slow ish shutter speed. Some from the BTCC in May this year:
http://www.scoobysmacs.co.uk/gallery/upload/2006%20events/05%20may/02%20btcc%20oulton%20park/16-giovinardi-crop.jpg

http://www.scoobysmacs.co.uk/gallery/upload/2006%20events/05%20may/02%20btcc%20oulton%20park/23-formula-crop-closer.jpg

http://www.scoobysmacs.co.uk/gallery/upload/2006%20events/05%20may/02%20btcc%20oulton%20park/233.jpg

As a quick aside, anyone going to the BTCC @ Silverstone this weekend?

I'll be there on Sunday giving my new toy a proper workout :D