Hey guys, need some help.

I was at a track day in france on the weekend and was really struggling with my photos.

The lighting was very poor and overcast. The lowest f-stop the camera allowed to was 4.5 on both my lenses, is this normal?

Is there something in the settings i can change to lower my f-stop?

I was using a Nikon D80 with the kit 18-70 lens and then swapped to the 70-300 VR lens.

I found that because the lighting was so poor i was having to run a slower shutter speed than ideal just to maintain the correct exposure. This lower shutter speed was playing havoc with any panning shots and every one of them was blurred.

Is there any way to lower my f-stop or have i missed something?

Also what would you guys recomend as the best shutter speed (ISO) to use when taking motorsport photos.

As you can probably tell, im still very new to photography so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks. :)

There is no way of lowering your f-stop other than forking-out on faster f2.8 or f4 zoom lenses. You have the option of bumping up your iso to let more light in to achieve a higher shutter speed at the cost of noise. Or you could always invest in a monopod. Up to ISO 800 and 1\200 should be acceptable for panning with fast moving stuff. What were your settings?

I thought the higher the iso, the faster the shutter. That would mean less light being let in and therfore underexposure of the images.

I was using a monopod, but having to run isos of as low as 80 to get the correct exposure... this was just too slow to have a sharp panning image.

Bumping up your ISO allows you to bump up your shutter speed (or increase your f-stop number, to get more depth of field).

Not a prize winner, but this one was at 1\50 on a monopod

http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r196/photonicks/Motorsport/2007%20Severn%20Valley%20Rally/IMG_3072c.jpg (http://i144.photobucket.com/albums/r196/photonicks/Motorsport/2007%20Severn%20Valley%20Rally/IMG_3072c.jpg)

i thought my iso was my shutter speed?

No mate. ISO, Shutter Speed, F-Stop, three different adjustments you have.

ISO - measure of the light sensativity of the film.
shutter speed - show long the film is exposed
aperture - how much light passes through the lens.

For a front 3/4 shot I'd probably look for a shutter speed of around 1/250, probably around f8 and I'd adjust iso up or down to achieve this.

If the light level was poor, I'd probably use iso 400
For panning, I'd go to about 1/125 or less. A smooth panning technique is essential.

ISO - measure of the light sensativity of the film.
shutter speed - show long the film is exposed
aperture - how much light passes through the lens.

For a front 3/4 shot I'd probably look for a shutter speed of around 1/250, probably around f8 and I'd adjust iso up or down to achieve this.

If the light level was poor, I'd probably use iso 400
For panning, I'd go to about 1/125 or less. A smooth panning technique is essential.


Hmm, this is obviously where ive gone wrong.

I thought id missed something but couldnt quite work out what.

Ive tend to always run the lowest f-stop i can when taking pictures, i dunno why but i seem to get good results that way.

suggest reading Hoppy's understanding photography thread.

Take a look at these to see how iso/shutter speed/aperture tie in together.

The SimCam: Film and Digital Camera Simulator - Photonhead.com (http://www.photonhead.com/simcam/)

Don't know if the D80 has it but the D70 did and that's auto iso.

I used it at most of my track events because I know the shutter speed I need at certain places with certain cars to get the effect i want, and the camera will work it's magic and within normal parameters, will adjust the iso to allow the shutter speed set.
So you set the shutter, the camera set a combination of iso and aperture to get the desired results.

One less thing to think about which suits me!

Cheers guys, any other tips are greatly appreciated :D