my first panning attempt, help!

[jann1033]

and it didn't work out so well...i think i should have used a zoom instead of a fixed lens as it would have been easier to adjust...didn't expect perfection but any suggestions would be appreciated
Thanks

 

[ukcatfan]

I cannot say that I am good at these, but judging on how some of the subject is in focus and some has motion blur on the same shot, I would think you need a little faster shutter. The distances seem far enough that your DOF should have been covered. Pretty nice for a first attempt.

Also, (and not under your control) I think that it would be more dramatic with a different background. The snow will not show the motion very well b/c it is all so bright and the same color.

Kevin

 

[jann1033]

i thought about the lack of background color about mid way through and that is when i thought i should have used my other lens( zoom ) so i could have gotten more of the last row of sledders or maybe the first row instead of where i was smack dab in the middle ...live and learn i guess...i had in my notes to use about 30 and the 3 boys are 30, f22 the little pink girl was 80/ f13 and i think that was to fast maybe
i'm not sure if i wasn't panning at the right speed or what makes it blurry ie their faces not in focus?or maybe due to the fixed focal lenght?????

 

[MarkBarbieri]

If you are using your 28-135, make sure that you have IS turned off. That lens doesn't have a panning IS mode.

 

[tinksdad]

Panning is tough!
Was there a compelling reason to have the aperture set up at f/22 as per EXIF? Maybe dropping that to open up some room for a faster shutter speed might have helped. Also, make sure you have continuous focus engaged.

The second pic is the best! Looks like fun! Is that why you have frozen fingers??

 

[jann1033]

Panning is tough!
Was there a compelling reason to have the aperture set up at f/22 as per EXIF? Maybe dropping that to open up some room for a faster shutter speed might have helped. Also, make sure you have continuous focus engaged.

The second pic is the best! Looks like fun! Is that why you have frozen fingers??

i thought there was at the time unfortuantely right now i cant remember it., i think it was cause i was trying not to get a little dof since the area was so far across and most of the sledders were towards the far side...but from pink girl 8 would have been enough with maybe about a tad slower speed. not sure why the people in the background are a little to sharp on that one.

i used the lens i used as it was getting dark already and it is f3.5 and i wasn't sure how well the 28-135( 4-5.6) would pick up since it seems hard to use when it's getting darkish( so i left it in the car which was far away across an ice covered field). would the panning IS on the 70-300 IS help it be less blurry? is that the purpose of that IS mode ? ie you can leave it on panning..hence no doubt the panning mode name

 

[tinksdad]

i thought there was at the time unfortuantely right now i cant remember it., i think it was cause i was trying not to get a little dof since the area was so far across and most of the sledders were towards the far side...but from pink girl 8 would have been enough with maybe about a tad slower speed. not sure why the people in the background are a little to sharp on that one.

The use of smaller aperture setttings will give you a greater depth of field which with a action panning shot wouldn't make any difference anyway.....


We live and learn, and shoot another day!! Keep up the good work!!

 

[handicap18]

Very good first attempts Jann. The 2nd shot looks much better than the others. Thats because you used a faster shutter speed. If you were using the 100mm lens then the 1/100th shutter look pretty much right on. I would also definately say that the f/22 was unnecessary. Looks like f/11 or f/8 would have done fine and would give better sharpness. The 1/25th and 1/30th shutter on pics 1, 3 and 4 were way to slow thus showing the sledders with to much motion. Pic 3 looks like the shutter might have worked, but the focus was off. Your distance looks good, just maybe a different angle. Maybe instead of standing up try sitting more at the same level as the sledders and you'll get more of the background. The background blur looks great.

You certainly have the right idea, just a few minor tweeks look to be need for better results.

I haven't done panning in a while so I'm not going to say that I would have any different results.

With your focusing are you using a specific area. I don't know what the focus points look like in the XT's. I know in my D50 I have 5 small rectangles for my focus area's and can switch from one to the area. In this situation I would keep the head of the sledder/skier in either the very middle focus area or the middle-top focus area and that would just how fast I move the camera. If your already doing that then its just a matter getting the settings correct and doing a little more practice. Thus your definately in the right direction.

 

[jann1033]

Very good first attempts Jann. The 2nd shot looks much better than the others. Thats because you used a faster shutter speed. If you were using the 100mm lens then the 1/100th shutter look pretty much right on. I would also definately say that the f/22 was unnecessary. Looks like f/11 or f/8 would have done fine and would give better sharpness. The 1/25th and 1/30th shutter on pics 1, 3 and 4 were way to slow thus showing the sledders with to much motion. Pic 3 looks like the shutter might have worked, but the focus was off. Your distance looks good, just maybe a different angle. Maybe instead of standing up try sitting more at the same level as the sledders and you'll get more of the background. The background blur looks great.

You certainly have the right idea, just a few minor tweeks look to be need for better results.

I haven't done panning in a while so I'm not going to say that I would have any different results.

With your focusing are you using a specific area. I don't know what the focus points look like in the XT's. I know in my D50 I have 5 small rectangles for my focus area's and can switch from one to the area. In this situation I would keep the head of the sledder/skier in either the very middle focus area or the middle-top focus area and that would just how fast I move the camera. If your already doing that then its just a matter getting the settings correct and doing a little more practice. Thus your definately in the right direction.

i used what my camera calls the al servo focusing that is supposed to be for moving subjects when the distance changes..maybe i should have used the al focus for when it's moving at a constant rate? the little focus boxes didn't light up i am guessing due to the focus mode i used so i was kind of hoping it was focusing in the right place and obviously i hoped in vain
good idea about changing the angle...duh for me...i'm going to have to start putting post it notes all over me with "things to remember"

 

[MarkBarbieri]

would the panning IS on the 70-300 IS help it be less blurry? is that the purpose of that IS mode ? ie you can leave it on panning..hence no doubt the panning mode name

Yes. In Mode 1, the camera IS system tries to stabilize the image and your panning confuses the heck out of it. It tries to move against panning, fails, and then has a nervous breakdown. The weeping causes camera shake with musses up your photo. That may not be it exactly, but I can tell you that panning in Mode 1 leads to crummier looking pictures than no IS at all.In Mode 2, your camera is expecting you to pan. It has gyros to watch for horizontal and vertical motion. In Mode 2, these sensors operate independently. If it senses that you are moving the camera a lot in one direction, that sensor gives up and doesn't try to do anything. The other sensor keeps doing its job. So if you are panning horizontally, the vertical sensor keeps trying to stabilize the image vertically. If you try to pan diagonally, both sensors quit and IS essentially shuts down. If you are in Mode 2 and you don't move much at all, it works pretty much like Mode 1.So why not leave it in Mode 2 all the time? I haven't seen anything definitive from Canon about this. My guess is that in situations where you aren't pretty steady, the sensors could get confused and shut off IS needlessly. In Mode 1, they would just keep trying.

 

[Groucho]

Nice attempts, but I think you'd have more luck if you were closer to the subjects. It's hard enough to keep the camera steady at all at that distance, and especially to keep it centered on a pretty small object that's moving at a fast speed... you will have to pan faster if the object is closer but it should still be much easier to keep it in the same place on your camera's sensor.

 

[jann1033]

yeah, i think i should have used a zoom even if i used the kit lens which i always forget is f3.5...next time i'll just have to get into gear and leave earlier so losing light will be one less thing to worry about
thanks everyone for the pointers!