Having trouble with panning...

[LuvMyRedHead]

I really dont feel like i'm getting it....

First - I cant get my light meter to balance while I was doing this and I dont understand why? It was a rather sunny day and I was having my friend bike ride around me so I could take the shots... I tried all different combinations of aperture and shutter speed but nothing would make it budge off the +3 side the meter...thoughts?

Second - not that i've developed the film, but do you ever get the feeling you took some crappy shots? I did with all 5 shots I took...and since I need to develop a whole roll to do the project I want to ensure I take some better pics before Tuesday morning....thoughts?

I guess these learning experiences are why some ppl love digital so much, they could see right then and there if they took a good shot - i'll have to wait till Tuesday!! But it's worth the weight as i've fallen in love with B&W film..

Thanks for any advice on this - i feel totally uncomfortable with this roll of film...

Oh using T-Max 100....

[Xia_Ke]

Hi LMRH, panning takes a bit getting used to. I usually try to take a meter reading of the subject stationary, or something in the same light, then make my shutter speed and aperture settings. That way you're all ready to go. If you're meter is reading +3, that means you are over exposing 3 or more stops. Try using a faster shutter speed or smaller aperture. At this stage in the game, I wouldn't worry about crappy shots. Just have fun and experiment. Get used to your camera and how the film reacts in different situations and just have fun with it :thumbsup: Some of the best shots you get come after shooting staged shots that you know suck afterwards, then you have a couple shots left on a roll and you just shoot whatever to finish it off. I've had a few outings were the best shots were by far the last couple I just "fired off".

[Xia_Ke]

Oh, you might want to check with the good folks in the Sports forum also. I'm sure they could definitely give you some good pointers for panning shots :thumbsup:

[LuvMyRedHead]

Thanks so much Aaron!

[LuvMyRedHead]

Another question just popped into my head...

So you say to try a faster shutter speed? But isn't the point to use a longer one so you can pan for longer? I was trying anywhere from 4-15 sec (seemed like forever) Will the same panning effect be possible if I use 1 second or less??

Also, I have found that my f-stops dont go below 4.5, is this normal? Why don't I have a 2.8? I have a Canon Rebel T2 and I have read the manual but truth be told it's not fantastic and doesn't give me the scales...

Thanks - Ilene

[Xia_Ke]

4-15 seconds is WAAYYY to long of an exposure for your shooting conditions and way longer than you would want to shoot handheld unless you were trying for some funky effects. By panning shot, are you trying to shoot so the subject is sharp but, the background is motion blurred? Depending on how fast your subject is moving you really don't need that slow of a shutter speed to achieve that effect. Again, the sports guys are way better at those shots than I and could offer you much better advice on achieving the results you're after.

As for your lens, a minimum aperture of 4.5 for a zoom lens is normal. Most 2.8 zooms fall into the "pro" lens territory and will cost considerably more than you paid for your whole camera outfit. What scales were you interested in? Are you referring to a depth of field scale on your lens? Very few autofocus lenses will have these on them.

[LuvMyRedHead]

Crap ok see I knew I was doing something wrong. I did post in the sports forum, we'll see what they say... I will try and shoot with faster speeds....DARN!

Uhm maybe I dont know what i'm talking about? But now I understand why I dont have 2.8 Scale was the wrong word...in my class book it shows a list/"scale" of the aperture values - I assumed I should have them all - the book makes no note about what type of lens will have what aperture values so I didnt realize. Thanks for setting me straight. Me and my basic lens with f4.5 will do just fine im sure! :-)

[Xia_Ke]

Ahhh, the scale in your book was probably just showing the sequence of aperture values in steps of 1 full stop. No, this does not mean that every lens goes all the way to f/1. This can be a good or bad thing depending on the situation. Now while a bigger aperture (smaller f/#) means you can shoot in lower light and have a shallower depth of field, it also means a lot more glass is needed for the lens which means more weight and more $$$. I think you will find 4.5 will be fine for most shooting situations. If you would like to experiment with a lens that will give you a bit more aperture range, I HIGHLY recommend picking up a 50mm f/1.8 lens like this one:

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...0mm_f_1_8.html

They are cheap, about the sharpest lenses produced, and offer plenty of "room", aperture wise, to play. If you do a search in the Viewfinder forum you will find lots of threads of shots from people using their 50mm lenses. Also, shooting with a prime lens will allow you to learn composition better and faster than with a zoom IMO. The lens I linked you to should work on your camera but, I'm not 100% on Canon's lens compatibility so I would do a double check with the good folks in the Canon forum first.

[LuvMyRedHead]

Ohhhh wow ok I went to the link....put the lens on the my wish list. My Mom works in Manhattan so I plan to send her to B&H with a shopping list for me within a week!!

Thank you very much for taking the time to look for the lens for me and post the link!

I look forward to getting this lens and seeing the difference it makes from my current 28-90mm lens. Personally when I bought the camera (from B&H) I had no idea what kind of lens I needed, in fact I didnt know anything about the lenses. Still dont fully understand it all (although tonight I must take the 1st exam so I must know something, ha ha) B&H was offering the package deal and that's the lens the camera came with. I'm happy with how the pictures have been turning out - but I love the idea of comparision...

Ilene

[Xia_Ke]

Ilene, there's nothing wrong with that 28-90mm lens at all. It's a great little lens for starting out. I think you will find that the 50's are a very fun lens though. Here's a couple of the 50mm threads I mentioned above:

50mm Walk About
50mm f/1.8 Lens War Thread
50mm Black and White
The "NEW" 50mm f/1.8 Lens War Thread!

So what other goodies do you have on the shopping list for B&H?

Did a quick search on Flickr for the T2 and a 50mm to give you some food for thought:

http://www.flickr.com/search/?ss=2&w...t2+50mm&m=text

[LuvMyRedHead]

WOW i'm blown away by some of the photos in those 50mm threads. Now I want that lens even more!!

Hmmm on the wish list, well I have a 250 sheet pkg of paper, all different ISO rolls of film, just about everything I need to set up the darkroom and the Nikon D80 (ha ha ha that'll be a while!!)

Also been starting to look at fully manual 35mm SLR's - any suggestions??

Flickr for some reason is banned here at work - so i'll have to check out that link at home....

[Xia_Ke]

That sucks. Luckily, nothing is banned at work here and the boss is pretty lax about surfing while it's quiet

What are you thinking about getting for paper, film, and chemicals?

There are many excellent manual 35mm cameras out there. Being a little partial to Nikon, I would recommend the FM2, FE2, and FA (WCPilot has the FA and is loving it). From other brands there's the Canon AE-1, Pentax K1000, or the Olympus OM1 or 2. All of these are die hard cameras and can be had very reasonably with a 50mm included.

[LuvMyRedHead]

Alright hold up cause now im confused. So the 50mm lens already comes pre-set as a f1.8? So when I attach it to the camera should I no longer use the manual settings? Or will the lens talk to the camera and then i'll be able to go down to f1.8 on the aperture settings...?

Am I making any sense?

[LuvMyRedHead]

Ah yes I am decendant from a long time of Nikon lovers. I was shunned for a brief time when they heard I had purchased Canon for my class. I have looked into the FM2. I will start to seriously look more....

Hmm paper i'm sticking with the Ilford Pearl Multigrade. It's what i've used so far and I like it. Do you have another suggestion for something I should try?

As for film - I really just want a roll or two of every ISO there is!! HA HA I've decided i'm partial to the Ilford there as well...

Chemicals - haven't gotten that far :-)

At work they are very lax on the surfing as well, just the company blocks certain websites sometimes...

[Xia_Ke]

Alright hold up cause now im confused. So the 50mm lens already comes pre-set as a f1.8? So when I attach it to the camera should I no longer use the manual settings? Or will the lens talk to the camera and then i'll be able to go down to f1.8 on the aperture settings...?

Am I making any sense?

Making perfect sense. The rating of the lens f/1.8 is just the widest aperture of the lens. The Canon 50mm has an aperture range of f/1.8 - f/22. With some zoom lenses you will see an aperture range listed, say 3.5-4.5. This means when zoomed out to say 28mm (using your zoom lens as an example), the widest aperture would be 3.5, while when your zoomed in to 90mm, the widest aperture would be 4.5. I hope I'm explaining this clearly???

[LuvMyRedHead]

Yes you are making sense. It's sorta coming together in my head. I feel like an idiot.... I'm sure eventually it'll all make perfect sense! :idea:

[Xia_Ke]

Ah yes I am decendant from a long time of Nikon lovers. I was shunned for a brief time when they heard I had purchased Canon for my class. I have looked into the FM2. I will start to seriously look more....

Hmm paper i'm sticking with the Ilford Pearl Multigrade. It's what i've used so far and I like it. Do you have another suggestion for something I should try?

As for film - I really just want a roll or two of every ISO there is!! HA HA I've decided i'm partial to the Ilford there as well...

Chemicals - haven't gotten that far :-)

At work they are very lax on the surfing as well, just the company blocks certain websites sometimes...

Nothing wrong with being partial towards any particular brand...LOL Not sure how set you are on ordering from B&H but, This last time I ordered some Arista II RC paper and so far am liking it a little better than the Ilford Ilfospeed I was using beforehand. A box of 250 sheets of 8x10 is $42 less a box than the Ilford Multigrade. Everyone seems to love the Multigrade but, figured I would mention the Arista considering the difference in price. However, it's only available through www.freestylephoto.biz though.

[Xia_Ke]

Yes you are making sense. It's sorta coming together in my head. I feel like an idiot.... I'm sure eventually it'll all make perfect sense! :idea:

We all have to learn some time :thumbsup:

[SmartWombat]

[QUOTE=LuvMyRedHead]I was trying anywhere from 4-15 sec (seemed like forever) Will the same panning effect be possible if I use 1 second or less? of only 2.5 seconds.
It gives an impression of a race car at night.
Mind you a friend of mine could identify the car - but he's a geek.

You will probably only successfully pan at around 1/125s or faster to start with, with proper technique and practice you can get that down to 1/50 or even 1/25 with luck.

[LuvMyRedHead]

tried about 12 different shots tonight...went from 1 second all the way to 1/250 i think so we'll see how they turn out when i develop the film on Tuesday morning in class. im really hoping at least one image came out well because the project is due Thursday and I dont want to spend Wed re-shooting - but we'll see...here's hopin!

BTW that is quite a great shot! thanks to you both for all the insight and advice!

aaron - im sure there will be many more questions on the way from me in the near future!!