panning help

[mjs1973]

I want to take some panning shots of some cars for my photo class to show movement. I'm using a Canon AE-1 with Kodak T-Max 100 film so I can't check each shot like I can with digital. The lens I will be using is Canon 50mm f1.8 I will be shooting in mid day light and I'm wondering what your thoughts on a good shutter speed would be. I will be doing this in town with trafic moving around 25mph. Would 1/30 do the trick? Also, I want to do some shots under the same conditions with the camera stationary and with a blurred subject, and sharp background. Any suggestions on this as well would be greatly appriciated.

Thanks
Michael

[Clemmie]

For the sharp background/blurred subject, assuming the camera is tripod mounted, 1/30 oughta do the trick. Might even try 1/15. The motion of the car, with everything else fixed, will certainly take care of blurring the car.

For shots where you're panning with the car, I'd try around 1/125 - to help counteract camera shake and keep the car sharp. The relative motion of the background will take care of blurring it. After you get the feel of tracking a few cars, you may even try 1/60, to make the background blur more dramatic. Much faster than 1/125 you'll end up freezing the background too, thus not getting the desired effect.

[mjs1973]

For the sharp background/blurred subject, assuming the camera is tripod mounted, 1/30 oughta do the trick. Might even try 1/15. The motion of the car, with everything else fixed, will certainly take care of blurring the car.

For shots where you're panning with the car, I'd try around 1/125 - to help counteract camera shake and keep the car sharp. The relative motion of the background will take care of blurring it. After you get the feel of tracking a few cars, you may even try 1/60, to make the background blur more dramatic. Much faster than 1/125 you'll end up freezing the background too, thus not getting the desired effect.

Thanks for the advice Clemmie! I'll give it a try this afternoon.

[another view]

I'd probably go slower with the pan shot. You can usually get away with a slower shutter speed than you'd normally use taking into account camera shake from handholding it. I shot a car race earlier this summer and the best shot of the day was with about a 135mm lens at 1/125 (maybe a bit less) and they were going a lot faster than 25mph!

This is a lot like photographing waterfalls, every shutter speed will give you a different result and everyone has their own personal preferences. Try 1/125, but also try all your shutter speeds down to 1/15 or 1/8 (really). Take a few at each setting. Decide where the car will be when you make your exposure, and stand facing that direction (when the car gets to the intersection, etc). Focus where the car will be at that point. Start panning before the car is near the spot you've picked, and as you keep panning, squeeze the shutter release when it gets there. Don't move the focus ring on the lens because it's set for the spot you'll make the exposure. Keep panning after the shutter is released a little ways to make sure the camera movement is smooth during exposure.

The slower the shutter speed, the more blur in the background, assuming that the cars are traveling at the same speed. Usually takes a lot of exposures to get one good one - but when it works, it looks great!

[trevor_little]

yeah i would probably go around 1/30 - 1/8 with that focal length. just make sure that the distance from the camera to the car is the same throughout the shot, ie. for best results in your situation I'd stand at a 90 degree angle with the road and it should work out. If you have a tripod or even a monopod you will find it a lot easier to keep the car sharp.
good luck man,
Trevor

[gmen]

There's a thread on panning here which might be of interest to you:

Motorsport, panning, hmmm....

[Toot]

I do not know the technical end of things, as far as the settings for the camera, but I have learned a few things that work for me. One thing that was mentioned in a class I took, that when you need to pan and do not have enough room for a tripod or monopod, use a piece of chain. Attach a piece of chain to an eye bolt that will screw into the bottom of your camera. Make sure the chain is long enough to stand on, whether it be portrait or landscape. By standing on the end of the chain, with your camera held up tight, you can pan very easily. Just be careful when you need to walk - I've tripped on my chain too many times to mention...not gracefully either...LOL. Then you can just put the chain in your pocket until you need it again. I enjoy taking pictures of airplanes and it has work for me. Also, panning reminds me of skeet shooting. Just my two cents.