Action shots

[echoback]

I've been practicing with some action shots but I'm still seeming to get this annoying slight blur that won't go away. Is this just as good as it gets? Speed, I took your advice with the horse shot and used a half second delay, which worked out pretty good and also steadied the camera on a fence post. I shot these at f4.2. Should I increase it to lessen blur?

(Nikon 5700)

[adina]

what are your settings?

The blur you're getting appears to be from the movement. The shutter speed you are using isn't fast enough to freeze the action.

[echoback]

hi adina-the settings I used were 125th@f4.2. Should I have increased the aperture?

[AndersonCAA]

As the scene appears to be more than light enough you might want to go shutter priority with a speed of at least 1/500 or better yet 1/750 to 1/1,000 to get stop action. You also might want to meter based on the horse and rider as the bright sky in the upper left is causing your cameras sensor to darken the subjects and this is causing loss of detail. Nice composition though as you got the shot.

[Kaelastreet]

I recently got a tri-pod from ebay, gee, it weighs in at thirty pounds, well, it feels like it. The name on it is Benbow (I think) but helps me take rock solid shots. open the apperture, go for the faster speed and if need be, cheat on the ISO, I do, doesnt help much, seems some days, it works or it doesnt. The ducks are great though

[echoback]

AndersonCAA-thanks for the comments. I'm going to try this again and I'll play around with the shutter speed as well.

Kaelastreet-hehe, that sounds like quite a load to carry around! maybe I'll just stick to fence posts for now lol. But I have been meaning to try to find a tripod, I'll look up that name. thanks for the comments!

[Kaelastreet]

Ebay can be a nightmare, my advise would be to find out the tripod you want by looking at what others are using, talk with other photographers, twitchers or airplane watchers. Once you have a name, search on that name, and DONT let yourself be swayed. Remember, on eBay if it looks like a bargain, it probably is worded in favour of the 'seller', not the buyer. If it seens to good to be true, it probably is.

Know what you want to pay, $50, $100,$500, and STICK with it.

Kizz

[echoback]

thanks for the advice Kizz! I have had differing experiences with Ebay. I guess it depends, I try to look for the sellers with the best feedback. I actually just got my Nikon 5700 off Ebay and it is amazing. But I will definitely be careful, can't ever get that advice too often lol!

[Kaelastreet]

thanks for the advice Kizz! I have had differing experiences with Ebay. I guess it depends, I try to look for the sellers with the best feedback. I actually just got my Nikon 5700 off Ebay and it is amazing. But I will definitely be careful, can't ever get that advice too often lol!

I have been buying and Selling on eBay for quite a while.
I try to work with the premise that if I don't like what I get, I can always sell it again on eBay to someone else.
Problems can arise if I let myself get into a bidding Frenzy, because then, there is no margin left in the item and if I try to sell it, chances are good I will sell at a loss, and I HATE tearing up dollar bills.

Whatever you do, go in with your eyes wide open, a fixed price in your mind, and a way out if it all goes pear shaped.

But more than that... Have Fun ! !

:thumbsup: Kizz

[WsW-WYATT-EARP]

Hi all,

New guy to the forum, trying to learn how to take advantage of my nikon 5700 and ran across this forum and this thread. I like the pics!

I upgraded to my 5700 I think a year and a half ago, and just took everyday family photos. The kid goes to private school so alot of his activities are held in a church. So this past xmas I purchased a nikon sb-600 speedlight for better shots. This summer we have been to many sporting events and been taking alot of pics there. Now I picked up the nikon teleconverter tc-15ed off ebay, the nikon wide angle wc-e80 off ebay, and the nikon mb-5700 AA battery for extended power life.

Now I am hoping to learn how to manipulate the iso / shutter speed / apature .. blah blah blah .... this jargon is all greek to me and I have no clue what it all means. I will be starting to go through the book page by page.

We have a trip to mt. rushmoore planned for the summer and I want to be able to take some amazing shots out there. Here is a shot I took at a Sox game we went to on my b-day, we were 5th row upper deck, all camera settings were automatic, i zoomed to about 3 digital zoom, and no tripod was used.. I just crunched up and steadied myself the best i could and took the shot. I WAS AMAZED AT THE RESULT! With the situation it is nice, would be nice if it was a bit more crisp, tripod / lens / settings should help.

I have been very pleased with the outcome of the shots from the 5700!

[GB1]

Hi all,

New guy to the forum, trying to learn how to take advantage of my nikon 5700 and ran across this forum and this thread. I like the pics!

I upgraded to my 5700 I think a year and a half ago, and just took everyday family photos. The kid goes to private school so alot of his activities are held in a church. So this past xmas I purchased a nikon sb-600 speedlight for better shots. This summer we have been to many sporting events and been taking alot of pics there. Now I picked up the nikon teleconverter tc-15ed off ebay, the nikon wide angle wc-e80 off ebay, and the nikon mb-5700 AA battery for extended power life.

Now I am hoping to learn how to manipulate the iso / shutter speed / apature .. blah blah blah .... this jargon is all greek to me and I have no clue what it all means. I will be starting to go through the book page by page.

We have a trip to mt. rushmoore planned for the summer and I want to be able to take some amazing shots out there. Here is a shot I took at a Sox game we went to on my b-day, we were 5th row upper deck, all camera settings were automatic, i zoomed to about 3 digital zoom, and no tripod was used.. I just crunched up and steadied myself the best i could and took the shot. I WAS AMAZED AT THE RESULT! With the situation it is nice, would be nice if it was a bit more crisp, tripod / lens / settings should help.

I have been very pleased with the outcome of the shots from the 5700!

WsW-WYATT-EARP - Welcome to our humble photo forum. My advice would be to do just what you're doing, diving into the terminology and theory re shutter speeds, aperature, etc. If you want to be a good photographer then you definitely must learn this stuff inside out.

Nice shot here. It could be crisper but since you zoomed in so far not bad. Two things could have caused it to be slightly blurry - camera shake (probably the cause) or inprecise focus (possible). If it isn't to infinity and you have the aperature wide open (the lowest value), you must just have missed the focus point. The shutter speed rule is to use the recipical of at least as fast a shutter speed as the focal length you're shooting at. So if you're shooting with a 200mm lens, you must use at least 1/250 of a second (there is no 1/200, so use the next one up). With a tripod you can use a slower shutter though.

Good Luck
GB

[GB1]

I've been practicing with some action shots but I'm still seeming to get this annoying slight blur that won't go away. Is this just as good as it gets? Speed, I took your advice with the horse shot and used a half second delay, which worked out pretty good and also steadied the camera on a fence post. I shot these at f4.2. Should I increase it to lessen blur?

(Nikon 5700)

Echo - Yes, it's a pretty clear case of too slow a shutter speed. 1/60th of a sec usually freezes walking people. For a galloping horse, must faster.

Btw, I like the way the photos lay out here... looks like the horse is jumping the ducks!

GB

[Speed]

I've been practicing with some action shots but I'm still seeming to get this annoying slight blur that won't go away. Is this just as good as it gets? Speed, I took your advice with the horse shot and used a half second delay, which worked out pretty good and also steadied the camera on a fence post. I shot these at f4.2. Should I increase it to lessen blur?

(Nikon 5700)

I like the horse shot! Very nice. I'm glad the pre-focusing is working for you.

A little blur on the subject is not necessarily a bad thing, as it can show action. If you want to "freeze" the subject, then yes, open up the apeture even more for a faster shutter speed. Or you can select shutter priority, but check the playback, as they may come out under-exposed if the shutter speed is too high for the camera's maximum apeture. The camera's viewfinder should give you a warning if that is the case.

I'm guessing the ducks were just moving too fast to freeze. Panning with your subject (following them with the camera) will help to lessen that, but arms, legs, wings, etc, in motion will still be blurred without a really high shutter speed. Like everything else, it takes practice to master. Also, a little trick of the trade - it's easier to get a clear shot of a subject moving toward you or away from you, then it is to get one of a subject crossing in front of you.

Using a solid support like a fence post or a tripod can help give you clearer photo's, but can also be difficult to use on moving subjects. I use a monopod to shoot my girls soccer games. Check with B&H Photo (http://www.bhphotovideo.com) for tripods and monopods. They have an excellent selection, and some of the best prices around.

One last item, make sure you are gently pressing the shutter release. Especially with the shutter lag, a heavy finger on the shutter release is the easiest way to blur a photo. Keep practicing. You are doing fine, and the more you practice, the better you are going to get.