Camera Tips

[Ginger]

So, I suck at cameras. I can point, hold mostly steady, and click down real good.. other than that, I'm no good. I don't know much about settings and lighting and all that.

I'm headed to Hagerstown this weekend for the AMA Grand National Flat track races and I'd like to get some half decent photographs while I'm there - any tips? I've got a 6 megapixel point and shoot camera (I don't remember the name off hand, I'll check when I get home). I know how to adjust the ISO and what size (megapixel? 1, 3, 4 5, 6 etc.) image to take. I can adjust the ISO as high as 1000 or keep it on auto. They'll be moving past me pretty quickly, for what it's worth.

What kind of advice do you guys have for taking good pictures, especially of things on track?

[white_2kgt]

I've read that when taking pictures of moving objects a good rule of thumb is to set the shutter speed equal to that of the object that is moving. So if a bike is going 80mph, set the shutter to 80 and 'pace' it then when it's in frame, snap the picture. 80 might be to low though to get a clear shot w/o a tripod. Whatever you do dont just hold the camera still and take the picture, the pics usually don't look all that great unless you have some uber fast telephoto lens.

Also just something I've learned taking picture is to REALLY watch the light, in your case, the Sun. Be mindful of where it's aiming and use that to your advantage. Basically you won't be able to stand in 1 place all day long and take great shots.

[Goodspeed]

All digital cameras need time to focus. Make sure you lightly press the shutter release, aiming at a certain spot so that the camera is already focused when you push it all the way down. Your camera probably doesn't have the best shutter speed limit to capture a moving object, but try your luck at panning by moving your body with your waist and keep panning even after you take the picture. Hopefully the subject will be sharp and the background blurred. If you want an all out freeze frame action shot, there are different steps to take. Check this out for tips

http://www.public.iastate.edu/~rong/CPC/..._photo.pdf

[Evan]

pumping up the ISO to 1000 is going to make the picture very grainy. You should only increase ISO when there is low light. (IMO)

Since with a point and shoot you cant change shutter speed or F-stop, I would focus on just framing the shot well and getting to a spot with good soft diffused light. Try panning with the subject as you take the pic, this takes practice but gives you the blurred background.
Also try pre-focusing the AF on a spot that is roughly the same distance as your subject so there is no AF delay.

i have a good newbie book that is a quick read if you want to swing by tonight and borrow it.

[Goodspeed]

Since with a point and shoot you cant change shutter speed or F-stop

Yes you can with most point and shoot cameras these days; I do it on my Canon Powershot

[Ginger]

Thanks, Evan. I might do that if I can get my bike done early enough.

I'll post up what my camera is tonight and you guys can tell me more about it

[Evan]

Since with a point and shoot you cant change shutter speed or F-stop

Yes you can with most point and shoot cameras these days; I do it on my Canon Powershot

cool, none of my canon P&Ss allow for that (so Im not sure about most ), which is ok for a P&S IMO.
Still probably a good idea to leave those settings on auto and focus on framing and light IMO.

apoc should chime in if he hasnt left for VIR already

[.RJ]

I can pick it up tonight, I've gotta bring Kaan his hammer back and I'd like to read over it as well.

Ginger might even be able to read it, since its a photography book I'm sure it will have lots of pictures.

[Ginger]

Pictures! Yay! Thanks, RJ.

[white_2kgt]

Since with a point and shoot you cant change shutter speed or F-stop

Yes you can with most point and shoot cameras these days; I do it on my Canon Powershot

cool, none of my canon P&Ss allow for that (so Im not sure about most ), which is ok for a P&S IMO.
Still probably a good idea to leave those settings on auto and focus on framing and light IMO.

apoc should chime in if he hasnt left for VIR already

What camera do you have? My 5yr old Canon lets me control everything my Digital Rebel does. They have basically the same controls.

[Apoc]

Since with a point and shoot you cant change shutter speed or F-stop

Yes you can with most point and shoot cameras these days; I do it on my Canon Powershot

cool, none of my canon P&Ss allow for that (so Im not sure about most ), which is ok for a P&S IMO.
Still probably a good idea to leave those settings on auto and focus on framing and light IMO.

I'd agree that most do these days the average user will do more harm than good. Heck, I rarely adjust shutter speed on my dSLR. I might move an f-stop up or down but the real butter is in exposure compensation.

My recommendation with a P&S is to prefocus and try to get in a place where the subject is coming at you. You don't really have to worry about shutter delay if they're not moving out of your frame. Either that or go to a slower corner where their movements are predictable. I think your greatest limiting factor is going to be the zoom... and for the sake of all that is holy, please don't use digital zoom.

[Ginger]

Thanks for the tips. Being flat track I can't really move to a slow corner, but it's very easy to get close in and to a point where the objects are coming at me. Flat track makes road racing look like you're watching from the nosebleed section. And don't worry, I won't use digizoom.

[Maengelito]

Try panning with the subject as you take the pic, this takes practice but gives you the blurred background.
Also try pre-focusing the AF on a spot that is roughly the same distance as your subject so there is no AF delay.

not that i'm a photog expert by any means, but i did this technique in the turn 5 bucket at summit to get the picture up on our banner of the white E30 M3 coming down the chute. it took a bunch of tries with a lot of different cars, but i think the picture turned out well

[Ginger]

OK - the camera is a Sony Cyber-Shot 6.0 Megapixel (DSC-S600).

What is the shutter adjustment called just in case I got the itch to try it?

[Apoc]

Shutter speed... although it's probably just called shutter.

[white_2kgt]

On mine I set it to Tv mode (Shutter Priority) it will pick an aperture automatically. Then I have controls to adjust the shutter speed.