need a few tips (motorsport)

[Pehpsi]

hey, i went drag racing over the weekend to get some snaps using my D70 and Tamron 70-300, but most shots were slightly out of focus and not very sharp!

my general settings were: shutter priority @ 1/400, cont servo focus, ISO 200, using focal between 150-300mm.

i did forget to set the focus area on dynamic though, and instead used single which only uses the middle focus area..could this be the culprit?

also, i know you should match shutter speed to focal length to avoid shake, but what speed would be enough for panning shots and following the cars off the line?

cheers...

[Raskill]

Post us some shots mate, it makes it easier to tell the problem tha way.

You might find the lens isn't helping. Especially at the longer focal lengths, particularly if it is anything like the Nikkor 70-300.

As for panning for cars, obviously, the slower the better, but it also makes it harder. Panning for a shot for a car doing a constant speed is also far far easier than trying to get one of those rockets off the start line, which I think is why you don't often see panning drag shots off the line.

Maybe move further up the track and try panning.

Good luck!