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Well, took my new baby (70-200VR) out for at test run today at WSID. The name of the game was 'panning', which i haven't had to much practice at, and it's not as easy as i thought.

Took about 400 shots of cars/bikes/dragsters throughout the day and got a mixed bag of results i'd have to say. Probably need to work on my panning a bit more. Got some ok shots, but most will end up in the trash.

My main settings were:

handheld
iso 200
shutter priority @ 1/200s to 1/350s,
mostly around 150-200mm focal
focus mode - AF-C, and dynamic
VR normal mode
matrix meter

I wasn't to sure which focus mode to go with; single, dynamic or closest. But chose dynamic?

I also had it set to continuous 3FPS, but don't think i used it like this, instead shooting single shots for the same runs..

Probably 1/3 of my shots were slightly blurred, which sux.

Anyway, that was my day, tips/feedback would be great

I'll post some pics later

had good fun?

Shouldn't you have been working?

I tried to see if john henman could help me with a pass in, but he was unable to

See you out there next weekend for sure!

I believe that you should pan in active mode

yeah, had fun. too hot and sticky though. i gave up working on them once i got a camera, pack the chutes with my old man usually, but mostly try and get them some good shots. got there when they were about to run, so had to pay $15 to get in quickly

i should have tried all the focus modes, but things looked ok on the LCD, sharpness wise, but a little different on the computer..

I found the D70 very limiting for sports shots and something as fast as drag cars would be difficult to say the least. If you got a few good shots then well done to you. I can imagine how difficult it is shooting cars reaching 400KPH. I found that even shooting something as mundane as a netball match was difficult with the D70. The small viewfinder did not help either.

With a D2H (or D2X hi-speed crop) you will find it much easier as the shutter is blanked out for much less time. On the D2H, the shutter is blanked out for less than a blink, which means reacquiring your target is far quicker so panning is much easier. Autofocus is also faster. (6-8 FPS would be good for the drags too )

Just food for thought.

your not wrong

the viewfinder is killing me, it's just too damn small.

D200 is next on my list, so can't wait..

I wouldn't have used VR. It's been my experience that VR slows down the shot.

i kind of got that impression too. i think because i released the shutter betweeen shots on the same run, the VR was turning on/off. either way it was a good learning day

I'm finding the d200 perfect for drag racing, so far

Phepsi, if you want to borrow it sometime and try it out, youre most welcome

yeah, looking forward to the D200 not sure if i should keep my D70, or sell it. it's been good to me, and was the best choice as a first camera.. maybe keep as a backup body.

can't wait to look through a D200 viewfinder and see what the difference is. only ever held a D70!

thanks heaps for the offer, kyle, but i wouldn't dare borrow another mans gear i will go to a store and have a fiddle with one though before i commit..

Pehpsi wrote:yeah, looking forward to the D200 not sure if i should keep my D70, or sell it. it's been good to me, and was the best choice as a first camera.. maybe keep as a backup body.

can't wait to look through a D200 viewfinder and see what the difference is. only ever held a D70!

thanks heaps for the offer, kyle, but i wouldn't dare borrow another mans gear i will go to a store and have a fiddle with one though before i commit..

Pfft, I have a d70s in my bag to tide me over while you have it...

If your shutter speed is high enough such that you can forget about camera shake then turn the VR off. Even though you're meant to be able to pan with it on, I find turning it off altogether increases my keeper rate when panning. Pick an appropriate shutter speed (yours looks fine) and just get used to the action of panning, keeping the car still in the viewfinder. It's all about being in the 'rhythm' of things. I also find that a monopod (or tripod with one leg extended if you've just moved house like me and can't find your monopod ) with a loosened ball head on the top dramatically increases my keeper rate. When I first started my keeper rate was probably similar to yours, maybe 25% 'print out and keep' quality shots, but last weekend at the A1GP that rate was around 75%. Like you the first time I tried panning I got mixed results; stick at it because it will come with time and practise.

The D70 is fine for motorsports, the last four galleries on the front page of my site plus the Belgian GP gallery over the page were all shot with a D70 and 70-200 VR, sometimes with TC17EII. Sure I find it easier with the D200 and the burst rate is better for action sequences, but it's no impediment to panning.

thanks for the advice, MCWB.

had great fun with the new lens and pretty much the whole place to myself, seeing as only a handful of people were there

i'm gona try without VR soon, and see how i go. it kind of felt like the speed and panning was a little too quick for the VR.

nice site too, great pics you got there!

I've found the D70 is fine for panning shots, the AF-S on the 70-200VR may help with other shots as I have been using the 70-300G which is only AF.

This image was taken with the 70-300G panning, 1/50th, f14, 80mm, Center Weighted, ISO was bumped up a little at that stage too.

The bit I will really enjoy with the D200 is the ability to track objects and ignore something that may come between you and that object for a period of time. (i.e signs, trees, witches hats etc). 5fps will be handy too for some of the accident / action sequences too.

But I have grown with the D70 over the past two years and it does a pretty damn good job for what it is. I think it teaches you to learn a little more on the basics, specially when coupled with a lens such as the 70-300G...

Brett

well said, brett.

i was a little worried to go under 1/200s with panning incase it was too slow, but you've proven it's possible with your 1/50s shot.

i'm very happy with my D70. it's my first camera of any kind, and bought it because it was the first thing i saw. glad i did. didnt know what 'aperture' was when i first got it!

i know it pretty well now, 7 or 8 months in. i'll be ready for a bit more soon, which is when i'll get the D200