Took over 1000 images and this was the best I could do.

[Braineack]

I was trying to see how well the 150-600 did panning at an auto race. Most shots were done under 200mm, so I really should have used my 70-200. I was using VC on these and while I just got the update, it only worked well if I was panning left/right perfectly. When I'd pan at any sort of angle not parallel to the ground, I could see the frame get jittery and the images show it. A little bit of a let down, but I still did well when I turned it off, just seems VR does quite a better job here.

It actually keep up with focus quite well, but this was probably my worst outing for panning shots ever.

The weather didnt help: 50°s, 20mph winds, and torrential rain. No waterproofing used, camera still clicking away.

f/8.0, 420.0 mm, 1/80 sec, iso 100:

Scott Pruett in the No. 01 Ford EcoBoost Riley by The Braineack, on Flickr



f/10.0, 180.0 mm, 1/60 sec, iso 80:

GTLM Porsche North America No. 912 by The Braineack, on Flickr



f/13.0, 600.0 mm, 1/60 sec, iso 80:

No. 48 Castrol EDGE Audi R8 LMS by The Braineack, on Flickr

 

[Braineack]

FWIW, de-haze really is neat, here's the SOOC:

looks like all it really does is add blacks, structure/clarity, and contrast. But so easy to pull stuff out of a dull image with it.

 

[Braineack]

Here's some more:

could not fix the colors on this one...
Top1 Oil No. 6 by The Braineack, on Flickr




No. 5 Mustang Sampling/Hazlitt’s Cider Tree Corvette DP by The Braineack, on Flickr





Whelen Corvette Prototype by The Braineack, on Flickr





No. 17 Team Falken Tire Porsche 911 RSR by The Braineack, on Flickr





Turner Motorsport No. 97 BMW Z4 by The Braineack, on Flickr

 

[Dave442]

Nice set of shots. I guess the panning detection in the 150-600 is not as good as what you found in the 70-200. Really like the Mustang Sampling shot, it would have been ruined without the panning.

 

[benp2k6]

All of those shots are awesome! What de-haze are you talking about? I took a pano of Dubai last year and had to de-haze it myself which was time consuming and trial and error for me.

Also.. how do you like your Tamron 70-200 vs the nikon equivalent? Is it worth the $1k off?

 

[Braineack]

The newest Lightroom 6.1 has a De-Haze slider.

Yes, the Tamron 70-200 2.8 VC is awesome, well worth the saving over the Nikon. I just wanted to give my 150-600 a workout and see how the new VC panning firmware upgrade did.


full album is here, adding as I come across keepers my 2nd pass: Sahlen s Six Hours of The Glen Flickr - Photo Sharing

 

[JoeW]

Love 1, 2, 6, &7 the most. To me, they capture the feel of a serious race...speed (blur plus composition) with color and the sharp detail on the cars. Well done--thanks for sharing.

 

[Braineack]

Yeah, the panning is what gives you that feeling of speed. I was shooting at 1/50-1/80 sec so it's tough! but when you nail it, it really works in your favor.

Some of the place I was shooting just didnt have great background. I should have found a spot against the grandstands or something, but the weather really played a factor here, it was awful--Felt like winter.

 

[RDenhardt]

Really nice set! #2 is my favorite, gives an incredible speed perception

 

[jl1975]

Those are excellent shots. Well done

 

[AlanKlein]

Very nice shots. On the ones at a 45 degree angle, the back of the cars are not in focus. I would prefer the whole car to be in focus. The camera seems to focus on just the front. Could the ISO have been raised to allow more DOF?

 

[Braineack]

Very nice shots. On the ones at a 45 degree angle, the back of the cars are not in focus. I would prefer the whole car to be in focus. The camera seems to focus on just the front. Could the ISO have been raised to allow more DOF?

It's not a DOF issue; it's a movement issue--this is exactly what I was going for here.

Look at the last shot I posted of the Turner BMW-- the thing is sharp. But look at the spoiler, it's blurry. My movements and the movement of the spoiler didn't quite line up. I'd have to run along the track perfectly parallel to the car to pan this without getting that sort of blur, but I stand in one spot and turn my body as it passes, so things are all traveling at different speeds in relation to the camera.

This is especially apparently on the 45° shots are you mention; I'm tracking the front of the car as it's going through a corner--I'm actually panning downward--and the rear of the car is not matching the front, nor my camera movements, so the rear gets blurred and exaggerated as it's still rotating around the corner.

You can see from my EXIF that I was shooting upwards of f/16 to cut out light due to my slow shutter. This was purposeful. Had I increased the shutter speed and ISO, I'd have fully sharp cars, true. But I'd also have sharp wheels and background and this is not a look I was going for. This makes a fast car appear parked in the middle of a track. I only shoot races like this when I'm trying to capture action like: tires off the ground, fire from the exhaust, or crashes into the wall.



Off topic: Speaking of small apertures, if you look again at that Turner BMW you can see the shot is riddled with sensor spots I forgot to clone out. This led me to do a whitewall test after going through these pics which led to me calling Nikon Customer Service--my sensor is VERY dirty again after just 1 year and 1 month from my shutter replacement, and I'm trying to request a D610 replacement (was on hold for 30mins and gave up). The sensor is FILTHY and not typical from the limited use I give my camera.

 

[Braineack]

Just got off the phone with Nikon. They want a few sample shots, which I got the email address to submit to them. And once they confirm my sensor is just as dirty today after the shutter replacement, in 1 years time, as it was before the "fix", they'll approve me for my D610 replacement.

Last June:

Yesterday:

 

[benp2k6]

Good to know!!! I just did a white wall test on mine and it too is filthy. I have about 5500 actuations on mine. I have never called nikon about it, and actually just ordered sensor cleaners. Should I approach nikon rather than cleaning myself? Don't want to be without my camera for weeks though...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[AlanKlein]

I think the 1st shot is the one that most bothered me about the focus. #5, shot at the same angle, is better. The wheels and background are out of focus giving the idea of movement. The BMW shot was straight on so the focus is easier to be kept in focus from front to rear. My personal preference for the 1st one is that it would be better if the whole car was in focus except the wheels and background. I don't like the out of focus points, especially the lettering. The blurry lettering doesn't give an illusion of car movement; rather it just looks blurry. Overall, I think you did a great job. The races look like they were very exciting to watch.