Panning and motion blur question

puyjapin

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I took some nice shots at a Drag race which I posted in one of the forums. However even though a good few came out nice in some of the shots when panning even though i got the motion blur, the car was not sharp. I tried to use a relatively slow shutter 1/200th or even a little less and adjusted aperture till correct exposure. Bear in mind im using a VR lens so that shutter speed shouldnt be a problem at even 300mm. I am actually wondering if the blur is due to the fact the lens isnt focussing fast enough as im panning. Any tips appreciated.Rob
 
Is it blur or softness? An example image might help (and a full res crop too, preferably with a few edges, to see the detail of the blur/focus issue).
 
ok, here are a couple of nice ones i think are sharp enough, the last one is a blurry one.
DSC_0364_edited-1.jpg


DSC_0369_edited-1.jpg


DSC_0377.jpg
 
In the last one the blur could be from a combination of motion blur (object moving), lens blur (camera/lens moving) and panning technique (was the camera on a tripod?).

Panning is one of those things that takes time to master. You're not going to get every shot to come out perfectly.
 
I am actually wondering if the blur is due to the fact the lens isnt focussing fast enough as im panning.
I'm thinking this is another possibility. I'm not sure about the Nikon DSLRs but with Canon the entry level DSLRs don't track moving objects in AI Servo Mode as well as the prosumer or professional models do.

Your first two shots look good. Just keep practicing and your panning keeper rate will go up.
 
A couple of things:

1. Do you keep your lens in normal or active modes. For panning it should be in normal mode.

2. Even with VR the amount of shutter speed you need to camera shake is highest when your subject is moving perpendicular to the lens axis. Any angle less than 90 degrees substantally reduces the need for shutter speed.

Image #3 is that situation where the subject is moving exactly 90 degrees to the lens axis and you were at 200mm but only 1/125 in shutter speed. VR isn't the be all to end all and if your lens is not set to the right mode you're not getting maximum benefit from the VR.

I have to agree with Samanax #3 is a combo of things.
Refer to page 18 of your lens users manual for a quick review of VR function for this lens.

You have to love how nice an image that 70-300 (on a D40 no less) takes considering it's (and the D40's) cost. :thumbup:
 

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