settings for fast moving subjects..

[cwindle1]

hi guys, as most of you know, I photograph horses. I own a Nikon D5100 (soon to be upgraded to a d610, hopefully!!). My normal settings on manual mode are....

ISO- ranges from 640-1000
Shutter speeds- from 1/800+
I normally keep my aperture fully open.

I also have my camera set on:
focus mode- AF-C
AF-area mode- dynamic-area AF
Metering- Matric metering (don't really understand this).

However, when photographing horses jumping, I'm getting the jump in focus but horse isn't. Why? Some photos turn out sharp the rest are, well, ok. I use the Nikkor 70-300mm (i know is slow).

thanks!

 

[hamlet]

Why not buy the d7100? It has a much better focusing system from what i'm told.

 

[julianliu]

what do you mean jump in focus but not the horses?

 

[cwindle1]

As in, (sorry I've deleted the pictures) the jump would be focused but the horse jumping in mid air wont be in focus? as in, the horse isn't sharp, the jump is?

 

[KmH]

How Do I Use My Digital SLR?: The In-Camera Light Meter

Understanding Camera Metering and Exposure

Metering- Matric metering (don't really understand this).

However, when photographing horses jumping, I'm getting the jump in focus but horse isn't. Why? Some photos turn out sharp the rest are, well, ok. I use the Nikkor 70-300mm (i know is slow).

If the obstacle the horse is jumping is in focus, but the horse is not - your shutter speed is to slow.
That the obstacle is in focus but the horse isn't also indicates you are not panning with the horse.
Panning reduces the shutter speed needed to stop motion of the subject you pan with.
An additional benefit of panning is that it blurs whatever is not moving which helps your subject 'pop'.

Also note that the shutter speed you need varies with the direction of your subject relative to the plane of the image sensor in your camera.
Subjects moving parallel to the image sensor need a shorter shutter speed than subjects moving directly at or away from the camera (perpendicular).
At oblique angles the needed shutter speed is between tho 2 extremes of parallel and perpendicular movement.

Matrix metering mode means the camera's light meter sensor is using (averaging) all the light in the scene.
That average is then used to show the exposure value on the light exposure meter in the viewfinder.
I suggest that you should be using Center-weighted metering mode as center-weighted also uses the light in the entire scene but gives more weight to the central portion of the scene.
Your D5100 gives 75% metering weight to an 8 mm circle in the center of the frame.

Page 68 and page 228 (Metering specifications) of your D5100 Reference Manual describes the 3 metering modes your camera has.

Spot metering is the most accurate metering because the spot is small and the small spot is the only part of the scene that is metered.
On your D5100 the spot is 3.5 mm wide, which according to the specifications page is only about 2.5% of the scene in the in the viewfinder.

It would be to your benefit for doing photography to know and understand all the specifications of whatever camera and lens you are using.

 

[Designer]

With the aperture fully open, your DOF is compromised. The camera is apparently focusing on the jump, but your DOF is too thin to get the horse and rider in focus.

First; figure out how thin your DOF can be to get everything in focus. Make adjustments to the aperture as required for adequate DOF. Then set your shutter speed to freeze the motion. Then adjust your ISO to give proper exposure.

Also, for metering; meter the horse and rider, not the entire scene.

 

[astroNikon]

I've meandered slightly into photographing horses and don't have the experience you have (and I only do it for fun).
But I've found that I need to be at least at f/7.1 and a fast shutter speed above 640 for when moving.

The aperture is important as the horse and rider are large

This last set I took using
AFS-Single focusing mode but found it difficult to track the fast moving horse
But the next one this weekend I'm going to use my same soccer sports setup - AFA Dynamic 9

I almost always use Spot Metering for most everything that involves a single subject.

From all the research I've done on the internet this seems the norm.

 

[Braineack]

Manual Mode.
Shutter speeds of 1/1000 and faster. (or very slow depending on the effect)
Base ISO at 100 with Auto ISO turned on.
Matrix or Center Metering. (spot if shooting towards a light source or bright background)
f-stop as low as possible, but whatever you need to expose properly while trying to keep ISO from going too high.
AFS-C
3D AF Area Mode

Track the horse with the shutter pressed halfway to focus, snap the pic when you're ready.

It is important you track the movement of the horse using 3D mode.


On the auto-focus method:

So lets say you pick the riders head to focus on.

If you use Dynamic and just hold the camera still, and snap the shot without following the movement, the camera might choose to focus on something not moving to get focus.

If you use Dynamic and follow the movement of the rider, and you the rider doesn't stay within your focus point or falls out of focus, the camera will choose a different point to focus on. In your case, the jump, not the rider.

If you use 3D and following the movement, the camera will lock in on the rider's head and as you move the camera, it will do whatever it can to maintain focus on the head. So when you take the photo, the rider should still be in focus.

If you use 3D and just hold the camera still, and snap the shot without following the movement, the camera will still try to maintain focus and move to different points to keep the rider in focus, but it's just harder for the camera to do it and not good technique.


Once you get better, you can start reducing the shutter speed to induce more blur on the background while still maintaining focus on the horse/rider because your camera is matching the speed of the rider. This technique is called panning, and could lead to really unique, creative, and lovely pictures. Just depends on how much motion you want to freeze--two very different styles of shots.


My .02; YMMV.


There's no reason your D5100 and 70-300 cannot achieve STELLAR jump photos. I took this using the 70-300 over the weekend at 1/30sec: https://www.flickr.com/photos/80607199@N08/14868205646/in/photostream/

 

[TheLost]

Google 'Back Button Focus'....

 

[bc_steve]

Google 'Back Button Focus'....

I was about to say the same thing. I find it much more intuitive for tracking a subject.

 

[Arthur53]

Expecting to get shoot down by the experts. I would manually focus and spot meter the jump. Then experement with DoF / apature and shutter speed untill you get the result you want. Only my opinion may not be worth much.

 

[Braineack]

Expecting to get shoot down by the experts. I would manually focus and spot meter the jump. Then experement with DoF / apature and shutter speed untill you get the result you want. Only my opinion may not be worth much.

Doesn't sound like a workflow I'd like. I like to make all those decisions first, and AF is a wonderful tool that you spend a lot of money for; why toss it out the window?

 

[Designer]

Expecting to get shoot down by the experts. I would manually focus and spot meter the jump. Then experement with DoF / apature and shutter speed untill you get the result you want. Only my opinion may not be worth much.

I'm not an expert, but why would you focus and meter on the jump when it is the horse and rider that should be the subject?

And "hit and miss" doesn't seem to be an efficient way to do anything.