zoom effect

carlita · Sep 13, 2003

i'm trying to acheive something like this (no, i didn't take it):

yes, i realize this can easily be done digitally, but that's not what i want. in fact, for the particular assignment i'm trying to pin this process down for, digital isn't an option. i've gotten some sort of so-so results thus far, but i still can't figure out exactly what i'm doing that isn't quite right.

i'm shooting with my nikon n60 using the shutter priority option and my exposure is like 4 seconds long. that part all seems to be working out fine and i'm getting decent exposures, but the problem seems to be that the subject in the very center isn't staying as sharp as i need it to. i'm using a tripod, of course and i'm fairly certain the camera's not moving. i've been very careful about not shaking it when i'm zooming in or out.

also, i can't figure out if it's better to zoom in or out for the best results. so, has anyone played with this effect before and had good results? am i just being an idiot and missing some important rule or something? :?

ksmattfish · Sep 15, 2003

carlita said:
i'm shooting with my nikon n60 using the shutter priority option and my exposure is like 4 seconds long. that part all seems to be working out fine and i'm getting decent exposures, but the problem seems to be that the subject in the very center isn't staying as sharp as i need it to. i'm using a tripod, of course and i'm fairly certain the camera's not moving. i've been very careful about not shaking it when i'm zooming in or out.

also, i can't figure out if it's better to zoom in or out for the best results.

Try a flash to help get your sharpness. If you only want the center of your subject you may need a snoot.

If your subject isn't sharp enough then either the camera or subject is moving or you're out of focus; probably the camera is shaking. It just takes practice to make the motion smoother.

My own experience has been that if I only try it for a couple of shots, mostly they suck. But if I go ahead and shoot most of the roll, the latter shots get significantly better.

photobug · Sep 15, 2003

The little bit that I played with this years ago I found that it was easier (for me) to do with a two ring zoom (1 for focus, 1 to zoom) rather than a push-pull zoom.

Unless you can find a push-pull that has very little friction.

Jim

carlita · Sep 18, 2003

this didn't end up as sharp upon being scanned as it actually turned out, but here's what i finally came up with in case anyone's interested at all:

3386%3B68%3B23232%7Ffp3%3B%3Dot%3E2323%3D538%3D878%3D3232538787993nu0mrj

My own experience has been that if I only try it for a couple of shots, mostly they suck. But if I go ahead and shoot most of the roll, the latter shots get significantly better.

as it turns out, this one was the very last shot on a roll of 24. i think i have another 10 or 11 of relatively the same shot that didn't work out. :sillysmi:

drlynn · Sep 19, 2003

The pic you posted looks like you're using a very long zoom(zooming over 200mm in length such as a 28-200, etc). My best results have come from an 80-200 zoom, starting the shot at 80mm and zooming toward 200 during the shot.

And I agree with the earlier post about shooting up the roll. Zooming is tricky, and starting and stopping the zoom at the exact instant isn't an automatic thing. Out of 24 exposures, I usually get 2-4 photos I really like (of course, that's true of nearly every roll I shoot).

carlita · Sep 21, 2003

drlynn said:
The pic you posted looks like you're using a very long zoom(zooming over 200mm in length such as a 28-200, etc). My best results have come from an 80-200 zoom, starting the shot at 80mm and zooming toward 200 during the shot.

ummm, i zoomed from 80 to 35. :?