09-14-2015 12:22 PM - edited 09-14-2015 12:23 PM
So I took this shot, shown below, with my 17-55 2.8 and later on, I tried doing it with the Sigma 35mm 1.4 and none of the shots came out to be this focused. Does anyone know if it's because there's no IS on the 35mm or is it because I just got unlucky with all of my photos? Is it possible to get this clean shot with the 35mm 1.4 or do I have to be on a smooth road to do this? I was trying it on 280N from Pacifica up to South SF trying to shoot a random drift car and all of them were too shaky. Thanks!
Solved! Go to Solution.
09-15-2015 09:51 PM
OK lets try to clear a few things up. The desired motion blur comes from the low shutter speed & a perfect pan. With both vehicles in motion the pan becomes more or less like shooting a still BUT as such the camera & photographer can't be in motion as in having road vibrations transfer to the photographer because he / she is leaning onto the side door or window.. Also lets be clear in that the Canon lenses with IS that go really wide DO NOT have a panning mode & for this kind of use IS may CREATE fuzzyness, but that's just a guess based on my own experiences with my 24-105 when shooting race cars with the IS on. IF you really want to do this kind of photography well you need to spend BIG money on a camera stabilizersuch as sold by Kenyon.
These are used by pros to shoot air to air & car to car etc. NOW re the AF idea that multiple points is a better choice that is not correct. The camera can ONLY focus to one distance at the moment the photo is taken, not 2 or 3 different distances which seems to be what you are thinking. DOF gives you that extra area in focus, not multiple focus points. You need to decide on what you need in DOF & use an F stop small enough to get that much DOF from your shooting distance. There are DOF calculators on line or you can get an Ap for it to use when needed.
Correct settings and technique are the difference between getting a photo of a car that looks to be parked or one at speed. Both cars in these photos are going VERY fast but one looks to be stopped because the shutter speed was too high (intentionally).
09-15-2015 11:34 AM
exactly. that's why when I attempt to shoot at 1/125 or faster, I turn up the ISO and turn down the aperture. Otherwise, if I'm shooting at 1/125 at F9, I get absolutely no wheel spin and no speed effect in the background. The one thing that's bothering me is not being able to use the 35mm for sharper rolling shots. In the photo above, I bumped up the clarity to make the car look that sharp. I don't know if there's a way to make the car look sharper without having to bump up the clarity in PP.
09-15-2015 12:27 PM
In your original post you said, "... none of the shots came out to be this focused."
That is what I assumed you wanted. You did not mention wheel blur. Did you?
IMHO, it is s mistake to use IS. It is a mistake to use so many focus points. Also I would not use AI-Servo. If you want advice from me that is what I would do.
09-15-2015 12:30 PM
Wheel blur and a sharply focused photo may require Photoshop. A fairly easy task to do. 1/2 of the triangle!
The other issues I mentioned are still valid. You will have to find a compromise between the two as blur and sharp are opposites.
09-15-2015 03:41 PM
Yeah i'm still using LR and PS to do PP for the rolling shots (this one at the beginning of the thread was through both LR and PS).
09-15-2015 03:41 PM
My bad. Yeah I wanted wheel blur as well as the background to be blurred with the car body in complete focus. I've tried using single point auto focus and when I did that, the portion of the car I was aiming at was perfectly in focus, while the rest of the vehicle was actually starting to be blurred as well. I'll try turning off IS next time but I definitely do need Al servo because
One Point will make the entire photo blurred and Al Focus will still make the camera use Al Servo. Thanks for the tip though! 🙂
09-15-2015 04:03 PM
"I've tried using single point auto focus and when I did that, the portion of the car I was aiming at was perfectly in focus, while the rest of the vehicle was actually starting to be blurred as well."
This is not a cause of single point focus. It is impossible. When you use multi-point all you are telling the camera is to use the "single point" it can mostly focus on. This is usually the closest. Multi-point does not expand what will be in focus. It simply allows more choices.
Show below is now what I beieve you want. Yes, no?
Or maybe the car instead?
Either way both photos were sharp to begin with. The rest is all Photoshop! It is under Motion Blur.
09-15-2015 09:51 PM
OK lets try to clear a few things up. The desired motion blur comes from the low shutter speed & a perfect pan. With both vehicles in motion the pan becomes more or less like shooting a still BUT as such the camera & photographer can't be in motion as in having road vibrations transfer to the photographer because he / she is leaning onto the side door or window.. Also lets be clear in that the Canon lenses with IS that go really wide DO NOT have a panning mode & for this kind of use IS may CREATE fuzzyness, but that's just a guess based on my own experiences with my 24-105 when shooting race cars with the IS on. IF you really want to do this kind of photography well you need to spend BIG money on a camera stabilizersuch as sold by Kenyon.
These are used by pros to shoot air to air & car to car etc. NOW re the AF idea that multiple points is a better choice that is not correct. The camera can ONLY focus to one distance at the moment the photo is taken, not 2 or 3 different distances which seems to be what you are thinking. DOF gives you that extra area in focus, not multiple focus points. You need to decide on what you need in DOF & use an F stop small enough to get that much DOF from your shooting distance. There are DOF calculators on line or you can get an Ap for it to use when needed.
Correct settings and technique are the difference between getting a photo of a car that looks to be parked or one at speed. Both cars in these photos are going VERY fast but one looks to be stopped because the shutter speed was too high (intentionally).
09-15-2015 10:54 PM
The second photo is what I'm looking to do with the 35mm. Btw, I can open the link but nothing shows up. I'm not sure, for whatever reason, zone AF works better for me in comparison to single point AF. I've seen the shot of the blue cobra (?), I know that one was done through editing.
09-15-2015 11:32 AM
I know haha, but i'm working on the last 1/2 XD
09-15-2015 10:55 PM
sorry laptop glitch. hasn't been resolved yet. anyways, ebiggs I know your second picture was photoshopped, I'm looking for the result in your first photo.
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