Photographing ChampCars

[Rogue Leader]

So I'm heading to Montreal this weekend, and I just picked up a Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 megapixel digital camera. It has a whole load of photography options that I have no idea how to use. Anyway, can someone give me some reccomendations on camera settings etc so I can take some nice action shots? thanks!

[rosawendel]

So I'm heading to Montreal this weekend, and I just picked up a Nikon Coolpix 4300 4 megapixel digital camera. It has a whole load of photography options that I have no idea how to use. Anyway, can someone give me some reccomendations on camera settings etc so I can take some nice action shots? thanks!

well, i usually end up in the pits & paddock, and you never know who or what you're going to see, but it usually happens quickly (i have some great, blurry shots of mario zipping by on a scooter because i couldn't compose and get the settings quickly enough). for that reason, i usually use the full auto settings.

this past year at cleveland, i had a coolpix4300 that was good for papparozzi (sp?) quick-style shooting, and i used my n-70 with an 80-200 zoom for the more detailed compositions where i had the time to set up the shot (shots of the drivers in their cars in the pits, engine details, etc). the n-70 i'd sling over my shoulder, and the coolpix is small enough to fit in a pocket or on my wrist.

a lot of the action shots are dependent on your composition skills and your access. if you can get a good vantage point to get a good shot of the cars in motion, more power to you. also, the most important think i'd suggest is this: it's just film. shoot like crazy. especially if you're shooting digital.

good luck!

i'd still love to have a d-1, but, alas, not to be. yet.

[Rogue Leader]

I figured full auto would be best, but I was taking some practice shots of some of my car models before and man it takes some sick shots, figured maybe there a better mode for action shots too.

[Cam]

I figured full auto would be best

No!!!! It doesnt work.... I dont know what settings that model Nikon has, but, I set mine to aperture priority and see if I can get the shutter speed to around 400-500.... (using ASA 400 setting). Also with Autofocus the one thing I found is that it searches all thru the rangefinder before selecting a place to focus..... This method at the USGP gave me a bunch of really great pics of the catch fencing! :rolleyes:

See if you can narrow down the auto-focus to a specific area in the shot. That increases dramatically the timing of the shot...

BTW.... It helps if you RTFM! :gomer:

[RTKar]

I know nothing about digital....but I'm going to learn before next year. ;) I know next to nothing about shooting film. My philosophy is just keep snapping, eventually something good will come out.

[Rogue Leader]

No!!!! It doesnt work.... I dont know what settings that model Nikon has, but, I set mine to aperture priority and see if I can get the shutter speed to around 400-500.... (using ASA 400 setting). Also with Autofocus the one thing I found is that it searches all thru the rangefinder before selecting a place to focus..... This method at the USGP gave me a bunch of really great pics of the catch fencing! :rolleyes:

See if you can narrow down the auto-focus to a specific area in the shot. That increases dramatically the timing of the shot...

BTW.... It helps if you RTFM! :gomer:

I figured out how to get it to focus on a specific area, and I can set the speed anywhere from 100-400 so I guess I'll go with 400. Aperture priority I'll have to look up... this thing has a ton of features.

[Cam]

I figured out how to get it to focus on a specific area, and I can set the speed anywhere from 100-400 so I guess I'll go with 400. Aperture priority I'll have to look up... this thing has a ton of features.

This (http://209.196.177.41/contents.htm) page may help a little.... :)

[SteveH]

Will take some experimenting, but that's half the fun on digital, set your exposure to about 1/90 sec and let the camera set the f-stop. Make sure your camera has auto-focus and can maintain focus on a moving object. Focus on a car coming at you, making sure you have it framed properly and pan as it come towards you, then take the picture as the car is directly in front of you. Hopefully, it will be in focus and will be framed properly. If it is and the exposure is proper, you'll have the background blurred to provide a sense of motion, but the car will be crystal clear, no blur except for the tires/wheels which should be blurred as well. It isn't easy, but certainly a hell of a lot cheaper to do this than with film. I'd be lucky to get one good picture per rool of film before I went digital.

Good luck

[Rogue Leader]

Thanks guys... I been messing with it all day long and I think I got it figured out. hopefully I get some good pics!

what is "f-stop" ?

[rosawendel]

Thanks guys... I been messing with it all day long and I think I got it figured out. hopefully I get some good pics!

what is "f-stop" ?

the "f-stop" is the diameter of an adjustable apeture inside the lens. the smaller the "f-stop" setting, the larger the focal range of the setting. the trade off is that, as you can imagine, the smaller the apeture, the more time you need to keep the apeture open to allow the proper amount of light to enter the camera to allow for proper exposure. the result is that with a low f-stop setting, the shutter speed needs to be longer, and the blurrier an image looks.

so, if you were iin full manual mode, you'd end up setting the shutter speed ahead of time, based on what you wanted, and adjusted the f-stop setting to properly expose your shot. if you wanted a certain amouunt of blurriness or sharpmess on your shots, you'd set the camera to "shutter priority". it would know the amount of time you'd want the lens to be open, and would calculate the proper apeture to properly expose the shot, given the amount of light available.

i'm sure someone has a simpler explanation for that. i once went into a big dissertation on camber, only to be trumped by soomeone who said "put a dixie cup on the floor. see how it turns when you push it? that's camber."

[Dr. Corkski]

If you are the Nelson Philippe of photography (like myself), then you might want to try to set it so that you can take multiple pics at once if your timing is anywhere near as bad as mine, so you can increase your chance of getting a shot of the car in at least one of the pics, provided you have a decent sized memory card. The hairpin should be a great photospot at Montreal. Ask Crapus, he should be able to help you with that (especially if you take some Blinky pics for him :D)

[Rogue Leader]

yeah I'll be in Zanardi grandstand so it will be a good place. And I prefer to call myself the Gaston Mazzacane of Photography, I paid a lot of money for my ride, but I still suck.

[Dr. Corkski]

yeah I'll be in Zanardi grandstand so it will be a good place. And I prefer to call myself the Gaston Mazzacane of Photography, I paid a lot of money for my ride, but I still suck.As long as you have the mullet, I am sure there will be 2 so-called "racing journos" drooling over you. :D

[Rogue Leader]

As long as you have the mullet, I am sure there will be 2 so-called "racing journos" drooling over you. :D

LOL

hey heres an example pic I took of my Paul Newman Ferrari Daytona coupe:

http://iris.nyit.edu/~tlomino/daytona1.jpg

and my car.

http://iris.nyit.edu/~tlomino/test3.jpg

look like good shots?? they were resized from 2272x1704

[RTKar]

Good enough pics...but the cars aren't moving...so have the wife drive your car around the block a few times doing about 125mph so you can practice panning for some action shots :D

[nz_climber]

Good enough pics...but the cars aren't moving...so have the wife drive your car around the block a few times doing about 125mph so you can practice panning for some action shots :D


:rofl: :rofl:

[Methanolandbrats]

Not a bad idea to practice panning. Sit near a local interstate and practice for a while so you're nice and sharp on race day. When panning it's critical to pick the car up early and maintain a smooth motion well past the point where you shoot the photo. That way you'll develop a smooth stroke and have a higher success rate.

[Rogue Leader]

Not a bad idea to practice panning. Sit near a local interstate and practice for a while so you're nice and sharp on race day. When panning it's critical to pick the car up early and maintain a smooth motion well past the point where you shoot the photo. That way you'll develop a smooth stroke and have a higher success rate.

i actually did that with the ferrari model i took the camera and walked by the car and followed it within the camera's crosshairs as I walked by and snapped a pic, they came out good!

[Michaelhatesfans]

Not a bad idea to practice panning. Sit near a local interstate and practice for a while so you're nice and sharp on race day. When panning it's critical to pick the car up early and maintain a smooth motion well past the point where you shoot the photo. That way you'll develop a smooth stroke and have a higher success rate.

Why do I see him being hauled away by Homeland Security and shipped off to Guantanamo Bay? :laugh:

[Methanolandbrats]

Why do I see him being hauled away by Homeland Security and shipped off to Guantanamo Bay? :laugh: Ya, I suppose having a copy of the Quran in his pocket while he practiced would be a sure bet for some time on CNN. :D

[Dr. Corkski]

LOL

hey heres an example pic I took of my Paul Newman Ferrari Daytona coupe:
[img]
and my car.
[img]
look like good shots?? they were resized from 2272x1704Pretty good, but that's only good enough practice if you are only going to take pics of Fabio and Mulletzcane.

Action shots are a blast once you get the timing down.

[Jay]

I've been shooting race cars for a few years with film now, and I have to say, you can have the greatest camera and the world and still take crap pictures - it's all about practice, timing, and getting to know your camera very well. If you have digital, this should be a much quicker process... I'm still using film, as I can't afford one of the digital SLRs yet...

Montreal's a good race for practicing racing photography though - even if you don't have a photo pass. If you can focus out a bit of catch fencing, the first two turns provide some great photo ops. For practicing panning shots the spot one the rowing-basin side of the hairpin provides a good view. You'll need a decent zoom if you want to get close on the cars though. Oh, bring your walking shoes - it's about a 2km between those two spots ;).

[RTKar]

Another thing, I more or less pre-focus an area of the track and pan every car that comes along,not only do you get to practice and refine the shot but you won't miss the car(s) you want to get pictures of. I still take way more garbage shots than what I care to admit but every once and awhile I get a few I like, at times by pure accident :D . Also, practice sessions are great and be ready for the warm up and slow down laps it's much easier to get shots that look like race action (multi car shots) when the cars are going slower. No one will ever know they aren't actual Race day shots.

[nz_climber]

Another thing, I more or less pre-focus an area of the track and pan every car that comes along,not only do you get to practice and refine the shot but you won't miss the car(s) you want to get pictures of. I still take way more garbage shots than what I care to admit but every once and awhile I get a few I like at times by pure accident :D . Also, practice sessions are great and be ready for the warm up and slow down laps it's much easier to get shots that look like race action (multi car shots) when the cars are going slower. No one will ever know they aren't actual Race day shots.

Yeah i do the prefocus thing too... seems to work sometimes - havn't tried with champcars - but I have with v8 super cars and super GT races, I just take lots of photos in the hope that by accident I get a decent shot.... ;) i dunno what all the manual settings do on the camera - I just set it to sport mode (I got an olympus c750)