Settings for the very best action shots

[peterotoole]

I am new to photography and I'd like to know what the very best settings would be for taking action shots. What I have the camera set to normally is continuous shooting, with the Sport Scene selected and focusing set to AFS. This gives great results but i have found that in some of my photos the camera has focused on something else other than my subject. My subject in this was case was my friend jumping of a wall. Some of the shots he's in focus whilst others have the wall in focus. What I am probably looking for is a setting that allows you to have a wide depth of field so that everything is in focus but does anyone know if this is possible on Scene/Sport mode on a Nikon D7000? Thanks guys.

 

[Flashziggy]

I am quite new myself and have had a few attempts recently at fast sports photography; learning as I go.

What I found is that I select the manual setting at shoot at f8 with a shutter speed of 250 or 320 which freezes the action but still gives some sense of motion. I put the camera on auto ISO as it happily shoots right up to 6400 with no issues. I guess it would be depend on what you are shooting but for me it was speedway racing so those settings worked for me. When I first started I had some troubles in getting the focus right; so what I do now is select continuous focus and also select the 9 focus points and select the centre sensor as the target; this works for me but may not work for you but is all about trying out the different settings. The auto focus setting did not give great results for me; but again everyone is different.

Here are a couple of shots I took using this method;which I am happy with.

 

[trumpyman]

Good advice and top photos.
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http://s888.photobucket.com/albums/ac89/trumpyman750/

 

[peterotoole]

thanks so much for your great advice and your absolutely incredible shots! Were they taken with the Nikon D7K? I can only dream of being half that good one day.

I haven't used the manual setting just yet as it to be honest it scares the living bejaysus out of me but i'd imagine it's going to be relatively easy to program it with the settings you game me and simply save that as a custom setting so I can use it on my own shots.

Thanks again!

 

[Flashziggy]

Yes, they were shot with a Nikon D7000.

You should not be scared of manual mode; is great fun trying it out and added to that the high iso of the D7000 is so good that you can choose pretty much any setting you like and the pictures will still look fine.

Good luck.

 

[Sosua]

I don't usually shoot action but your two main issues to tackle are:

Keeping the (moving) subject in focus - The AF-S mode is more for stationery scenes - still objects, once it locks focus, it hold it at that point until you release the shutter, so if your subject moves, it will be out of focus.

I would recommend AF-C in which the camera will continually (C) focus, 'tracking' your subject while the shutter is pressed. While not foolproof, this is a much better AF mode to use for action.

I would also try shooting in shutter priority mode (S) with auto-iso enabled. Just dial in your desired shutter speed to capture / freeze the action you are shooting and the camera will automatically adjust aperture and iso to ensure the shutter is fast enough.
--

http://www.samwaldron.co.nz

 

[D7KNewbie]

Hello. I need some help.

I tried this setting (F8, 1/250 SP, auto ISO, 9 FP) and my camera is keep picking up 6400 ISO. It was outside on nice sunny day.

Any idea why?

Thank you.

 

[D7KNewbie]

I am using the setting suggested for the sports shot and the camera is consistently picking high ISO (it is set to auto and max at 6400).

I am assuming it is doing that because my shutter speed is set fast to 1/250. With Scene-Sport, I had problem getting focused shots.

Help!

 

[dojoklo]

In addition to the exposure (specifically the Shutter) settings as mentioned above, and continuous shooting mode for rapid fire shots, you need to take control of the autofocus system to ensure that a moving subject is kept in focus. The AF system of the D7000 is designed for sports and action shots, and if set properly can wonderfully track and stay focused on moving subjects. But you have to understand and make proper use of it to get the most out of it.

First I refer you to the article Using the D7000 Autofocus System :
http://blog.dojoklo.com/2011/05/28/using-the-nikon-d7000-autofocus-system/

The AF system involves 3 parts - the Autofocus Modes, the Autofocus Area Modes, and the AF related Custom Settings to specify exactly how it works in specific circumstances.

Set the AF Mode to AF-C, as mentioned above, for continuous focus on the subject as you half-press the Shutter Button. The camera will keep evaluating focus so that the subject ideally is in focus when you take the shot, even in continuous shooting mode.

Choose the AF Area Mode based on how you wish to work. If you want to follow the subject around with the camera and try to keep it located under the same selected AF point, use Dynamic Area AF Mode. Choose the most precise Dynamic Area that you or the situation can handle.

If you wish to hold the camera relatively still as the subject moves around in the frame and is tracked as it moves among the AF points, use 3D-Tracking.

Either way, you need to manually select which AF point starts to track the subject.

One of the the Custom Settings will tell the camera how long to wait to refocus on another subject if you "lose it" (if it is no longer under your selected AF point).

 

[Mako2011]

I am using the setting suggested for the sports shot and the camera is consistently picking high ISO (it is set to auto and max at 6400).

I am assuming it is doing that because my shutter speed is set fast to 1/250. With Scene-Sport, I had problem getting focused shots.

Help!

It would help if you would go here and under "privacy and saftey" tab, select "allow" under allow download of originals

http://www.dpreview.com/members/settings/profile

That will help us see your EXIF data and help give you better advice. That assumes you uploaded the out of camera file as is with no processing in another program

Also, you have +1 EV set, why? In this case I think it may be hurting you overall...otherwise the ISO 6400 is the proper ISO under your settings for that exposure. Notice the subject is a bit over exposed. The use of matrix metering in this specific scene can do that because of all the darker background and the +1 EV. Here I would have selected spot metering and AF-area mode "9pt" and panned on the shirt. Use CH mode and shot in 3 or 4 shot bursts. Don't get frustrated...the move to shooting action well with a DSLR has a steep learning curve but one that can easily be climbed.

 

[D7KNewbie]

Thank you.

I set the privacy to allow download.

I didn't even notice that I was shooting with +1 EV. I will change that and try it again tomorrow.

I am learning... This is fun.

 

[Mako2011]

Thank you.

I set the privacy to allow download.

I didn't even notice that I was shooting with +1 EV. I will change that and try it again tomorrow.

I am learning... This is fun.

It is......now lets see what we find

I am using the setting suggested for the sports shot and the camera is consistently picking high ISO (it is set to auto and max at 6400).

I am assuming it is doing that because my shutter speed is set fast to 1/250. With Scene-Sport, I had problem getting focused shots.

Help!

AF-C....AF-Area mode "9pt".....VR on
That's all good now check your menu a3 is set to "off" (very important)

You have AF fine tune set to ON and -5......how did you come up with that and are you sure?

Exposure comp set to +1.....I'd take that out

You're in Auto ISO and matrix meter....not really a problem but remember that the camera is trying to balance the exposure and you're in manual priority....so with f8 and 1/250s it made the right call (with +1 EC). Fast moving subjects are tough so I may have switched to shutter priority and 1/500s (freeze the motion) and started working from there. I'd perhaps switch to manual ISO so I could use it starting at 800 and working up to see how that affected aperture. Looking for the sweet spot that the light demanded.

Also I would try spot meter and focus on the shirt...that's the subject here and we want her isolated from the background anyways....the shirt gives a better/easier focus target for me to track....trying to lock/hold focus on a moving head in the distance takes time to master and the shirt is basically in the same focus plane (may not always be the case). Play with that

Shoot in CL or CH....Your first shot gets rushed but by the time the second, third, forth, ect.....you've smoothed the panning motion and tracked better so those shots come out nice and memory is cheap......

Hope this helps....I'm no pro. Good Luck

 

[D7KNewbie]

Very helpful. Thank you. My daughter has a game this afternoon. I'll try the suggestions and report the result.

Btw, what did you mean by? "You have AF fine tune set to ON and -5" I didn't mean to set that, and now I can't seam to find where to change that.

Thank you!

 

[Mako2011]

Btw, what did you mean by? "You have AF fine tune set to ON and -5" I didn't mean to set that, and now I can't seam to find where to change that.

Then that may be a major cause of some of your problems. TURN IT OFF if you didn't intend for it to be on as it may be causing all your shots with that lens to front/back focus depending on the setting . Page 246 of the manual. In the setup menu.