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FZ-150 at Daytona Speedway

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gerrybower

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I've had my FZ-150 for some time now but as the fall was so lousy back home I really didn't get to play with it a lot but now that I'm in Florida I had a chance to give it a try at the Rolex 24 practice session yesterday and I've included a couple of shots that I like but would be interested in what I can do to improve. I slightly cropped one but other than that are as they were taken. I was very impressed with the speed and the color is excellent. I previously had the FZ-100 and took photos at the same event last year and feel there is a significant improvement in the IQ with this camera. One thing I was trying was to do more panning and from all I read the shutter speed should be quite a bit lower but I was unable to obtain any results as everything was totally washed out. I'm really not sure how I should have been doing it with this camera.

Thanks for any help

Gerry







 
These are sharp so you are definitely on the right track.

--
Sam

'Those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it... albeit probably in colour the second time around.'
 
I like that first shot, with a bit of "reverse pan" on the background car. If you can't get slow enough shutter speeds at ISO 100, you need a neutral density filter to knock off a couple stops of light transmission. It will also come in handy someday when you're trying to do long exposures on a tripod, to get cottony waterfalls.
 
As Elmo mentioned you need a ND filter to slow the shutter right down and get a lot of blur. Are you shooting in jpeg burst at 5.5 frames per second continuous focus which is perfect for this situation?

Overcast lighting or cloud can help drop the shutter speed down, below a test in cloudy conditions at 1/125 second 5.5 jpeg burst mode, no ND filter car at 60 kph, but I have been meaning to go back and test the same spot with a ND fitted and get the speed right down to about 1/50 second



--
Kevin Coppalotti
http://maxhr.zenfolio.com/
 
Lovely car pictures!! :)

--
Canon EOS 20D - Tamron 17-50mm f2.8 VC, Sigma 15-30mm DX, Panasonic FZ150
 
Thanks for the comments and I will try to pick up a filter for the camera and as I'll be at a few more race days I'll give it a go to try and get the shutter slowed down a bit for the panning. I actually don't mind the way the shots came out but I've had a lot of people say how they like the blurred background to show the motion of the cars. I printed up one of the pictures above to 8 1/2" x 11" and I'm very pleased with the result. I have never printed bigger than that and at that size there was no noise visible so good enough for me. Now I want to try to capture some birds in flight as there are lots flying around the beach here.
 
This type of shot has always amazed me! Is there a specific technique that you use to ensure the accuracy of the panning?

Cheers

Andrea
 
Of course, your keeper rate will go down with slower shutter panning. There's where practice will help. And/or tripod or monopod.
 
I was using Aperture Priority mode and ISO 100 as it was a very bright day. I also did the 5.5 fps burst mode with the AF. I had the camera on a monopod and did lots of practice of trying to keep the car in the frame so I could figure out how much zoom I could get away with. Last year I took a lot of shots with my FZ-100 at as fast a shutter speed and the 11fps burst and did virtually no panning and just tried to catch the car in the frame. This years work with the panning I feel is 100% better with the results. I had many, many more good captures. This was a test run for race day at the end of the month as I now know some good spots to get some good shots. It was nice to have a good practice day.
 
gerrybower said:
I was using Aperture Priority mode and ISO 100 as it was a very bright day. I also did the 5.5 fps burst mode with the AF. I had the camera on a monopod and did lots of practice of trying to keep the car in the frame so I could figure out how much zoom I could get away with. Last year I took a lot of shots with my FZ-100 at as fast a shutter speed and the 11fps burst and did virtually no panning and just tried to catch the car in the frame. This years work with the panning I feel is 100% better with the results. I had many, many more good captures. This was a test run for race day at the end of the month as I now know some good spots to get some good shots. It was nice to have a good practice day.
Click to expand...
I'd recommend doing the pan freehand, - i do a lot of shoots with bikes and horses, all freehand, just keep the focus point on one part of the subject and keep it there as you pan, i found the tripod/monopod just gets in the way of a smooth pan.
--
Kevin Coppalotti
http://maxhr.zenfolio.com/
 
Thanks for the info Kevin. The way I use the monopod is probably a bit different in that in actually anchor it into my chest which helps get rid of some of my old age shake so I think it is fairly close to doing it freehand. It really seems to help as I've tried both total freehand and using the monopod on the ground and this is the method that seemed to work best.
 
Very nice shots, you already have some blur in the tyres, but if you want more then lock ISO at 100, set aperture at F8 that would have lowered the shutter speed for you at the same light levels and given you more blur.

--
Mark.
 
I don't know how useful it might be, but there is a panning mode in the scene menu which could be good for this situation. Of course the "manual" doesn't give details about what it actually does, but it might be worth experimenting with.

BTW, I live about 40 minutes north of Daytona, so if you want to swap shooting locations feel free to PM me. I spent yesterday afternoon with the shorebirds at the beach here, got some nice shots in the surf but nothing really good in flight.
 
Nemesix, I never noticed that mode but will have to give it a try. It would be neat to get together at some time. I'm actually staying in Flagler Beach for the winter and do a lot of walking on the beach trying to capture some shots of the birds. Haven't given the FZ-150 a go with the birds yet but I'll be hitting the beach right after lunch for a bit of a walk with the camera.
 
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