Motorsport Motion Blur

jimglasgow · Jul 22, 2021

Folks I’m try to find out what others find to be the best setting for motion blur whilst getting pin sharp focusing on car/motorbike whilst tracking.

I have have tried the AF Tracking and seems to be a hit or a miss, seems more misses than hits and doesnt tend to lock on.

I’m thinking of trying the spot focus in continuous mode and just track car/bike next time but was wondering if others have any recommendations or had much success.
I have the camera set about 1/400th to get good motion blur but not sure if I’m moving to fast or they are moving to fast for me? Any advice would be welcomed

Grahamk · Jul 25, 2021

As a guide to possible settings the attached image was taken in 2019 at the Hungarian Grand Prix using a 70D with an EF 70-200 f4 IS USM lens at 70mm: partial metering, 1/500, f20, ISO 1000, AI Servo AF. Owing to circumstances since I haven't had the opportunity to try and replicate with my R6.

Shotbycurtin · Jul 30, 2021

There’s quite a few variables to think about when trying to capture motion blur.. or taking a panning shot, Including vehicle speed, direction of travel, focal length and ability to track the vehicle. I’m still getting used to the R5 for motorsports. I use back button focus and mostly set it on spot focus. Though today I did use the animal/ object tracking option with some success. Though I need to go through them still. It is all about practice to be honest. How I started was to stand in a spot, looking to the side where the cars passed by me from right to left at a fairly constant speed, then clicked away. I tend to use flexible priority with the ISO on auto and the shutter speed selected so I can adjust it quickly. I occasionally adjust the aperture only to keep the shutter speeds down as required.

Ball park speeds.. 1/250 or below, depending on the amount of blur required. My preference is loads! 1/400 will give you a bit of wheel motion but little background blur, unless the car is seriously motoring. My go to speed for a good hit rate is 1/125. Once I’ve a few shots in the bag then I get slower and slower, 1/30th- 1/15th is a bit of a challenge! A rule of thumb.. the slower car the slower the shutter speed to get the same amount of blur as a car travelling faster, hope that makes sense. Another rule of thumb, the slower the shutter speed the worse the hit rate, this is exacerbated with a longer focal length!

Once you get comfortable at reasonably slow pans, you can experiment with cars going round bends, long shots or groups of cars at different speeds to add interest. I”ll pick out some examples and post up with the exif to give you an idea what I do, if that’s helpful. All the best with it. Looking forward to seeing some shots!

Grahamk · Jul 31, 2021

Following on from the points made in Mike’s post, a bit more information on the photo in my post of last Sunday. The car is Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes on the main straight at the Hungaroring, probably doing the best part of 200mph. Panning was made a little difficult by a pillar in the grandstand out of shot to the right.

Shotbycurtin · Jul 31, 2021

Grahamk said:
Following on from the points made in Mike’s post, a bit more information on the photo in my post of last Sunday. The car is Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes on the main straight at the Hungaroring, probably doing the best part of 200mph. Panning was made a little difficult by a pillar in the grandstand out of shot to the right.

Trackside furniture is always a challenge Graham, 200mph is also tricky! Good shot though.

Shotbycurtin · Jul 31, 2021

A couple from today and yesterday. This one was taken at 1/60th, F10, ISO 100, 700mm. Car is braking heavily from 100-110mph to around 50mph and just entering a bend. It’s starting to turn towards the camera so not all is likely to be sharp. Although trickier to get right, with some angle you see a bit of wheel motion. Flames are a bonus!

Shotbycurtin · Jul 31, 2021

This one was taken from a fair distance to capture a considerable amount of the grandstand in the shot. 1/60th, f10, ISO 100, 700mm as per the previous shot. despite blurring backgrounds, as in most shots back ground is everything. A bit of blurred grass or strip of Armco on its own doesn’t really add much. Signage, Marshall’s, spectators, grandstands etc all add interest. Hope this is helpful.

Canon EOS R5
RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM + EXTENDER RF1.4x
700.0 mm
ƒ/10
1/60 sec
ISO 100

Shotbycurtin · Jul 31, 2021

This is a simpler pan with the car going from left to right in a parallel direction to the face of the camera lens. It’s exiting a chicane so not travelling too fast. I tried to get some interest with the bar in the background and red/white chicane furniture. 1/125th, f10, ISO 100, 100mm I started off practicing this type of pan with shutter speeds around 1/250 or so and slowed the shutter speed down as my hit rate improved. It’s easier with the shorter focal length as well.

Grahamk · Jul 31, 2021

Thanks Mike. Another challenge is trying to keep the spectators in front out of the shot! A grandstand isn’t the best shooting point.

Shotbycurtin · Aug 7, 2021

Here’s one with a grandstand, albeit empty!

Shotbycurtin · Sep 1, 2021

Heres a couple I took at 1/60th going around a bend. My favourite type of panning shot especially with a car in the background. A bit hit and miss with only part of the lead car sharp due to movement of the rest of the car. sometimes critised as there is too much blur.

Hutch · Sep 28, 2021

Long Beach Gran Prix - 1/80th, f/22.0, ISO 100 - R5 with RF 24-240mm. First time shooting gran prix racing. Wasn't quite sure what to expect and didn't want to lug around a lot of equipment. Couldn't have been more pleased with the lens performance.

Canon EOS R5
RF24-240mm F4-6.3 IS USM
100.0 mm
ƒ/22
1/80 sec
ISO 100

Motorsport Motion Blur

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