Panning using slow shutter

dmnf · 07-19-2013, 11:33 PM

I think you guys should know what I am trying to do by looking at the picture.

My settings was 1/30, Tv, AF.S, kit lens. I tried my times but it is difficult to get sharp focus on the subject.

Should I turn on or off the SR mode? Any other tricks I should know?

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**rbefly** · 07-20-2013, 12:53 AM

Hi Dmnf,
Actually, that's not a bad early attempt, you're on the right track!
Yes, you should turn off the SR for panning shots, the camera is trying to correct for what it perceives as 'shake', any camera movement, really.
Also, you can try a slightly higher shutter speed, 1/45s, 1/60s, up to about 1/90s for fast human movement.
Last trick is to try extra hard to track vertically as accurately as you can, keep the camera moving sideway at the same speed as the subject but, NO up or down movement. This is harder than it seems, takes practice! My best results have been with the camera mounted on a tripod, everything locked down tight except the pan head. I realize the tripod takes away from the spontaneity of photographing kids, but it does help smooth out any wobble on the 'tracking' movement.
Good Luck!
Ron

percy · 07-20-2013, 12:56 AM

Turn off SR when panning, according to Pentax recommendations in the manual (although some people seem to leave it on and seem to get good results)
But I would be glad for any tips on good panning technique as well - or is it just a case of lots of practice!

Anvh · 07-20-2013, 02:35 AM

Motorized subjects are much easier since they move just one direction, a human for example moves up and down as well, it's much harder and you need to use shorter shutter times.

lister6520 · 07-20-2013, 03:15 AM

SR actually works fine for panning. You just need to give it enough time to sync up to your panning movement. You should start following your target then half press and hold the shutter, which will focus and also start the SR tracking. Typically you will need about half to 3/4 of a second of steady panning for the SR to sync up and then fully press the trigger (if you track for longer before pressing the trigger its ok, actually probably better.

What is important is that you are panning constantly from the point you half press the shutter onwards and that you give it enough time to synchronize between the half press and full press.

Whether or not it is best to use SR will depend a lot on the subject and conditions. Typically you will have to have a subject that is moving with more or less constant and predictable motion. The SR will take care of your up/down shake as well as make your panning smoother. However if the right conditions are not met it will just mess things up.

Johan Holmgren · 07-20-2013, 04:14 AM

It's actually as good a tracking as you can get. Look at the arm of the shirt, its sharp! It's just that the rest of the body, arms, legs, hair also moves up and down as well as forward. Can't pann them all :-). Like they say above maybe try a little faster shutter speed.

mickey · 07-20-2013, 06:44 AM

It does take some practise, but I would recommend a faster shutter speed.
1/60 is good.
I have left SR on, not as a rule, but because I always seem to forget to turn it off when panning.

MrApollinax · 07-20-2013, 07:21 AM

Like everyone says, practice, practice and more practice.You need to understand what is moving on your subject relative to the movement of the panning. For my shot below the top line of the horse tended to be static so I knew that would have some level of sharpness, the rest of the horse would have some blur, the most being the legs and the background would would get motion blur from the panning.

mickey · 07-20-2013, 07:52 AM

Lovely photo, MrApollinax.

**dms** · 07-20-2013, 08:14 AM

Unlike static scenes it also pays to take several shots--as often one will be markedly better--because you just catch the person/object at the top or bottom of their rise/fall, and their up/down component is zero.

MrApollinax · 07-29-2013, 08:43 AM

Originally posted by mickey

Lovely photo, MrApollinax.

Thank you kind sir!

Barry Pearson · 07-30-2013, 04:18 AM

Originally posted by dmnf

I think you guys should know what I am trying to do by looking at the picture.

My settings was 1/30, Tv, AF.S, kit lens. I tried my times but it is difficult to get sharp focus on the subject.

Should I turn on or off the SR mode? Any other tricks I should know?

Super shot - it conveys what I think is the right impression of speed. (Am I allowed to quibble? I would have liked to see both feet fully in the photo).

I typically use different settings: often TAv. (To control the aperture). And continuous shooting with AF-C (because I typically don't get it right first shot!)

In several years I have never deliberately switched off SR. (The camera switches it off in some situations). I have read lots of warnings, but in many 10s of 1000s of panned shots I have never spotted what I think is a problem caused by having SR on. I would be happy to learn more about why it should be switched off, with photos where it has gone wrong, but until then I'll continue to leave it on.

I recently gave a brief talk on "Panning" at my local photographic society. I'm not the best in the club, so don't don't take this too seriously. There are pictures and a PDF commentary:
Talk on "Panning", 7 May 2013
PDF Notes for the talk on “Panning”

**Aristophanes** · 07-31-2013, 06:04 PM

AF-C. TAv. but no less than f/4 because AF gets really iffy faster than that. Shoot JPEG. Gun it.

It all depends on the level of sharpness you want the subject in vs what amount of background blur.

I've never turned SR off.

Pretty horsey.

dmnf · 08-01-2013, 10:50 AM

Thanks for all the suggestions. I always miss out the F number because the assumption is slow shutter will come with small aperture. And I also forgot to use continue shoots.
I tried SR on and off later. They have different blurry effects but it doesn't matter much. My biggest problem is vertical motions of the subject.

Thanks to Barry Pearson's pdf notes. Very useful.

Anvh · 08-02-2013, 03:58 PM

The vertical motion is of the subject itself, with a car or motor you would have a sharp image.
You need to timw the photo perfectly at the point the vertical movement is small and you need to adjust the shuttterspeed accordingly.

07-20-2013, 12:53 AM	#2
rbefly Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Denver, Colorado Photos: Albums Posts: 2,030	Let It Shake! Hi Dmnf, Actually, that's not a bad early attempt, you're on the right track! Yes, you should turn off the SR for panning shots, the camera is trying to correct for what it perceives as 'shake', any camera movement, really. Also, you can try a slightly higher shutter speed, 1/45s, 1/60s, up to about 1/90s for fast human movement. Last trick is to try extra hard to track vertically as accurately as you can, keep the camera moving sideway at the same speed as the subject but, NO up or down movement. This is harder than it seems, takes practice! My best results have been with the camera mounted on a tripod, everything locked down tight except the pan head. I realize the tripod takes away from the spontaneity of photographing kids, but it does help smooth out any wobble on the 'tracking' movement. Good Luck! Ron

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07-20-2013, 12:56 AM	#3
percy Senior Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Herefordshire, UK Posts: 197	Turn off SR when panning, according to Pentax recommendations in the manual (although some people seem to leave it on and seem to get good results) But I would be glad for any tips on good panning technique as well - or is it just a case of lots of practice!

07-20-2013, 02:35 AM	#4
Anvh Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 4,616	Motorized subjects are much easier since they move just one direction, a human for example moves up and down as well, it's much harder and you need to use shorter shutter times.

07-20-2013, 03:15 AM	#5
lister6520 Veteran Member Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 733	SR actually works fine for panning. You just need to give it enough time to sync up to your panning movement. You should start following your target then half press and hold the shutter, which will focus and also start the SR tracking. Typically you will need about half to 3/4 of a second of steady panning for the SR to sync up and then fully press the trigger (if you track for longer before pressing the trigger its ok, actually probably better. What is important is that you are panning constantly from the point you half press the shutter onwards and that you give it enough time to synchronize between the half press and full press. Whether or not it is best to use SR will depend a lot on the subject and conditions. Typically you will have to have a subject that is moving with more or less constant and predictable motion. The SR will take care of your up/down shake as well as make your panning smoother. However if the right conditions are not met it will just mess things up.

07-20-2013, 04:14 AM	#6
Johan Holmgren Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2013 Location: Umeå Posts: 103	It's actually as good a tracking as you can get. Look at the arm of the shirt, its sharp! It's just that the rest of the body, arms, legs, hair also moves up and down as well as forward. Can't pann them all :-). Like they say above maybe try a little faster shutter speed.

07-20-2013, 06:44 AM	#7
mickey Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Japan Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,146	It does take some practise, but I would recommend a faster shutter speed. 1/60 is good. I have left SR on, not as a rule, but because I always seem to forget to turn it off when panning.

07-20-2013, 07:21 AM	#8
MrApollinax Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Minnesota Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,529	Like everyone says, practice, practice and more practice.You need to understand what is moving on your subject relative to the movement of the panning. For my shot below the top line of the horse tended to be static so I knew that would have some level of sharpness, the rest of the horse would have some blur, the most being the legs and the background would would get motion blur from the panning.

07-20-2013, 07:52 AM	#9
mickey Veteran Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Japan Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,146	Lovely photo, MrApollinax.

07-20-2013, 08:14 AM	#10
dms Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: New York, NY Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,192	Unlike static scenes it also pays to take several shots--as often one will be markedly better--because you just catch the person/object at the top or bottom of their rise/fall, and their up/down component is zero.

07-29-2013, 08:43 AM	#11
MrApollinax Veteran Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Minnesota Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,529	Originally posted by mickey Lovely photo, MrApollinax. Thank you kind sir!

07-30-2013, 04:18 AM	#12
Barry Pearson Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Location: Stockport Posts: 964	Originally posted by dmnf I think you guys should know what I am trying to do by looking at the picture. My settings was 1/30, Tv, AF.S, kit lens. I tried my times but it is difficult to get sharp focus on the subject. Should I turn on or off the SR mode? Any other tricks I should know? Super shot - it conveys what I think is the right impression of speed. (Am I allowed to quibble? I would have liked to see both feet fully in the photo). I typically use different settings: often TAv. (To control the aperture). And continuous shooting with AF-C (because I typically don't get it right first shot!) In several years I have never deliberately switched off SR. (The camera switches it off in some situations). I have read lots of warnings, but in many 10s of 1000s of panned shots I have never spotted what I think is a problem caused by having SR on. I would be happy to learn more about why it should be switched off, with photos where it has gone wrong, but until then I'll continue to leave it on. I recently gave a brief talk on "Panning" at my local photographic society. I'm not the best in the club, so don't don't take this too seriously. There are pictures and a PDF commentary: Talk on "Panning", 7 May 2013 PDF Notes for the talk on “Panning”

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07-31-2013, 06:04 PM	#13
Aristophanes Site Supporter Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Rankin Inlet, Nunavut Photos: Albums Posts: 3,948	AF-C. TAv. but no less than f/4 because AF gets really iffy faster than that. Shoot JPEG. Gun it. It all depends on the level of sharpness you want the subject in vs what amount of background blur. I've never turned SR off. Pretty horsey.

08-01-2013, 10:50 AM	#14
dmnf Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Vancouver BC Posts: 63 Original Poster	Thanks for all the suggestions. I always miss out the F number because the assumption is slow shutter will come with small aperture. And I also forgot to use continue shoots. I tried SR on and off later. They have different blurry effects but it doesn't matter much. My biggest problem is vertical motions of the subject. Thanks to Barry Pearson's pdf notes. Very useful.

08-02-2013, 03:58 PM	#15
Anvh Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2011 Posts: 4,616	The vertical motion is of the subject itself, with a car or motor you would have a sharp image. You need to timw the photo perfectly at the point the vertical movement is small and you need to adjust the shuttterspeed accordingly.