Hey everyone.

Just really starting to have time to play with my camera, Olympus C-750 ultra zoom.

I can take pretty decent still shots, but my action shots are, well, um, something that really needs tweeking.

Here is what I want to do.

1. I want to get good pics of brass flying/bolt cycling.
2. Night shots (catching flash ect. )
3. overall improve shots of mountain biking, son's baseball and soccer games.

Using my automatic feature ,or the little guy on the selector running, I still get some blurry and distorted results. I'm guessing in need to increase the speed of the shutter???

Is there anything I can do to improve this?

Thanks for looking.

To freeze the brass in mid air, you have to have a fast shutter speed to catch them. You are also going to need plenty of night, probably mid-day to afternoon. To catch the flash on night shots, you would need a slow shutter speed. Does your camera have a manual mode? For sport shots, it is extremely dificult to get good pictures without a SLR. You need a high shutter speed, instant response, fast focus (tracking ability helps also), and continuous drive would help alot.

Where are you in Texas?

I was playing with my camera today. Using manual mode I can set the shutter speed to 1/1000. The best aperture or f stop I can get is a f8. It does have a built in light meter that shows possibility of overexposure or underexposure.

Using a panning technique against the pickets on my fence I was able to get some very good non blurry shots ( will be great for those MB and baseball pics). I think it will be better in brighter light, it was pretty overcast this morning.

Yes it does have a full auto mode, but just depends on the resolution setting. At the highest res, I can get 3 full auto shots before it has to save to the card, or 6 low res.

I also played with super micro shots and some lighting. It's gonna be a while before I really get this high quality digital photography down. But I got time and am willing to learn a new skill. It's definitely quite a bit more involved than the point and shoot I'm used to.


ETA: DFW area

How many frames per second can you get? Also, you said that your camera can be stopped down to f/8. Can it go any wider (5.6 or even 2.8)? I am also in the DFW area. Perhaps we can get together sometime and have at it with cameras?

Yeah, sorry. I keep thinking in logical terms. The stops can go from 2.3 down to 8, possibly down to 12, it seems to change automatically depending upon the ambient light. I don't know how many F.P.S.

have you checked out the Texas Home Town Forum. Some of us are getting together for an impromptu shoot just outside of Sherman, at Tom Bean (Ralph's Range) on the 18th.

Link

Okay cool. I'll probably head up there that weekend then. I'll bring my camera (and gun) and we'll see if we can catch some brass. Just need directions.

My plan for catching brass in flight is to lay down on the shutter with the camera in full auto mode.  With my D70 I get 3 fps and get a pretty decent return with the shooter firing fairly rapidly.

Good luck on the brass

I usually shoot at 1/2000 sec or more to get frozen brass.

Here's 1/800:



But you can get luck too. This is also 1/800:



And this is 1/2000:



BTW, the "running guy" icon is most likely aperture priority with the camera shooting wide open to maximize the shutter speed.

Nice pics NoVaGator. That is exactly what my goal is. I'm heading out tomorrow, weather permitting, and try out the manual settings. Hopefully it will be sunny!

Quoted: Nice pics NoVaGator. That is exactly what my goal is. I'm heading out tomorrow, weather permitting, and try out the manual settings. Hopefully it will be sunny!

how did it work out?

Lol, I got some really nice shots of a closed bolt!

I did find that the pictures I took were of better quality than using the auto exposures.

I also found out my timing sucks. The point in which the brass left the frame area coincided with the focus time of the reticle. So I was basically taking 2FPS of  a guy aiming his rifle, even though he was rapid firing.

Aw, hell, I'll try again in a week or so. Not really happy with the results but not discouraged either.

Quoted: Lol, I got some really nice shots of a closed bolt! I did find that the pictures I took were of better quality than using the auto exposures. I also found out my timing sucks. The point in which the brass left the frame area coincided with the focus time of the reticle. So I was basically taking 2FPS of  a guy aiming his rifle, even though he was rapid firing. Aw, hell, I'll try again in a week or so. Not really happy with the results but not discouraged either.

Two things...

Nova's using a pretty hefty telephoto lens in those shots, so he's standing quite a bit back from where the shooters are.

Second, Timing is more a matter of practice and luck than anything.....lots of shots.

Yeah, I'm getting the distinct impression I'll be sorting through A LOT of photos looking for one I like.

Looks like time to buy another 512 memory stick.


ETA: I believe my camera is able to take the pics I want. It's the shooter (my) lack of photography skills holding me back.

Quoted: Yeah, I'm getting the distinct impression I'll be sorting through A LOT of photos looking for one I like. Looks like time to buy another 512 memory stick. ETA: I believe my camera is able to take the pics I want. It's the shooter (my) lack of photography skills holding me back.

At least shooting digital is cheap  Once you have the equipment, experimenting is just a matter of spending the time to do it.