Need Help: Rolling Shots

fatnhappy · Nov 20, 2011

Hey,

So I was wondering if anyone can teach me or tell me whether it is possible to do rolling shots with cars with a sony a100 camera?

I have the 18-70mm, 28-110mm, 70-210mm lens (i don't think it matters)

but I want to try and do some with my room-mates cars and my car..we're all also car enthusiasts so we're trying to get some good shots..

Anyone know how? Or know whether its possible to do it with this camera?

Something along the lines of these:

6330589051_8dd626a8d6_o | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

6330588155_cd197c6ba7_o | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

http://pb-i4.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/143044-1317333385-0-l.jpg

http://pb-i4.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/143044-1317333385-1-l.jpg

http://pb-i4.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/143044-1317606666-0-l.jpg

The photographers of those photos are awesome..i want to do something like that but don't know how or if my camera is even possible =[

Hotkeez · Nov 20, 2011

These images are done by mounting the camera on the outside of the car and using a remote cable. Quite easy to do if you have the right mounting equipment. Another way to do it is by taking the photos by laying in the back of a pickup.
Speed is not important as you can get these results at 30mph.

ps, a harness is useful if using a pickup, and leave the tailgate down.

12sndsgood · Nov 20, 2011

it can be done with even less speed then that. friend of mine that has the rig, they usually just push the car. it only needs to be going a few mph.

fatnhappy · Nov 20, 2011

is it possible to do it while standing and have the car drive by?

12sndsgood · Nov 20, 2011

if u are standing and the car is going by you will have to learn how to pan to keep the car in focus while the background is blurred.

fatnhappy · Nov 20, 2011

Ok so what do I have to do to take these shots if I'm in the car. Like what settings to set the camera on? Or is it just point and shoot while the cars moving?

12sndsgood · Nov 20, 2011

well your settings will depend on the light, how far away you are from the car etc. no diffrent then if the car was sitting still. the only diffrence is your moving.

fatnhappy · Nov 20, 2011

So it's pretty much a point and shoot ? What settings to set to capture the rolling shot say on just a normal sunny day?

12sndsgood · Nov 20, 2011

again its kind of too broad an answer to choose. its kinda like asking you what color red should go with the shirt im wearing today. the shot to get the car will be no diffrent then the shot to take a picture of a person. just use the proper exposure, shutter speed, iso, white balance etc. for the conditions your in. if your not sure on how to take a properly exposed picture do a search on here and you will find thousands of posts on that. i mean on a sunny day your going to want to keep your iso low. most likely down in the 100 range. and adjust your fstop to get the proper deapth of field you like and adjust your shutter speed accordingly.

fatnhappy · Nov 20, 2011

So there's no specific setting i need to get in order to capture the car in motion while everything is blurred out? Its just a simple point and shoot ? I understand the iso and all the other stuff for the day but that doesn't explain to me how to set my camera and to which settings to optimally get those quality shots or just those shots in general cause when i tried to do that, the cars come out blurry as well

unpopular · Nov 20, 2011

Uhm. Both cars need to be moving at similar speed, the road needs to be relatively smooth so that the camera doesn't bounce around, the mounting needs to be secure, or better yet, use something like a Stedicam. You'll need to balance shutter speed with the amount of vibration and the amount of motion blur.

I think this is one of those things that's going to be easy to yack about, but to actually get the shot will take a lot more planning and skill.

fatnhappy · Nov 20, 2011

unpopular said:
Uhm. Both cars need to be moving at similar speed, the road needs to be relatively smooth so that the camera doesn't bounce around, the mounting needs to be secure, or better yet, use something like a Stedicam. You'll need to balance shutter speed with the amount of vibration and the amount of motion blur.

I think this is one of those things that's going to be easy to yack about, but to actually get the shot will take a lot more planning and skill.

How do you adjust or balance the shutter speed with vibration and motion blur? Is there a specific function on the camera that does this? I'm trying to plan it out and practice

unpopular · Nov 21, 2011

Manual or Time priority. There isn't a formula, really - well, there could be, if you had all the variables of course, but that's just silly.

Use any image stabilization you have available, that should help quite a lot. Longer shutter times will result in more blur, but too long of a shutter time and you'll pick up vibrations. Essentially, the background and the street and anything you'd want to be bury would be moving a greater distance over the duration of the exposure than any vibrations. On most roads with average rigging on your typical vehicle at 30mph, I wouldn't go lower than 1/80 myself.

You'll get more blur with the your camera closer to a moving surface. I needn't say, but the last few are definitely doctored, and I am uncertain that the vehicle was moving at all, I am starting to wonder the same for the rest, actually.

12sndsgood · Nov 21, 2011

the last few do look a bit doctored.

again, id start out slow. u dont need to be hauling ass to get these shots. a few miles an hour is all you need.