I have been experimenting with taking panning shots with my D70s but cannot get the focus I want on the rider.

Either the whole picture is blurred or only a small part of the object is in focus. I've tried prefocusing on a tree the right distance away and holding and tried letting the camera try and do it alone to little effect.

Any ideas?

tell me about it. this problem is why i switched from film to digital. i got sick of processing hole films of blurry riders.
if you're doing everything you can then i reckon it's a question of winning some and losing some. nobody can expect to get it right every time.
if you're focusing at an approximate distance and following the rider there's not a lot more you can do so just be persistent. the rider will very rarley go exactly where you wanted them to.
one mistake i've seen loads and loads of people making at the trails is that they pan around to follow the rider and then stop when they click the button which shifts the blur from the background (which is now still in the lens) to the rider (which kept moving). you have to keep following at a constant speed.

here's one where i got it wrong. i focused on an approximate distance and followed the rider past but he's not really in focus. the stickers on the bike and the helmet are too fuzzy.


here's another where i done exactly the same thing but it runed out a little better. the bike for one thing is a lot clearer.


maybe not the bext examples ever but they're the only shots i have to make this kind of comparison with.

If your hosting a pic somewhere else, then you put the image location between the IMG brackets.

If your uploading a photo to the site directly, then it needs to be less than 50KB and you can upload it via the browse function under additional options. You will see that when you are creating a new post.

...or you could try this link.http://www.pinkbike.com/photo/745302/

Don't prefocus for a start. Auto focus is very swift and accurate on most DSLRs now. Does the D70 have AI Servo (Or whatever Nikon call it) focusing?

I think Prefocusing is only good if it's dark and your camera AF is going to be a bitch trying to focus. IE it can't find anywhere due to low light, so it focuses all the way out, all the way in, and then tries to find somewhere. Obviously on manual it will just the photo without any quibbles.

However if it's good light, especially out of or in a break in the woods, AF should let you nail the focus more accurately.

Firstly, in my opinion, and i often make the mistake myself too, is with these sorts of pictures, its very difficult to determine whether its the focus OR the shutterspeed/camera movement that makes the blurryness.

For example, in those two pictures posted at the top of the thread by jim, i dont think the focusing is too bad, (but i can see what you mean), but its also how well he's followed the rider. And maybe the shutter speed is just a little too slow too. I understand your trying to get the background blurred, but it take immense practise, i'm still practising too, and its much easier with a shutter speed of like 90/125th as apposes to 60th and below. If that makes sense!?

Also, the flash looks like it's been used in those snaps by jim. Now with slow shutter speeds, the flash doesnt fire off during the whole photo, it will either do it at the beginning or end of the exposure. (should make sense) So if you were to hold the camera STILL and a rider zooom past, and you take a photo..... with a camera (most) flashing at the start of the exposer, that rider will be frozen (a little blurred) then there should be a faint trail of rider in the direction he is moving.....

In terms of focusing, i recommend pre-focusing (half holding the photobutton) before the rider appears. And again takes practise. If you use a wider aperture, (higher fstop) you will have a wider depth of field = more will be in focus each pic. So mayeb that could help.... ?

Dont really know if im talking any sense, or how well you guys all know your cameras.... shout if you dont understand me, in the mean time, im gunna try and shoot / find some examples...

andy