Shooting runners on a track.

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frioman007

New member
Hello. I'm going to be trying to get some decent pictures of my daughter tomorrow running track with my Z7II and 100-400mm Z lens. Does anyone have an experience and advice to offer? What typically works best with AF-C? Single point, Dynamic, or AF-Area focus mode? I tried AF People and subject tracking and the eyes and face were not very sharp. Also I'll be needing to single her out in a group of runners.
 
BF Hammer

BF Hammer

Senior Member
If you are attempting to track your daughter, Dynamic mode and manually put the AF point on her face. Use high-speed burst mode also. The goal is a couple of photos with good focus in the burst group.

My Z5 manual pretty much says Dynamic is for isolating an athlete in a group.
 
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frioman007

New member
Thank you. I'll try that. I guess I will try my best to get the lock on her eyes with her head somewhere within the helper points? I was thinking shutter speed of 500.
 
BF Hammer

BF Hammer

Senior Member
I am thinking shutter speed of 1000 or even up 2000 and auto ISO. It is a matter of distance to subject and relative speed concerning the motion blur, so no exact recipe is the answer. But if you only have 1 shot to do it right, go faster.

If there are other races to practice on before your daughter, take advantage of that and dial in your exposure setting.
 
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frioman007

New member
Thank you. I did practice yesterday on the driveway! 500 speed seemed to do the trick nicely, and I was using continuous H release. My biggest question was the preferred focus area method. I played with a few, but I could not make a good decision. I think Dynamic or AF-Area focus mode was best, but I'm not sure. Subject tracking did not do very well.
 
Woodyg3

Woodyg3

Senior Member
Contributor
I've done thousands and thousands of running pics, and I can say that 1/1000 or faster is the best way to assure no subject blur. As far as focus tracking, I feel most comfortable with focus area on my D500, but I'm not familiar with the area focus of the Z cameras. Dynamic certainly should do the trick.
 
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frioman007

New member
Well I did ok today I guess. It was a nice sunny day. ISO was on auto and was between 70-200 at 300-400mm. I had my shutter at 500 and was using BBAF with dynamic area mode. I had a few keepers but not nearly as many as I was hoping for. I may just need more practice tracking my subject. Or perhaps try a different focus area mode .
 
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