How do I catch fast-moving animals?

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msk40160

New member
I am a slow learner, new to photography, and use a Nikon Coolpix P610. Many of my pictures of moving subjects (rodeo animals) are blurry. When I try to adjust the shutter speed (supposedly increasing the shutter speed), my pictures appear dark. Will someone please explain, in a step-by-step detailed and simple way, how I can take sharper pictures of fast-moving animals? Sometimes I feel so lost. :confused:
 
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PapaST

Senior Member
You should look into the exposure triangle to get an idea of how a camera works. Essentially the sensor needs X amount of light to get a proper exposure. You can control the amount of light by the duration that the shutter stays open (shutter speed), the amount of light that is allowed in DURING that shutter opening (aperture) and finally the sensitivity of the sensor itself (ISO). ISO, aperture and shutter are what makes up the exposure triangle. They work in conjunction together to give you a proper exposure. So in your case you need a faster shutter speed to "freeze" the action. But the faster the shutter affects the other two parameters. If those two parameters (in this case aperture and ISO) cannot compensate for the shorter shutter duration then your shots will look dark or under exposed because the sensor simply isn't getting enough light.

Thus begins the quest for the camera setup that gives you "more"... i.e. faster shutter speeds, better ISO performance and larger apertures all while delivering good optical quality and good dynamic range. That's sort of it in a nutshell. Learning the exposure triangle and how each parameter effects the other will help you understand it a little more.
 
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Don Kuykendall_RIP

RIP :(
Welcome to the forum. There are a lot of things that can affect any answer we might give you. I shot a rodeo recently and even with my D750 which one of the best low light Nikons on the market I really had to push it to the limit and then do considerable work in post processing to get a good image. The Coolpix is just not made for extreme shooting. You are going to have to shoot at the highest ISO that you can in order to get a fast shutter speed and still have enough light to get a good exposure.

03-18-16_0413_nikon_d750_300_mm_1-1000_sec_at_f_-_5.6_iso_51200.jpg
 
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aroy

Senior Member
msk40160 said:
I am a slow learner, new to photography, and use a Nikon Coolpix P610. Many of my pictures of moving subjects (rodeo animals) are blurry. When I try to adjust the shutter speed (supposedly increasing the shutter speed), my pictures appear dark. Will someone please explain, in a step-by-step detailed and simple way, how I can take sharper pictures of fast-moving animals? Sometimes I feel so lost. :confused:
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Faster action requires higher shutter speeds. Considering that the available light is a constant, for proper exposure, you can increase the shutter speed only by increasing the aperture opening and/or increasing the ISO. The smaller sensor in the P series will limit the usable high ISO as noise will creep in fast. Nor do these cameras come with a fast lens. So your options are limited to increasing the ISO while using fast shutter speed. If there is a lot of noise, then that is it, nothing can be done about it.

This is one those situations where you have reached the limits of the camera. You can try high ISO and high shutter speeds, but I doubt that you will be happy with the results. Even a low end DSLR will give better high ISO performance, not to speak of higher shutter speeds and a host of controls over the image taking process.

You best bet is to get a DSLR, entry level D3300 with its kit lens if you are cash constrained or a D750 with a fast zoom if you can afford it. The D3300 with it kit zoom is quite good for your purpose. Add the 35mm F1.8 DX and you have a good low light solution. Shoot RAW and you can recover at least 2 EV of dark areas with minimal noise.
 
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paul_b

Senior Member
Also, in the 'scene' selector mode (on the top dial) see if there's a sports mode. It's used for capturing fast moving subjects. It may just help you out until you learn how to get your own settings right.
 
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paul_b

Senior Member
Also, in your shooting settings, make sure your ISO is set automatically (auto ISO is on). That way, when you make your shutter speed faster your camera can attempt to make up for loss of light exposure by automatically increasing the ISO for each shot, which in english means making the light (image) sensor more sensitive to the available light, which means not so dark photos. It will however increase the noise in the photos, but better that than dark unusable images.
 
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rocketman122

Senior Member
its not easy for new folks in photography to do specific types of shots. its technique you acquire after years of practice. the Coolpix P610 isnt exactly the most capable camera for freezing action and even the most proficient vertran photog will have trouble using that camera to freeze speed. that hinders your results as well. there is a spectrum of things a camera can do for many types of images. from shallow dof, to freezing action to high iso capability. im certain if I gave you a 70-200 2.8 to shoot with at 200mm, youd have a hard time with proper focus and many images would be blurry because of the weight. . the same with a 85 1.4 or 50 1.4. seems simple but it isnt at all. your camera isnt made for this and your skills may not be up to par, hence the sub optimal results
 
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MaxBlake

Senior Member
Plenty of good and helpful answers here. Even though I didn't ask the question, I have benefited from the replies, so thanks.

Must say that the title of the thread reminds me of the old gag about how to catch an elephant.
 
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paul_b

Senior Member
MaxBlake said:
Plenty of good and helpful answers here. even though I didn't ask the question, I have benefited from the replies, so thanks.

Must say that the title of the thread reminds me of the old gag about how to catch an elephant.
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Yes. It's a bit of a shame the original poster hasn't acknowledge if he found them helpful or not too.

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