Motocross Photo - Need some help on a few things

[jwashburn]

Take a look at this shot. Its not sharp. I dont think its camera shake. I was shooting at 1000sec. It doesnt seem out of focus (does it? I have been staring at it for hours) There seems like a great deal of noise for shooting at ISO 200.

It could very well be a technique issue, but I have begun to notice more and more photos looking like this.

Could something be wrong with my lens or my camera? I am not using pro level lenses. I did rent a 70-200 2.8 VR lens a few months back and I dont see these issues with photos from that lens.

I dont want to blame a technique problem on equipment, but I also dont want an equipment problem/limitation to be causing me grief.

http://www.joeywashburn.com/photos/641491143_Q35js-L-1.jpg

[2whlrcr]

I'm no expert, but looking at the dirt under the bike, it looks like you DOF is good. You don't say what camera you are using. I shoot Canon's and I generally boost my sharpness and contrast just a little. Maybe you have set your camera to a "softer" setting. Take a look or add the the sharpness during PP.

[Mefford]

I think it might be out of focus. There is not enough to tell, but the roost looks to be more in focus than the rider.

Perhaps the rider rode out of the focus area between the focus lock and the shutter release. Were you using some type of servo focus that tracks a moving objects? If not, I would try that next.

[j-bo]

I believe it is a DOF issue. I think your focus point is down and slightly to the left, thus the upper and right side is slightly OOF.

Seeing the original photo would also help, so providing a link to that is beneficial also.

It's also always good to leave EXIF intact or post it so people can help you a little easier.

The sharp sun doesn't help much either.

Overall... I wouldn't pitch the shot either.

[Gringriff]

It is a good shot with the angles, framing, colors etc... I agree the focus point may be closer to the back of the rear tire. Not sure what the AV was but if it was 2.8 or something in that range, you could go down to about 4.5 and get more of the whole bike in focus. However, I did try a little USM and that does sharpen the image nicely. I was going to attach it back but it was too large. But definitely try the USM if you have not already.

[jwashburn]

Thanks for the help. I am going to post a link the original as soon as I finish this post so everyone can see the EXIF

Nikon D200. My white balance was set to flourescent for some reason, but I shot in RAW so I corrected the white balance and the exposure a bit in Lightroom. I am not at home, so I dont have access to the RAW file right now, but I will post a link to the orginal.

Thanks again for the help

[jwashburn]

Here is a link to the original

http://www.joeywashburn.com/photos/644132934_aPnjm-O.jpg

[jwashburn]

It is a good shot with the angles, framing, colors etc... I agree the focus point may be closer to the back of the rear tire. Not sure what the AV was but if it was 2.8 or something in that range, you could go down to about 4.5 and get more of the whole bike in focus. However, I did try a little USM and that does sharpen the image nicely. I was going to attach it back but it was too large. But definitely try the USM if you have not already.

I think your right on the focus. Now that I am looking at the shot again it looks like I was off a bit. The AV was 4.5.

[j-bo]

Uhmm.. the original you posted is a different shot than the shot in your 1st post. :D

I'd just use AWB.

[jwashburn]

Uhmm.. the original you posted is a different shot than the shot in your 1st post. :D

I'd just use AWB.

Oops

http://www.joeywashburn.com/photos/644263085_RWccE-O.jpg

[j-bo]

Appears to be focus point. F5 is small enough to capture all of the bike, so I agree and think you were off a bit.

I'm not familiar with Nikon gear, but there is some weird green fringing on the riders right arm of the jersey, some green on the chest protector and some purple fringing on the spokes (that seems to be rather common though).

What's the lens you are using? That could be another part of the equation.

You do have some nice WA shots on your site BTW.

[jwashburn]

Appears to be focus point. F5 is small enough to capture all of the bike, so I agree and think you were off a bit.

I'm not familiar with Nikon gear, but there is some weird green fringing on the riders right arm of the jersey, some green on the chest protector and some purple fringing on the spokes (that seems to be rather common though).

What's the lens you are using? That could be another part of the equation.

You do have some nice WA shots on your site BTW.

Just a kinda crappy kit lens. 70-200 zoom 3.5-5.6. Ill chalk it up to a combo of bad focus and some hardware issues. I know that I need to upgrade some lenses to progress to the next level.

Thanks for the feedback, and I am glad you like the shots.