Looking for a few pointers

[WanderingAO]

I am a finalist in a contest sponsored by my local radio station. I won tickets to the Suzuki Superbike races at Road America on Sunday. They are giving me a Fujifilm Fine Pix J10 (8.2 "budget ultra compact"). I have to take pics and make a short video of the events.

I read the motion photography thread (:thumbup: TT). What I would like to pick your brains about are moving shots at a distance, i.e. I'm at one end of the stands and want to take a shot of the winner crossing the finish line. What are some good rules of thumb?

Feel free to recommend other types of action shots I should seek.

ISO settings: 64, 100, 200, 400, 800, 1600, and Auto

Shutter speed: 8-1/2000 seconds (or so they claim)

I am pretty naive (ignorant?) when it comes to digital cameras, so here is a link to a review I found that has all the specs; http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/default.asp?newsID=3466&review=fuji+finepix+j10

If I win I get motorcycle racing lessons, so any and all feedback would be greatly appreciated. Cheers!

[F250]

Set the camera for the biggest file size and highest resolution possible.

Start with the lowest ISO.

You will not be able to get a decent shot of a car crossing the finish line if you are on the other end of the grandstand. Try to fill the frame with car, not asphalt and real estate.

Practice on the side of a highway to get the hang of panning and figure out how far away you have to be to get the shot.

Set the camera for shutter priority. This means you set the shutter speed and the camera figures out the f-stop. You want a shutter speed slow enough to blur the wheels. If the shutter speed is too high, it will look like the car is parked.

What shutter speed? That depends on the lighting and speed of the cars.

Find a location at the track that will put you between the subject and the sun. The sun needs to be behind you.

"Moving shots at a distance" ARE NOT MOTION OR PANNING SHOTS. At a long distance from your subject, you will be moving or panning the camera only a couple of degrees and you will get no blur. the shot below was taken no further than 25 ft. from the subject at Willow Springs International Raceway in California.

PRACTICE NOW, BEFORE THE RACE. PRACTICE OFTEN.


http://stg.home.bresnan.net/Terlingua-.jpg