APOGEE PHOTO MAGAZINE: F5 and Stabilizer

Apogee Photo Magazine

Nikon F5 and Stabilizer

By Lou Jawitz

A "Car-to-Car" shot.
See discussion below.

To the casual observer, many published photographs appear to have been created with a simple click of a button. However, if the truth were told, a seemingly simple photo may have required the use of specialized equipment and extensive testing before the artist could achieve the desired effect. Such was the case when I was recently assigned to photograph automobiles.

Being from an older era, I tend to be a bit conservative in my equipment--not to mention a bit frugal. It took me a while to become used to the idea of auto focus cameras. Previously, I had used the manual-focus Nikon F2 and F3, but eventually, as my eyes weakened, I came around to an auto focus Nikon N8008. At first glance, I thought the N8008 seemed intimidating, but before long, I decided it didn't have enough features to satisfy me.

When you're working professionally, you reach a point when you can't fight technology anymore. After many years in the commercial and stock photo business, I experienced an occasion that required the new Nikon F5 for its fast focus and dynamic tracking ability and a gyrostabilizer. My assignment was to photograph automobiles in motion. I would be shooting from a moving vehicle as well as from a stationary position. Both sets of shots required the automobile images to be tack-sharp, while the road and background were to be blurred. After much experimentation, I found the Nikon F5 and Kenyon stabilizer to be the perfect tools to accomplish my goals.

Before buying an F5, I borrowed one from a friend to test it. The tracking with this camera was outstanding. It was very accurate, and the tests helped me impress and solidify my standing with the client. Another friend loaned me a Kenyon KP-6 Gyro Stabilizer. This screws into the camera’s tripod socket, allowing a hand-held camera and lens combination, weighing up to six-and-a-half pounds, to be used with shutter speeds two to three stops slower than normally recommended. I would be shooting from a stationary position as well as from a moving vehicle, so I needed an effective film speed that permitted me to use a midrange aperture to soften the background while maintaining maximum sharpness on the car. The lighting conditions required that I use neutral density and/or a polarizer, so I could employ my preferred film Kodak Ektachrome E100S.

Stationary shots

Shot while standing
stationary and panning

For the stationary shots, I used an AF Zoom-Nikkor 75-300mm lens. This is a new lens from Nikon that's very light and a joy to hand-hold. I set the camera on shutter-priority, then I set my speed to match the longest focal length I was using. This technique is based on past testing and an old rule of thumb: the inverse of the shutter speed should be equal to or higher than the focal length (i.e. for a focal length of 250 mm you want a shutter speed of 1/250 or faster). Next, I did several runs while dropping my shutter speed by 1/2 stop each time. (Film is cheap!) Although I know certain shutter speeds work well, sometimes I find alternatives work even better. A slower speed may not produce an image of the moving car that's sharp, while a faster speed may not produce the desired blurry background. This situation requires a delicate balancing act, and sometimes, I need a lot of luck on my side during these shoots. But, unlike the old days when I would focus on a predetermined spot and be able to catch only a couple shots per pass, the F5 camera tracked the car as it came towards me, eliminating my need to focus. If I wanted striking shots filled with lots of action and motion, all I had to do was to pan with the car and the F5 took care of the rest.

Shots from moving vehicles

Vehicle-to-vehicle shooting required a different approach. The wheels move and the road moves, but the camera doesn't. After numerous test shots of autos in motion, I found that a shutter speed of 1/30th of a second and a vehicle speed of about 30 MPH produced the effect the art director liked best. I waited until late in the day when the light was low and more attractive on the vehicles. Just as importantly, this time of day allowed me to use the slow shutter speed I needed. (Many of the films today are very fast, but in broad daylight, even a 50 ISO film may not provide enough motion.) In some situations, I used neutral density to bring down the exposure by two stops. That trick allowed me to use less depth of field as well as longer, more desirable shutter speeds. I set the camera for 1/30th of a second in shutter-priority mode with the motor drive in continuous mode. To keep the car image the same size in each frame, I had to zoom out on my Zoom-Nikkor 35-70mm f/2.8 lens while simultaneously panning to keep the car centered. The stabilizer allowed me to keep the camera steady throughout each sequence of events. (Keep in mind that the stabilizer can't sit on something rigid like the back of the pickup truck or van in which you're riding.) I rested the stabilizer on a pillow that was on my stomach to dampen some of the vibrations of the vehicle. The stabilizer will not permit rapid panning, but I was able to get away with a slow pan of about twenty degrees per second. This speed, too, had to be determined through testing.

Gyro Stabilizer technology

Experimenting with slower shutter
speeds leads to shots
with dramatic movement

The greatest advantage of the stabilizer is that it allows the photographer to hand-hold at slow shutter speeds. If you're creating slow-shutter-speed shots, and you want to be free of a tripod, the stabilizer is indispensable. Really beautiful light occurs at the end of the day when you'll need a tripod - unless you’re lucky enough to have a stabilizer handy. Obviously, with a stabilizer, it's important for you to be sure to keep the batteries charged. The batteries generally last between two-and-a-half and three hours at seventy degrees Fahrenheit. When reviewing the Internet site of the Kenyon Gyro Stabilizer Company, I discovered I could purchase a car cigarette lighter adapter, which extends ten feet, as an alternative to batteries. Considering that a stabilizer takes ten to twelve minutes to wind up before you can use it, eliminating some battery life just getting started, a cigarette lighter adapter can be very useful. Moreover, you can plug and unplug the stabilizer from the adapter without harming the unit and immediately continue operating with the battery. One limitation of the stabilizer that you should remember is that you can't pan very fast with it. It's made to be held still.

(For more information on Kenyon Stabilizers visit www.ken-lab.com or call 1-800-253-4681.)

Nikon F5 Focusing and Features

The F5 has several focus features and options. The one I found most useful for my assigned shoot was Dynamic auto focus mode, in which five sensors in the viewfinder track and maintain focus on a moving subject. The five sensors are arranged in a wide cross pattern in the viewfinder, and you can select the sensor that lies in the area of the frame where you initially want to focus. I found that I like to select the sensor in the area of the viewfinder closest to where I know the car will first enter the frame. With the focus mode also set for Continuous Servo Release-Priority, I can focus on the car, and then no matter where the subject moves in the frame, the focus on it stays tack sharp. This feature, combined with its speed and accuracy, makes the F5 the first camera I’ve ever used where I can truly concentrate on composition and not worry about focusing.

Some of the F5’s other features also came in handy for my shoot. One was the metering, and the other was auto bracketing. The metering is, hands-down, the best I’ve ever encountered. Out of fifteen assignments I finished, only once was the metering fooled--with a background of dazzling sparkles in a lake during a backlit shot. In that case, I used manual mode and still got the image.

One aspect of the F5 I didn’t originally like was that, unless you buy a custom program, the auto bracket offers only 1/3 stop increments and not 1/2. However, I have to say, in all the shots I’ve captured since buying the F5, it’s almost never been more then a 1/3 of a stop off--and, even then, the shots were still useable. (These images included white cars, black, yellow, dark green, etc.) With the RGB meter kicking in along with the matrix metering system, the correct stop is hard to miss. But it doesn’t hurt for you to bracket, anyway--even if it’s for the peace of mind that's so important when you’re on a professional assignment and can’t afford to re-shoot.

In conclusion, I have to admit that in spite of all my many past car shoots, I could never have predicted what a pleasure and difference the Nikon F5 and Kenyon stabilizer would make in this type of assignment.

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Lou Jawitz has been running a professional photography studio for over thirty years and has had numerous articles published as well had his work featured in gallery shows. He’s also a contributing photographer to Popular Photography magazine. The Image Bank distributes his stock shots throughout the world. He runs the Neversink photo workshop in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York.

To see more of Mr. Jawitz’s work, visit his site at www.loujawitz.com. In addition, he has a new site www.planetpoint.com/jawitz, which will be completed in February, 2000. There, you’ll be able to view many more car shoot images done in 1999 and 2000.