Blurred Train Picture - Can this really happen? (Page 2): Hard to tell without a pic, but that's a very slow shutter speed to shoot a moving train ( with that I would expect the shots...

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

gainesn wrote:

I was setting up to take a picture of the steam train run through north georgia. I was roughly 30 feet off the track, camera with wide angle (16mm on D7500) on a graphite tripod. I pre-focused, manual focus, on the track at f8 apeture. Shutter speed was about 125 - 250. (ISO set to 100 in apeture priority). The test shots were perfect. The train pics are all blurred. Is it possible the train whistle, blurred the picture? I did not feel any vibration in my feet.

Hard to tell without a pic, but that's a very slow shutter speed to shoot a moving train ( with that I would expect the shots to be blurred)!

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

gainesn wrote:

I was setting up to take a picture of the steam train run through north georgia. I was roughly 30 feet off the track, camera with wide angle (16mm on D7500) on a graphite tripod. I pre-focused, manual focus, on the track at f8 apeture. Shutter speed was about 125 - 250. (ISO set to 100 in apeture priority). The test shots were perfect. The train pics are all blurred. Is it possible the train whistle, blurred the picture? I did not feel any vibration in my feet.

A moving object at ISO100? There's the problem.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

An image to review would REALLY be nice...

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

rgrenaderphoto wrote:

A moving object at ISO100? There's the problem.

To clarify for novices, it's the shutter speed that affects motion blur. In the priority modes it's helpful to do controlled tests and note what happens when ISO is adjusted. In the OP's case, in aperture priority a higher ISO would have increased the shutter speed. The result is the same exposure, but more ability to "stop action" of moving subjects.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

60 miles/hour is 88 ft/second. If the train is going 60, 1/250 second is 4 inches of motion. At 30mph it's 2 inches. At 15 mph it's 1 inch.

1/250 second is not fast enough.

Jimmy T Loc: Virginia

DirtFarmer wrote:

60 miles/hour is 88 ft/second. If the train is going 60, 1/250 second is 4 inches of motion. At 30mph it's 2 inches. At 15 mph it's 1 inch.

1/250 second is not fast enough.

Bingo!!!

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

gainesn wrote:

I was setting up to take a picture of the steam train run through north georgia. I was roughly 30 feet off the track, camera with wide angle (16mm on D7500) on a graphite tripod. I pre-focused, manual focus, on the track at f8 apeture. Shutter speed was about 125 - 250. (ISO set to 100 in apeture priority). The test shots were perfect. The train pics are all blurred. Is it possible the train whistle, blurred the picture? I did not feel any vibration in my feet.

More than likely it is the carbon tripod.
Trains do cause vibrations.

camerapapi Loc: Miami, Fl.

You all have made excellent comments on what could have been the reasons for the blurred images. Unfortunately, we have not seen a single sample to indeed point out to the OP what caused the blur.

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

I usually shoot trains doing over 50mph at 1/800 to 1/2000. Really need to see the photo to draw any solid conclusions. My cousin once lived about 40’ from a spur track and the train going by at 5 mph caused his whole apartment to shake...

Stephan G

gainesn wrote:

I was setting up to take a picture of the steam train run through north georgia. I was roughly 30 feet off the track, camera with wide angle (16mm on D7500) on a graphite tripod. I pre-focused, manual focus, on the track at f8 apeture. Shutter speed was about 125 - 250. (ISO set to 100 in apeture priority). The test shots were perfect. The train pics are all blurred. Is it possible the train whistle, blurred the picture? I did not feel any vibration in my feet.

There are so many reasons the shots were blurred. It can be a combination. With all that have been suggested, I would add the vibration caused by the moving train itself. You didn't feel the movement was that you were isolated from the tremor by your shoes and your socks on your feet. (You could have felt the tremor if you were sitting on the bare ground.)

From your description I would say that your camera moved.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Tex-s wrote:

I can't speak to your image without seeing what you describe, but I can tell you that while experimenting with longer exposures and/or very narrow apertures to shoot a NM refinery at night i had a similar outcome. A passing 18-wheeler introduced enough vibration to my tripod to markedly reduce sharpness in the refinery details. I can only imagine that a train that weighs far more could introduce enough vibration to do the same.

Yes, trains do make the ground shake.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

gainesn wrote:

I was setting up to take a picture of the steam train run through north georgia. I was roughly 30 feet off the track, camera with wide angle (16mm on D7500) on a graphite tripod. I pre-focused, manual focus, on the track at f8 apeture. Shutter speed was about 125 - 250. (ISO set to 100 in apeture priority). The test shots were perfect. The train pics are all blurred. Is it possible the train whistle, blurred the picture? I did not feel any vibration in my feet.

If you can't post the shot, I cannot comment.

Low Budget Dave

As a general rule, 1/250 is usually fast enough for pictures of people jogging; or up to about 7 mph. Anything faster than that, you have to scale your shutter speed.

Average speed for passenger steam trains is 28 mph, which is handy, because that gives you a good guess of shutter speed at about 1/1000.

If the train is moving at 50mph, (which is entirely possible) then it is best to assume that you have to be at 1/2000.

jackm1943 Loc: Omaha, Nebraska

gainesn wrote:

I was setting up to take a picture of the steam train run through north georgia. I was roughly 30 feet off the track, camera with wide angle (16mm on D7500) on a graphite tripod. I pre-focused, manual focus, on the track at f8 apeture. Shutter speed was about 125 - 250. (ISO set to 100 in apeture priority). The test shots were perfect. The train pics are all blurred. Is it possible the train whistle, blurred the picture? I did not feel any vibration in my feet.

I doubt your shutter speed was anywhere near fast enough. I've found that 1/1000 to 1/4000 is required to stop the action.

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

Notorious T.O.D. wrote:

I usually shoot trains doing over 50mph at 1/800 to 1/2000. Really need to see the photo to draw any solid conclusions. My cousin once lived about 40’ from a spur track and the train going by at 5 mph caused his whole apartment to shake...

That was my comment.
I watched pros in Winslow, AZ doing a train shoot with a moving train at night.
Lights were mounted on stands but cameras were hand held and I asked and the response was the vibration going through the tripod destroying the photo.