Fuji Finepix S100 tips

Hi. I'm new on this site and i have a Fuji Finepix S100. I mostly take pics of trains, aircraft etc but i find that, with aircraft especially, i'm having a lot of trouble getting shots of stuff flying that just seem to come out blurred or out of focus. I've tried taking pictures on most settings, panning etc but still the majority of them come out blurred. Are there any hints anyone can give me on where i may be going wrong (possibly a few pics to give me some ideas of what sort of pics i can get with the camera with a little practice). I will admit the camera is getting on a bit but at the moment im not in the position to upgrade.
Thanks in advance for any help.
Robert.

One of the big problems could be the camera itself. I have mentioned before that there are times when compacts and the like just can't compete with full DSLR cameras. They are good for what they are built for, but they do have their limitations. If you could post an unedited photo then we can look at the EXIF data to see what settings you are using.

It looks as if your camera can shoot a frame at 1/4000sec at its fastest depending on setting- amount of light etc. The closer you are to the subject the faster the shutter speed needs to be. Also the camera may just not be able to focus fast enough.

With moving objects there are two ways of going about taking photos, first there is the fixed position when the background is sharp and the motion of the subject is blurred, second is panning (as you mentioned) when the object is sharp and the background is blurred. It is nigh on impossible to get both as sharp at the same time unless using a very high shutter speed. For example My Nikon D300 can shoot at speed of up to 1/8000sec, or in other word twice as fast as the max your camera can achieve, therefore "freezing motion" is going to be a lot easier.

Another question you have to ask yourself is "have I outgrown my camera?" something very common that happens with experience. If you find yourself not being able to get the shots you want more and more frequently then the answer must be yes, there is nothing worse than knowing you can do better but the equipment just isn't up to it.

Bazza

Panning works for me.

One difference between your camara and Bobs lens used is the mm range. Bobs photos were taken at 170mm and 200mm where as your camera has a max of 110mm . So to get the same shots you would have to stand nearly twice as close which in turn the closer one is the more blurred the picture becomes. Yes you could take the same pictures as Bob from the same position but the planes would be so far in the distance they wouldn't be worth taking and even with editing to enlarge you would start getting pixelisation "dots" on the enlarged photos.
Distance -shutter speed - lens length (mm) - daylight- aperture all comes into the equation when photographing moving subject, which is why a DSLR camera has the advantage.

Bazza

Thanks for the prompt replies guys. I will try to download some of my pics at some point. Yeah bazza i agree it may be time to upgrade but as i say im not really in a position to do that just yet so my S100 will have to do for the mo. Thanks again
Nice shots btw Bob

The panning technique I posted will work to improve shots with your camera.