camera

[paulzinho]

What sort of cameras are good for motor racing photos? Nothing ridiculously expensive but i'm just curious.

Aysedasi, looking at your website you seem quite handy with that camera!! Some of those night shots are fantastic!

[paul c]

Can't come up with any names, but if you can afford it, look for an autofocus SLR with follow-focus. Failing that (budget wise), use a manual focus SLR and pre-focus on the area of track from which you want to take the photos. Then it's a matter of practice at clicking the shutter at the right point as you pan the camera with the car. If you use a long zoom lens, be aware that it will compress perspective so that a group of cars will all appear to be closer to each other then they are.

[bella]

i have a nikon f65 with a 50-500 lens (*smug*) and that comes up with some very good pictures. however, i would reccommend something like a nikon fm for a first slr camera - mine was great until it died nastily at the british grand prix in july...

[paulzinho]

What sort of price was that?

[Aysedasi]

Paulzinho, thanks for the comment. My gear is along the lines Paul C suggests. I use a ten year old Canon EOS 100 with 28-80 and 100-300 zooms. I traded up 10 years ago from a Minolta X300 (I think it was) because my eye-sight is far from brilliant and I had heard how good the Canon autofocus system was. I have to say it is brilliant. I also use a 2x converter (which gives me 200-600 on the bigger zoom). I lose autofocus and a lot of light, but on sunny days (or tripod days!) it's great for looking into pit garages from the Le Mans tribunes!

For motorsport pics, you have got to get to grips with the panning shot and the use of different shutter speeds for a variety of effects. To be honest, the night shots are easy, use a tripod (obviously), go for plenty of depth of field and just leave the shutter open. The EOS will allow me to use shutter speeds of say 10-20 seconds, so it will do most of the work for me - a concept I am very happy with!

The EOS 100 was discontinued a few years ago, but there are later models in the EOS range which will do anything my camera can do. I can speak for any other camera manufacturers as I haven't tried any of their gear.

[KC]

Most action photography does not require the use of very expensive camera bodies, but for pics like you see inmagazines it does require the use of very expensive lenses. I use a Canon EOS Rebel, their least expensive SLR in the EOS family. I could not afford a fast and long lens so I make do with a 90-210mm f4.5-5.6 Tamron and a 2X extender. However, with the lens zoomed with the extender on the fstop usually drops to f5.6 and sometimes f8.0 late in the evening. Because of this you must pan because the pictures are too dark for stationary camera work with the slower but better film. I would love to own a 600mm f2.0 lens but $6000 is far too expensive when considering my Tamron cost $189.00.

I shot this picture at Hallet Motor Racing Circuit with Fuji Provia 100F professional slide film, at about 200mm zoom, f5.6 at 1/350th second.



The lighting was not the best as it was about 4:00pm, and the image also suffered some vignetting at the corners because of this. I desperately need a good parabolic flash unit to provide some fill light.

[bella]

my nikon f65 including 25-80mm lens (i think) was £300. for a second hand fm you're looking at about £250.
my old 300mm lens for my fm was £90 new. second hand would be around £70. if you want to do reasonable shots, you're looking at around 300mm lenses, zoom would be nice.

my 50-500 sigma lens was £900 brand spanking new. it works a treat! (see hyla breese's website for my best efforts )

basically, be prepared to invest seriously if it turns out you're pretty good at pictures. as kc says, a body isn't so much money, but a good lens that works is a hell of alot of money...

kc, check out sigma if you want a reasonably priced lens. theirs are really very good indeed, and priced nicely...

[KC]

I was also pricing Sigmas when I bought the Tamron on closeout. Even our used camera prices are too high here in the US. I'd love to own a older Nikon or Canon fully manual camera but they want as much as my Rebel was new.

When shopping for used lenses take great care. If you can use the lens for a roll of film on something ewasy to focus on and look for any aberrations. A mislaigned lens from it being dropped is expensive to fix and usually not worth the replacement of the lens.

[Carrie]

I've used three different cameras and an assortment of lenses for motorsport photography. I started off with a Fuji STX2 (fairly old now) and used that with a Tamron 70-210 (with x2 convertor) or Tamron 300mm mirror. I've also used a Minolta X300s with the tamron lenses, until the Minolta met with a high speed accident on a road in Hampshire (never trust fathers with cameras, trying to drive off with one still on the roof of the car is not a good idea) Anyway, after the demise of the Minolta, I replaced it with a Pentax MZ5n which has a Pentax 80-320mm lens and this season has been used with my new acquisition, a Sigma 170-500mm - definitely a good investment You can see photos taken with all three cameras on my site.
If you're looking at Sigma or Tamron lens, the older Tamron lens are better than the older Sigma, but now Sigma are ahead and make better lenses than Tamron.
It's all down to personal preference, but I've never liked Canon cameras. I'm seriously thinking that my next new camera acquisition will be a Nikon of some sort. At the end of the day, it's whatever camera you feel happy with and the quality really comes from the lens you choose.

[Carrie]

You could take a look on the Jessops website to give you some idea of what's available. For a basic starting point, a number of cameras are sold bundled with something like a 28-80 and 80-300 or similar which gives you a good basis to build from if you decide you really are into photography.
I'm only mentioning Jesops to get an idea of what's available, there's plenty of smaller camera shops where you can get a better price. It really does pay to shop around on cameras, the price variation can be quite substantial.
If you've got a London Camera Exchange in your area, I'd recommend them, certainly their shop in Winchester is very good.

[Aysedasi]

Yes, LCE are excellent. I've been using their Southampton branches for about 15 years. (We're obviously relatively near neighbours, Carrie!).

[Carrie]

Well, we might have been near neighbours once. I spent my uni days in Winchester, never get as much chance as I'd like to get back there now.
I believe LCE have a website now, found it a while back when I was getting the Sigma lens. I've always found them a shop willing to do that little bit more, like doing an instant repair on my old twin lens when the shutter jammed open. I happened to be near the LCE, so popped in and they soon had it fixed. They're also knowledable about cameras, something which you don't always get in camera shops (or photo developing places). The best I ever encountered was Boots for developing. "Could I get this developed please" "erm, what is it?" "it's a film" cue shop assistant shouting through the back to another of the Boots staff "ere, I've got a woman here reckons this thing is a film". They obviously don't encounter many 120 roll films in Boots

[AndyF]

Ditto that, the LCE in Fareham, Hants is very good - but prices can be a touch on the high side.
I have a Minolta 505Si Super with 28-80mm and 80-300mm lens, and a Minolta X-700 with 50mm lens, and Tamron 80-210mm lens, + 2x converter. The 505 is AutoFocus, but the X-700 is MF. About 1K's worth of equipment there!!

I would honestly recommend a converter for an SLR for those just starting in motorsport photography. I got mine for £10 second-hand - a great buy!

Andrew

PS. Nice site Aysedasi - keep up the good work.

[Aysedasi]

Thanks a lot Andy (did you sign the book?!).

Another "'ampshire 'og"?

I think Carrie you and I ought to be getting some kind of kickback from LCE!!

[Carrie]

I swear LCE should have been paying me commission when I was in Winch. One time I was stopped on the High Street by an American tourist who wanted to know all about my camera. It was a bit embarassing, standing in the middle of Winchester High Street telling this guy all about the Minolta, Kai decided it was too embarassing and left me to it Anyway, sent him off to LCE, went round to see them after he'd left and he had indeed bought himself a Minolta and lenses
Andy, I've always found LCE to be very reasonable, certainly with the 170-500, they were price matching our local camera shop which specialises in grey imports. If our local shop hadn't been able to get the Sigma lens in for me, I'd been seriously considering getting it from LCE (it's only 240 miles from where I live) and using it as an excuse to spend a weekend in Winchester again

[Aysedasi]

Not much to do with cameras, Carrie (nothing at all, actually!), but I used to live in Winchester - Harestock. My dad worked at the Castle.

Small world, as they say.

[Carrie]

Do we need a Winchester / Hampshire topic I spent a very short time living in Ottersbourne - eek, at a time when it was most definitely on the wrong side of the Twyford Down roadworks for getting into Winchester. Soon moved onto the Battery and then spent most of my time in Winchester living in Weeke, just off Stoney Lane, so I knew Harestock reasonably well I used to spend a lot of my time in Stockbridge as well.

[Aysedasi]

I'm Hampshire born and bred. Born in Emsworth (where my father was born and his father before him). Then Havant, Winchester (Harestock), Bishopstoke (Eastleigh), West End (Southampton) and now Lymington in the lovely New Forest. Apart from some time studying in central London and Manchester, that's where I've been and where I now hope to stay!

[paulzinho]

I'm in Kent about 20 minutes from Brands hatch. Suits me down to the ground!!!

[Aysedasi]

Aha! That's a good location - accident or design?

[paulzinho]

Well I've lived in Kent all my life so accident!!

The Uni I want to go to is about 15 minutes from Donnington and that is most definitely a big factor in my choice, other than the academic stuff of course!

[paulzinho]

I just want to bring this up again, because now I'm considering a purchase.

[bella]

i'd go for the f65, or maybe the canon equivalent. they're good enough to give you seriously decent pictures if you can get the hang of it. i know it's a lot of money, but get a 300mm lens too. you'll get far better pictures and won't have to scan them in and hack them up to make them decent

on an entirely smug personal note, my new nikon d100 digital camera (about 6m pixels or whatever..) is due to arrive in the grubby hands of the kind people at kp photographic any time now. might go in and check on an arrival date today....

[jase]

My old SLR died on me last week, and so I had to buy a new body. Jessops had a "Centon" with lens for £114. It is an old Minolta body (in fact it is the same body but with a bit of a re-wirking), and as my old camera body lasted over 10 years, I'd say it is durable.

Additional lenses can be as cheap or expensive as you like, I have bought 2nd hand, and to date not had a problem with them. The only thing to remember is that if you buy 3 or 4 lenses, they get heavy after a day walking with them!

Any help?

[bella]

the problem with having one lens that does everything is that when you're trying to do shots that don't really need a zoom it's a bit daft, and the longer lenses aren't half heavy.

old cameras are best for working out how it all works. lack of autofocus is a b*tch though.