Photography Shoutbox

[ryan s]

not looking forward to throwing down the doughski on this

but my current long lens is just not as good as i want...but i dont know if i'm good enough for the DA*.

 

[98ExAccordwv]

I'm going to try and take a few shots at the race this weekend. I've never really had much luck shooting at tracks, anyone have any tips. I'm limited on my equipment, just a Canon T3 with 18-55mm kit lens. Any tips would be appreciated though.

 

[fastflyinaccord]

Shooting at races is easier than it seems and the fact that they will be racing during the day makes it easier.


I'd start with a shutter speed around 1/200 and f/7.1 or f/8 and go from there. Using the kit lens might be tough based on how close you are to the racing surface.



For example: I shot the picture below with my 55-200mm at 85mm f/4.5 and I was kneeling like 8 feet from the surface. Take your cam and see what you can get. Shoot in bursts.


DSC_0627 by Schaibles, on Flickr

 

[98ExAccordwv]

Shooting at races is easier than it seems and the fact that they will be racing during the day makes it easier.


I'd start with a shutter speed around 1/200 and f/7.1 or f/8 and go from there. Using the kit lens might be tough based on how close you are to the racing surface.



For example: I shot the picture below with my 55-200mm at 85mm f/4.5 and I was kneeling like 8 feet from the surface. Take your cam and see what you can get. Shoot in bursts.

Thanks. I figured you'd be the one to chime in. I can get fairly close in some areas..but no where near 8 ft.
I almost bit the bullet and rented a 70-200 F2.8L IS for the weekend from borrowlenses.com, but didn't feel like shelling out the money.

 

[ryan s]

i bet the 70-200/4 is cheaper than the 2.8 to rent...

and i know its lighter in weight

if youre going to be using it around 200mm the whole time (aka, not close enough to the track), youd have to stop down the lens anyway to get anything in focus.

 

[98ExAccordwv]

i bet the 70-200/4 is cheaper than the 2.8 to rent...

and i know its lighter in weight

if youre going to be using it around 200mm the whole time (aka, not close enough to the track), youd have to stop down the lens anyway to get anything in focus.

It's only like $1 cheaper for the 3 days. And $8 for the week. But just noticed if I get the one without IS it's like half the price, but I still don't think I'd have time to get it here.

 

[ryan s]

theres more than one lens rental place on the interwebs another shop may be closer to you, plus its only tuesday.

 

[98ExAccordwv]

theres more than one lens rental place on the interwebs another shop may be closer to you, plus its only tuesday.

I need it by Thursday...what do you think about the need for IS?

 

[ryan s]

those places offer expedited shipping...

my take on IS/VR/SR is this: my camera(s) has it built in, i use it all the time except on a tripod. with panning shots, its not necessary and may be beneficial to turn off (why canon L telephotos have two IS settings on the side). if you're going to be shooting in good light...and if you can keep the shutter speed high enough for still objects, while still using a "clean" ISO setting, its not 100% necessary. shooting at telephoto lengths with a less-than-optimal shutter speed, any camera shake will be visible.

 

[98ExAccordwv]

Yea I'm realizing that now, most of places ship Fedex 2 day (I guess this limits the amount of time the equipment is stuck in transit).

I figure I'll be doing some panning, probably more so than not. Eh oh well, as much as I want too, I don't really need to spend another $100 for the weekend. Maybe next time.