Long lens for motorsport?

DexterPunk · Post by **DexterPunk** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 11:56 am

I still use the shutter button. Probably mostly out if habit and not feeling the need to try any other way.

Post by **Big Kev** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 7:59 pm

I ended up with about a 10% success rate. Those tracking shots are really hard to do at less than 1/200th.

I was reading about back button focussing but I didn't get round to finding out how to do it before I went.

Basically you can set the * button on the back of a canon to be the equivalent of the half press on the shutter. This allows you to have a much steadier hand and shoot faster. Apparently all the pro's use it.

DexterPunk · Post by **DexterPunk** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 9:14 pm

Yeah JD does it. I've used it like that on his camera.. Feels odd to me though.

KNAPPO · Post by **KNAPPO** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 9:20 pm

Ive never thought of using the * button on the back of the camera. Will have to give that a try the next time i shoot a moving subject, thanks.

Post by **Big Kev** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 9:29 pm

If you google for 'canon back button focus' you should find some pages explaining how.

I fancy going to a BTCC race next year so I'll try and sort it out for then.

DexterPunk · Post by **DexterPunk** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 11:01 pm

I'm pretty sure it's just an option in custom functions on most cameras.

J.D. · Post by **J.D.** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 11:04 pm

Probably worth pointing out that in side by side conditions, Dex got more keepers than I did at Phillip Island recently so it doesn't guarantee success.

Kev, 10% isn't at all bad going. I have good and bad days. On my better days I can get 1 in 7. On my bad days maybe 1 in 15. Panning is hard so find something to practice on.

Thank God for digital. I used to burn an awful lot of film on this years ago and that was with manual focus. In fact, manual everything.

DexterPunk · Post by **DexterPunk** » Wed Jul 13, 2011 11:42 pm

Can only imagine the amount of film and costs involved you'd rack up panning in those days. I honestly reckon I get about 1 in 30 that I'm actually happy with. I like the car to be uniformly in focus, not the front half in, and the back half getting soft. That is quite hard to get.

Post by **Big Kev** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 1:34 am

The other pain was that Silverstone has 'temporary' stands made of scaffolding so the roof needs front stanchions to keep it up. That means to take a picture you have to snap it when the car is in one of the gaps! I had so many that had a pole in the picture. I eventually got the hang of pulling the trigger when one went through the view finder because at that speed, by the time I'd reacted to seeing it, the picture was grabbed in the gap.

Hopefully in the next 5 years their build plan includes remaking all the stands as more permanent structures with unobstructed views.

KNAPPO · Post by **KNAPPO** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 9:01 am

LOL Kev,

Thats what its like at most street circuits in Australia if you are shooting from GA thru the fencing.
The fencing poles are about 3-5 meters apart and if you do some panning shots you really need to get your timing spot on to not get a vertical pole. Example here

I changed my seats 2 years ago at the Clipsal 500 as our stand got the undercover seating for the first time and one of the vertical supports was right smack bang in front of the big screen.

J.D. · Post by **J.D.** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 9:20 am

Which is why Dex and I had so much fun at Phillip Island. There was no bastard there and as long as we stayed on the right side of the fence, no limits to where we could go.

KNAPPO · Post by **KNAPPO** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 12:45 pm

I must shoot Phillip Island one day.

Im looking forward to getting back to Bathurst this year as i havnt been since 2007 when I owned my first DSLR for one whole weekend prior.

J.D. · Post by **J.D.** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 1:45 pm

I wouldn't describe the Island as a motorsport photographers paradise but it's pretty good. There are lots of interesting corners to shoot from and the elevation changes work well. Sandown, by comparison, is nothing short of an absolute dead loss and I wouldn't even bother taking my camera unless I had full access. Fencing, walls and poor viewing access combine to make it an underwhelming experience.

I was surprised how much more I enjoyed shooting an event of relatively little significance. If there had been something major that day, I wouldn't even have been allowed to take the Battleaxe in there. 300mm is the limit (I don't tell them about the teleconverter). Half a metre of lens is a bit harder to explain. With motorsport there is no substitute for focal length. Megapixels help but they're not the answer.

VTRacing · Post by **VTRacing** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 2:58 pm

Well, long lenses aren't always needed, this was taken at a focal length of 27mm on a 1.6 crop camera:

Philcomm Rally Jimna - 2010 by VTRacing, on Flickr

No spectator fences here, either.

J.D. · Post by **J.D.** » Thu Jul 14, 2011 7:43 pm

Your access would have been waaaaay better.

And again, it depends on the type of shot you are after.

Nice pic by the way.

Gougoodthing · Post by **Gougoodthing** » Sun Jul 17, 2011 11:33 am

I love the Clipsal 500, and have a fantastic seat and view (turn

, but for photography my seat is generally rubbish

By far and away it's much more fun and successfull shooting at Mallalla

No catch fencing!

Can walk around (nearly) the whole track!

I think therse have been here before but i like them!

John Goodacre Porsche GT3 Cup Mallala 2011 by Gougoodthing, on Flickr

Bo Jensen Nicholas Pevan Ben Rebbeck Formula Vee Mallala 2011 by Gougoodthing, on Flickr

Terry Whyoon V8 Touring Cars Mallala 2011 by Gougoodthing, on Flickr

Tony Ricciardello Alfa Romeo GTV by Gougoodthing, on Flickr

Graham Mason Matt Jones HQ Holden by Gougoodthing, on Flickr

Mallalla Shannons Nationals 2011 680 by Gougoodthing, on Flickr

John Morriss Porsche GT3 Cup Mallala 2011 by Gougoodthing, on Flickr

J.D. · Post by **J.D.** » Thu Jul 21, 2011 8:05 pm

There's no EXIF data with those shots so, although it's obvious they were done with telephoto lenses, there's nothing to tell us what the focal length was.

Gougoodthing · Post by **Gougoodthing** » Thu Jul 21, 2011 10:39 pm

Yeah there is, or is that blocked to all but me?

(all have been heavily cropped)

Porsches one focal length 270 mm

Vees is 240mm

Whyoon 180 mm

Ricciardello 300 mm

HQ 110

Cini 92mm

Morriss 116

DexterPunk · Post by **DexterPunk** » Thu Jul 21, 2011 11:51 pm

Great shots goodthing!

KNAPPO · Post by **KNAPPO** » Fri Jul 22, 2011 3:23 pm

Yeah i really like the last two Porsche pans.

A.R.S.E.