Ideal body and lens for motorsport newbie?
Discussion
Hi
Used to do a lot of 35mm SLR photography years back but since losing interest and selling my EOS 620 have made do with digital compacts.
But I fancy getting back into it via motorsport/circuit photography.
I think I'm right in saying that assuming I stick with Canon or Nikon there isn't a single DSLR body they offer that wouldn't be up to the job of motorsport photography? They all seem to have plenty quick shutter speeds for example.
But is there a particular feature or features that are must haves for motorsport that I really should look out for on a body?
My thoughts are find a body I like but prioritise the money on a fast lens.
But if I were to just buy the one lens at first which am I going to find the most useful?
Any assistance greatly received!
Cheers
Used to do a lot of 35mm SLR photography years back but since losing interest and selling my EOS 620 have made do with digital compacts.
But I fancy getting back into it via motorsport/circuit photography.
I think I'm right in saying that assuming I stick with Canon or Nikon there isn't a single DSLR body they offer that wouldn't be up to the job of motorsport photography? They all seem to have plenty quick shutter speeds for example.
But is there a particular feature or features that are must haves for motorsport that I really should look out for on a body?
My thoughts are find a body I like but prioritise the money on a fast lens.
But if I were to just buy the one lens at first which am I going to find the most useful?
Any assistance greatly received!
Cheers
Lens is definitely where you need to spend the money...regardless of Nikon or Canon I would go with the 70-200 F2.8 and then buy a camera with a crop sensor which if it's a Nikon you can multiply the focal length by 1.5x to make your 70-200 effectively a 105-300mm. I am not really up on the Canon range but I believe the Canon crop sensor's come in a couple of different sizes.
Then as far as Nikon is concerned I would go with a D300 second hand which will be £600 or £700. It's a Pro grade camera so is very well built has the same AF system as the top end Nikon bodies (the Nikon AF system is better than the Canon one I believe) and has a good buffer so you won't have any issues with the buffer filling which you get on some other "prosumer" Nikon cameras which could be an issue for motorsport. You can also buy the Nikon 70-200 F2.8 VRI second hand which will be about £1000...it's been upgraded but that upgrade is to deal with vignetting issue on the Nikon Full Frame/FX bodies so you don't need the later model. If you find that combination doesn't give you enough reach Nikon do some very high quality TC's either 1.4, 1.7 or 2 which will lose you a stop or two but give you all the reach you need.
Job done
The good news is if you buy that kit and you don't like it you won't lose much money on it either.
Then as far as Nikon is concerned I would go with a D300 second hand which will be £600 or £700. It's a Pro grade camera so is very well built has the same AF system as the top end Nikon bodies (the Nikon AF system is better than the Canon one I believe) and has a good buffer so you won't have any issues with the buffer filling which you get on some other "prosumer" Nikon cameras which could be an issue for motorsport. You can also buy the Nikon 70-200 F2.8 VRI second hand which will be about £1000...it's been upgraded but that upgrade is to deal with vignetting issue on the Nikon Full Frame/FX bodies so you don't need the later model. If you find that combination doesn't give you enough reach Nikon do some very high quality TC's either 1.4, 1.7 or 2 which will lose you a stop or two but give you all the reach you need.
Job done
The good news is if you buy that kit and you don't like it you won't lose much money on it either.Depending on budget I'd look at a used Canon 1D Mk2, not the newest body, no HD video, no modern frills but lightning quick accurate AF, bombproof build quality, weathersealing and a lovely feel to them. £4-500 will get you one.
Depending on budget I'd partner it with a 70-200, ideally an IS model to keep the weathersealing, whether 2.8 or 4 is up to you.
I'm beginning to upload my Le Mans pics if you want to see what I got out of this setup, www.flickr.com/markmullen
Depending on budget I'd partner it with a 70-200, ideally an IS model to keep the weathersealing, whether 2.8 or 4 is up to you.
I'm beginning to upload my Le Mans pics if you want to see what I got out of this setup, www.flickr.com/markmullen
Thanks for the very useful info. Budget would be <> £1000 to include body and initial lens so Canon 7D is out of budget. Remember I gave up before through loss of interest - though I suspect that had a lot to do with it being my early 20's and photographing the wrong thing. ie. Subjects that just didn't interest me. Given my interest in racing I'm hoping this time will be different but none the less don't want to go too deep investing ££££ into kit in case I discover that as much as I might think I like photography - maybe I don't!
Buying used is a great idea and I'd not considered weatherproof bodies. I've struggled to find used 1D MK2s in the £4-500 range. If I could I'd snap it up in an instant. Any pointers for suppliers other than ebay? Though I liked the Canon bodies I can think of at least 10 mates with Nikon which is a potential gold mine for used lenses!
Buying used is a great idea and I'd not considered weatherproof bodies. I've struggled to find used 1D MK2s in the £4-500 range. If I could I'd snap it up in an instant. Any pointers for suppliers other than ebay? Though I liked the Canon bodies I can think of at least 10 mates with Nikon which is a potential gold mine for used lenses!
Agent Orange said:
Buying used is a great idea and I'd not considered weatherproof bodies. I've struggled to find used 1D MK2s in the £4-500 range. If I could I'd snap it up in an instant. Any pointers for suppliers other than ebay? Though I liked the Canon bodies I can think of at least 10 mates with Nikon which is a potential gold mine for used lenses!
If you like the ergonomics of the Canon bodies that has to weight heavily in their favour....however if you have a mate with a Nikon 70-200 F2.8 that will lend you it that's pretty compelling too!These are three of the bigger used dealers I know of
http://www.ffordes.com/home
http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/
http://www.mifsuds.com/
If you do look at Nikon there is an old 80-200 F2.8 lens that goes for around £600 I think....that and a D300 would be maybe £1200. Not sure how well the 80-200 takes a TC if you need more length though and it doesn't have VR.
Another good source of used gear and generally cheaper than those dealers or eBay are a couple of forums. This one http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/ has a very active classifieds section that is well policed (you need a certain post count to get access to the classifieds) and is probably 10 to 20% cheaper than eBay or a dealer...I've been a member for a while and just bought a lens last week, I've never seen any complaints about used gear on there at all.
Simpo Two said:
With a name like Agent Orange you should get a Canon 245T!
Boom boom! markmullen said:
Just missed out on that one. It looked a very well cared for 1D. 
Beardy10 said:
If you like the ergonomics of the Canon bodies that has to weight heavily in their favour....however if you have a mate with a Nikon 70-200 F2.8 that will lend you it that's pretty compelling too!
These are three of the bigger used dealers I know of
http://www.ffordes.com/home
http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/
http://www.mifsuds.com/
If you do look at Nikon there is an old 80-200 F2.8 lens that goes for around £600 I think....that and a D300 would be maybe £1200. Not sure how well the 80-200 takes a TC if you need more length though and it doesn't have VR.
Another good source of used gear and generally cheaper than those dealers or eBay are a couple of forums. This one http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/ has a very active classifieds section that is well policed (you need a certain post count to get access to the classifieds) and is probably 10 to 20% cheaper than eBay or a dealer...I've been a member for a while and just bought a lens last week, I've never seen any complaints about used gear on there at all.
Yep it's a dilemma. Canon or Nikon. +/- on both sides but ultimately both as good as each other.These are three of the bigger used dealers I know of
http://www.ffordes.com/home
http://www.mpbphotographic.co.uk/
http://www.mifsuds.com/
If you do look at Nikon there is an old 80-200 F2.8 lens that goes for around £600 I think....that and a D300 would be maybe £1200. Not sure how well the 80-200 takes a TC if you need more length though and it doesn't have VR.
Another good source of used gear and generally cheaper than those dealers or eBay are a couple of forums. This one http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/ has a very active classifieds section that is well policed (you need a certain post count to get access to the classifieds) and is probably 10 to 20% cheaper than eBay or a dealer...I've been a member for a while and just bought a lens last week, I've never seen any complaints about used gear on there at all.
Certainly the ergonomics of a Canon feel right to me. My old EOS 620's grip sat perfectly in my right hand and was nicely weighted. Consumer Nikons I've found to have rather small grips and I don't consider myself to have large hands or long fingers.
But as you say the access to a bank of lenses plus alienating a large chunk of friends in one go is compelling!!
Thanks for all the responses it has given me a lot of food for thought and was exactly the kind of information I was after. I'd go so far to say as possibly the most useful set of responses to a forum post I can think of!!
Cheers
Agent Orange said:
Buying used is a great idea and I'd not considered weatherproof bodies. I've struggled to find used 1D MK2s in the £4-500 range. If I could I'd snap it up in an instant. Any pointers for suppliers other than ebay? Though I liked the Canon bodies I can think of at least 10 mates with Nikon which is a potential gold mine for used lenses!
I can help you with that, pm me if InterestedI'm sure Nikon vs Canon is pretty close, but I only know Canon products.
As you said, the lens is the important bit. My fantastic Sigma 70-200 EX HSM f2.8 was around £600, I think they're a bit cheaper now. The Canon 70-200 f4 is good, too. Then any recent non-pro Canon SLR will give you x1.6 magnification, so effectively 320mm. I also have a sigma x1.4 teleconverter which loses one stop, so gives 450mm at a constant f4.
I haven't tried motorsport photography for a long time, but you might want to go longer than 200mm (320mm). I'd be tempted to look at something like a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens, might be just what you need.
For the body, even a 400D would be fine, weatherproofing isn't really an issue for ordinary amateur photographers IMO. Buy a battery grip to make it more comfortable to hold.
As you said, the lens is the important bit. My fantastic Sigma 70-200 EX HSM f2.8 was around £600, I think they're a bit cheaper now. The Canon 70-200 f4 is good, too. Then any recent non-pro Canon SLR will give you x1.6 magnification, so effectively 320mm. I also have a sigma x1.4 teleconverter which loses one stop, so gives 450mm at a constant f4.
I haven't tried motorsport photography for a long time, but you might want to go longer than 200mm (320mm). I'd be tempted to look at something like a Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens, might be just what you need.
For the body, even a 400D would be fine, weatherproofing isn't really an issue for ordinary amateur photographers IMO. Buy a battery grip to make it more comfortable to hold.
An update for those interested
I'm currently leaning toward Nikon offerings for a couple of reasons. A friend who does a lot of studio work has commented on one of the biggest challenges for him when trying sport work was the need for high ISO performance when shooting on at 1/500ths on a dull day. Makes sense.
I've been reading up on the Nikon D7000 - it's really quite a special camera and seems to tick all the right boxes. High ISO performance, 6 fps, fast AF, excellent MP and with a mag body! Granted the body is approx. £300 dearer than used Canon 1D and Nikon D300 but equally seems stunning value compared to pro Canons and Nikon D3s etc.
Mate it with a FX Sigma 70-200 F2.8 and that should give me 105-300mm on the D7000.
A little bit over the 1K budget but not by too much.
I'm currently leaning toward Nikon offerings for a couple of reasons. A friend who does a lot of studio work has commented on one of the biggest challenges for him when trying sport work was the need for high ISO performance when shooting on at 1/500ths on a dull day. Makes sense.
I've been reading up on the Nikon D7000 - it's really quite a special camera and seems to tick all the right boxes. High ISO performance, 6 fps, fast AF, excellent MP and with a mag body! Granted the body is approx. £300 dearer than used Canon 1D and Nikon D300 but equally seems stunning value compared to pro Canons and Nikon D3s etc.
Mate it with a FX Sigma 70-200 F2.8 and that should give me 105-300mm on the D7000.
A little bit over the 1K budget but not by too much.
markmullen said:
A few 1D Mk2s on ebay at the moment,
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-EOS-1D-MkII-Digital-SL...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-1D-mk2-/140564921248?p...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-EOS-1D-Mark-11-Digital...
Whoaaa, I didn't realise 1D would be down at that sort of price. I still use my old trusty 30D (plus battery grip) and while I love it, I've always hankered after a 1. I believe I will have to use some money this month...http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-EOS-1D-MkII-Digital-SL...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-1D-mk2-/140564921248?p...
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Canon-EOS-1D-Mark-11-Digital...
Well tried handling pretty much everything. I've discovered that for me personally I just cannot hold Nikons?! Odd though it may seem nothing in the Nikon range feels "right".
Nothing in the current Canon range felt right either until I get to the 60D and above.
I like and want the 7D. Right spec and feels perfect but out of budget. The 50D would probably be a very good choice too as that felt perfect in my hand but in the end I've taken a dive for a 1D MKII.
Leaves me £700 for a decent lens which should be about perfect.
Cheers for your info has been very useful.
Nothing in the current Canon range felt right either until I get to the 60D and above.
I like and want the 7D. Right spec and feels perfect but out of budget. The 50D would probably be a very good choice too as that felt perfect in my hand but in the end I've taken a dive for a 1D MKII.
Leaves me £700 for a decent lens which should be about perfect.
Cheers for your info has been very useful.
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