Canon Zoom Lens For Motorsport
Discussion
First of all just want to say hello, this is my first post over in this area of the forum. After months of thoughts of buying a DSLR i finally found one on ebay. I didn't go brand new because i didn't know how much use it will get and also whether i will be able to get the hang of it. I chose the Canon 1000D as it is entry spec. The 18-55 kit lens that came with unfortunately has fungus so i will replace this at some point. I was told cleaning the lens would cost around £100 after paying a £25 estimate charge so i could get a new/2nd hand lens cheaper.
The main uses of the camera will be still car shots and motorsport. Now, there are a few things i'm unsure of. Motorsport wise i will be at Donington or Silverstone mainly. I'm not sure what zoom distance i will need. I've narrowed this down to a 55-250MM or 70-300MM. Apperture wise i'm not sure what i need but i know i need AF and IS. Unfortunately my budget isn't set very high. As this could just be a casual 'as and when' hobby i don't want to splash out straight away so my budget is preferably under £200. Digital Rev have been reccomended to me already but are there any other sellers that are reccomended?
Thanks in advance for your time. You'll most likely see me around the forum quite often from now on.
The main uses of the camera will be still car shots and motorsport. Now, there are a few things i'm unsure of. Motorsport wise i will be at Donington or Silverstone mainly. I'm not sure what zoom distance i will need. I've narrowed this down to a 55-250MM or 70-300MM. Apperture wise i'm not sure what i need but i know i need AF and IS. Unfortunately my budget isn't set very high. As this could just be a casual 'as and when' hobby i don't want to splash out straight away so my budget is preferably under £200. Digital Rev have been reccomended to me already but are there any other sellers that are reccomended?
Thanks in advance for your time. You'll most likely see me around the forum quite often from now on.
Welcome 
The 1000D may be "entry level" but it's an excellent body. For motorsport, I use a 70-200 and it's pretty good but could sometimes do with a bit more reach. You might find the 300mm is a better bet. On a budget, I would look for something used as you will get more for your money.
The 1000D may be "entry level" but it's an excellent body. For motorsport, I use a 70-200 and it's pretty good but could sometimes do with a bit more reach. You might find the 300mm is a better bet. On a budget, I would look for something used as you will get more for your money.
This is a great lens. I'd say you need USM more than IS. Full-time manual focusing comes in really handy for motorsport too.
http://www.ffordes.com/product/11092016443681
http://www.ffordes.com/product/11092016443681
I have the Canon 70-300 IS and love it. It is more cash then the one you listed above but it may last you longer. It is fast to focus imo which matters with motorsports..
Sometimes I have found myself wanting more zoom, and others I've wanted better low light capability but lenses which can do that are a fair chunk of cash more.
Sometimes I have found myself wanting more zoom, and others I've wanted better low light capability but lenses which can do that are a fair chunk of cash more.
Gemm said:
This is a great lens. I'd say you need USM more than IS. Full-time manual focusing comes in really handy for motorsport too.
http://www.ffordes.com/product/11092016443681
Very tempted by this. Seems very cheap/reasonable. http://www.ffordes.com/product/11092016443681
But then some of the lense on here look tempting-
Podie said:
I'm not sure whether to go with the above 100-300 USM or one of the 75-300 USM lenses from M B Photographic. Thought i'd briefly revive this thread to say thank you again for the lens advice. I got the lens solely on the advice from off here.
I went to a test day at Donington Park partly to try and improve my motorsport photography before the season kicks off. Here's the album- http://www.flickr.com/photos/rjbeard/sets/72157629...
This was the second time i'd used this lens and i was quite happy with the results. These are all un edited. I did edit some of the shots last week and made slight improvements but have not uploaded them. Comments and any advice is welcome.
I went to a test day at Donington Park partly to try and improve my motorsport photography before the season kicks off. Here's the album- http://www.flickr.com/photos/rjbeard/sets/72157629...
This was the second time i'd used this lens and i was quite happy with the results. These are all un edited. I did edit some of the shots last week and made slight improvements but have not uploaded them. Comments and any advice is welcome.
Hi RJ,
Welcome to P&V.
Some good shots in your photostream and some blurry ones (we all get them) but that will improve with panning practice. I find shooting bursts of 3, 4 or 5 helps to get a couple of keepers each car. Fast memory cards help here, too, if you fire more shots per burst. You could also increase your shuuter speed slightly to increase the number of keepers, too - provides a bit of a confidence boost, too.
Will you be shooting raw or jpg?
Best thing - enjoy it!!
Scott
Welcome to P&V.
Some good shots in your photostream and some blurry ones (we all get them) but that will improve with panning practice. I find shooting bursts of 3, 4 or 5 helps to get a couple of keepers each car. Fast memory cards help here, too, if you fire more shots per burst. You could also increase your shuuter speed slightly to increase the number of keepers, too - provides a bit of a confidence boost, too.
Will you be shooting raw or jpg?
Best thing - enjoy it!!
Scott
Thanks. Yeh there are some blurry ones in there. There were a few more but these are the better ones from the day. I know the radical and some of the Honda Civic pans were a bit out.
The fps of my 1000D isn't great but I did use that setting. I varied the shutter speed through the day also. Some were 1/40, 1/60 and then I did some a little faster.
I'm planning on making quite a few visits to Donington and Silverstone this year so will hopefully improve with much needed practice.
ETA- I shoot both in RAW and jpeg. Some of the shots come up a lot better with tweaks to white balance and a few other settings.
The fps of my 1000D isn't great but I did use that setting. I varied the shutter speed through the day also. Some were 1/40, 1/60 and then I did some a little faster.
I'm planning on making quite a few visits to Donington and Silverstone this year so will hopefully improve with much needed practice.
ETA- I shoot both in RAW and jpeg. Some of the shots come up a lot better with tweaks to white balance and a few other settings.
Edited by RJB_666 on Saturday 17th March 17:35
I would suggest shooting at a higher shutter speed at least for the moment. Sort your technique out first, get some good sharp pans and then start bringing the speed down. The focus is out on a few as well however this happens to the best of us so bin them and move on. You need to be a little more picky regarding what you keep and what you throw away and hopefully you'll start to see your pictures improve. Good luck and keep practising.
A few from the first corner towards the end of the day were shot at a faster shutter speed. And a lot of these did turn out much sharper. I'm planning to go Donington again soon, so i'll probably hang around the infield to see if i can improve then. Gradually i will get fussier with what i bin, as it was my second attempt with an slr at a circuit i let a few slip through the net that shouldn't have. I'll hopefully develop a keener eye for a good motorsport photo in the near future.
Whilst you're learning and posting for assistance/C&C it's worth letting a few blurry one's slip in, it helps the good un's on here decipher what's going on and can provide instructions on how to help correct it.
When i'm trying something different, or reading these kind of posts, it helps (me, anyway) to see the picture and the instructions on how to better it.
I'm at Silverstone this coming Saturday, watching the Britcar. Do you have any plans to watch this Series? It might be a good one for you - decent ticket prices and good access (I believe).
Scott
When i'm trying something different, or reading these kind of posts, it helps (me, anyway) to see the picture and the instructions on how to better it.
I'm at Silverstone this coming Saturday, watching the Britcar. Do you have any plans to watch this Series? It might be a good one for you - decent ticket prices and good access (I believe).
Scott
Not sure for Donington, but at Silverstone I very soon got frustrated with a 200mm lens. You are always far away from the cars and can never get a tight crop, except in perhaps a couple of spots - which you will soon tire of. I found a 400mm (camera was 20D, so crop sensor) was perfect. Combined with a 70-200 for some of the closer shots and for panning, those 2 were the perfect combination (for me).
These are at Silverstone so you can see what I mean
first is 400mm, the other with a 70-200
These are at Silverstone so you can see what I mean
first is 400mm, the other with a 70-200
I won't be going to the Silverstone round. But i'm aiming to be at the Donington round. Not a lot of my friends are as interested as me in motorsport so i have to spend a good couple of weeks persuading them. I'm currently working on some of them to go to the European Le Mans and British GT/F3 races.
I did find 300MM pretty good around Donington and Silverstone seemed ok, especially on the infield.
I did find 300MM pretty good around Donington and Silverstone seemed ok, especially on the infield.
RJB_666 said:
Not a lot of my friends are as interested as me in motorsport so i have to spend a good couple of weeks persuading them.
Same here, but it's not very often I get to persuade them so I rock up as 'Billy-no-mates'. Enjoy the freedom - I can do whatever I like, then.I have a 50-500 Sigma and I don't make notes of, or pay attention to, what length I'm using at each corner so not sure where 300mm will be too short for Silverstone. There's always 'cropping' I suppose.
I might be going to Donington Park (I ought to, it's my local) for this series myself.
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