Advice for shooting road races

laissezfaire · 03-11-2009, 09:10 PM

Originally posted by SloPhoto

That was one of the primary reasons I started doing motorsports on a canon.

do you use lens based stabilization with the Canon?

two68s · 03-12-2009, 04:24 AM

Thanks for the help everybody. I just remembered that my brother got me a monopod for Xmas. I've been looking for a chance to use it.

SloPhoto · 03-12-2009, 10:54 AM

Originally posted by laissezfaire

do you use lens based stabilization with the Canon?

Canon and Nikon both do pan IS very very well. Canon has a special mode switch on the lens, nikon just detects it.

The last shot I had published was 1/50th at 500mm on a 1.6x crop body, handheld! (and the canon 500mm is a heavy cumbersome beast)

That and the canon 70-200 f4 IS has the best IS that I have ever used. That being said, I do alot of shooting with the 400 f5,6 which does not have IS, monopod works fine.

Originally posted by two68s

Thanks for the help everybody. I just remembered that my brother got me a monopod for Xmas. I've been looking for a chance to use it.

There you go, that will be the most useful piece in your whole kit.

crbrune · 03-12-2009, 12:44 PM

Back in 1967 I shot LeMans and the German Grand Prix. I was able to lay on the edge of each track as the cars came by about 10 feet from my head. I got some great shots, but take my advice, don't do that...! I was young and foolish. In these long races, just keep shooting and try everything that comes to mind. The delete button is your friend.

SloPhoto · 03-12-2009, 01:03 PM

Originally posted by crbrune

Back in 1967 I shot LeMans and the German Grand Prix. I was able to lay on the edge of each track as the cars came by about 10 feet from my head. I got some great shots, but take my advice, don't do that...! I was young and foolish. In these long races, just keep shooting and try everything that comes to mind. The delete button is your friend.

wow

and I feel nuts getting in a runoff area with a 400mm lens

And that brings up a point, if you are not familiar with race tracks, ask a driver / organizer where the runoff areas are, and avoid them like the plague. You can get plenty close as long as you know where it is safe to do so and more importantly, where it is not safe to do so.

Ohh, and always carry a course map with North/South marked so you know where you are and where the light will be before you make a trek to the next corner. I would suggest marking gates/entry points you can use, and make sure the turns are numbered or named, if you point and say "that turn over there" you will confuse all of the drivers and trackworkers.

two68s · 03-23-2009, 05:43 AM

Thanks for all the advice everybody. I had a great time and got some pretty good shots. Overall I took about 1500 pictures, about 250 were worth keeping. I then narrowed them down into about 125 good ones. I'll post a link once I get some online.

two68s · 03-23-2009, 11:08 AM

Here is the link to my picture post:

https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-your-photos/55073-12-hours-sebring.html

I will put some more up later on. Again I want to thank everybody for their help. In some form or fashion I think I used every tip posted in this thread. I did switch between the 18-55 and 70-300 a great deal (18-250 would have been perfect). All of my panning shots were in Tv mode at 1/125 or 1/180, IS off. Thankfully I was close enough to stay around 70mm so autofocusing wasn't too much of an issue. I ended up getting more shots of them going than coming, damn those cars are fast! Let me know what you think, and don't hold back. I like to learn.

03-12-2009, 01:03 PM	#20
SloPhoto Inactive Account Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 133	Originally posted by crbrune Back in 1967 I shot LeMans and the German Grand Prix. I was able to lay on the edge of each track as the cars came by about 10 feet from my head. I got some great shots, but take my advice, don't do that...! I was young and foolish. In these long races, just keep shooting and try everything that comes to mind. The delete button is your friend. wow and I feel nuts getting in a runoff area with a 400mm lens And that brings up a point, if you are not familiar with race tracks, ask a driver / organizer where the runoff areas are, and avoid them like the plague. You can get plenty close as long as you know where it is safe to do so and more importantly, where it is not safe to do so. Ohh, and always carry a course map with North/South marked so you know where you are and where the light will be before you make a trek to the next corner. I would suggest marking gates/entry points you can use, and make sure the turns are numbered or named, if you point and say "that turn over there" you will confuse all of the drivers and trackworkers. Last edited by SloPhoto; 03-12-2009 at 01:09 PM.

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03-11-2009, 09:10 PM	#16
laissezfaire Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 188	Originally posted by SloPhoto That was one of the primary reasons I started doing motorsports on a canon. do you use lens based stabilization with the Canon?

03-12-2009, 04:24 AM	#17
two68s Forum Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Tuscaloosa, AL Posts: 56 Original Poster	Thanks for the help everybody. I just remembered that my brother got me a monopod for Xmas. I've been looking for a chance to use it.

03-12-2009, 10:54 AM	#18
SloPhoto Inactive Account Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 133	Originally posted by laissezfaire do you use lens based stabilization with the Canon? Canon and Nikon both do pan IS very very well. Canon has a special mode switch on the lens, nikon just detects it. The last shot I had published was 1/50th at 500mm on a 1.6x crop body, handheld! (and the canon 500mm is a heavy cumbersome beast) That and the canon 70-200 f4 IS has the best IS that I have ever used. That being said, I do alot of shooting with the 400 f5,6 which does not have IS, monopod works fine. Originally posted by two68s Thanks for the help everybody. I just remembered that my brother got me a monopod for Xmas. I've been looking for a chance to use it. There you go, that will be the most useful piece in your whole kit.

03-12-2009, 12:44 PM	#19
crbrune Inactive Account Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Carson City, Michigan Photos: Gallery Posts: 18	Back in 1967 I shot LeMans and the German Grand Prix. I was able to lay on the edge of each track as the cars came by about 10 feet from my head. I got some great shots, but take my advice, don't do that...! I was young and foolish. In these long races, just keep shooting and try everything that comes to mind. The delete button is your friend.

03-23-2009, 05:43 AM	#21
two68s Forum Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Tuscaloosa, AL Posts: 56 Original Poster	Thanks for all the advice everybody. I had a great time and got some pretty good shots. Overall I took about 1500 pictures, about 250 were worth keeping. I then narrowed them down into about 125 good ones. I'll post a link once I get some online.

03-23-2009, 11:08 AM	#22
two68s Forum Member Join Date: May 2008 Location: Tuscaloosa, AL Posts: 56 Original Poster	Here is the link to my picture post: https://www.pentaxforums.com/forums/post-your-photos/55073-12-hours-sebring.html I will put some more up later on. Again I want to thank everybody for their help. In some form or fashion I think I used every tip posted in this thread. I did switch between the 18-55 and 70-300 a great deal (18-250 would have been perfect). All of my panning shots were in Tv mode at 1/125 or 1/180, IS off. Thankfully I was close enough to stay around 70mm so autofocusing wasn't too much of an issue. I ended up getting more shots of them going than coming, damn those cars are fast! Let me know what you think, and don't hold back. I like to learn.