Lens choices for motorsports photography?

12/01/2008 11:31:27 PM · #1

Hey guys its been awhile. Next year I'm going to be shooting photos for several sponsored motorcycle racers. In the past I've used my cheapo Sigma 70-300 lens. It worked great except that I need slower shutter speeds to portray the motion better. Basically I need some stabilization. Which lenses should I be looking at? I need to have the reach of 300mm still so the 70-200 f/2.8 lenses are out. I don't want to have to use a teleconverter. I was thinking about the Sigma 50-500 aka "Bigma" because its the zoom range is so versatile. What do you guys think? Here is a link to a previous post with some pics so you see what I'm talking about. Thanks!

Motorcycle racing pics

mobster

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II

12/01/2008 11:37:32 PM · #2

Have you looked at Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS?

12/01/2008 11:48:28 PM · #3

Originally posted by mobster:

Have you looked at Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS?

I love that lens but its too expensive for me. Canon L glass is out of my budget unfortunately.

12/02/2008 03:13:32 AM · #4

I have the Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM which is very good for panning as the IS has a panning mode. I also have the 100-400 which is a great lens, the quality is much better than the 70-300 but the IS is actually better on the 70-300!!

The 100-400 isn't that much more than the sigma 50-500, though it would be interesting to know the quality of the sigma and if it has panning stabilisation as that extra 100mm would be useful

Tez

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM

12/02/2008 04:26:03 AM · #5

i shot a 2 day event with the 85mm f/1.8. If you get in the right spots it's easy. Sure, you might get muddy but you don't miss a thing.

Of course, this depends how close you're willing to get to the action and how muddy you want to become, but it worked like a charm and i can recommend it.

Mr_Pants

SiPix Blink

12/02/2008 04:42:18 AM · #6

The 50-500 doesn't have stabilisation, as I recall.

Have you thought about simply investing in a monopod?

12/02/2008 04:50:42 AM · #7

Originally posted by Mr_Pants:

Have you thought about simply investing in a monopod?

Yeah, you want a monopod and a manfrotto MN080 monopod belt pouch. It makes it so much easier to keep the camera steady when panning

12/02/2008 04:52:01 AM · #8

Originally posted by Tez:

It also depends on the fencing at the circuit, sometimes you have to stand further back so you can get higher to look over the fence

Azrifel

Nikon Coolpix P340

12/02/2008 04:57:32 AM · #9

Doesn't Canon make a 70-200 f/4 IS? Combine that one with a 1.4x extender. And like Bobocanus said, I also see that the 100-400 L is not much more than the Bigma. Maybe there are some secondhand options?

85mm for roadracing is too short.

I have pretty good results with a 70-200 2/8 and a third party 1.4x extender.

Some of these are cropped, some are not. Shot with a 6mp camera. The 8mp of the 30D will give a little bit extra room.

12/02/2008 05:07:46 AM · #10

Originally posted by Azrifel:

Doesn't Canon make a 70-200 f/4 IS? Combine that one with a 1.4x extender.

Canon do but it's not that much cheaper than the 400, add the convertor and they are about the same.

Those bike shots are awesome

Azrifel

12/02/2008 09:55:59 AM · #11

Originally posted by Azrifel:

Great shots Azrifel!!! The background motion blur is the exact look I'm needing. Yeah I was looking at Canon's 70-200 f/4 IS. That would be a pretty good option, I just wish it has more reach than 200mm. If I spend $1200 on a lens I don't want to have to buy a teleconverter too! :o Hmm.....