Want to get closer to the action, what should I do?
Discussion
Hi All
Thought you guys might be able to give me some no nonsense advice. I bought a Leica D-Lux 4 two years ago as I wanted a smart, small camera with a large sensor for the size and good picture quality. It's been great and I've been really impressed with the pictures quality and it fits in my pockets, so it goes with me almost everywhere. I was close to getting an SLR for the same money at the time but didn't want a bigger camera as I wouldn't have taken the larger camera with me everywhere and would have ended up leaving it at home.
I went to Silverstone on Friday and it's the first time I've been disappointed with the results. I'm pretty sure it's a limitation of the camera's suitability for the task in hand and maybe my experience. It only has a 2.5x optical zoom so even though I had a great view of the track, I couldn't get close enough to the cars.
I set a focus point and low iso (also sports mode) but as the cars travel so fast, it's still difficult to capture enough detail. I've seen one of the guys on this forum (can't remember your name sorry) and admired his photography of aircraft (does he sit in the clouds taking these pictures of what!).
Should I keep the camera and buy an SLR with a xx-200 or xx-300 telephoto lens to get in on the action? I'm not made of money so should I sell my camera (worth about £300) and put it towards another? There are also exchange shops, one in Reading and Guildford, pretty close to me that I might be tempted to visit.
Secondly, can anyone recommend a decent slr with a telephoto lens combo?
p.s. - I've done lots of on-line reading but it's a minefield out there. I've spent lots of time on DPReview.
Thanks
Matt
Thought you guys might be able to give me some no nonsense advice. I bought a Leica D-Lux 4 two years ago as I wanted a smart, small camera with a large sensor for the size and good picture quality. It's been great and I've been really impressed with the pictures quality and it fits in my pockets, so it goes with me almost everywhere. I was close to getting an SLR for the same money at the time but didn't want a bigger camera as I wouldn't have taken the larger camera with me everywhere and would have ended up leaving it at home.
I went to Silverstone on Friday and it's the first time I've been disappointed with the results. I'm pretty sure it's a limitation of the camera's suitability for the task in hand and maybe my experience. It only has a 2.5x optical zoom so even though I had a great view of the track, I couldn't get close enough to the cars.
I set a focus point and low iso (also sports mode) but as the cars travel so fast, it's still difficult to capture enough detail. I've seen one of the guys on this forum (can't remember your name sorry) and admired his photography of aircraft (does he sit in the clouds taking these pictures of what!).
Should I keep the camera and buy an SLR with a xx-200 or xx-300 telephoto lens to get in on the action? I'm not made of money so should I sell my camera (worth about £300) and put it towards another? There are also exchange shops, one in Reading and Guildford, pretty close to me that I might be tempted to visit.
Secondly, can anyone recommend a decent slr with a telephoto lens combo?
p.s. - I've done lots of on-line reading but it's a minefield out there. I've spent lots of time on DPReview.
Thanks
Matt
I'm not familiar with Silverstone, but from what I've read you're probably going to need a 300-400mm lens (on a SLR) to get the cars a decent size in the frame...
There are no real 'cheap' routes to that sort of reach - also couple-in that if you want fast focusing then it's pro-level gear you are looking at....
What sort of total budget were you thinking of?
I'd suggest you look at what Canon / Nikon have, lots of choice on lenses and accessories
There are no real 'cheap' routes to that sort of reach - also couple-in that if you want fast focusing then it's pro-level gear you are looking at....
What sort of total budget were you thinking of?
I'd suggest you look at what Canon / Nikon have, lots of choice on lenses and accessories
Second hand Canon 350D http://www.ebay.co.uk/ctg/Canon-EOS-350D--Digital-...
and
a Tamron 70-300 http://www.ebay.co.uk/ctg/Tamron-A005-70300mm-f-40... should get you going for around your budget.
and
a Tamron 70-300 http://www.ebay.co.uk/ctg/Tamron-A005-70300mm-f-40... should get you going for around your budget.
tim-b said:
If you're happy with your camera except for the occasional motorsport event, have you considered hiring one? That way you'd get a much better camera/lens than the ones in your price range, and it wouldn't be too expensive (compared to F1 tickets anyway!).
Links? I am off to the Rally Deutschland in August and am tempted to do something like this as my Lumix TZ20 might not get close enough to the actionmatt3001 said:
Links? I am off to the Rally Deutschland in August and am tempted to do something like this as my Lumix TZ20 might not get close enough to the action
Never done it myself, so can't recommend anywhere specific. Googling 'camera rental' brings up plenty of options though. E.g. for the OP, weekend rental for a Canon 40D and a Canon L 100-400mm from Hireacamera.com would come to £123 inc VAT and would be a superb package for getting up close to the cars.Silverstone is very variable from a spectator POV in terms of distances. That said on a crop sensor in a recent body the cropability probably means that 300mm would be adequate as a max on a zoom.
I also recomment retal BUT it's better if you have some familiarity with the kit or something very like it. Unless you just set in 'Sports' mode and go from there. Depends what you want from the event.
I also recomment retal BUT it's better if you have some familiarity with the kit or something very like it. Unless you just set in 'Sports' mode and go from there. Depends what you want from the event.
Thanks for your replies chaps. I hadn't considered renting kit and might do a bit of research on that side.
The Tamron lenses seem to be good value for money with just a camera body to choose from. I would probably spend £400-750 in total - with the upper limit including two lenses, a telezoom x-300mm and a general use lens.
Thanks for uploading the pic from silverstone. I have just seen your pictures on the silverstone forum before looking at this one! That's a good point of reference as to how close I could get to the action.
Camera kit isn't cheap is it? If I hired the kit, I guess I could play with different lenses and get a feel for what I want before buying. I'll try and flog my camera over the next week or so and let you know what I replace it with. My thoughts so far:
1. What the kind chaps suggested (can't see forum name whilst typing reply!) a Canon 350d or similar and Tamron telezoom lens
2. A Sony Nex-5n / Olympus p3 with twin lens kit, one telezoom and one portrait lens.
3. Spend more time researching different models. I don't fancy having two cameras - i.e. keep my small camera and then have a full DSLR. I still have my doubts about getting a DSLR and lens and finding I only use it occasionally because it's such a beast to carry around and then regret selling my pocket-able compact.
The Tamron lenses seem to be good value for money with just a camera body to choose from. I would probably spend £400-750 in total - with the upper limit including two lenses, a telezoom x-300mm and a general use lens.
Thanks for uploading the pic from silverstone. I have just seen your pictures on the silverstone forum before looking at this one! That's a good point of reference as to how close I could get to the action.
Camera kit isn't cheap is it? If I hired the kit, I guess I could play with different lenses and get a feel for what I want before buying. I'll try and flog my camera over the next week or so and let you know what I replace it with. My thoughts so far:
1. What the kind chaps suggested (can't see forum name whilst typing reply!) a Canon 350d or similar and Tamron telezoom lens
2. A Sony Nex-5n / Olympus p3 with twin lens kit, one telezoom and one portrait lens.
3. Spend more time researching different models. I don't fancy having two cameras - i.e. keep my small camera and then have a full DSLR. I still have my doubts about getting a DSLR and lens and finding I only use it occasionally because it's such a beast to carry around and then regret selling my pocket-able compact.
muthaducka said:
Thanks for your replies chaps. I hadn't considered renting kit and might do a bit of research on that side.
The Tamron lenses seem to be good value for money with just a camera body to choose from. I would probably spend £400-750 in total - with the upper limit including two lenses, a telezoom x-300mm and a general use lens.
Thanks for uploading the pic from silverstone. I have just seen your pictures on the silverstone forum before looking at this one! That's a good point of reference as to how close I could get to the action.
Camera kit isn't cheap is it? If I hired the kit, I guess I could play with different lenses and get a feel for what I want before buying. I'll try and flog my camera over the next week or so and let you know what I replace it with. My thoughts so far:
1. What the kind chaps suggested (can't see forum name whilst typing reply!) a Canon 350d or similar and Tamron telezoom lens
2. A Sony Nex-5n / Olympus p3 with twin lens kit, one telezoom and one portrait lens.
3. Spend more time researching different models. I don't fancy having two cameras - i.e. keep my small camera and then have a full DSLR. I still have my doubts about getting a DSLR and lens and finding I only use it occasionally because it's such a beast to carry around and then regret selling my pocket-able compact.
Option 3. I almost always have a small non-phone camera with me. I only take a DSLR (or two) when I am fairly certain I will be likely to make use of it.The Tamron lenses seem to be good value for money with just a camera body to choose from. I would probably spend £400-750 in total - with the upper limit including two lenses, a telezoom x-300mm and a general use lens.
Thanks for uploading the pic from silverstone. I have just seen your pictures on the silverstone forum before looking at this one! That's a good point of reference as to how close I could get to the action.
Camera kit isn't cheap is it? If I hired the kit, I guess I could play with different lenses and get a feel for what I want before buying. I'll try and flog my camera over the next week or so and let you know what I replace it with. My thoughts so far:
1. What the kind chaps suggested (can't see forum name whilst typing reply!) a Canon 350d or similar and Tamron telezoom lens
2. A Sony Nex-5n / Olympus p3 with twin lens kit, one telezoom and one portrait lens.
3. Spend more time researching different models. I don't fancy having two cameras - i.e. keep my small camera and then have a full DSLR. I still have my doubts about getting a DSLR and lens and finding I only use it occasionally because it's such a beast to carry around and then regret selling my pocket-able compact.
The thing with Silverstone is that from the grandstands/public area you aren't very likely to get very decent images. Even as an accredited photographer I needed to hire a longer lens to cover events at Silverstone and even then 400mm still felt short on a 1.3x sensor. If you're only shooting motorsport a few times a year and you are happy with your camera the rest of the time I wouldn't bother with changing.
Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff