Photographing F1

[TomE]

I've decided (on a slight whim), to go to the Bahrain Grand Prix in a couple of weeks, and having just booked my flights, my thoughts have turned to what I'll be able to take piccies of!

I've got a 450D with the 18-35mm kit lens and also a ?75-300mm lens which hopefully should get me a bit closer to the action.

I was just wondering what else I should take with me? I haven't got the funds to buy any new lenses before I go, but are there any other cheaper bits and bobs I should be looking at to enhance my shots whilst I'm out there? I'm thinking its going to be bright so I'm wondering whether I should get a hood/polariser?

Also, has anyone got any tips on camera settings? I've been to a local track day recently and I took a few shots there, but I don't want to mess up this once in a life time opportunity and find that all my pictures are rubbish when I get back!!

Any advice would be much appreciated!

[4hero]

Hello,

Wouldn't bother with a polariser to be honest, slows down the focusing. I would be extremely tempted (if I were you) to hire either a 70-200 f2.8IS or 100-400IS (both superb lenses). It it's a once in a lifetime thing, then a top notch lens would make your life a little easier, and the shots better (probably).

As for settings, learn manual before you leave. Practice panning in the street, or local trackday, before you go. The more practice the better!

Generally, ISO100-200, 1/150 sec and below (if you want lots of motion blur). The slower the shutter speed, the more blur, the trickier to take the shot though (this is where the IS comes in a little handy).

A couple of example shots, not F1, but it'll give you an idea.

Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Exposure: 0.02 sec (1/50) - handheld
Aperture: f/13.0
Focal Length: 70 mm (shot with my 70-200 f2.8IS)
ISO Speed: 100



Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/7.1
Focal Length: 85 mm (shot with my 70-200 f2.8IS)
ISO Speed: 100



Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Exposure: 0.006 sec (1/160)
Aperture: f/9.0
Focal Length: 95 mm (shot with my 70-200 f2.8IS)
ISO Speed: 200



If you are shooting head on, you can afford to increase the shutter speed (as you'll not see any motion blur)

Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Exposure: 0.004 sec (1/250)
Aperture: f/7.1
Focal Length: 310 mm (shot with my 100-400)
ISO Speed: 200



Cheers,

Neil.

edited to say, the 100-400 may be a little too long for this circuit. Do you have any idea about spectator points? How close will you be to the action?

Edited by 4hero on Monday 1st March 23:38

[Gemm]

Take a good dust brush and powerful blower (just in case of a sand storm), and enjoy!

[plg101]

Practice panning.

F1 is hard to shoot on consumer lenses. They just move so fast. Bump up the ISO, aim for ~1/2000th or faster for freezing the action; if you are panning then it can be much slower.

Good shots to be had from around the crowds as well - try the atmospheric shots via wide angle.

Depending on your seat position, catch fences are often an issue at F1 events for getting a clear line of sight - some circuits don't mind if you move about during free practice - depends on your ticket.

If you want driver shots, aim for the pedestrian pit exit - the divers often do signings between sessions (esp on qualifying day) but don't advertise them. Talk to the security guys, they normally are clued up. Some are also amenable to a small payment in return for
sneaking you in (accompanied) to normal off limits areas but be careful that it is security and not local police! (I haven't tried this at Bahrain, it has worked elsewhere)

[TomE]

Thanks for the replies guys, lots to take in!

I'm going to be sitting in the balteco stand which should give me a good view of most of the circuit rather than just the start finish straight (I was hoping to be able to walk up to either end to try and get some pictures on the corners etc) the view from the stand can be seen here if you click the "check seats" link:

http://www.bahraingp.com/en/tickets

Renting a lens looks like a good idea, I'll definitely have a further look into that so thanks for the link!

I know I need to get a new SD card, I'm thinking of a big capacity one but I think I'll need one that's fairly quick at writing the data, any reccomendations? I'll probably need a spare battery too thinking about it!!!

Also with regards to panning, I practised a bit at a local track day and got some ok results (to my untrained and novice eye!), but any C and C would be welcome!

Cheers,

Tom

Edited by TomE on Wednesday 3rd March 22:14

[DanH]

4hero said:

Really great shot. Bit inconsiderate of the driver to stove his front end in though!

[4hero]

Thanks Dan. I like the fact the bumper is hanging off, looks aggressive

[MonkeyHanger]

plg101 said:

Practice panning.

F1 is hard to shoot on consumer lenses. They just move so fast. Bump up the ISO, aim for ~1/2000th or faster for freezing the action; if you are panning then it can be much slower.

1/2000th is way too fast for any Motorsport. The cars will look as if they're sitting still.

[plg101]

MonkeyHanger said:

plg101 said:

Practice panning.

F1 is hard to shoot on consumer lenses. They just move so fast. Bump up the ISO, aim for ~1/2000th or faster for freezing the action; if you are panning then it can be much slower.

1/2000th is way too fast for any Motorsport. The cars will look as if they're sitting still.

Agree if you are panning - can be as low as 1/30th or 1/15th. If you are shooting head on, or capturing at speed and don't want the blur/motion then you'll want to be up at 1/2000th or similar.

Both can work.

eg:
a good panning shot could be at 1/30th
a freeze shot of cockpit, closeup at the apex freezing the drivers head with a 400mm + 2x telecon would need to be as fast as possible....

Sorry if I wasn't clear... multitasking

[havoc]

DanH said:

4hero said:

Really great shot.

Absolutely. Saw it first time around and was blown away by it then.


OP - panning comes good with practice. I'm still firmly at the 'consumer-amateur' end, and my settings usually are:-
- Tv (shutter-priority)
- Shutter speed set anywhere from 1/80th for slow-moving stuff or where you're at the apex of a nice constant-radius corner, up to 1/200th for quick stuff right in front of you. If there's any fore-aft movement (i.e. getting closer to you or further away) then up the shutter speed slightly.
- IS on (most definitely on)
- Follow the vehicle while clicking away - much like clay-pigeon shooting but without the 'lead'. Make sure the car stays in the same place in the viewfinder. Don't do the beginners-error of panning then stopping moving when you click the shutter.
- KEEP IT SMOOTH.
- Finally, think about the background...about 1/4 of my shots from the Time Attack round at Donny had a large DynoRod orange square in the background where it was draped over some tyres!

I've managed to do the following with a 20D and a 70-300IS lens:-

[LongQ]

havoc said:

- IS on (most definitely on)

There will usually be 2 IS modes - select the one for panning if you are panning. Remembering to change back and forth can be challenging.

If it is, as you (and I ) think it will be, bright sunlight then the chance are that nothing you have shot at an outdoor event in the UK will give you a clue about what to expect. On the very brightest days in tose moments where you suddenly get full sunlight in the UK I have found that ISO100, f16 and 1/2000th can be marginal and often over expose. You probably don't really want to push the lens byonf f16 if you can avoid it.

A circular polariser or ND filter combination would help but, as pointed out earlier, may compromise the AF system's response. If you buy filters get good ones - cheaper ones may disappoint and may not even be that cheap. That is not always true but I bought a mid priced Circ-Pol and have been very disappointed compared to my old linear poloariser on the film bodies.

[M-J-B]

I went to Spain last year and took my 50D with my 70-200 L and 150-500 Sigma.

The Sigma was too long (and I've now sold it as I really didn't like it) and the 70-200 was spot on (I may have used my 1.4x II but I can't remember)

Took loads of photo's and simply clicked away.





Shutter speed was probably a bit high, but I'm happy!

Have a good time and enjoy the race you lucky ..........

More here

[havoc]

LongQ said:

On the very brightest days in tose moments where you suddenly get full sunlight in the UK I have found that ISO100, f16 and 1/2000th can be marginal and often over expose. You probably don't really want to push the lens byonf f16 if you can avoid it.

Which is why he should use shutter-priority and if necessary 'step-back' the exposure using the dial on the back. He doesn't sound like a pro so why make life more complicated for him?!?

OP - you can check for under/over-exposure by using the histogram view on the back...a couple of shots at one spot should give you a good idea. If you're shooting in RAW then (to a large degree) small under/over exposures are recoverable in PhotoShop anyway.

[LongQ]

havoc said:

Which is why he should use shutter-priority and if necessary 'step-back' the exposure using the dial on the back. He doesn't sound like a pro so why make life more complicated for him?!?

My point was really that is you get most of the lenses beyond f16 there are other issues in play in temrs of the way the lens reacts, huge depth of field and so on - so the results may not match expectations. The chances of running low(ish) shutter speed pans in bright light are somewhat compromised.

Once you have got to 1/2000th you may as well go to 1/4000th as far as subject 'movement' is concerned but that is as far as you can get with a 450D. Same with my 400D and I have found myself up at that speed (mostly for head on shots) in the brightest light days in the UK when trying to keep the f-stop on a lens at or around the best performance point.

It is just possible that trying slower shutter speed panning will result in the lens not having a small enough aperture to get the exposure required - the exposure info will advise. Best to be aware rather than puzzled I think. Filters would provide options but potentially some challenges as well for high speed action photo focusing. One can't be sure.

I agree with your comments about shooting RAW if possible.

Also back stuff up and carry separately if possible - especially memory cards. I was chatting to someone yesterday just back from a 4 week tour of New Zealand. Friends they travelled with were on their second trip and had set out to photograph everything they failed to snap on the first. But they lost the camera, and all the shots, in Sydney on the return journey.

OP: If you don't have access to backup facility (and you probably won't) take multiple cards and make sure you change them to get a representative selection of the primary GP event shots on each of, say, 2 cards minimum and maybe a third card left in the camera at other times for snaps that would not matter quite so much to you if you were unfortunate enough to lose them. Beyond that - the more cards the better in my opinion.

[TomE]

havoc said:

He doesn't sound like a pro

nail - head.

I've only had my camera few weeks so I'm just trying to learn as much as possible before I go!

I already shoot in RAW so will be doing that, but hadn't realised about the histogram so will have a look at that tonight and try to learn the differences.

Thanks for the tips on memory cards though, any sugestions of a card which will be quick enough for my needs?

Also is a hood going to do anything to reduce the brightness I'm going to encounter or is it not worth it?

Thanks so much for all your help guys, it's much appreciated!
`

[havoc]

Cards - the quicker the card, the longer you'll be able to rattle-off shots in quick succession. Sandisk Extreme-III are quite quick enough and pretty cheap...AND they're amongst the most reliable.

Hood - yes it will reduce the light coming in, but not sure by how much. Main purpose though is to get rid of glare/lens-flare.

[LongQ]

havoc said:

Cards - the quicker the card, the longer you'll be able to rattle-off shots in quick succession. Sandisk Extreme-III are quite quick enough and pretty cheap...AND they're amongst the most reliable.

Hood - yes it will reduce the light coming in, but not sure by how much. Main purpose though is to get rid of glare/lens-flare.

Agreed on the cards. Check the online suppliers like 7dayshop, MyMemory and so on for best prices. FWIW with the circa 8-9Mb RAW files from my 400D I can easily fill 2 or more 4Gb cards on a day at the races. iirc the 450D files are a little larger. Not checked recently but I assume the 8gb cards are now at useful prices. Not sure about the 16s. Are Bahrain prices good in that respect? Anyone know?

The premium SDHC cards rated Class 6 or higher are likely to be the most cost effective way to go. If you need to save a few quid most of the brands should be OK. Sandisk or Transcend or Dane-Elec perhaps - Lexar if you are prepared to pay premium prices since they are rarely cheap.

Hoods are probably worth having - if nothing else it will make it a little more difficult for sand and dust to reach the lens element. But also perhaps a little more difficult to dust the lens off quickly. It will also provide some knock protection so a useful investment for busy spectator areas.

[corozin]

I think you need to research carefully where you will be shooting. If Silverstone is any guide, there will only be limited locations where (as a member of the public) you'll be able to get good clean shots without interference from fencing, advertising hoardings or similar.

Sitting up in the stand snapping away over the top of the fencing is all well & good but you'll need a big lens (at least a 400) to get anything of decent quality or detail. To give you an idea of what you might have to cope with you could trial setting up in the Woodcote stands at Silverstone (say opposite the pitlane entrance) and get an idea of what you'll be facing. You may be disappointed. I know there are a couple of better spots at Silverstone but I'm making a point about shooting from the grandstands.

I would think that even at this time of year it could well uncomfortably hot to be away from the covered stands for any period of time, and you need to check circuit access away from the stands anyway - don't assume you'll be able to walk around the track perimeter.

Most of the great F1 race photos are taken by people with press passes who do not face the restrictions of access and on line of sight that you will face. I'm not trying to put the mockers on your F1 photography mission (and there's a lot of great advice above) but I urge you to try and research the location as much as you can before you get there. It might even be worth trying to phone or email the Bahrain circuit for some advice on this.

Edited by corozin on Thursday 4th March 22:30

[TomE]

Well guys, thanks for all the info you've imparted to me!

On Saturday I had a mild splurge and ordered myself a couple of spare batteries, some memory cards, a lens cleaning kit (with blower etc.), lens hood and a gorilla pod (not really going to need one for this, but have fancied so thought I'd save on the P&P!)

So the long and short of it is I think I'm all set! Really excited now and looking forward to it immensely, just hoping I manage to get some OK shots by the end of it!!

Edited by TomE on Sunday 7th March 21:01

[Chicken Pox]

good luck and have fun