Forum: HoseHeads Sprint Car General Forum (go)
Moderators: hosehead

...one of our infamous "porch pilots" has made me doubt my choices for a new lens.

I use a Canon EOS 30D currently equipped with an EF 24 - 85mm lens. I want to add a lens to my bag, shoot tons of outdoor...daughter's volleyball, son's football, racing, fishing, hunting...

I was thinking telephoto, but now not so much.

Help!

"As long as I can have a fast boat, a margarita 
machine and can light my hair on fire, I'll be just 
fine."

Jason Giambi

I have a 10D and have two lenses for it: 28-105 & 80-200. They are both Canon lenses and cover pretty much anything I could ever need. Back when I was at the racetrack every week I had fixed focal length lenses because I knew their quality was better and I knew what my subject was. Therefore I had a pair of Nikor 200's and a pair of Nikor 135's (still have them actually - too bad their worth a fraction of what I paid for them because they were the best lenses ever made). I think it is probably still true today that fixed focal length lenses are better quality but with today's technology and the fact that everything is auto-focus any way the versatility of a good telephoto lens is likely the way to go. JMO......

Just use fast glass (f2.8) or faster and you'll be fine

John could pop in here he is a cannon man

Brian 

"TURN AROUND; MATE !"

I use a 20D. Have a nice 1.8 50 mm which gives great shots in bad light (night at a dirt track). That lens was too wide for good static shots in the pits and often too short for the action shots. Since I've been a good boy Santa brought me a 70 to 200 L series which I used for the first time at the Chili Bowl. Its the 4.0 and not the 2.8 but who is gonna give Santa grief. It gave me the best action shots I have ever got down there.

I just bought a Nikon 85mm f1.8 to add to my racing collection. It's the perfect focal length for the short tracks we have up here. Of course I've got longer lenses and a mono pod that come in handy when I decide to spend the night in the stands drinking beer.

Stan Meissner (Check out the photo gallery and blog)

Website
www.gotomn.com
Photos
Blog

I use the canon 5D and now the 1d Mk III. Neither of my two primary lenses are fixed focal length. They are 24-70 f/2.8L and 70-200 f/2.8L IS. I rarely use them down to 2.8 though as the depth of field is not great enough for the length of a car. At 2.8 100mm full frame your depth of field is about 5.5'. That means either the tail tank or the front wing is not going to be in focus. Usually I am at about 4.0 and at really dark tracks 3.2. Top of the line flash with a quick recycle is much more important at night than anything else. I do have an 85mm f/1.8 but rarely use it anymore outside of portraits.

But then I am self taught so maybe not the best person to ask. Hey Chris, there are collectors out there looking for that stuff all the time. Try craigslist.

Cameras like the D300 with their advances in noise reduction are going to make toting those heavy Norman strobes a thing of the past. I shoot with a Nikon hotshoe on a bracket with an external power supply. The only drawback about slower recycle times is shooting flip sequences but catching flips is hit and miss anyways. I've got a plate and screws in my neck so I don't care to carry all that weight for six hours. If someone flips I'll only catch one or two shots instead of six or eight, no big deal, if I want crash photos I'll go to a demo derby.

The 85mm f1.8 is a very popular lens for sharpness and focal length up here but you're right, you don't want to use it wide open. I specifically bought it for Late Models because that's what they use up here and that's what I shoot week in and week. I've got a 70-300 that I use until dark and have a 28-105 f2.8 as well but even with that I set it around 85mm most of the time.

Taking photos is kind of like racing in a way. Your setup is going to vary from track to track according to lighting, color of dirt and how close you can safely shoot from. I enjoy the challenge of trying to get that perfect shot and always feel like I can do just a little better during the coming season. Racers feel that way too, "just wait until next year!"

Stan Meissner (Check out the photo gallery and blog)

Website
www.gotomn.com
Photos
Blog