Gear question (sports)

[Gomes]

Howdy


I have a D60 (came with a 55-200 f/4-5.6). Thus far i've had it about 6-9 months, and I'll admit i'm that guy who just leaves it on auto and snaps away. Fortunately for me, my friends aren't that smart and cant tell the difference.... But I figure its time to take it more seriously before someone calls me out on it . I shoot motosports, and the biggest problem i've noticed is blur (expecially in low light) and a lack of range. I have about $500-$800 to spend, what would you suggest I look into?


Thanks in advance

 

[tsaraleksi]

When buying a lens, you usually get to pick two of the following three: reach, speed, low price. For sports, you need speed and reach. A used Sigma 70-200 2.8 might be a good place to look, but for motorsports, you might instead learn a bit more about panning your shots. Give it a google and perhaps try it out.

 

[Gomes]

what about an external flash?

 

[KhronoS]

what about an external flash?

You need a powerful one, so the light reaches your subject.

 

[Dao]

Flash may not able to reach the subject if it is too far away.

 

[jwsciontc]

tamron 70-200 f/2.6

 

[Overread]

I think for flash you would not only need a powerful one, but also a Better Beamer attachment to get more reach out of the flash. Its not an overly expensive addon (nor even that complex) it just focuses the light into a more direct line so that you get more range.

 

[table1349]

Howdy


I have a D60 (came with a 55-200 f/4-5.6). Thus far i've had it about 6-9 months, and I'll admit i'm that guy who just leaves it on auto and snaps away. Fortunately for me, my friends aren't that smart and cant tell the difference.... But I figure its time to take it more seriously before someone calls me out on it . I shoot motosports, and the biggest problem i've noticed is blur (expecially in low light) and a lack of range. I have about $500-$800 to spend, what would you suggest I look into?


Thanks in advance

Sports/Action photography has some basic rules that are hard to get around. To stop action/eliminate blur you need fast shutter speeds. Motorsports means 1/500th minimum. To achieve that you need fast glass. Fast glass is not going to come cheap. I am a Canon guy but a 70-200 f2.8 is around $1200.00. It is what is almost always on my second body when shooting outdoor sports. This would probably be your best bet. I believe the Nikon version is around $1,600.00 as I do not believe that Nikon offers a non VR model. You could look at the Sigma. It goes for around $800.00 and is a 70-200 f2.8.

If you need more reach then you are looking at big money. My primary body usually has a 400 f2.8 on it. $6,800.00 new from B&H. That is a chunk of change for the reach. A 300 f2.8 is around $3700.00. Again a real chunk of change. There are two things consistent with all the lenses mentioned. They are more expensive than you want to spend, some considerably more expensive and most important they are all f2.8. But that is what is needed if you want to shoot in low light conditions.

For motor sports a flash is going to be useless at the least and possibly dangerous. If you get close enough for the Flash to do any good then you are going to be close enough for it to be a potential hazard to the drivers. The Better Beamer is not really an option. It is designed to throw a beam of light further than the flash unit with a tighter pattern and if it reaches a vehicle will probably not throw a big enough pattern to cover the entire vehicle or scene. I use one for shooting wildlife around dusk/dark and it gets tricky getting it aimed just right to hit my subject due to the tight beam of light.

Unless you are looking to spend big money, I would suggest you look at something in the 70-200 f2.8 range, bump the ISO up as high as needed to get 1/500th, use noise reduction software and crop the best you can for your photos. I have shot the Sigma 70-200 f2.8 and was impressed with it. Keep in mind this was the Canon mount but it was deacent at f2.8 and the HSM focus motor was pretty quick.

If you want to move up to something longer like a 400 f2.8 let me know. I know a lot of good recipes for peanut butter beside just sandwiches. That's what I did for a little over 2 years to afford the 400 f2.8. Mmmmmmm......tasty.

 

[lids369]

maybe a 70-300 vr>

 

[table1349]

maybe a 70-300 vr>

-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5 - 5.6G IF-ED

The OP might as well be using what they have then. VR or IS is virtually worthless for sports/action photography. It will not freeze motion. Only high shutter speeds will do that. To get high shutter speeds you need fast glass. Fast glass means a minimum of f2.8 or faster.

Long and slow glass just means that the blur caused by slow shutter speeds will just be closer.

Sports photography is a very demanding form of photography, both in equipment and on the photographer. One of those demands is fast, which generally means expensive, glass.

 

[PatrickHMS]

Like mentioned above, a lens with even 1 stop faster, preferably even 2.8 will cure the low light problem.

Where are motorsports shot in low light? If evening or nigh racing, make that a part of the composition and adjust ISO appropriately.

It is important for you to learn to shoot in manual mode...

At some point, no matter what equipment you have, you will be able to do more with more knowledge than can be done with equipment upgrades. Someone out there always has better gear than any of us, but we can always learn to use whatever we have to better advantage, and better photos.

Good luck...

 

[Gomes]

haha well thank you all for pointing me in the right direction, I think ill pick up a external flash to play around with (dont worry gryphonslair99, ill try not to blind anyone) and a 70-200 f2.8

 

[Craddie]

Nothing like someone getting a $1500 70-200 f2.8 and slapping it onto a D60 set to 'Auto' to get people buzzing! Let the chatter begin!

Have fun with the killer glass - wish I had your budget (or restraint). I can't live on PB&J for that long!

 

[gsgary]

Motorsports is all about panning you don't need to use fast shutter speeds i regularly use 1/40 @ 200mm and 300mm, get you panning technique sorted before spending your money

This is 1/40 @ 200mm @ F9(200mmF2.8) headon shots i can usually get away with 1/340