Opinions of the best camera for motorsports

[Pop's Garage]

I'm looking at a major upgrade from my Canon T1i come tax time. I shoot trains, car shows and drag racing as a hobby and sometimes paid gig. I'd like to move to all paid work, but I feel my current camera limits me. I'm looking at the Canon 6D, but I'm wondering if the 5DM3 would be better suited for my application. Most of the shots I take are stills at shows and in the pits, and action at the starting line when the tree drops. For glass, I only have the kit lens and an EF 80-200mm, so I won't be losing money on a ton of EF-S lenses.

Also, I'd also like to spend the colder months doing portraits, so I want to keep that in mind.

Thanks for your input!

 

[Overread]

What is the total budget you've got to play with?

Because honestly if (and once I was) I were in your position I would (did) go for high end lenses first and foremost.

You'll get a far bigger improvement in performance and a greater working range of apertures to use. Things that you will see right from the start as advantages. Higher end lenses also focus a lot quicker - no point having blazing fast high performance body features if the lens can't keep up.

Bodies are important, but typically in most cases the lens is more important to upgrade.




And now I'm going to undo all that I just said. Because you state that you want a 6D. A 6D is fullframe and thus a format change and I generally advise people to get a format change and then get their lens line-up around the new format. However there are some other options - eg you might get a second hand 5D original - its AF won't be amazing, but its fullframe body would likely let you at least slip one newer higher end lens into your setup.
IT also depends on what you want the fullframe for - we want to make sure you're getting it for the right reasons.

 

[Pop's Garage]

At this moment I can only assume my budget is going to be in the $2500-$3000 range, possibly less. So I was hoping to get at least a good body and a good lens or two. But I won't know for sure until tax time.

I'm not opposed to used equipment. But, I get leery of it when I don't really know how the body or glass were treated. A used car, I can deal with, cameras and electronics, not so much lol. I'm looking at 5DMii, as well as the 6D, but FPS isn't much better than my T1i.

And lastly, I was looking at moving to full frame mostly for the ISO and over all photo quality. The tracks I go to run a lot at night, and I go to lots of indoor car shows, so I'm looking for something that will perform well in low light. But, in saying all that, I don't have a problem sticking with a crop sensor, I just wonder if I would be better off upgrading to a full frame, or at least a better crop sensor.

 

[Nevermore1]

FF may be your best bet since you are planning to use it for paid work. I have a few shots of the Richmond NASCAR race on my Flickr page which were taken after sunset with a 70D from about 24 rows up in the grandstands. They're not the best photos but may be able to give you an idea as to how the 70D does in that situation.

 

[Derrel]

FF may be your best bet since you are planning to use it for paid work. I have a few shots of the Richmond NASCAR race on my Flickr page which were taken after sunset with a 70D from about 24 rows up in the grandstands. They're not the best photos but may be able to give you an idea as to how the 70D does in that situation.

Not bad for ISO 6,400 under the lights with slowish apertures like f/5 and thereabouts! A bit gritty due to the smaller sensor size, but still...for ISO 6400 with slowish lenses, not bad at all! With a faster lens it would have allowed you to go a bit lower on the ISO, to probably the 2,400 to 3,200 zone for a little less High ISO noise. Still...I grew up in an era when 400 ASA color print film suuuuucked! Just being able to MAKE these kind of under-the-lights NASCAR shots is still kind of heady stuff!

For the OP, the FF sensor size in something modern like a 6D would make the 80-200/2.8 EF a good lens to have for payed gigs, and you could buy some of the LOW-cost, regular ole' non-L Canon primes like the 35/2 and 50mm 1.4 and 85/1.8 and have the basic trio of 35/50/85, ALL with high speed, compact size, and SHARP optics, for far less than the cost of a pro Canon L-zoom.

I think that on FF, a 24/35/50 three-lens kit can cover a lot of events with the 24 being the 'really wide' lens, and the 35mm f/2 lens being the MAIN lens used indoors, or outdoors at social events. That's my favorite low-light kit with FF....24,35,50, 85 for tele-shots, 70-200/2.8 for "everything else". Looking at 6D images, I think they can stand up to a LOT of cropping, so you don't absolutely, utterly need to fill the frame and never crop the way you do with a smaller sensor camera.

 

[petrochemist]

With that sort of budget I think you'd better forget full frame.
As overread mentioned better lenses will make a bigger difference than a new body, and the fast long lenses for full frame cost far more than your budget will stretch to.

IMO crop sensors are actually an advantage for motorsports once you get out of the pits. For cars & bikes on the track I typically end up using 300-500 focal lengths on a crop sensor - though panning from inside a hairpin I've found I needed to be quite a bit wider.

For indoor car shows a nifty fifty will gives you enough light without costing the earth - but something wider might be needed if you want to get the whole car in, car shows round here can be rather cramped!
Faster lenses will reduce your need for higher ISO - but it's certainly true that newer sensors tend to give less noise for a given ISO.

 

[Pop's Garage]

Thanks for all the responses. My head is kinda spinning with everything I've been reading lol. I would say I'll stick to my current camera, and just buy some good EF glass so I have it if I go FF, but I can't get past the slow FPS and low ISO.

 

[runnah]

I'd go nikon. I think they have a better mid range selection.

 

[D-B-J]

I'd go nikon. I think they have a better mid range selection.

I might pick up a used/refurbed D610, Tammy 70-200 2.8VC, and maybe a Tammy 24-70 2.8VC. But if it were me, I'd forget the 24-70 and pick up a 35/50/85 1.8G combo.

Jake

 

[gsgary]

Thanks for all the responses. My head is kinda spinning with everything I've been reading lol. I would say I'll stick to my current camera, and just buy some good EF glass so I have it if I go FF, but I can't get past the slow FPS and low ISO.

Big fps is not needed for sport you need timing

 

[gsgary]

I'd go nikon. I think they have a better mid range selection.

I was waiting for someone to say this, it didn't take long

 

[jaomul]

The new 7d2 seems to be a screaming choice, but having used the 1d series I think it's the way I would look. The 1dx is obviously out, but we'll cared for 1div are popping up where I am for a little less than your budget.

This camera gives you 10fps, weather sealing and good autofocus. You have to use ff lenses (some third party crop lenses kind of work), but you get the advantage of a bigger sensor without completely losing the advantage of apparent reach of a crop. Happy medium maybe

 

[runnah]

I'd go nikon. I think they have a better mid range selection.

I was waiting for someone to say this, it didn't take long

I am no brand loyalists. I love my canon, but that doesn't mean I am going to recommend something that won't make for a happy customer.

 

[gsgary]

I'd go nikon. I think they have a better mid range selection.

I was waiting for someone to say this, it didn't take long

I am no brand loyalists. I love my canon, but that doesn't mean I am going to recommend something that won't make for a happy customer.

I was happy shooting Canon for years no Nikon shooter got shots I couldn't Nikon shooter used to moan all the time about their cameras until a few years ago

 

[Paul Josaph]

I'm looking at a major upgrade from my Canon T1i come tax time. I shoot trains, car shows and drag racing as a hobby and sometimes paid gig. I'd like to move to all paid work, but I feel my current camera limits me. I'm looking at the Canon 6D, but I'm wondering if the 5DM3 would be better suited for my application. Most of the shots I take are stills at shows and in the pits, and action at the starting line when the tree drops. For glass, I only have the kit lens and an EF 80-200mm, so I won't be losing money on a ton of EF-S lenses.

Also, I'd also like to spend the colder months doing portraits, so I want to keep that in mind.

Thanks for your input!

Do u know something about Gopro.. I heard that it is one of the best cameras for extreme sports.