T4i or 6D for a NASCAR night race?

[virginie24jb]

Hi,


I'm going to the NASCAR race in September in Richmond. It will start at sunset and end by night.
I have the Canon EF IS USM 70-300 mm f/4.0-5.6. I won't have a faster zoom lens so no question on that. But I hesitate between my two DSLRs. Should I bring my T4i (APS-C) to gain some focal length or should I bring my 6D for better ISO capacities? I'm leaning toward the 6D. I'm thinking the image quality is better so I can crop some more afterwards to get a closer shot....

 

[Didereaux]

Absolutely no question. The 6D! the low noise will give you the shots. That light is going to be miserable and the cars moving fast...you need all the shutter speed you can purchase, and the way you do that is with higher ISO's. No ifs, ands, or buts.

 

[Justman1020]

You are comparing a Crop sensor, entry level camera to an almost professional, full frame camera?

 

[virginie24jb]

You are comparing a Crop sensor, entry level camera to an almost professional, full frame camera?

No, I'm not comparing them. I'm asking which one is more convenient in a specific situation. Both have a different advantage that could be useful in this case: more focal lenght vs best ISO capacities.

 

[TCampbell]

Consider that the only reason an APS-C crop frame cameras is perceived as gaining that focal length... is because the images are "cropped" and you're enlarging what would be just the central area of the image on a full frame camera. That has the effect of magnifying the image a bit more so it seems like you have a longer focal length lens than you really have.

The lens is the same. The distance to the focal plane is the same. The image circle being projected onto the focal plane by the lens is the same. You're just picking up less of the image on a crop-frame sensor camera.

In other words... you could just slightly crop all your 6D shots and have the same magnification value.

 

[virginie24jb]

Thank you very much for this explanation. It helps a lot!

 

[goodguy]

I add my voice to get the 6D.
Very few cameras can reach the 6D low light performance so I would go with that but I must confess with your lens I doubt that even the 6D will be able to produce good quality pictures of fast running cars in low light with such a lens.

BTW why not take both cameras ?

 

[jaomul]

6d if only one but as mentioned above why not 2, then you can see which suits better at certain times/ situations

 

[bratkinson]

6D, no choice, really. With f4-f5.6, you need really fast ISO to get shutter speeds fast enough to prevent subject motion blur. Don't be afraid to use ISO 10000 or even 12800 to keep shutter speeds at least 1/200th (if panning) and faster (if not panning) for race cars.

For what it's worth, I was out doing some night work with my 5Diii and 24-105 f4 IS two nights ago. The SOOC JPGs at ISO 10000 were incredibly noise free and sharp. The 6D is regarded to have even better high ISO capabilities.

Since you have some time, go out and practice your night shooting on the streets in your neighborhood...not buildings, but moving cars. Developing a feel for what shutter speeds, etc, produce the best results. That way, you won't end the night at the race track with a lot of blurred pictures, etc.

 

[virginie24jb]

BTW why not take both cameras ?

I'd like to avoid troubling myself with too much gear especially because I remember not having much space; at least at Dover Speedway and I figure it will be the same in Richmond.