what lense to use to shoot motocross

[Painter910]

Can some one point me in the right direction as far as what lense to use to shoot motocross. I am shooting with a d40 and the kit lens but it dosen't seem to reach to far by the time i crop them down to what i want they get alittle blury. Here are some pics i have shot let me know what you think.

 

[Wolverinepwnes]

how far will you be from the action? anything fast would work i'd imagine, 70-200mm f/2.8.
200-400 f/4
those are expensive though,
look into the Sigma telephoto lens, they are cheaper, but remeber that you get what you pay for! so the quality will be a little worse.
beautifull pictures by the way!

 

[ErectedGryphon]

Switch to Canon, then you could spell it correctly like this; "Lens".:greenpbl:

J/K, I would suggest a fast zoom, like the 70-200 wolverinepwnes suggested.

 

[joemc]

The Nikkor 70-300 vr is a good deal for the money... I own it and the 70-200 vr f/2.8

The 70-200 is better....But it is also 4 times more money. Plue the 70-200 is a lot of lens for the D40

Cheers, joe

 

[ToddLange]

i agree, shoot with a 70-200.

 

[LarissaPhotography]

I've been asked to shoot motocross too. It seems like the 70-200 is the answer for so many questions that I'll have to end up taking the hit and buying it. Btw it looks like you've been getting some good shots already.

 

[duffman1278]

Here's a shot that I took at 200mm just to give you an idea. I was about 50-70feet away from the car.

 

[Fox_Racing_Guy]

I shoot MX most weekends and 90% of the time have my 28-70 mounted. You can get much closer to the action at MX tracks rather than roadracing and I rarely use my 70-200 shooting off road.

 

[JClishe]

You might get some additional suggestions over on MotoNews, there are a lot of moto photogs there.

www.motonews.com

 

[Village Idiot]

70-200 is killer. Does Nikon make something like the 100-400?

Nikon's 80-200 might be afordable. It doesn't have VR, but VR is probably going to be pretty useless at MX unless you're shooting at night at poorly lit venues. Even then it's only going to help with camera shake at slower sppeds, which does nothing to stop motion...

 

[Rekd]

I shoot MX most weekends and 90% of the time have my 28-70 mounted. You can get much closer to the action at MX tracks rather than roadracing and I rarely use my 70-200 shooting off road.

Man! I didn't know you could check tire pressure whilst riding.

That would have been a great shot if you were closer! You should think about getting a longer lens.

 

[Rifleman1776]

You have had good answers. I would back up the responses that say it is dependant on how far you are from the action.
For those of us who go back to the days before zoomers, I can attest that a good zoom is a blessing. The 70-200 is as close to an 'all around' lens as is possible.
I used to shoot closed track road races by sitting (dangerously) right on the edge of the track at the worst curves. For that, I used a 50mm. I don't reccomend. Get back and zoom. Good luck and enjoy.

 

[Rifleman1776]

BTW, just after my last post an ad popped up with an 18-250mm lens.
I didn't catch brand or price. But, still, very amazing.

 

[KmH]

Switch to Canon, then you could spell it correctly like this; "Lens".:greenpbl:

Both spellings are correct LENSE and LENS.

 

[Village Idiot]

Switch to Canon, then you could spell it correctly like this; "Lens".:greenpbl:

Both spellings are correct LENSE and LENS.

No it's not. It's a butchering of the word lens that less credible sources are citing as correct. Check Merriam Webster, Lens - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia , lense - Spelling of lense from Cambridge Dictionary Online: Free English Dictionary and Thesaurus - Cambridge University Press ,