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tophatter
20th of May 2007 (Sun), 18:44
Hiring some 'L' glass :lol:

I decided to see what all the 'L' glass fuss was about and so hired myself a 300mm F4 L IS USM lens and went down to Snetterton on Saturday for the British Superbike practice day.

Boy, does it focus fast, and I was surprised by how light the lens was and was really impressed with the results I got. I'd only been used to zoom lenses before and so this was a big learning curve for me and I think, overall, that I prefer the flexibility of the zoom.

I'd welcome and C&C.

1 - Stewart Finlay (British 125 GP)

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k134/dave_horn/Motorcycling/StewartFinlay2007125gp.jpg

2 - Chris Walker (British Superbikes)

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k134/dave_horn/Motorcycling/ChrisWalker2007BSB-2.jpg

3 - Ben Taylor (National Superstock Cup)

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k134/dave_horn/Motorcycling/BenTaylor2007SuperstockCup.jpg

4 - Cal Crutchlow (British Superbikes)

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k134/dave_horn/Motorcycling/CalCrutchlow2007BSB.jpg

5 - Tom Sykes (British Superbikes)

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k134/dave_horn/Motorcycling/TomSykes2007BSB.jpg

For comparison, my last bike shots from September 06 can be seen here;

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=217448

I think the lens, combined with the useful advice from this website and a better track to shoot from has given me a much better set of shots. I'll post more from Snetterton on my gallery soon.

I've also started saving for my own 'L' lens ;)

Thanks for looking.

Dave.
themirage
20th of May 2007 (Sun), 23:38
Love those shots. Great job.
LaSarthe&Back
21st of May 2007 (Mon), 08:37
very nice shots. I love the Rizla bikes, dont know why, they look more "racey" ??? Lol

What size files are these cropped from? What lens were you using and how much did it cost, and also where did you hire it from?

Cheers!
tophatter
21st of May 2007 (Mon), 16:42
Love those shots. Great job.

Cheers, much appreciated.

very nice shots. I love the Rizla bikes, dont know why, they look more "racey" ??? Lol

What size files are these cropped from? What lens were you using and how much did it cost, and also where did you hire it from?

Cheers!

Totally agree, the Rizla Suzuki, HM Plant Honda, Airwaves Ducati, and Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport are my favourite paint jobs - the Team NB colours just don't do it for me.

I was using the 300mm F4 L IS USM I hired from Calmet in London - £40 for the weekend. Body was my 350D.

Here's the full frame image from the 2nd Rizla shot (Cal Crutchlow)

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k134/dave_horn/POTN/IMG_3965.jpg

And here's a 100% crop from it

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k134/dave_horn/POTN/IMG_3965-100pc_Crop.jpg


Dave.
LaSarthe&Back
21st of May 2007 (Mon), 17:37
Cheers, much appreciated.



Totally agree, the Rizla Suzuki, HM Plant Honda, Airwaves Ducati, and Stobart Vent Axia Motorsport are my favourite paint jobs - the Team NB colours just don't do it for me.

I was using the 300mm F4 L IS USM I hired from Calmet in London - £40 for the weekend. Body was my 350D.

Here's the full frame image from the 2nd Rizla shot (Cal Crutchlow)

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k134/dave_horn/POTN/IMG_3965.jpg

And here's a 100% crop from it

http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k134/dave_horn/POTN/IMG_3965-100pc_Crop.jpg


Dave.

Wow, that is really really good. Is this one from the chicane before the finish line? (comparing to my shots atm)

I know you have to put a deposit down, how much was that?

Sorry for all the Q's!!
tophatter
22nd of May 2007 (Tue), 04:34
Wow, that is really really good. Is this one from the chicane before the finish line? (comparing to my shots atm)

I know you have to put a deposit down, how much was that?

Sorry for all the Q's!!


Yep - you're right, at Russell Bend. The left hand corner on the exit catches a lot of riders out as it's the're powering out on the coll side of the tyre.

Generally, the deposit is the cost of the lens - £1,000 in this case. You put it on a credit card, then when you bring it back they refund the deposit and charge you the hire fee (which includes vat and insurance).

I'm going to buy myself a decent lens but am going to hire different ones throughout this year first to see what's best for me. Reading everyone's comments on this forum about recommended lenses and you'll need to buy the whole 'L' range :lol: so I'm going to try a few myself before I splash out.

Dave.
iansmart
22nd of May 2007 (Tue), 14:03
Nice stuff Dave, and you've pretty much convinced me the 300 f4 is the way for me to move to a prime (currently using a 70-200 f2.8L and 1.4TC). Was toying with the idea of an f2.8 but at nearly £3k new was just too much of a stretch.
OllieS
23rd of May 2007 (Wed), 10:07
Damn! Nice pix!
tophatter
23rd of May 2007 (Wed), 11:32
Nice stuff Dave, and you've pretty much convinced me the 300 f4 is the way for me to move to a prime (currently using a 70-200 f2.8L and 1.4TC). Was toying with the idea of an f2.8 but at nearly £3k new was just too much of a stretch.

Glad to help you spend your money :lol:

Damn! Nice pix!

Cheers. I've got a copy of photo 4 from above as my wallpaper on my work pc (17" tft). I've cropped it slightly different to give some open space down the left hand side of the screen for the icons and it looks great - you can see and feel the concentration in Cal's eyes through his smoked visor.
OllieS
23rd of May 2007 (Wed), 11:35
Top notch man...all I can say!