first time enduro champinship - tips please!

[robgr85]

Hi!

I'm going out (as a hobbyst) to shoot on sunday enduro world championships in kwidzyn this weekend ( http://www.enduro.kwidzyn.pl/indexen.htm ).[ and probably will public photos on my photoshelter collection]

My gear is really on budget [EOS 400D + EFS 55-250IS]. Got some questions as a newbie:

1. is it better to turn of the IS (if so should I take a monopod, or take it even if I would not plan to turn off IS)?

2. what shutter speed would be the best for:
a. totally freezing motion,
b. showing a bit movement on the tires of bikes

3. when I shoot for my stock [in 'home studio' environment] purposes, I allways do it in RAW, but would You shot outdoor motocross in RAW (only 9 pics in a burst), or JPEG (three times more than that)?

4. what about focusing points? Should I set it to auto selection, or choose the central one and try to take well focused photos, and then crop it in more interesting way while post processing?

5. Should I try Tv mode? or M (but I do not know about the weather conditions, In cloudy days it could be probably the best choice for me)? Any other important settings to the camera?

6. Any other tips/important aspects that should be mentioned?

Cheers,
Robert

[TwoStroke]

I think the equipment you have should work satisfactorily. I shot plenty with a 300d and a 70-100 before getting new stuff.

Since you are wanting to control movement change to TV mode so you can set whatever speed you want. With the 55-250 your minimum shooting speed should be 250 due to lens length. Besides, stopping action will require that and probably up around 1/1000th to stop the wheel motion. You may need to adjust your iso higher if they are in the shade of trees on trails and the like. If you want to show more movement of the tires (rotation) you may need to drop the speed to around 1/125th but then you need to shoot on the shorter end of the lens (125mm or so}.

Oh, yes, also keep an eye on your lens opening, the lower the number the less depth of field, so use it to your advantage it the background would look better blurred.

Hope this helps.

If you always shoot raw, I see no reason to change unless you are trying to get a long string of shots in a row. If you find the buffer is filling and slowing you down you should be able to change on the fly to jpg.

Everyone does it differently. I've seen monopods used more at roadracing events than mx. The bikes tend to not necessarily follow a straight line when they hit bumps and may go sideways so I use handheld for my mx work.

[robgr85]

thanks for Your tips... I've just added set from the event to my flickr gallery.