Motocross help

[valkabit]

My buddy's 14 year old son has a motocross race coming up. I'm not sure of the best way to set up my camera. I've got a 40D and a Canon 70-200 f2.8L and the Canon 1.4 TC if needed. The race is outdoors and it's gonna be a fairly sunny day I believe. I'm not sure of the best mode to use, aperture, or shutter speed. My friend says that he can get me a pass to get onto the track, so I'm assuming the 70-200 would okay, that is my longest lens, so I hope it's enough. Thanks Mike

[XTshooter]

I think you'll be fine with the 70-200. My recommendation would be to set the focus to the center point only and use either single-shot or AI Servo. It will depend upon where you are situated on the track. I tend to like setting up near the exit of a turn when the riders are getting back on the gas while still leaned over a little bit. Apertures and shutter speeds will depend upon the conditions. If you're in full sun during the middle of the day you might be okay with ISO 200-320. You can just set it to Shutter Priority mode and run between 200-600ths of a second. That should get you in the ballpark. Make sure you try and move around when you have the chance to try different angles.

[old git]

Centre point, AI Servo,ISO 400, most of my stuff is shot in AV, 70-200 f2.8 is a brilliant lens for mx. Race the first race see where the action is.

[valkabit]

Thanks for the help guys.

[motofan]

that's all i shoot with is a 40D and 70-200. If it's sunny, you shouldn't have a problem running ISO200, 1/1000 if you want to stop motion (for the shots you have to have) around F4-6.3 depending on what the surroundings are like (dark trees, open fields). Try to keep your back to the sun as much as possible. It's rough getting the shadows out of the riders in post editing if you are facing into the sun.

I 2nd the centerpoint AF point and AI servo. You can run shutter priority and run it down to 1/200 if you aren't to used to panning. That would be pretty safe. If it's sunny, I normally have pretty good luck on the "sun" white balance setting. I find the Auto white balance screws up my photos, they aren't consistant. If it's cloudy play around with the "cloud" and "shade" settings.

depending on the soil type. If it's light, like topsoil or sand. Watch the exits of the corners, the tighter the better, and you will get some roost shots. Assuming they have a rhythm section, can watch the guys getting a little loopy at times/wheeling through the rollers/rhythm section. Obviously the jumps. If the riders are dark, due to the brightness of the sky, move your exposure bracket up, it'll blow out the sky somewhat, but the rider will be alot more visible. Can darken the sky in post edit. Just don't get in the way. Watch if you are standing close to the track at a corner, that if they blow their line, you aren't in line with where they'll come over the berm.
Most tracks dont' mind if you cross the track , just leave a good berth for riders coming through. Good luck and post up some pics of your day at the track.

[valkabit]

I was wondering if I should consider shooting in RAW with Jpeg or not? I am used to shooting in large/fine while saving RAW at the same time, but I normally don't need over a few hundred shots. I plan on using large/fine for cropping purposes. I have 4-4GB cards which gives me about 225 shots per card if I want to save in RAW and large/fine. If I don't have to worry about adjusting too much being outdoors on a sunny day, I imagine I should drop the RAW, that would give me over 900 shots per card. The race should be about 2hrs I'm told.

[motofan]

Not sure if you shot already, but...
I only shoot in JPEG, but that's just me. I don't have a strong enough computer to play with RAW files. On my 40D on Large fine 4GB cards. I get 900-1000 shots depending on the backgrounds of my shots etc. I really try to get the shots as good as possible out of the camera due to my computer limitations.

I've never been to a 2 hour race, we normally start at 7:30am with a riders meeting, then practice until about 8:15 or 8:30 and races start at around 9. Carry on until 4-5 normally. A 6 hour day could be understandable, but I'd bet it will be longer then that.