Motorsports Racing Lens recommendations

I have poured over many forums, websites, talked with sales people. Now, I am hoping for a little nudge from people who aren't looking to make a commission from upselling me, and have good advice.

I shoot a large number of off-road racing photos, such as the Baja 1000. Generally I am no more than 50 feet from the course, however, sometimes distance shots may be required for my well-being.

My 20D will be arriving this weekend, and I am looking for a good lens or two to have ready for the next race. Budget-wise I am trying to stay under $800 for a lens, if possible.

I was thinking an 85mm 1.8 for certain situations, and perhaps something along the lines of a 55-200m 4.5-5.6 for others.

I have been shooting for years with a Nikon 950 PnS, 300-600 photos a weekend, and can make that thing take pretty decent photos. With the step up to the 20D, I hope to take very nice photos. I don't know all of the subtle differences between each lens, but know that I will need a fast lens, with relatively fast AF, IS could be nice, but is not neccessary.

Thanks in Advance.

What focal length range do you think you need to cover? And would you like primes or zooms?

A word of caution for all photographers at rallies etc, be careful where you stand. The link is to the front page of this mornings local paper.http://www.stuff.co.nz …2106,3457535a60​02,00.html

I'm certainly no expert, but I think you might be a bit disappointed with the 20D AF performance for top quality action shots. It's much better than the earlier mid-range Canon DSLRs, but no match for the 1D or 1V in this respect. I don't know how it compares with your Nikon. Having said that, I've had good results with the 20D at the trackside, but mainly using MF. Overall it is a great camera.

As far as lenses go, I have an EF 75-300mm f4-5.6 IS USM. The IS is useful if not using a tripod, but eats batteries quickly.

Primarily focal range would be 50' or less, occasionally events would require me to be significantly further from the action.

I am looking at both primes and zooms, and with all of the silt (fine, babypowder consistency dust) in the air, I would prefer to not have to change lenses mid event, if possible. So a zoom would be preferable, but I am not set in stone with the idea of say, an 85mm f/1.8 (I have shot an older film slr with a similar lens, and was pleased with it).

A tripod will rarely be used, I plan on having a camera grip, if I find batteries going through too quickly, a few sets of spares. With the speed of the vehicles passing by, I would like the AF to be pretty quick. Once I get the hang of MF for the action shots, that won't be such a big deal, but for now, I don't want to miss many shots due to my experimentation.

As to course range, yes, your warning is so true! I was at the end of a corner one event, a Class 1 buggy (Chevy V8 powered beast) came flying up the course, had a flat tire, decided to go up over the 8 foot burm to change the tire, I was standing atop the 8 foot burm, and caught the entire sequence as I backpeddled quickly. Another event, my former employer was shooting for some clients, the client decided to show off for the camera, gassed it at a little kicker, and the car leapt into the air. Had my boss ran instead of duck, the flying rocks would have been quite painful for him.

The 20D is just fine for motorsport photography. So was the 10D... I've shot more than enough with one of those to know for sure. In fact I still shoot the 10D alongside my 1D Mark II - the AF mechanism copes just fine.

The most crucial thing for decent motorsport photography is a lens with a quick and accurtate focus motor so forget things like the 55-200mm and the 75-300mms - they're too slow. The favourite zoom for short range work is one of the Canon 70-200mm L series lenses. If you want to stay under $800 then get the 70-200mm f/4L. Shooting outdoors in daylight you won't miss the extra stop you gain from either of the two f/2.8 lenses.

I'll look and see if I can find the 70-200mm f/4 in stock anywhere local.

Thanks for the advice and recommendations.

On a side note, Cadwell, in your motorsorts gallery, you shot some photos in the rain, do you have a cover for the camera you would recommend? Silt is even nastier than rain, so I would like to protect my equipment if possible.

I use a 20D (and a 10D) for motorsport photography. Make sure you know how the camera's AF system works and its limitations, and you will do just fine with a 20D. It is by no means a 1 series camera, but it can certainly get the job done. I also use the 70-200mm f4 L lens that Cadwell was referring to. A brilliant piece of kit. If you could get a hold of a 1.4TC, then you would be able to get that bit extra reach when necessary.

Cheers,

Simon.

To be honest whilst there are all sorts of fancy covers out there, you will get some of the most effective anti-dust protection from some plastic bags and rubber bands to hold them in place - fairly cheap too

How is the 100-400 L for motorsports?

It's pretty good as long as you have the light - a nice weight, good length and good optics. It tends to struggle in dull condtions. I find focus tracking accuracy drops off fairly quickly as the light goes.

Hi

The 20D af works best with an f2.8 or faster lense. Much of the time I use a Sigma 70-200 f2.8 and this works well. Might be a touch short for what you want to use it for.

I have a 100-400 Canon as well, but to be honest I am not that keen on it. For panned shots I get far too many that are soft (seems to work fine with a monopod on a non moving subject), and the weight is a bit of an issue as it just has so much momentum that it is difficult to adjust the speed you are panning at accuratly.

All the best

Keith

The 70-200 F2.8 IS might be good, if it's long enough. It's F2.8 so it'll focus more accureately, plus it has IS mode 2 so you can pan with it and still use IS.

I'd put another vote in for the 70-200 f4, which I've used on a 10D for F1 and some Australian V8 races. Even though the Servo mode on the 10D isn't as effective as the 20, the focus speed of the lens tends to make up for it.

Just a piece of advice - if you get the f4, the optional tripod ring is a good idea if you intend to use a monopod. While the lens is light enough that it doesn't really stress the camera mount too much, it's long enough that a monopod mounted under the camera will place the point of rotation a long way behind where it needs to be for panning. The tripod ring shifts it forward, alowing the lens and body to rotate around a more central point, making for smoother panning.