Beginner Fences at MotoGP

[Joan Norris]

Hi all I'm a newby to this site, I've just purchased the Canon eos7d mkii as my old 400d just ain't quick enough for MotoGP which is also a fairly new hobby of mine. I've always enjoyed photography but need some help on settings for this sport, I'm using a 70 -200mm f2.8L lens but find fences my arch enemy and sometimes wish I bought a bigger lens but beyond my budget. Any advise gratefully received as pretty much gave up at Jerez last week

 

[Nod]

Hi, Joan and welcome to TP.

Yup, fences can be a pain but do a necessary job. To reduce the impact of the fences on your shots, use as wide an aperture as possible, in your lens's case, f/2.8 which should help reduce the depth of field enough to minimise the distraction of the fencing. Panning will also help blur the fencing but make sure that any horizontal elements of the fencing (straining wires etc.) don't fall on wanted elements. The closer you are to the fences the better too - the further out of focus they'll be when you're concentrating on the on-track action.
As for the other settings, whatever they need to be to get that wide open aperture, so as low an ISO as possible and in Av mode (I think that's the Canonspeak for aperture priority!) the camera will take care of the shutter speed element for you. Of course, for panning you'll probably want a relatively slow shutter speed so you might need to use a filter to get the wide open aperture and slowish shutter speed you want - a polariser will help but might not be enough.

Good luck!

 

[odd jim]

TBH you hit the nail on the head - for Motorsport in general you'll need a longer lens. Having that length, aside from being closer to the subject, helps *almost* eliminate the fence. I wasn't truly happy length wise until I got my Sigma 150-600 and even then you need just a little more (talking circuits here), especially at Silverstone. BTW your 400d is good enough for Motorsports, I cut my teeth with one and the lovely Canon 55-250 IS [emoji3]

7d2 is of course a lot better [emoji106]

 

[Joan Norris]

Thanks for your replies, I did get some great shots last year at Silverstone especially as they exit the pit lane. Also free practice and qualifying days gives you better access than race day, I used the tv mode on A1 servo and played around with various shutter speeds. Just need to learn my new camera but wish I had a bigger lens