First time shooting racing...all tips appreciated!

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Invertigo

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Mark
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I'm visiting oulton park this June for the BTCC, got a full weekend ticket and would love to use it as a learning experience. My kit is very limited at the minute, so ill be renting a lens for the weekend.

Anyone have any opinions of http://www.lensesforhire.co.uk/canon-ef-70-300mm-f45-56-do-is-usm-102-p.asp

Apologies for the link format, posting from my phone.

I'm confident at some basic pp, so wouldn't be worried by the photos needing some, plus I'd much rather a smaller lens to lug around for the weekend than the L series lenses

Also, any techniques or tips?

Thanks
 
Well Oulton Park is a good place to start, best circuit in the country for photography.

I would shoot in shutter Tv mode(Shutter Priority), work with different speeds find what works best for you, don't get caught thinking you need mega high shutter speeds cause cars are fast things. Keep the ISO low(100) if the weather is bright. Switch the AF to AI servo, and continous shooting mode if your starting out.

Don't be affraid of having a full memory car at the end of the weekend and having to delete some.

Is it going to be possible for you look review your pics after the first day?
 
Yeah, I live about 45 minutes away so driving down both days. I'll be able to import all the day 1 images on the Saturday night and start with an empty card on Sunday.

The main reason I chose oulton is its the nearest major track to me, good to know its a good one to start with!
 
During BTCC weekend oulton park gets full very quickly. I enjoy going to the inside of Druid corner. Most of the time is quite and has a good view of a fast right into a long straight.

Also the parking at knickerbrook is easier to get into (less traffic).
 
andrewc said:
If you're close, go for a club race day so you stand a chance of getting some better stuff. Club days are cheap and generally quite quiet spectator wise.
Click to expand...

Also track days are good for testing skills/equipment :)
 
Tips I would suggest would be think more about your position and the shot than worrying about the fence, just get close and open up the aperture. And have a look in the Motorsport forum here for what works and try to find similar spots to shoot from.
 
I think I'm most likely going to go for the canon 70-200 2.8 for the weekend. I was considering buying a cheaper lens, but I've never actually tried motorsport photography so don't know if it's something I want to carry on doing. For this reason, going to a track/club day is a bit impractical too, as the lens is roughly £50 for 3 days hire, once postage is factored in
 
Saw a top condition 70-200 f4 on ebay for £350, so decided what the hell ;)

Once it gets here I'll have to pop down on a track day. Is spectator entry free to those sort of events? Can only find car entry prices on the oulton website
 
Its free entry on trackdays, normally about 10-15 on club races and 20-25 on bigger race days e.g. BTCC,BSB.
 
Heading down tomorrow for the practice day of the BSB, should be good.

Forecast to be a top day too, so looking forward to it!
 
My effort

Think I did alright, I'm happy that I was getting the hang of panning towards the end. Superbikes are a bugger to try and learn with!

Tempted to run down for a track day before the BTCC, just to get a feel for cars too. Just gotta see whats on
 
Great shots!

Oultons one of my favourite circuits as it's where I've been going since being young - I think it's good for photography too as you can get quite close to the action still.

Bikes are definitely harder to photograph than cars on the straights as they're generally going much quicker. In the corners however, the bikes are slower so you've a better chance of getting shots in the corners.

This was my attempt from last year: http://www.flickr.com/photos/siftah/sets/72157623986301262/
 
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