Lens advice please - British GP at Silverstone

StewartR

StewartR

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We have a (potential!) customer who's planning to visit the British GP at Silverstone and has asked for advice regarding which lens to use. He has a Canon 450D and he's looking at:
* EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS
* EF 300mm f/4 L IS

What would you recommend, and why?

Thanks for your help.
 
I've go with the 100-400. Versatility wins with motorsport. Also at Silverstone you need as much length as possible - there's relatively few spots with no whopping great fence in the way and those that are tend to be a fair distance from the track.
 
Whilst I love my primes, for an event that will probably be him standing in the spot his ticket allows him to go and surrounded by crowds you probably want a zoom.

That being said, he'll probably be:

a) a long way back
b) behind a fence

a) is obviously fixed by having a long lens - 400mm on a crop body would probably be a minimum at that godforsaken place

b) is only fixable by getting right up close to the fence and opening up the aperture as wide as you can.

Bit of a catch 22 there as f5.6 from the 100-400 won't give you what you need for b)

My advice... (and you won't like this)... leave the camera at home and just enjoy the racing.
 
I'd go with a 70-200 F2.8 and a 1.4TC
That way you'll get the best of both worlds.

If you get close to fence and can get a shot the crop at 200 end will be 320mm, hopefully enough.

If you're back in the crowd and using the 1.4TC then you'll get reach effectively to 448mm at F4 (200x1.6x1.4).
 
DCCD said:
I'd go with a 70-200 F2.8 and a 1.4TC
That way you'll get the best of both worlds.

If you get close to fence and can get a shot the crop at 200 end will be 320mm, hopefully enough.

If you're back in the crowd and using the 1.4TC then you'll get reach effectively to 448mm at F4 (200x1.6x1.4).
Click to expand...

200mm No way long enough for Silverstone and the fences, not even with TC and wouldn't recommend a 2x :thumbsdown:, all you'll get is fence mesh.

At Brands with a 300mm + 1.4x TC standing as close to the fence as possible on the outside of druids and it still wasn't long enough on a 1.3 cropped sensor
Click to expand...

The 100-400mm is his only option other than 300mm + 1.4x TC. On the Raceday if he's only got a general admission ticket not grandstand, then as desantnik suggested, leave the camera at home, the crowds and getting close to the action will be like sardines in a barrel unless he gets there a 5/6 am in the morning on raceday and stay in one position.

Is he going to the practice and qualifying days, he'll have more opportunity to take photo's on those days. And the most important thing will be the weather and light conditions, especially if your adding TC's on a 450D body with either of those lenses.

Peter
 
Actually most serious motorsport togs use long primes ;-)
 
desantnik said:
b) behind a fence

b) is only fixable by getting right up close to the fence and opening up the aperture as wide as you can.
Click to expand...
I'm a real newbie when it comes to motorsport photography, only shooting the stuff about once a year, but FWIW this was shot at Silverstone with my 40D and 100-400 at 400mm, f/10, 200 ISO, 1/320. It's been cropped a bit and levels adjusted but that's the only editing. I'm sure there was a fence in the way.

20080608_134707_5054_LR.jpg


One more, again at Silverstone, through fencing, at 400mm, f/5.6, 1/1000, 200 ISO....

20080608_145823_5106_LR.jpg


The problem with opening up the aperture is that it's hard to slow the shutter enough, in good light, to achieve decent motion blur. On a sunny day a CPL or ND filter might help enhance the sense of motion when panning, while still allowing a wide aperture.

Here's one more, this time shot through a gap in the fencing at 200mm, f/7.1, 1/400, 200 ISO. Note how little panning blur there is at 1/400...

20080608_115553_4887_LR.jpg


One more thing about the 100-400 - Mode 2 IS should help with the panning success.
 
Yup, filters are what you need... but you won't have to worry too much about not getting any motion blur... F1 is fast, very damn fast indeed - you don't realise quite how fast until you see it yourself - and I'm *fairly* used to things like superbike, FPA, GT etc...
 
This thread is really interesting me. I'm off the the Abu Dhabi GP in October, and have not been to a GP since I was young. Currently thinking of either buying a 70-200 IS (not sure whether to get the F4 or the F2.8 version), and a TC, or renting a 300 F2.8. I have grandstand tickets, and the grandstands are much closer to the track than at Silverstone, so hopefully a shorter focal length will be OK.

As a side note, Stuart do you rent lenses that can be taken abroad?
 
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