Lenses for motorsport....Canon...

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Hi kind people...i've just purchased my first DSLR, a Canon 450d, and I am really into my motorsport, mainly rallying....

Now I want to get into motorsport photography in a big way, again, mostly rallying, so was wondering if someone could point me in the right direction as to which would be a decent lens to start out in the game that is motorsport photography....

Will the kit lens be good enough for now until I get used to the camera? Or would I be better going for something different?

Budget £250-£300...

Thanks :)
 
Motorsport photography, like all action photography, tends to invlove big lenses and cameras with fast AF and high frame rates. If you want to get into it big as you say, then that's probably something like a 7D and 100-400L lens at least - over £2k. A lot depends on how close you can get though, so you might be lucky with rallying.

For £300 you could get a used Canon 70-300 IS. If you hone your skills and learn how to get the best out of it, within its limitations, that'll be fine on a 450D.
 
What Hoppy said.

At £300 a used 70-300 IS would be great with your 450D, the field of view ( FOV ) at the long end being 480mm. Now all you have to do is to pick a suitable spot by the track. In time you could graduate to something bigger ;)

What sort of motorsport do you like shooting?


Cheers


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With rallying, you can often get quite close to the action, and not need super long lenses like you do at circuit racing.

The 70-300 would be a good bet, but I think it drops to f5.6 at the long end which could be limiting in the poor light in the forests, especially at this time of year.

I would be tempted to practice with the current lens and see how you get on, and maybe save a bit more and look for a good 70-200 F4 (non IS), which has faster focussing especially in lower light conditions.
 
I think the 70-300 IS fits the bill perfectly.

You could spend a lot more on glass but before you do I'd suggest moving up to something like a 40D body.

For now, 70-300 IS sounds like the best improvement for your budget.
 
Thank you all for your responses...

It would seem the general consensus is that the 70-300 IS would be the way to go, so I shall look into purchasing one, or drop a hint to the other half for Xmas maybe lol.

As i've said, it will mainly be rallying I shoot, and I like to get close to the action anyhow.

Hopefully my camera will arrive in time for The Galloway Hills rally a week on Sunday and i'll get out there and start practising. It'll be nice to spectate for a change instead of being out there competing as I am on the R.A.C this coming weekend and the Grizedale the following Friday and Saturday :)
 
If you can push the budget the 70-200mm F4 L is an excellent lens for rally photography. It has very quick autofocus which is invaluable when you are close to the action.
 
If its rallying that you mainly shoot, you won't need a 300mm - thats more for circuits. You can get a lot closer if you do your research before going, so for me, its either the canon 70-200mm f4 or an independant f2.8 version - plenty of threads here to compare the various ones.
 
I would say no to the 70-200L 4 non-IS, especially as a used one is a lot more than £250-300.

Although the range sounds like it will be okay for rallying, the weather is often dismal and it gets very dark under the trees. You'll be looking at 1/60sec and 1/125sec shutter speeds a lot of the time and everything will be awash with camera shake without IS. You can't push the ISO far on a 450D.

But with IS and a good panning technique, that's workable - just about. So I would still say 70-300 IS, unless Santa can get you the 70-200L 4 IS version - double your budget though, even used. Maybe save up for that. Selling on good lenses is easy on here :)
 
Sorry Hoppy, but having an IS lens shooting motorsport will make no difference as the cars travel far too fast unless you're after a panned shot. I'm not doubting the quality of the lens you suggest, but its really not the one for rallies, its too slow.

How about a left field suggestion if the one's I mentioned are too expensive. The old 70-210mm f4 'trombone' was a cracking lens and 2nd hand can be got for well under £100, then spend the rest on something like the 85mm f1.8 for when you can get really close or fancy going all arty with the background?
 
HoppyUK said:
I would say no to the 70-200L 4 non-IS, especially as a used one is a lot more than £250-300.

Although the range sounds like it will be okay for rallying, the weather is often dismal and it gets very dark under the trees. You'll be looking at 1/60sec and 1/125sec shutter speeds a lot of the time and everything will be awash with camera shake without IS. You can't push the ISO far on a 450D.

But with IS and a good panning technique, that's workable - just about. So I would still say 70-300 IS, unless Santa can get you the 70-200L 4 IS version - double your budget though, even used. Maybe save up for that. Selling on good lenses is easy on here :)
Click to expand...

Normally I agree with what you say Richard, but in this instance I do not.

IS doesn't make any difference at all to rally photography - because I can assure you the rally car will be moving a lot more than any camera shake. The 70-300mm lens is a stop slower at the long end which makes it even less suitable than the 70-200mm F4

You can buy a used 70-200mm F4 for about £350 if you are willing to wait for the right one - sure it's a bit over budget but even in the 'up to £400' price range it is one of the two best tools for the job.

The other one being a Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 - again, if you can find one in budget.
 
Thankyou all for your replies, there are a couple of options to take onboard now it seems...I shall see how I get on at the weekend with the kit lens on and take it from there.

Thanks again guys, greatly appreciated :)
 
pooley said:
Sorry Hoppy, but having an IS lens shooting motorsport will make no difference as the cars travel far too fast unless you're after a panned shot. I'm not doubting the quality of the lens you suggest, but its really not the one for rallies, its too slow.

How about a left field suggestion if the one's I mentioned are too expensive. The old 70-210mm f4 'trombone' was a cracking lens and 2nd hand can be got for well under £100, then spend the rest on something like the 85mm f1.8 for when you can get really close or fancy going all arty with the background?
Click to expand...

RichardtheSane said:
Normally I agree with what you say Richard, but in this instance I do not.

IS doesn't make any difference at all to rally photography - because I can assure you the rally car will be moving a lot more than any camera shake. The 70-300mm lens is a stop slower at the long end which makes it even less suitable than the 70-200mm F4

You can buy a used 70-200mm F4 for about £350 if you are willing to wait for the right one - sure it's a bit over budget but even in the 'up to £400' price range it is one of the two best tools for the job.

The other one being a Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 - again, if you can find one in budget.
Click to expand...

That's okay guys, it's only a matter of opinion ;) And I was talking about panning.

I just tend to think that one f/number of extra aperture (which can be addressed with one click of ISO) is not necessarily a better alternative than three stops of IS when a lot of the time the shutter speed could drop below 1/125sec and then, without IS, you'd struggle to hand hold that even if the cars were stationary.

How's about pushing the budget a bit and getting the non-IS 70-200L 4, and using a £30 monopod for when it gets tricky? Very effective version of IS, and every sports photographer should have a monopod anyway (y)
 
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70-200 is just about the stock lens in any rally photographers arsenal ... IS or not is up to you, but most people find they get better results by switching it off (me included).
 
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