MOTORSPORT PRO's camera of choice??

[rogan200]

I am a Nikon shooter purely because my dad always had nikon, and it was the natural choice for me. I love to shoot motorsport (and in an ideal world id love that to be my job!). My question is to pro motorsport togs (and others who know the answer...)

WHY do the majority of professional motorsport photographers shoot Canon?

Every meeting I go to the pros seem to all have 1D bodies - sure there is the odd chap with a D3 but its rare? Just why is this - why do motorsport people gravitate towards Canon?

Serious answers please.... I'm not trying to start another Nikon v Canon war :nono:. Just want to know if there are technical reasons for the phenomenon, or is it just because Canon were better a few years back and now Nikon has caught up but everyone has Canon glass???

Thanks

 

[StewartR]

... is it just because Canon were better a few years back and now Nikon has caught up but everyone has Canon glass???

I think that's mostly it.

Up until 2008 or thereabouts, Canon's DSLRs were generally better than Nikon's and they had had a much bigger market share (45-50% compared with 30-25%). That's changed since Nikon brought out the D3 and D300, but there will be a lot of people out there with big investment in Canon systems who don't feel a compelling need to switch.

Also, prior to the introduction of the D3, Canon had the only full-frame DSLR on the market. Lots of pros would have had a 1D and a 1Ds. Again, with big investment in Canon kit, you need a big reason to switch.

Another factor which may or may not be relevant is that Canon had, and still have, a better range of telephotos. I'm not talking about the £3000+ market, where both manufacturers offer some great lenses (and Nikon's 200-400mm f/4 VR is something that Canon don't have an answer to). But in the £1000-or-so market, Canon has a better range of 300-400mm lenses. Whether these specific lenses would appeal to motorsports photographers is something I don't know, having no interest in motorsports myself. But it's certainly the reason why you see so many white lenses at air shows, for example.

 

[rogan200]

Thanks for that

 

[fracster]

Stewart has hit the nail on the head.Canon have a much more extensive lens line up.I`m not interested in the hows,ifs and buts of which system is better,that is down to individual choice........

 

[desantnik]

Pro motorsports photographers tend to use the long primes, a 70-200 and maybe something much shorter for portraits (something in the 15'ish to 70ish range).

No real advantage or disadvantage to that for either Canon or Nikon for quite some time.

The Canon advantage was the 1D MkII and MkIIN. Nikon didn't have anything to match it.

The fallout began with the MkIII "problems" combined with the arrival of the D3. A few swapped, the majority didn't just because they decided either that they could put up with the "broken" MkIII or that they'd just carry on with the MkII until they had a good reason to move over.

Because most motorsport is outdoors, over the summer months and during the daytime there hasn't been the rush to need higher ISO's like there has been from other sports folks who shoot indoors or under floodlights and during the winter...