Nurburgring 24hour

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DanielShillcock

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Hey guys,

In June this year I plan on travelling to the Nurburgring for the 24hour race and with it being my first time to a circuit with a dslr I have a few questions!

I am currently using a Sony a330 with a 18-200mm lens however by the time I make it to Germany I will be using either a a55 or a580 or a third option of a 550D with the 18-135mm kit lens.

I was wondering if there were any not so obvious essentials I should think to take with me which I may not have thought about, I don't want to get there and feel restricted in doing something or anything like that!

I am taking a Lowepro Fastpack 350 with me to keep me going throughout the day. I will also be taking (2 - for some reason - dont ask!) laptops with me to backup photographs as I go. Would buying an in-car battery charger be preferential to buying an extra battery or should I buy both to keep me going?

Are there rules on using flashes in the evening or in low light? I am sure there will be things I have missed even with all the thought in the world.

Also, if anybody can recommend a camera out of the ones I have mentioned that would be highly beneficial as I am having trouble picking a winner!
 
Haha, I should be good! 12 hour drive through UK/France/Belgium and you're there! I was thinking about going to the Le Mans 24 hour but the prices are about double that of the Ring!
 
I cant offer too much advice other than a Kit lens will be too short for conventional racing shots. 200mm bare minimum usually.

An inverter is what you need for your car. That will charge laptops and cameras.

Flashes are generally ok at night races. Sometimes the marshals will try and stop you for bike races if its dull. But its an impossible rule to inforce for night races with so many spectators using point and shoots on auto mode.

I'm not up on the Sonys at the moment, but the faster the AF the better. I seem to recall one of those Sonys is the one without a conventional mirror/shutter so has very high FPS. Might be a good toy to have.

Im hoping to be there as well. But that depends on convincing another member on here he wants to go as well.
 
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If you're gonna be walking around at the circuit, I'd try to carry as little with you as possible. I'd not want to be carting two laptops around with me!

As for charging, the inverter will work fine, but you'll still need to wait for the battery to charge, so it's probably worth buying some extras. The 3rd party version from 7dayshop seem fine in my 450D and only cos a few pounds each, rather than the £50 for the official canon one. I suspect they'll do version for Sony cameras as well.

As above, the longer the lens you have the better. Most UK circuits require 200mm minimum, not sure about the Ring though but better safe than sorry.
 
Cheers guys. I'll only personally be carrying one 10.1 netbook around with me. An inverter is a great solution coupled with 1 or 2 extra batteries.

I am considering getting the SLT Sony a55 however it seems a little on the small size which may cause me a problem as I have enormous hands!
 
A tripod surely has to be on the list :shrug: You could get some great light trails through the twisties I'd imagine (y)

Would a standard flash even reach that far? I didnt think it would help much tbh
 
Yeah, you're right, a flash wont help much other than in the tighter areas such as the carousel. Ended up buying a 60D to this trip, probably renting a 70-200 and maybe a x1.4 to go with.
 
I've been to the ring about 10 times now... mostly to take my car around but the last 3 times was for photography... sold a fair few photos too!

No experience of night racing but I'd say flash is a bad idea.

Best bet IMO is some comfortable shoes, buy a map of the ring from a petrol station (they do specific ones of the nordschliefe and they show local roads etc) and prepare for some walking :)

Depending on where you stand and how far you are prepared to walk you can get pretty close to the track with pretty much no barriers/mesh between you and the cars. The last time I took my 80-200 and sat on the outside of the karasell... this may be harder to do for an event like the 24 hour as you shouldn't really be stood there but you get some cracking photos.

I'd highly recommend going for a long walk before hand though to work out where you want to stand... obviously some bits will be busy but if you plan carefully you'll get right close to the track without too many people round.
 
I'll be there also, shooting for a travel company. Can't wait to get accreditation through ;)

Going with 8 other blokes, 3rd time to the ring but 1st time at the 24hr.

I'll be taking 50D & 70-200mm F4 L + 1.4tx I'm desperately hoping this will cover all the bases. I don't fancy lugging around loads of gear, experience at Britcar 24hr has taught me to pack light. :)

I'm also going to try some trickery with three remote fired flash guns I have - see what I can do with that! ;)
 
Take a small torch. I always have a small clip on torch in my camera bag that becomes invaluable in the dark. Checkout some of the head torches which are detachable.
 
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