switching canon to nikon for motorsports

C

c_robinson

Messages
953
Name
charlie robinson
Edit My Images
No
Yep, i'm considering it, and looking for advice.

the reasoning behind it is: better auto focus, better noise control (i do alot of club shooting), i don't own a bag full of quality canon glass.

What's going to be the equivalent to (in terms of pricing and models):

40D
20D
70-200/2.8 (NON IS)
Something not sigma in the 17-70 17-50 but definitely 2.8 (i've got my eye on the tamron, is the nikon equivilant good and how much)
300/4

all help gratefully/advice and experiences much appreciated
Charlie
(and please no: nikon's better, oh no it isn't, oh no it is.....drivel)
 
I assume when you are talking about autofocus, you practice the burst capability a lot and yes the 20D and 40D aren't great at getting a series of images all sharp, but thats because of the shutter lag these camera's have and the Nikon D300 won't be any better until you get to their pro bodies.

I'm still taking good motorsports images with my 20D, I know its limitations and work within them, and mostly from behind barriers and fences so its always a challenge.

I upgraded to the 1D MKIIn and yes there is a significant improvement in autofocus with this camera over the 20D, quite a large gap, but that's to be expected with a pro body. The 20D is still a good performer, yes I accept the 20D's ISO performance is probably limited to 800 maximum, with great shots still being taken at ISO 400, but we are talking old technology with the 20D, so that's why I got the 1D.

Have you ever thought about a 2nd hand 1D MkIIn, plenty on the market and its autofocus capabilities are ideal for action photography.

Another idea would be to look at new or 2nd hand lenses. I've used the 300mm f4 for years and achieved great results with this lens on both camera's, just upgraded to the 300mm f2.8, and yes there is also a significant difference in performance, but if you're taking this reasonably seriously, then fast glass has to be your next option. (put a $£%^ lens on a good camera, you still get $£%^ images)

Yes Nikon has so very good lenses like the Nikon 300mm f4 or the 70-200mm, but they don't really offer anything affordable in the 300-400mm range until you get to the 200-400mm f4 at £4500, there also the 300mm f2.8 prime another great lens but these are just as expensive as the canon's and offer similar performance.

I think if you moved to Nikon and put the similar lenses on the Nikon you would have similar problems to what you have now.
 
Better than the 40D or 50D would be the D300/D300s, which is actually equivalent to the new Canon 7D.

The 7D and D300 is the only time I am aware Canon and Nikon have actually fielded models which directly compete, prior to this they didn't choose to bang heads directly....

For glass and specifically for motorsport glass, your choices are the Nikon 70-200 VR (they don't make a non VR unless you want to find a second hand 80-200 AFS, the previous model).

For a 300 f4, the Nikon 300 f4 AFS, if you can find one.

The "shorty" thats fast enough focusing for motorsport... well, its probably the Nikon 24-70 f2.8 AFS.

Unlike Canon, Nikon don't give you options really. Its either top quality Nikon gear or you take your chances with the third party stuff, which barring a few notable exceptions (the Sigma 120-300 f2.8 for example) don't really cut it for high performance action shooting.
 
pete.rush said:
yes I accept the 20D's ISO performance is probably limited to 800 maximum, with great shots still being taken at ISO 400, but we are talking old technology with the 20D, so that's why I got the 1D.
Click to expand...

as much as i hate to nitpick, 800+ is perfectly doable if only with a small dose of noiseninja ;)

edit - in fact my last lot of rally shots with the 20D are at ISO800 and didnt have any anti-noise post processing and you honestly couldnt tell.
 
To OP-I would suggest looking at pages 8 and 9 of Autosport Oct22nd 2009-it would seem very few true pro motor sport togs would agree!!!
 
pete.rush said:
........ I think if you moved to Nikon and put the similar lenses on the Nikon you would have similar problems to what you have now.
Click to expand...

That's what I thought when reading through this thread. Therefore would it not be better for you to stick to your current brand and all the familiarities that go with it (e.g. menu system, etc.), and invest in some L glass (or equivelent non-OEM) to enhance things that way?
 
MScotts said:
That's what I thought when reading through this thread. Therefore would it not be better for you to stick to your current brand and all the familiarities that go with it (e.g. menu system, etc.), and invest in some L glass (or equivelent non-OEM) to enhance things that way?
Click to expand...

:thumbs:
 
I think I'd consider a 1D mark II or IIN too. It's not that there's anything at all wrong with Nikon but it just may be easier for you. I suppose a lot depends on how much Canon gear you've got, the hassle selling it and then getting the equivalent Nikon kit. But of course only you can decide that.
 
1D MkII? I think not, read the OP again:

c_robinson said:
the reasoning behind it is: better auto focus, better noise control (i do alot of club shooting), i don't own a bag full of quality canon glass.
Click to expand...

He's 100% bang on with his reasoning there. A D300 is what he describes.... no necessarily on the AF point (although I'd say it was easily 98% as good as the MkIII I tried it against), but certainly on the latter two points

How do I know? Because I did something almost exactly the same about 14 months ago after spending weeks and weeks on research.

Have a look down this thread:

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=80289
 
Not disputing that the D300 is a good camera, and with all the problems the 1D MKIII has had with the autofocus system, would rather have the 1D MKII as its proven technology, but if you want fast autofocus then the D3 would knock its socks off and I still think the 1D MKIIn would as well. We both have our preferences.

However burst mode isn't the way to go in learning how to take pictures for motorsport, and perhaps more practised technique. If your sole aim is to use the burst mode, then you really need to check the shutter lag performance of the camera's you are interested in before making a decision as this would really influence the camera you get
 
thanks folks, deffinately some good points and time for me to have a think.

i really don't machine gun, i hate hearing a tog firing a gattling gun, i'd much rather track, pick the spot to fire, fir 3 shots and carry on tracking.

Charlie
 
And you are having problems with the 40D and 300mm f4 and/or 70-200mm f2.8 what shutter speeds /settings do you use for motorsport?
 
c_robinson said:
thanks folks, deffinately some good points and time for me to have a think.

i really don't machine gun, i hate hearing a tog firing a gattling gun, i'd much rather track, pick the spot to fire, fir 3 shots and carry on tracking.

Charlie
Click to expand...

I agree Charlie. I've tried the spray and pray approach and it does not work for this type of shot. Why have a 10FPS camera you may ask? Well, that feature was not a key factor in my purchase decision.

This was a single shot whilst panning on my first try at this sort of shot - 100-400 at 275mm - 1/200 second at f/5.6:

 
D3 has a lot bigger/faster AF motor, it has the same electronics though for picking up the focus points and telling the motor what to do
 
Hairyduck said:
D3 has a lot bigger/faster AF motor, it has the same electronics though for picking up the focus points and telling the motor what to do
Click to expand...

Yes but that only matters if you use AF and not AF-S lenses. If you're using an AFS lens it doesn't use the built in motor anyway.
 
well, I've just started out on the path of maybe switching as I've just bought a Nikon D300. I'll be doing a similar exercise to Desantnik as I've got a 1DMkII and MkIII to compare against. It's going to be interesting :D
 
Would be interested in seeing your writeup on that one Dod!

I'll tell you now, it will take a little getting used to in many ways, no least of which, if like me you have a "standard" PP you'll need to play around with that to get results that you are used to :)

Give me a shout if you want some help ;-)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top