Update body or lens

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DanielS

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Edit My Images
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First a bit of background. I'm a very amateur photographer and 90% of my photos are taken at club racing motorsport events where my friend races throughout the UK. It's just club motorsport and I don't have any special access. My pics come out alright most of the time, but lack a bit of "sharpness". I like to think my panning skills are pretty good now and at smaller circuits like Mallory and Cadwell I'm not too bad for a novice.

I bought my equipment years ago second hand and before I really knew what I was doing. To be honest I still don't know what I'm doing most of the time, but I know it's wiser to ask for help now :)

I have a Canon 400D and 90% of the time use a Sigma 50-500 1:4-6.3 APO DG HSM lens. The reason for the 500 is that it came up at a good price and the reach is nice for Silverstone, Brands etc. However this year I'd like to spend some money to upgrade. A lot is said about the Canon 100-400mm L IS USM lens and I read it's just been superseded by a Mk2 version so this is an option. What would people recommend? I believe buying a lens will last many years and multiple bodies, but should I spend my money on a lens or a body, and if a body then what newer Canon's are recommended for buying second hand, I don't have the budget for new.

Although I've been a member for years, I've not actually posted enough to get to the classifieds here either, so I am hoping I can rectify this as perhaps there are some bargains to be had and I'd much rather buy from members here than eBay etc.
 
What iso are you tending to shoot at? The problem you likely have is that you have very slow glass and a camera with poor iso performance. In so most of the time you probably have to run to higher iso or very slow shutter. Most people getting in to motorsport will pick up a 70-200mm f2.8 and its a great starting point. You can grab Sigma 70-200 hsm for not a lot and they do a great job. Then grab a 1.4X converter for bigger tracks. Canon also do a nice cheap 200mm prime but as your only getting in to it I would probably go for a zoom to make your life a bit easier.
 
glass, glasss , glass lol................. eventually body but imho glass first a decent and fast lens will outshine a new body mate
 
Glass is looking like a likely first step then. ISO wise, 200 or 400 most of the time.

I do think I'd need the 400mm for the larger tracks (Or am I just kidding myself) When viewing images on Flickr (Which i spend hours doing) I pay attention to the length and people often shoot at 300mm+ I'd rather stretch to the best that I can afford now (Lens) so it will last me well into the future.
 
If you could post a few images illustrating your issues it might help us to understand whether it's you, your camera settings, or the conditions you're trying to shoot in. At these club events, is it mainly cars, or a mix of cars and bikes you photography. The main issue with soft images is shutter speed. A friend was successfully taking images with a canon 350D and sigma 80-400mm lens, he's upgraded to a 450D but still uses the lens. He get great images because he uses the camera and lens within its limits and knows when it's better just to watch the action rather than take images. Shutter speed and light conditions are key to taking great images, panning technique is also important, check out the link for some tips. Before spending the money on a new lens or camera, it maybe your technique which requires improving.

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/first-time-motorsport-tips.537057/
 
Thanks Pete. Good advice, as for knowing when to watch and when to take photos is a good point, one of the challenges I face is that we prep the car, I go with my friend to the assembly area and then, as he's about to go out, it's my job to start the GoPro video recorder and then using pedal power I go to the best close-by photo spot, I really only take photos of his race series. I was hoping that people would not as me for my photos as compared to all on here they are rubbish! But I will dig a link out shortly. Thanks for the link as well, off to read ...
 
danielS do you know what mm they are shot at ? ( obv makes a difference when I recommend a lens lol)
 
Owen, good question. (One of the disadvantages of GPlus) I'll have a look. 500mm is only used at the "proper" tracks like Silverstone/Brands. For the rest, I'll check now.
 
DanielS said:
one of the challenges I face is that we prep the car, I go with my friend to the assembly area and then, as he's about to go out, it's my job to start the GoPro video recorder and then using pedal power I go to the best close-by photo spot, I really only take photos of his race series.
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I used to do this quite often. If its only short racing the trick is to scout out the tracks and pick the best spot. What club are you involved in? We tend to do road sport and mr2 in the 750 club. Would be happy to show you a few places.
 
Please don't laugh, but Picasa (Yes I know!) tells me from a brief look at Focal Length is about 200mm But up to 500mm (805mm 35mm Film Camera equiv) for tracks like Donington where I can't get anywhere close to the action. Also need to read that like that Pete just sent as it reminded me of the nightmare I have trying to shoot through fences!
 
Thomas - My friend races in MR2 (Tim Heron and Miles H) I'm with the RGB boys and that's who I take pics of. Thanks for your kind offer. When we share some race meeting weekends this year I will track you down :)
 
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Had a quick look at your images, it's mainly down to a slow shutter speed, don't get me wrong, you've captured some good racing action, but the soft images are because you using too slow a shutter speed and perhaps a bit of technique which will only come with practice. Personally, I'd save the money and practice on your setting and technique before thinking about spending the money on new gear. Use some of the techniques in the link, think about position of the sun and how you position yourself. Pick up the action early and pan with the action until you're ready to take you shot and take a few images, don't machine gun it to death, that will improve your images and technique.
 
Pete, that's great advice and noted. I'll be sure to play with the shutter speed and speed it up a bit. Your link was spot on too, very helpful. Plus, if it saves me some £££'s on new equipment, even better :)
 
Small world. I am with the Race-tek guys. I used to race but real world took over and priorities changed. Anyhow looking at your photos your not doing so bad. Are you using a monopod? If not for the longer shoots you may find it usefully. You are using very small apertures. You don't really want to be shooting down at f18. When your not in a good position for panning I would be looking at using a faster shutter speed, it will make it much easier to get a nice shot. If you are panning and finding your running such small apertures I would drop the iso down to 100.
 
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Hi Thomas - That's great advice too thank you. I occasionally use a monopod even though I can't get on with it when panning as I tend to swivel my whole body on my waist/hips/knees. But practice makes perfect as they say. Faster shutter speeds I will give a go, same for ISO to fix the potential aperture issue. Thanks so much!

See you at an event this year perhaps. I'm so bored with it being the off season, stir crazy!
 
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Kev, yup. New Years Resolution - Speed up :) Will try higher speeds, I was always worried about losing blur though. However in Pete's fine example I can see how you can get blur at faster speeds.
 
Head on shots are all about controlling the depth of field, ie aperture, how much of the subject you want in focus, shutter speed is less important, although you need to keep and eye on it.



The settings for panning can be different depending on where you are with relation to the subject, from the grandstand, setting would be different to standing closer to the action.
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Best advice is play with your settings, enjoy taking your images, practise makes perfect and its all about the light conditions, grey overcast skies giving flat light will not allow you to take great images
 
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Some very sound advice here. I concur about shutter speeds. Head on, when you're probably looking to freeze your subject, 1/200 is marginal at best. In fact at that speed, hand holding a 500mm lens, camera shake will likely be playing its part regardless of subject movement.

Pete's shots above are showing as all being shot at 1/800 which is not a bad sort of area to aim at and experiment with but is two full stops quicker that what you appear to have been shooting at so far. The obvious thing to do would be to increase the iso or open the aperture a little if you have any more available.

For panning shots you'll probably not see too many issues as shutter speeds tend to be way down and critical sharpness becomes slightly less important than the dynamic look of the image.

You may ultimately reach a point where you feel you 'need' new gear but it seems like there are plenty of free options to try beforehand.
 
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I may have to start a new thread too, but in case Pete or someone pops back in - The pics above of the bikes, how much post processing is done on them? As I mentioned above, I do very little to mine apart from a crop and sometimes the lovely (I'm feeling lucky - Picasa Button).
 
DanielS said:
I may have to start a new thread too, but in case Pete or someone pops back in - The pics above of the bikes, how much post processing is done on them? As I mentioned above, I do very little to mine apart from a crop and sometimes the lovely (I'm feeling lucky - Picasa Button).
Click to expand...

Unsharp mask, levels, highlights / shadow and cropping the image is all the post processing that goes on

As for the images above, think they were all taken with 300mm and 2x TC
 
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