£1k Motorsport Lens (any system)

[ukaskew]

I'm in the slightly unusual situation of starting completely from scratch with a new set-up primarily for motorsport, after an enforced year out due to ill health I now have the all clear to hold heavy gear.

For around £1k (second-hand is fine) what lens would people recommend? It's a completely clean slate so I'm open to suggestions for any system, my primary concern is autofocus speed but decent reach (300-400mm preferably).

I've owned a Nikon 80-200mm 2.8 AF-S before which is the absolute benchmark in speed for me (perhaps even quicker than the 70-200 2.8 VR), for reference the Sigma 120-300mm 2.8 was just about ok.

I really like the look of the Sony a77 with the Sony 70-400mm (which I understand is the benchmark 400mm zoom). The D7100 makes a compelling argument for Nikon, but none of their lenses really jump out at me, I wondered if a 70-200 VR and the crop function of the D7100 would be an interesting option (just shooting for myself, so the loss in MPs with the crop function is of no concern.)

Any thoughts?

 

[pete.rush]

Depends where you are going to photograph motorsport and what type of motorsport. An example, was at Brands at the weekend, went from 70-200mm at inside of Druids to 300mm + 2x TC outside of druids to 300mm + 2X & 1.4x stack for Paddock Hill. For a Rally your need f2.8 especially for the forest stages. For speedway the same, especially under flood lights, although ISO technology has improved.

99% of my shots are from behind the fence on circuits like Brands Hatch, Silverstone etc so I need the length for focus beyond the fences. If you're infront of the fences, its bloody easy and the criteria for lenses are different because you have no issues with obstructions to contend with and could probably get away with a 70-200mm, but for me the only way to reduce the focal length needed is a step ladder to shot over the fence.

You could get away with a short zoom, but you need to be very close to the fence and shooting with a fast lens (f2.8 or faster) wide open. Check out the post on shooting through fences, there a good link someones posted, but not sure this works 100% of the time and you need a fast lens to achieve it.

 

[desantnik]

Not many of the ultra zooms are really much cop for absolute image quality.

You either go for a decent mid range zoom and a long prime of some sort or compromise.