F1 at Silverstone

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dankellys

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I know its a few month away yet, but I am looking for some advice on shooting the F1 Grand Prix at Silverstone. I am new to photography and currently have a D3200 with the 18-55mm Kit Lens and a 55-200mm lens on its way (would 55-200mm be best fo this?). I know this isnt the ideal setup for F1, but would at least like to try and get a couple decent shots with it.

I have a general admissions ticket, and plan on standing on the first corner (I think its the corner of Abbey and Farm Curve) looking down the pit straight, and will be getting there very early to get a position right against the barrier.

The main aim of the day is to enjoy the racing, the shots come second really, but even if i could just get a couple decent ones, i will be happy.

As i said, i am new to dSLR photography and havent got my head round manual mode yet (not to say I wont have a better understanding by race day).

So any advice on setings etc? Would i be right in assuming that I would be best in shutter priority at around 1/60th? Would standing at the side of a road with fast moving traffic and trying a few shots of ordinary cars be of benefit?
 
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Shutter priority is certainly the best mode for you to use, but I would probably start at 1/500 sec - but certainly experiment with slower speeds as well.

200mm is a bit short as well, but you can crop quite heavily.

F1 cars accelerate and stop like no other car, so whilst practicing panning on normal cars will help up to a point,

I would suggest if you can get to a race track for a superbike meeting as they accelerate very fast as well, then that would be worth it.
 
andrewc said:
Shutter priority is certainly the best mode for you to use, but I would probably start at 1/500 sec - but certainly experiment with slower speeds as well.

200mm is a bit short as well, but you can crop quite heavily.

F1 cars accelerate and stop like no other car, so whilst practicing panning on normal cars will help up to a point,

I would suggest if you can get to a race track for a superbike meeting as they accelerate very fast as well, then that would be worth it.
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Cheers for the advice. Will try to get to Croft circuit before hand, there are no superbike meets until August, but might try and get to a BARC meet.
 
I went to Silverstone for F1 and MotoGP last year and hired lenses for both events. Over the course of those events I used (all Canon) 70-200 f2.8 IS with and without a 2x extender, 100-400L IS, 300L F4 IS and my own 55-250mm.

My recommendation is to hire the 100-400L from somewhere like lensesforhire.co.uk

As for places to shoot from, on Friday many of the grandstands are usually included in general admission, so you can get shots from the stand on the exit of Luffied corner, high enough up to clear the fence and low enough speed to pan the shots well.

If you can pan well thorugh a tight gap in the fence, get up to the inside of Brooklands corner where there are some slightly different fences. I shot from there in the warmup of MotoGP raceday and got my best shots of the weekend.

Hire a good lens with an f2.8 aperture and you'll be able to focus through fences but you will lose the extra zoom reach.

For settings, slower than 1/160th of a second will ensure you get some motion blur. With F1 cars, if you have the writing on the tyres blurred it makes sure the car looks like it's moving. If the shutter speed is too fast the car looks like it's parked stationary (unless it's raining and kicking up spray).

Spare batteries and memory cards are very important, then you can experiement to your heart's content.
 
DavidC1980 said:
My recommendation is to hire the 100-400L from somewhere like lensesforhire.co.uk.
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You did read the opening post, stating which camera and lens system Dan uses? Or just skim the info?

I would recommend a longer lens if you can afford to rent one. Maybe suggest this, Opt for 3 days will reduce the cost to £40(not including postage).Hurry to book it though as they will go fast for the weekend. If you can't afford it, Use what you have, learn what you can, and do the best you can. There is always next year! And you'll have more knowledge of what you will need.

Enjoy the races though, I'm desperate to hit up silverstone for the F1.
 
Haha. I obviosuly skim-read it, saw the lenses and mis-read the 55-200 as 55-250mm and thought Canon. My mistake.

It's just that I had the cheap Canon 55-250 and the expensive 70-200 with me to try side by side and the difference, mainly in focus speed and accuracy, was huge. However, as I don't know the Nikkon range I'll stop suggesting lenses.

Still, in terms of reach I think hiring something that can exceed 300mm might be advisable for Silverstone as you tend to be further from the track than other places like Brands Hatch, where 200mm will get you some really good shots.
 
David, I travelled 'light' to the F1 at Silverstone two years ago with a D300 and the same 70-300VR lens that you have, and got shots like this, so the lens is more than capable. In fact for this one the focal length used was only 230mm.


Fernando Alonso's Ferrari at Silverstone 2011 by manxmaid2000, on Flickr
 
Because of the ticket prices, I go down for the free practice Friday only - you get open grandstand access and a good amount of running from all the classes (including the F1 test drivers for the connoisseurs) and it is a lot less crowded.

I have just finished editing and uploading my shots from the incredibly wet Friday last year - F1 Flickr set - all of these were taken with an elderly Canon 350D and basic 300mm lens from the National Straight grandstand - not the most exciting spot for raceday when the Internaional pits are being used, but good for qualifying/testing shots as you get a nice unobstructed view with a fair speed to the cars.
 
I went to a pound land type shop and brought a folding step gives an extra 8 inches which I will need for copse corner to get over the fence. Swings and round abouts where you stand I tend to stand further back to get the extra height. Mind you I do have the advantage of the sigma 150 - 500 to get me a bit closer. The step thing was only £2.99 light weight and can take my weight at 14 stone with out any hassles.
 
Silly question on the back of this thread...

I have managed to get some seated tickets at Luffield for Sunday and want to check that there are no restricitions on taking camera kit along? Ca anyone confirmed that I'll be ok with a gripped 7d and 100-400???
 
TheNissanMan said:
Silly question on the back of this thread...

I have managed to get some seated tickets at Luffield for Sunday and want to check that there are no restricitions on taking camera kit along? Ca anyone confirmed that I'll be ok with a gripped 7d and 100-400???
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No problem the last few years I've been. Not going this year due to other commitments.
 
TheNissanMan said:
Silly question on the back of this thread...

I have managed to get some seated tickets at Luffield for Sunday and want to check that there are no restricitions on taking camera kit along? Ca anyone confirmed that I'll be ok with a gripped 7d and 100-400???
Click to expand...

That's exactly where I was 2 years ago and with exactly the same kit.

My pics are here if you want to see the type of opportunities there are
 
Nice photos nigpd, I need to take the plunge and get the 100-400...I struggled to get frame filling shots with my 70-200 at the F1
 
Should have thanked you after the event, it was difficult panning while seated but got shots I'm happy with that I posted.
 
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