Full time manual focus (motorsport)

[ukaskew]

Does anyone here shoot motorsport primarily using manual focus? If so, how is the keeper rate from an average day, and on a basic level how practical/impractical is it?

I'm bored, essentially. After a few years out due to wanting a new challenge (trying M4/3 for motorsport, which was fine, as it turned out) I bought another DSLR a few months ago, got back into the swing of things very quickly and have reached the point where I don't know where to go next. I thought a DSLR would reignite my passion, but if anything it's highlighted how stagnant my motorsport photography is. There are only so many times I can shoot moving cars from ever-decreasing angles using ever-decreasing shutter speeds. I'm not perfect, or even close to it, of course, but creatively I've hit a brick wall.

As my kit is required for travel as well I'm considering moving to the Fuji X system and concentrating on pretty much everything but the on-track action at events, but for context a small selection of on-track action would be useful, hence the query regarding MF (Fuji X AF is even slower than M4/3, so it's probably a challenge too far!)

 

[Phil V]

Frankness alert:

Do you want to improve your photography or just collect gear?

By your own admisssion, you're not close to perfect as a photographer, you never will be whilst you think it's about the gear and angles.
It's about light and creativity, stop swapping your gear and start putting some thought into lighting and framing, try to create something you're truly happy with rather than just ticking boxes of techniques.

An alternative camera system will bring you some new challenges, but it won't improve your chances of taking great photo's, honestly, you can do thatwith your cameraphone.

 

[pingu666]

do you mean old manual focus lenses? With a77 its focus peaking is very good, modern lenses have very short throw in focus, but mostly it would be prefocus at a certain point and shoot at that

you could try a old 35mm camera too,
pm me if you go to presscott hillclimb, might be able to let you play with some of my old kit

 

[srhmoto]

I do

I shoot using a Sony NEX-7 and Panasonic GH2 using a variety of Canon FD and nFD mount lenses.My latest gallery of images is here: -

http://srhphoto.zenfolio.com/p820590007

and everything here was taken with this set up: -

http://srhphoto.zenfolio.com/f63504875

I probably have a 'safe style' for motorsport photography compared to you and others, but I find my keeper rate is easily as high as the Canon 1 series gear I used to use.

My next challenge is to try and master manual AF tracking using the focus peaking feature on the NEX-7. I expect is to be very difficult to get right consistently!

Cheers,

Simon.

 

[munch]

I am sorry but from look at the photo's on your website they are all the same. Cars frozen in time with little or no sense of speed. Try panning more, changing the angle slightly. Change the level you shoot from. Don't get me wrong a lot of my motorsport photo's are the same, but I ant the one saying I've hit a brick wall.

 

[ukaskew]

Frankness alert:

Do you want to improve your photography or just collect gear?

By your own admisssion, you're not close to perfect as a photographer, you never will be whilst you think it's about the gear and angles.
It's about light and creativity, stop swapping your gear and start putting some thought into lighting and framing, try to create something you're truly happy with rather than just ticking boxes of techniques.

An alternative camera system will bring you some new challenges, but it won't improve your chances of taking great photo's, honestly, you can do thatwith your cameraphone.

We all shoot for different reasons, I personally love ticking boxes of techniques whilst spectating at a sport I love. I have no desire for bigger or better kit, and I actively avoid shooting for others or to spec, my enjoyment comes from challenging myself, be that by using 'inferior' gear that people tell me just won't work, or by spending hours practicing at silly shutter speeds until I can nail them consistently, then helping others where I can.

I don't think there is anything particularly wrong with that approach, I find it perplexing that people are happy to stand in one spot all day with a tripod firing away at 6fps every time a car approaches (which many do), they must be enjoying it, but I can think of nothing worse, I want to try something ridiculously difficult every time I head out.

I've gone as far as I want to with conventional track photography, panning has been my 'thing' for nearly 10 years and I'm at a level that I'm more than happy with, to the point where I don't find any enjoyment in it anymore, I've run out of things that give me a buzz.

I've always wanted to shoot portraits, paddock activity etc, but it's so ridiculously far outside of my comfort zone that I've actively avoided it. Gear that is inappropriate for track stuff will force me down that route and give me a whole new focus (as well as another new technique to learn in manual focusing), and a happy side-effect is that it will be perfect for travel, which is crucial to me over the next 8 months.

 

[ukaskew]

I am sorry but from look at the photo's on your website they are all the same. Cars frozen in time with little or no sense of speed. Try panning more, changing the angle slightly. Change the level you shoot from. Don't get me wrong a lot of my motorsport photo's are the same, but I ant the one saying I've hit a brick wall.

Are you sure? These are a tiny selection from my last event...http://behindthefence.co.uk/?p=267, only one is above 1/100, how much movement do you want?! I've been accused of a lot of things (silly angles for one) but a lack of movement isn't one of them!

 

[munch]

Sorry ukaskew, I was looking at the wrong link.

 

[pingu666]

I think if you want a new challenge, a new experience, and to enjoy the act of shooting more, go film with a 60 or 70s camera, some film from poundland, in the actual act of taking pics I enjoy film the most, with a digital camera its too automatic, too easy. I can just point n shoot, or dial in a setting or two and shoot.

and with film you can laugh to yourself when you go to chimp

 

[srhmoto]

Sorry ukaskew, I was looking at the wrong link.

You'll have been looking at my links then .

Don't feel you need to apologise. I take photos for me and me only, and if I'm happy with them, that's all I'm bothered about.

As I said, I am we'll aware that I have a safer style then some of the others that post on here, Chris included. My style if you want to call it that probably stems from two things. Firstly, I am a Motorsport fan first and a Motorsport photographer after that. Secondly, how I shoot was what was required by the editors of various local and national publications that I used to supply and I guess it stuck.

There's always more than one way to skin a cat. The way I shoot isn't to everyone's tastes. Equally, I'm not keen on some of the low shutter 'arty' shots seen on here. Doesn't make either better or worse than the other.

As for changing angles, height etc., I shoot from the public areas at race circuits these days. That means I have to go through, over or round any number of catch fences etc etc. Doing what you suggest would be great, but it is not always possible.

If you have the time, have another look through the galleries on my website. You won't find many taken with a shutter speed over 1/320s, and you might even find some below 1/100s and some side on pans . Not many, but there are some there.

Anyway, Chris I hope I in part answered your question. As I said, if you want a real challenge use a camera equipped with focus peaking and use that function to manually focus track a race car. I know of at least one photographer that can do it well for birds in flight, so it must be achievable for race cars that are more predictable in the path they will take.

Simon.

 

[ukaskew]

Anyway, Chris I hope I in part answered your question. As I said, if you want a real challenge use a camera equipped with focus peaking and use that function to manually focus track a race car. I know of at least one photographer that can do it well for birds in flight, so it must be achievable for race cars that are more predictable in the path they will take.

Yes that's something to think about thanks, my a77 has peaking so I will try it out this weekend, looking forward to it!

 

[Knikki]

Shooting with Manual Focus lens?

Yep I did it for about 4 years at various Oulton Park meetings, mind you I was using both film and digital (don't think I have anything from that era on my Flickr but can upload if you wan to see some later on).

As for keepers I found that using film I would have 95% keep rate and found that using digital was a much lower rate. Don't know why just was.

As for shooting around the paddock, most of the people involved as so doing things with there cars they generally ignore you, plus there are always others shootng to.

It it all good fun, you should try it

Might start going back to Oulton thinking about, might even pick up a 500 or 300mm lens for the P67, now that should be a challenge to use