Lens for Motorsport

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Stringer

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Paul Stringer
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Hi everyone

I'm just looking for ideas for Lenses for Motorsport Photos

I currently have an 18-200mm Sigma 3.5-6.3 which is great for the majority of motorsport photography I do but i'm wanting to get a little closer into the action.

Would it perhaps be worth getting a new lens - say a 70-300mm lens and a tele convertor?

Or would it be just as much to get a convertor for the lens i've currently got?

Any ideas and help would be much appreciated

Thanks
Paul
 
All depends on your budget:shrug:

I've just got the 70-300 VR :woot:not tried it out yet hoping to get to cadwell for a track day soon.

:nikon:
 
I got the 70-300 VRII and use it for motorsport. No problems at all. great results so far, may we see you at Oulton Park, I see you are not far from me!!!
 
As said, depends on your budget. After all, the Sigma 100-300 HSM is pretty sweet - but may well be out of your price range.
 
Chrisbie said:
I got the 70-300 VRII and use it for motorsport. No problems at all. great results so far, may we see you at Oulton Park, I see you are not far from me!!!
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sure will do!!!

I was there last saturday and have been a few times before for drift days and car days etc

Are you going to be there on the 7th (this saturday) for the 'Bike Focused Events'?

as said though, my 18-200 is perfect for cars etc, just want something a bit longer for bikes and if they're a little further away etc!!

will have to have a look on prices and then maybe see what I can afford :)
 
The 70-300VR is a good lens for the price it "was" pitched at (in view of recent price hikes). I have the 18-200VR as well which I use for motorsport, the VR on that doesn't seem to help as much as it does on the 70-300 at the 300mm end.

The VR at 300mm is an absolute godsend imo. It certainly goes some way to compensate for the small max aperture. The 70-300 is not as sharp as the 18-200 though, in fact its the least sharp of all my Nikkor lenses but it is not too bad and I would recommend it as a budget motorsport lens.
 
Undoubtdly the 70-300VR is a great lens. I used it last year for motorsport but have moved to a Tamron 70-200 for this year. I got some great shots with the VR but the Tamron has a better shoot-to-keep ratio. At circa £350 for the VR and £450 for the Tamron I'd stretch it a bit to the Tamron as the IQ is fantastic. Have a look on page 5 of the recent post about the Tamron for a few of my shots.

These were with the 70-300VR,

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=85231
 
viper_biker said:
Undoubtdly the 70-300VR is a great lens. I used it last year for motorsport but have moved to a Tamron 70-200 for this year. I got some great shots with the VR but the Tamron has a better shoot-to-keep ratio. At circa £350 for the VR and £450 for the Tamron I'd stretch it a bit to the Tamron as the IQ is fantastic. Have a look on page 5 of the recent post about the Tamron for a few of my shots.

These were with the 70-300VR,

http://www.talkphotography.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=85231
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thanks for that :)

one quick question though, is there a huge difference between 200 and 300mm length at all

On my very old Fuji S9500 which had a fixed 300max length the difference between 200 and 300 seemed very tiny (if only a step or 2 forward)?
 
i have used the following with decent results

70-300 VR, Sigma 70-200 F2.8, Sigma 100-300 F4 and Sigma 120-300 F2.8, the latter are fantastic although expensive, the 70-300 VR is a cracking place to start though should it fall within budget
 
I have just bought a 70-200mm F2.8

I intend to use this for car motorsport and hopefully aircraft when I get an extender one day :lol:
 
If I'm honest, I've rarely used the VR lens at 300 as I can get quite close to the track not to need it. A lot of the shots on Sunday with the Tamron were at 135mm. I did have the VR with me on Sunday but I didn't bother taking it out of the bag. I'm not sure on the MP sensor size on the D80, but the crop factor on the D300 will amend any loss in reach.
 
Circuits can vary to, Cadwell you can use 70mm for instance where as Silverstone or Donington you need at least 300mm
 
SuperCNJ said:
The 70-300 is not as sharp as the 18-200 though, in fact its the least sharp of all my Nikkor lenses but it is not too bad and I would recommend it as a budget motorsport lens.
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That doesn't sound right - at 200mm the 70-300 VR absolutely trounces the 18-200VR - or it should!
 
Stringer said:
one quick question though, is there a huge difference between 200 and 300mm length at all
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No theres isn't a huge difference between 200mm and 300mm. Its a bit like zooming from 135 to 200.
 
SuperCNJ said:
No theres isn't a huge difference between 200mm and 300mm. Its a bit like zooming from 135 to 200.
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I didnt think so, thanks

I'll just soldier on with my current lens for now until I find a new lens for a good price (or at most just invest in a convertor for now)
 
puddleduck said:
That doesn't sound right - at 200mm the 70-300 VR absolutely trounces the 18-200VR - or it should!
Click to expand...

I haven't compared them side by side at 200mm but in general I find my 18-200 much sharper than my 70-300. It could be that I've got a bad copy but having tried other ones I'm convinced its not as sharp throughout its range compared to the 18-200 throughout its range.

Yes I agree that the 18-200 struggles in more than one way at 200mm which is understandable but theres no denying it is a cracking lens - esp 'cos uncle ken said so! :lol:

But now you've pointed it out, I'm intrigued to compare them side by side at 200mm. :suspect:;)
 
Try to compare them both at infinity - rememeber the 18-200 VR is very "short" for a 200mm lens (normally around 135mm), so if you compare them 10 yards out, the 18-200 VR image at 200mm will be much smaller than the 200mm from the 70-300.
 
I started with a sigma 70-300mm DG APO which imo, is a great motosport lens for under £100.

Then the sigma 70-200mm f2.8 hsm dg po - good lens, but just too short.

Finally settled on a sigma 100-300mm f4 dg apo which is a fantastic lens for the money. You should be able to pick one up for about £400 if your budget can stretch that far.
 
rrfierce said:
I started with a sigma 70-300mm DG APO which imo, is a great motosport lens for under £100.
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I have seen that and was contemplating it

I was originally looking at it purely for the Macro side of it but have been lookin at it for other reasons also recently

may well get myself once as it will be something that will do for now as its cheaper than a convertor
 
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