Redbull Air Race. What to take?

bass_junkie83

bass_junkie83

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My good wife had got me a ticket to the redbull Air Race final this weekend and I am thinking about taking a camera.

I took some half decent photos at an airshow once a few years back with a 40d and a hired 400mm f5.6.

But they were flying fairly slow in a nice straight line as they passed, these I imagine will be a bit more erratic.

I have at my disposal a 5d mk 2, 1d mk 2 and a 70-200 f2.8 is mk 1.
My gut says take the 1d, but the iq is better out the 5d if I can manage focus.
I doubt I am going to be able to afford to hire anything longer.

So what do you reckon, worth taking a camera or not? If so, which?
 
You might miss the action with the 5Ds AF and I imagine the 70-200 would seem too short on FF. Is there any option for you to rent another APS-H or APS-C body? A 1D MK III or a 7D may fit the bill quite nicely and I'm sure that neither are too expensive to rent nowadays. Failing that, rent an extender for your 70-200 - then again, that won't solve any focus issues you have with the 5D.

[EDIT] Do you still have the 400mm f/5.6? That sounds like the more ideal lens to me...
 
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No, I've never owned one, just rented it on one occasion.

Unfortunately everyone I know does similar photography to me, so we pretty much all have the same bodies and lenses!
 
bass_junkie83 said:
No, I've never owned one, just rented it on one occasion.

Unfortunately everyone I know does similar photography to me, so we pretty much all have the same bodies and lenses!
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Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you will be able to get some images with 5D MK II + the 70-200, it just may involve a bit of cropping in post-processing! To yield better results, however, I do think hiring a body (or maybe a longer lens if your budget can stretch) may be the better option.
 
bass_junkie83 said:
Do you think the 1dmk2 isn't up to the mark these days?
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The 1D MK 2 is a capable camera, but everything about it is old tech now... That said, I'm sure you could get away with it as much as you could with the 5D! Your main issue here is having fast AF. The 1D is always going to be better than the 5D in that department, but the two bodies I suggested above are leagues above both of them in terms of AF.
 
I'm looking at hiring a TC, at about £25 that's probably about as much as I would like to push it. Currently saving up for a house deposit and my Mrs would have my nits for ear-rings if I splurged too much. :lol:
 
bass_junkie83 said:
I'm looking at hiring a TC, at about £25 that's probably about as much as I would like to push it. Currently saving up for a house deposit and my Mrs would have my nits for ear-rings if I splurged too much. :LOL:
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x2 converter should do you nicely in the bright daylight!
 
It's about £25 to hire, but when I looked into the postage it makes it closer to £60. So unfortunately I shall probably make do with what I have got and crop arse off it if I have to. Lol
 
Eddzz!! said:
The 1D MK 2 is a capable camera, but everything about it is old tech now... That said, I'm sure you could get away with it as much as you could with the 5D! Your main issue here is having fast AF. The 1D is always going to be better than the 5D in that department, but the two bodies I suggested above are leagues above both of them in terms of AF.
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Sorry, but what a load of &@£!. It depends how you use the camera and what setting you use to take your shots, you can get decent results from both cameras. If you're in the spray and pray brigade and only every worried about fps then the 5D MKII will struggle, as the 5D more suited to landscapes etc, but I've seen some very decent action images from togs that Know what they are doing with that camera.

I've been using my 1D MKII for years with no complaints and it still a very good camera. Ok more MPs and higher ISO capabilities in limited circumstances would be nice to have, but neither the 1D MKIII or 7D are significantly any better in that regard. Personally would always recommend a better lens, rather than upgrading the body.

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As for recommending a 2x TC with the 70-200mm f2.8, you would be better off hiring a 100-400mm.

Would just stick with what you have 70-200 and 1D MKII, take some shots and enjoy the racing.
 
Not sure I'd be taking the camera at all really... I was at an airshow sorta thing at Headcorn at the weekend and just loving looking at the aircraft with both eyes open and listening and soaking it up.... rather than staring through a lens as usual...

Go to the race, get some beers and some sarnies, sit on a deckchair and kick back.
 
I guess it depends on just how much time you spend taking photos of things.... for me, I enjoyed my day off!
 
pete.rush said:
Sorry, but what a load of &@£!. It depends how you use the camera and what setting you use to take your shots, you can get decent results from both cameras. If you're in the spray and pray brigade and only every worried about fps then the 5D MKII will struggle, as the 5D more suited to landscapes etc, but I've seen some very decent action images from togs that Know what they are doing with that camera.

I've been using my 1D MKII for years with no complaints and it still a very good camera. Ok more MPs and higher ISO capabilities in limited circumstances would be nice to have, but neither the 1D MKIII or 7D are significantly any better in that regard. Personally would always recommend a better lens, rather than upgrading the body.

IMG_8951copy1.jpg


IMG_9525copy1.jpg


IMG_7483copy1.jpg


As for recommending a 2x TC with the 70-200mm f2.8, you would be better off hiring a 100-400mm.

Would just stick with what you have 70-200 and 1D MKII, take some shots and enjoy the racing.
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Well, as well as being rather offensive, you're also not as right as you think. Of course glass is important, but a body with a better AF system can be equally important when it comes to shooting action like this. I was merely highlighting that. I was also suggesting that the crop factor of an APS-C camera may aid in his framing with only a 70-200 to hand. The OP said in his opening post that he couldn't afford to hire expensive glass, so I suggested a cheaper alternative. Don't jump down someone's throat just because you disagree with them. Besides, it looks like the OP got some fantastic photos regardless of either of our suggestions.
 
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Take your 1D and enjoy the wee dots, or not, if the flying doodahs are quite low:p
 
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