Ok so i may bite the bullet and get a D-SLR , now don`t really want pay silly money a mate suggested a Cannon D30 , so been looking about and have seen plenty for 350 ish But what lense length , now i was using a Fuji with a 6* and a 1.5 * adaptor and could really do with a longer lense than that ANy ideas CHeers
All mine have been with a 70-200mm F2.8, but thats been standing on the good side of the barrier ;o) I've shied away from the F2.8 300mm as all the pro shots are taken on near enough the exact same piece of tarmac, meaning they have loads of shots of the same area. With the 70 i can move in and out, follow the car through the corner and if needed add a 1.5x convertor for the extra reach. Oh and its loads cheaper. P.s i used the 20D feckin brilliant camera
Both of these are with the 70-200mm - it will give you an idea of reach etc. http://www.photoboxgallery.com/barnaby/5419237 http://www.photoboxgallery.com/barnaby/5356109
for trackday pics you're gonna need quite a nice lens. I shoot with a nikon d70, and for trackday pics would use my 70-300VR, which when i got it was the best part of 400 worth. I have a cheapo 55-200mm lens which came as part of the bundle, and its utter, utter crap- the autofocus just cant keep up with anything. The 70-300 has got a much faster autofocus system which makes it much better for moving objects- and thats what costs the money when buying a decent telephoto lens. Hard call really, as a DSLR with a cheapo lens on it really isnt going to be any better than a reasonable compact digital camera. But as a rough guide id be looking at something that goes up to 300mm.
BTW barny i am still using a fuji S602 pro thats about 6 years old or more at the moment , sure you had one the same time as me That camera i have i always stuck the focus on manual and focused on a object on track and then shot that way, so proper fast autofocus is going to be new to me. So whats the big difference going to a D20/D30 from a older compact ? Sounds like i had better spend more time on a decent lense research then
To be fair Paz suggested a D30 to me , he takes some amazing pics and can often be found in VW/Audi driver http://www.flickr.com/photos/photosby_paz/ His lenses are all white i think that means its pro stuff , a bit like when you buy a camcorder with a square lense on the end I agreed mad 20v pics are excellent ! wonder if he had a flickr account
The D20 looks good value for money there is hardly and difference with the D30 , humm http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos30d/
Some info from Graham on this thread http://www.clubgti.com/forum/showthread.php?t=101656&page=3&highlight=lense
70-300mm should do the job fine, but make sure to get vibration reduction (I think Canon call it image stabilisation) - can make a big difference. You could look on dpreview.com - they review lenses as well as cameras.
main thing is go try the cameras out- they all take great pics, but i find the canons too small and plasticky so went with the nikon as it felt chunkier and heavier- initially i was going t buy the canon, but changed my mind instantly upon actually holding it! each to their own though and its whatever you feel comfortable with that matters.
Speed is a major one, after the fuji ( i'm not knocking the fuji btw - it was a bloody good cam!) a semi decent D-SLR will run rings round a compact. I can have the 20d at my side in its standby mode (which it lives in all the time - i very rarely actually turn the cam off, the batts lasts for months!) see a fast action pic i want to take and have the camera focused on the spot as the cam touches my eye. From standby to focused is soo fast and will be better on the newer cams too. The pro lens make a helluva difference too, i sold all my basic ones to opt for the Canon Pro L class lenses mainly F2.8 and F4. I have one Sigma but i dont like it in comparision but it was 700 Cheaper that the Canon ... Pays ya money etc. I certainly agree with try before you buy, i went Canon from having them before the fuji but Nikon are as good (some will argue better) Pentax and Sony are in the mix too. Have a look around the nxt time your at a race track or football stadium, i like playin spot the white lenses competition - as theyre only Canon! Certainly get a feel for how they fit in the hand and they're weight too. Once you add 1.5kgs of white lens and a battery grip its kin heavy to lug around all day!! Dex has had great results with his Pentax and some of the kit he has got has been very Very cheap second hand. The pro Can + Nik stuff will hold its money well and can have seen some very hard use. My 20d is over 30,000 clicks now but proper pro's can do several times more that!!! I'm trying the get to Donny this nov so if you wanna have a look please do. There'll be a load of cams there so a good place to check them out. B
I have a Nikon D70 with a Sigma 20-200 F2.8 lense. I also have a 2x converter that I use a lot, as I can't get on the right side of the fence. This is more than enough for me, and I can usually find somewhere to take decent pics. A fixed length lense will give better pictures, but you lose the flexibility.
I use a Nikon D300 and a Nikon 70-200vr 2.8 lens for track pics, as said above 200mm would be a minimum. Would like to have a go with a Nikon 300mm 2.8 but 2,500+ for a lens is out of my price range. There are some quite good reviews for the Sigma 50-500 and at 700 wont break the bank. I also use Nikon 17-55 2.8 Nikon 50 1.8 Sigma 10-20 This was taken with the 70-200
Howdy Tris Long short of the story is, buy decent lenses, don't worry about the camera so much. Buying a good camera and putting a poor quality lens on it would be like putting nangkang remoulds on a GT3 RS..Just not as dangerous haha. The Longer zoom lenses you go for, quality suffers. If you want canon, a 20 or 30D would be sufficient with a decent lens like a Sigma 70-200 F2.8 Grayham, if you are on the hunt for a 2nd hand 300 2.8, ask Matt to keep you posted as and when they come in
Mart i think a second hand one will still be out of my price range But if Matt wants to lend me one for a weekend i wont turn it down
