need advice on SLR camera suitable for capturing shots of motorbike racing

livvymaher

hey guys,

was wondering if anyone could help me

im lookin to purchase an SLR camera suitable to use to capture mulitple shots within a few seconds as it will be used mainly for motorbike racing, i've got a number of different websites and im heaing to new york in a few days but not sure of any of the technically stuff - pls help!!!

KarmaGarda

Some of the more "sportsy" experts will give you a few good tips, but I'm immediately thinking of Nikon D90/Canon 40D would be a good starting point. There's obviously other brands to consider too, but I'm not as familiar with them.

It really depends on a few factors, mainly your budget. I will offer 2 bits of advice though:

1. Buy the camera that feels better in your hand as opposed to what looks slightly better on paper.

2. Make sure you read this, it's very useful: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055557678

Slidinginfinity

+1 to everything KarmaGarda said, with the addition of beprepared to invest in GOOD lens.
Something like a 200m f2.8 prime or a 70-200mm f2.8 zoom these will run you atleast 1000.

Rb

7D & 200mm F2.8

Dara Robinson

livvymaher, how much were you looking to spend? That will really dictate what class of SLR you should be looking at

KarmaGarda

To throw a comparison in there camera wise for you livvymaher. 7D was mentioned. Nikon do a D300 which I hear you can get for a lot cheaper recently.

Again, to reitterate! Buy what feels best in your hand.

CabanSail

You are really jumping in at the deep end here. Getting good equipment is only a part of it & that only requires money, even if it is a fair bit of it. As said above the Lens is going to be most important as it will need to be long fast & sharp. In the Nikon line I think the 70-200 f2.8 is where you should be looking. There is a new one just being released so the older ones may be a bit cheaper. I would say that the TC17 teleconvertor would also be handy. The Body behind that I would suggest should be the D300 with a MB-D10 Battery Grip as that will give you over 8 frames per second. Add in a good quality Monopod, some filters, cards & batteries. The Canon guys can probably advise equivalent items but the cost will be about the same.

Getting the gear is just money. The hard bit is to learn how to use it well & to control your exposure. That is the hard bit & will take a lot of time to get close to being right. You have to start somewhere though. Plenty here to help you do that.

LeoB

I use Canon Eos 40d and find it great. while I am no expert I took the shots below at Skerries 100. Camera is easy to use.

[EMAIL="%3Ca%20href="][/EMAIL]">

[EMAIL="%3Ca%20href="][/EMAIL]">

If you have a look at www.adorama.com or www.bandhphotoandvideo.com you will get excellent price. But dont forget to check out prices here before you go as they are coming down.

Have just checked on Adorama and the 50d with 28-135 lens is $1,150 which is approx €770 with spare battery. They have a good selection of stuff on their site. They have other good Canon kits starting from $550 approx €360. You will gt good advice in both shops. Cant open B and H website at moment but have spoken to people who have been in both and found them just amazing.

Dont think you need to splash out a fortune at the start 70-300is lens from Canon is good for motorbike racing and less than half the price of the 70-200 f2.8. Also ask about Sigma 70-200 f2.8 lens again its cheaper than the Canon version and I have got some great shots with mine.
Also just spotted the Canon 28-200 which got good reviews and you will be able to mix and match what you want, ie buy the camera body and match it with a lens of your choice.

wersal gummage

i think its probably bad news livvymaher.

most of the lads above mention 70-200 but, for track you'll need a 300mm - and even then you'll need to crop.

for road-racing the 200mm would be fine as you can get a lot closer.

check out this lad's photos - i have him saved in my contacts on flickr (dont know him at all)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rev-up4dsi_aidan/

click on the pictures you like and then look on the right hand side and it will give you the properties of the photo. any of the real action stopping stuff is at 300mm and, unfortunatley for you, its with a 2.8 lense - although most of the shots are not shot so wide open.

here's a nice example @ 300mm F3.5:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rev-up4dsi_aidan/4033867917/sizes/m/in/set-72157622514305455/

best of luck with it and i'd suggest spend the money on the lense - any camera capable of a few frames per second should do - you can always upgrade the camera.