Lens Rental for the Brithish GP

[Scott™]

Me and the old man are looking at getting access most area passes for Friday practice at Silverstone British GP and we both role with Nikon :butt: D5000's.

So we plan on going to Silverstone on the Friday only to practice our photography skills with it being quieter and having more access. Now we have both been discussing it this weekend and have decided we might hire a lens each for the week.

But what sort of lens am I going to need to take with me to get the best possible shot of an F1 car?

 

[Revels]

It's horrifically expensive. I looked into renting one for 4 days. In the end it was cheaper to buy it (£350)

 

[Scott™]

I have no idea if this is the right lens mind

http://www.lensesforhire.co.uk/nikon-af-s-400mm-f28-d-if-ed-171-p.asp

But it doesn't seem too steep if we split the cost between two.

 

[Revels]

Long and fast. Perfect.

But that weighs nearly 5kg! You're not going to be holding that for long. I'd say, based on how busy the place is going to be, you're not going to get room for a monopod.

 

[dunganick]

Get a 500 F4 for the weekend.

500 will be closer to the mark for Silly stone from spectator positions, the 500 F4 is a cheaper lens, so rental will be less than the 400 2.8, its also significantly lighter. It is likely to be a bright day, so F4 will be fine. Even if its dull you have a camera with decent ISO abilities, use it

 

[dk]

i used a 500mm for qualifying a few years ago, used it in the ferrari garage and for the track shots, was great.

not sure what it zoomed from but the 500 was useful.

 

[Xanda73]

Have you used a lens of the sort you are thinking about before? They aren't the easiest of things to use, and I would highly reccomend using them with a monopod; your neck will thank you for if nothing else. The depth of field of a 400 or 500 mil lens shot wide open is very shallow - 500mm at f/4 and focused to 25m is less than 40cm, so at that, a full F1 car won't be in sharp focus. At 150 meters it's still only 14.5 meters.

What lenes do you have access to now? Is it not possible to use a teleconverter on anything you have?

http://www.mifsuds.com/acatalog/Nikon_Tele_Converters.html

 

[Danny133]

I'd use a 100-400 if it were me ..

 

[drhowser]

I've a Sigma 120-400 which I'm pretty happy with, I think Lenses for hire have them available?

DSC_0359 by drhowser, on Flickr

 

[The Boosh!]

Long and fast. Perfect.

Thanks x

 

[Scott™]

I've a Sigma 120-400 which I'm pretty happy with, I think Lenses for hire have them available?

DSC_0359 by drhowser, on Flickr

See now thats a good shot, but not near crisp enough for me. But I think 400 will be good enough by the looks of it.

 

[dunganick]

The 400 2.8 is a stunning lens if you can be bothered to lug it around. Get a 1.4tc or 1.7tc too, you may find 400mm a bit short. Nikon TC's are superb and even their consumer cameras handle them like they are not there.

 

[drhowser]

To be honest, I think the issue is behind the camera rather than in front.
That day was my first and only attempt so far at motorsports, but I think it's not bad for handheld at 400. I'd say you could borrow it, but it might be difficult to get it to you.

 

[ukaskew]

The Sigma 120-300 at £99 is the best cost/performance/weight option in my opinion, it's fairly heavy but I can easily handhold it all day and I barely have any muscle to speak of!

Here are my efforts from Practice in 2009 http://chrisharrison.smugmug.com/Motorsport/British-Grand-Prix-2009/, but remember they have redeveloped the far end of the circuit, which is where most of the viable shooting options for a GP weekend used to be. I used a 1.4 tc for most of those shots, but 300m with a bit of cropping would be fine.

 

[SamP]

200 - 400 F4?

 

[Scott™]

So the time is ever closer now guys.

Looking to go to Friday practice only to avoid some of the crowds. Any more thoughts on this?

 

[ukaskew]

I went for the FIA GT a few weeks back (first event on the full GP Circuit)...my advice would be to leave your camera at home.

http://chrisharrison.smugmug.com/Motorsport/FIAGT

The marshals were quite relaxed, every stand was open and hardly anyone was there, yet it was still pretty useless for photos. I'm usually very optimistic and enjoy a challenge, but it's pretty awful for photos now.

I'm there for all 3 days this year but won't be taking my kit.

 

[Tony Hunter]

Chris,where are you staying?

 

[Scott™]

I went for the FIA GT a few weeks back (first event on the full GP Circuit)...my advice would be to leave your camera at home.

http://chrisharrison.smugmug.com/Motorsport/FIAGT

The marshals were quite relaxed, every stand was open and hardly anyone was there, yet it was still pretty useless for photos. I'm usually very optimistic and enjoy a challenge, but it's pretty awful for photos now.

I'm there for all 3 days this year but won't be taking my kit.

I don't understand? Why?

 

[ukaskew]

Chris,where are you staying?

The official camp site, can't remember the name of it.

Scott - I just don't personally think it's worthwhile spending a lot of time/money trying to get good pics, a club day at Castle Combe or somewhere is far more rewarding when it comes to photos you might look back on in years to come. I'm my own harshest critic and I really didn't think my FIA GT pics were in any way worthwhile, and that was a relatively easy event to shoot compared to F1. I will just be watching an soaking it all in, it's surprising how much you miss when you're trying to photograph an event, and as the missus has spent about £400 taking me there for the weekend I just want to enjoy it.