DIS OT: Photography very much on topic

[skr8pn]

I got the Rebel XT kit a few weeks back and haven't had much of a chance to use it with the wedding plans and all. So for a quick break I'm going to the local drag strip to watch about 12 guys in $150k+ cars race for a plaster dog, 1/8 mile at a time.

The track is lit pretty good but I want to make sure I get this right. It's mostly at night, it's all high speed (very high, 160mph+) so how do these guys get these wonderful shots. I've been there enough to know there is no tripod to be found and can't say I remember a flash. They've obviously have much better equipment and experience than I have. But a few rear tire wrap, front wheels in the air shot would be nice. I'm just losting thinking it's a night so I need to leave the shutter open but it will all be freehand and fast movement of the subject.

 

[handicap18]

The night shots don't look to have a lot of "action" photos. Most look like they are at the starting line with the car not moving, but just spinning the tires before starting. Shots like that you might have a good shot at getting. I'd use the longest lens you can and use ISO 1600. This will get you closer and also allow for the better chance of using a faster shutter. If you can get closer and use the shorter end of your telephoto lens (ie: maybe 150mm instead of 300) you will get a wider aperture and even better chance of a faster shutter.

That being said, there is a good chance that the guys you see taking pics like the one on the link you posted, may very well have a lens that has an aperture as low as f/2.8 and reach as far as 300mm. These are very expensive lenses. Both Nikon and Canon have a 70-200 f/2.8 with VR/IS that runs about $1700. I know Nikon has a non VR version that goes for just under $1000 and Canon also has a 70-200 f/4 lens that is pretty affordable.

If you see guys with this HUGE lenses, then chanses are its an f/2.8 type lens.

Doesn't mean you can't get decent shots with a standard 70-300mm f/4-5.6 lens.
Good luck and have fun.

 

[Furgus]

See if you got the Nikon instead of the Canon, I would have let you borrow my 70-300

 

[0bli0]

you will find what appears to your eyes as a well lit track at night will leave you pondering why your shots are blurry, without decent colour, and grainy. you're going to need to bump the iso, use the fastest lens you can get your hands on. where you are sitting in relation to the action will also affect the types of shots you can get. you will generally also find that track lighting has a changing colour temperature, making white balance different from shot to shot.

you can see in most of the photos there is light fall off, so they are definitely using a flash - judging from the fall off, i'd say i pretty high guide number, too. if your iso is high enough and your lens is fast enough, you can use a flash for fill in av mode and pan with the action. this will leave the shot without fall off and help freeze and provide detail to the car while still showing the action

 

[Geoff_M]

When you can see that the back side of the wheel wells are as equally lit as the rest of the car... That's a clue that they're using on-camera flash. A Nikon SB-800 or any other flash with an equal guide number would be able to handle those shots easily.