Hi Ireland's corner - In fairness I haven't been able to get Irish Racer for the last 2 months
firstly I buy 3 monthly publications - RRI, Irish Racer and Motorcycle Roadracer - they're all excellent publications - I did say not all shots are pin sharp and I stand by that but to make myself clear - the vast majority ARE sharp - but there are a few that get published as they're pertinent images - say J Rea in the Sunflower or something else if it has impact also - it doesn't need to be pin sharp and these kind of shots DO get published.
I view these images with a fine tooth comb and when I say not all shots in Magazines are pin sharp, I really mean PIN sharp - there's sweet spots in relation to different types of shots and I'm fairly up with where they need to be... when they're not dead-on it can be said that they're not pin sharp.

I was also saying it in relation to V4Honda's comment on my two shots on the previous page - I have 1 out of 2 sharp shots (although I would consider the unsharp one good enough fro printing)...
My shot of Finnegan on page 1 of this thread is the example - V4 is right in saying it's not sharp as the sweet spot is on Finnegans front forks but even at that, The shot looks much sharper when viewed at 1000x pixels on my monitor at home.

Hope you understand what I'm saying - I'd love to be published in a mag.

interfering a bit again...

in my opinion, a shot does NOT have to be pin sharp to be a good pic. your finnegan shot is excellent!!! it vibes of action and catches the spirit of the racing in a superb way.
perhaps it wouldn't have even been so good if it would have been pin sharp?

now. if you'd be shooting a motorcycle in a studio to make a poster out if it - well, that would be a different story...

QUOTE:

Am I right in thinking that a Canon EF 28-300mm f3.5-5.6L IS USM is the best of the 300mm range for Canon?

No you are wrong.

A prime lense (fixed focal length) will always be sharper than a zoom lense, plus that lense you mention is also a variable aperture ie at 28mm the aperture is f3.5 but when you zoom out to 300mm the aperture is f5.6 robbing you of two stops of light, which equates to a slower shutter speed.

Best 300mm would be a 300mm f2.8 with image stabilisation, but they are expensive, i myself cant justify one and so i use a 300mm prime fixed at f4 without image stabilisation.

Great subject line here:
I am a bike fan before a photographer but I love to have the images that bring back the memories of great days out in the hedges! I got started more seriously this year with a Canon 350D, 70-200 USM f4 L and a 1x4 extender. Also have a 100mm Micro f2.8 and a new 24-105mm f4 with IS (still getting the hang of it).

I would appreciate advice on what the best option would be for me for a 300mm or 400mm Canon Lens for the Racing ? Budget around €1000 - €2000.
(Maybe someone here wants to upgrade and sell used ? Anyone experience buying used kit on eBay or in the shops ?)

I think I have got some good results with my 'starter' kit, extender works well but one thing I think (?) we all rely on is decent light ?? unless you have the very best glass (< f4 ?). I get a kick out of trying to be a bit creative with my kit also. Shot below was taken panning with my Micro ! at Quarries.

Would appreciate the advise.

Sigma 70-200 f2.8 can be bought second hand (and new) for a good price, whilst not as good as Nikon or Canons own lenses it is still pretty darn sharp (in the right hands)

Excuse my ignorance but i'm still a bit stuck. Good thread though as it's hard to find advice from fellow motorsport/motorcycle racing fans.

Obviously a huge difference in a price between the 300mm F2.8 and F4. How much of a difference will it make?

Would I be better with a 300mm F4 or a 100-400mm F4.5-5.6L.

What is more important, fixed focal length or fixed aperture?

How important is the image stabilisation, the 300mm F4 I am looking at has IS?

Can anyone explain how the extenders work?

QUOTE:
as it's hard to find advice from fellow motorsport/motorcycle racing fans.

no its not, just ask, they're all helpful

QUOTE:
Obviously a huge difference in a price between the 300mm F2.8 and F4. How much of a difference will it make?

On dulls days (most days in ireland) or shooting under trees you will be glad of the f2.8

QUOTE:
Would I be better with a 300mm F4 or a 100-400mm F4.5-5.6L.

300mm f4

QUOTE:
What is more important, fixed focal length or fixed aperture?

both

QUOTE:
How important is the image stabilisation, the 300mm F4 I am looking at has IS?

dont know cant afford it myself

QUOTE:
Can anyone explain how the extenders work?

a 2x extender extends a 300mm lense in to a 600mm but you lose two stops of light

1.4x extenders multiplies focal length by 1.4 at the expense of one stop of light (usualy)

Thanks for the information.

Can you explain the term stop of light and it's importance?

Ok. I am slowly getting there. Thought I would get three relpies on this. How wrong can one get !!! Many be a silly question but is 100-1600 ISO speed range ok for a novice snapper at the races ?

Was looking at a Canon EOS 300d due to affordability and it gets me started with the world of digital. Read in a customer review on Amazon with all its pros and cons for example the lens is not too hot and reccommends to put a "decent lens" on it, increase it memory and buy a camera case as it too expensive to get damage which I would be considering doing anyway. The old faithful minolta dynax film camera I have used for the last 10 years is as hard as nails and this canon looks a tough cooky .......on race days it been exposed to the heat, rain, dropped, coke poured on it, lenses pushed through railings etc etc. Looks like I will need to be more considerate with the next new camera.

QUOTE:

Can you explain the term stop of light and it's importance?

a stop of light geez ummm errr try google google is everyones friend!

each aperture has a number eg f8 or f4 or f2.8

there is a scale going from say f2.8 to f32 each single change is one stop, but be careful as some lenses/cameras allow half or third of a stop changes in aperture

aperture along with film speed (ISO) directly affect shutter speed, the faster the shutter speed the more likely you are to freeze movement (good for jumps, bad for side ons at slow corners)

so getting back to stops:

* if you hear a tog talk about opening up a stop, what they mean is they are letting more light in to the camera (and thus getting a faster shutter) eg going from f4 to f2.8

* if you hear a tog talk about closing down a stop, what they mean is they are letting less light in to the camera (and thus getting a slower shutter) eg going from f2.8 to f4


Your choice of aperture also directly affects "depth of field" (or how much of the photo will be in sharp focus) but thats another story, google "depth of field" if you're interested