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Many be a silly question but is 100-1600 ISO speed range ok for a novice snapper at the races ?

The higher the ISO the higher the noise/grain in your photos, for maximum clarity you want to use as low an ISO as possible eg ISO100, but depending on the lense and the light you will probably need a higher ISO eg 400

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Was looking at a Canon EOS 300d due to affordability and it gets me started with the world of digital.

Any bike togs who started with a 300D sold it again pretty much as soon as they could get a mug to buy it - it cant cut it for motorsport, blinding good camera for round the paddock, landscapes etc

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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

Why not stick with the film camera and buy a good scanner instead?? Gives you best of both worlds! (film and digi)

RE: Simon

Meant to say about tele converters or extenders as you call them

Not only do you lose a stop or more of light, but on all but the top lenses you will also lose the auto focus i.e. with a converter fitted to say an f5.6 lense you will have to manual focus all the time!

Thank you V4, you obviously know your stuff!

OK, cards on table, would you go for 300mm F4 IS or a 400mm F5.6 (No IS)? That is about my budget.

And I take it I would be as well to throw in a 1.4x or 2x converter?

Thank you for all your advice.

Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX and 100-300 f4 EX - couple of blinders. I have the 100-300 but some would argue the 70-200 is better.

With the 1.4 convertor the 70-200mm becomes an f4 and with the 2x convertor you lose another stop ie 5.6. Although both will allow the AF to be maintained.

With the 1.4 convertor the 100-300mm becomes an f5.6 and with the 2x convertor you lose another stop ie f8. You will retain the AF with the 1.4x but lose it with the 2x.

I have both convertors and MUCH prefer the 1.4x.

As for cameras, I use Nikon but have heard great things about the new Canon 30/40D cameras and of course the more expensive models.
I also would take a serious look at a second hand 20D if you can find one.
8mp and 5fps, more than adequate.

I'm also a great believer on manually pre-focusing on the road where possible.

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OK, cards on table, would you go for 300mm F4 IS or a 400mm F5.6 (No IS)?

I would go with the 300mm

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And I take it I would be as well to throw in a 1.4x or 2x converter?

I have both converters but never use the 2x so make of that what you will :wink:

Come to think off it you really need a 2x, i'll sell ye mine

are you confused yet savo? :o are you going 2nd hand or new?if going 2nd hand theirs some mighty fine bargains to be had,ie i bought my nikon d100 for i think 300 quid roughly,at the time,you could get the camera now a lot cheaper im sure,dont rule out ebay,or if its being bought as a prssie maybe the person wants to buy new warranty etc?but for the savings to be had,you pays your wad and takes your chances :wink:

Ive a Nikon D70 that doesnt see enough use to warrant keeping, £300 will take it off me hands.

About ebay, It abviously has it's pros and cons but you'll most likely pay (without postage pack & insurance) the same in Euro what you 'd pay sterling in the shops i.e. a camera say 30D will be £900 approx. on the UK high street and will be approx. €900 on ebay. (Usually Hong Kong sellers)

It's not a hard and fast rule but the gear I've bought and my mate (Canon 20D 70-200 f2.8 IS) has worked out this way MEANING roughly a third off what you'd pay in the high Street in the UK!

Rep. Ireland is a diferent matter Altogether where the high end cameras don't have much of a market here (so they tell me) therefore you'll pay, in a lot of cases double the euro vs. Sterling i.e. a Canon 1DS MK2 is £4.5k in UK and €8.4k here in Ireland - So in buying my stuff on ebay I will have saved 40-45% than rep. of Ireland - You can see why I'd be very tempted on eBay.

If your in the Uk you can always see if the store will match any internet price, some will do so if you can prove that the item is in stock in the uk and being sold at that price. Jessops used to do this, i am not sure if they still do. If you are buying from Hong Kong ensure you get a world wide warranty and that there are no hidden Customs charges when it arrives - these could be very hefty for an expensive camera or lens.
I know a fixed length length lens will give superior performance to a zoom and that with a zoom you will lose a stop or 3, but i have been so used to 75-250 and more recently 75-300 that it would be hard to use a fixed lens.
As the 100 400 L IS USM has just had a big price drop, i think i shall go for one.

Maybe given the interest in this thread that admin could set up a seperate forum for us photographers to rabbit on in. It would be nice to see what we have all been taking and at what settings.
Good luck with the 'shopping'

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Maybe given the interest in this thread that admin could set up a seperate forum for us photographers to rabbit on in. It would be nice to see what we have all been taking and at what settings.
Good luck with the 'shopping'

One already exists at www.irishbikeracing.com its a hidden forum and ye have to ask permission to join, click on usergroups once logged in to the forum.