Hi Steve, On Tue, 26 Aug 2003 09:57:46 -0400, Steve Desjardins wrote:
> I'm going to the NASCAR race in Richmond on 9/6 and plan to take > the MZ-S. [...] I think I can take a monopod. [...] If you can get the monopod in, it will prove useful. I find it works better when the monopod is mounted to the lens rather than the camera, but that, of course, requires that the lens have a tripod foot. > [...] I have a low end zoom (sigma 100-300 DL) and I'll probably > take a 50 (for speed). Suggestions about technique, film, etc.? Well, it's going to be tough. They're not going to let you get very close to the racing surface without credentials. To make a bad situation worse, there will be heavy gauge, high fences between most of the spectator areas and the racing surface. That means shooting through the fences or over them. Through them only really works if you can get right up against them and open the aperture so the fence is thrown way, way, _way_ out of focus and becomes a bit of haze in the viewfinder, or disappears "completely". Otherwise what you end up with is a picture of a fence with some dim, fast moving things behind it. Honestly, I'm not very hopeful that 300mm will be enough "reach" for most of the shots you'll be in a position to get. Even at road courses, where you can often get closer than you will at Richmond, I use only a 200 and a 400 for action shots outside the paddock and pit areas. And I could use more reach. At Road Atlanta, a 600mm or longer lens would really help getting pit road shots from the spectator areas. Richmond's a night race, but the track will be pretty well lit. You'll still need at least ASA 400 film to get the shutter speeds you want. One shot you'll want to look for is to get down near the entrance to turn one or turn three and shoot the cars just before they let off the brakes, when the rotors are glowing like they're going to melt. The shutter speeds you want are around 1/250 seconds for cars at speed. At that shutter speed, you'll have to pan to keep the car itself sharp. The idea is to slow the shutter enough to blur the wheels and tires while panning to keep the car itself sharp. With slow moving cars, like in the paddock and pits, it's harder, because you have to slow down the shutter even more to get that feeling of motion. If the shutter speed is too high, the car will seem like it's standing still, because everything in the frame will be frozen. For action on the track, the fifty is going to be about useless. In the paddock and garage you'll get some use of it. In fact, in the "cold" areas, I often find useful shots for the 16mm fisheye and 28mm wide angle. If I had a 20 or 24, I'd use the heck out of them in the "cold" areas. Good Luck, TTYL, DougF KG4LMZ
