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Hey Sam,
You do the surfing... I'll take the pics
Gary

Hi and welcome from another Bristol tog.
Gary

When I shoot sports I usually shoot jpeg.
For fast moving sports like motorbikes I shot high res jpeg in burst and can take up to 2500 frames in a day. I find jpeg easier and faster with more space on the cards.

Having said that there are benefits in shooting raw. As said above the metering can be a bit awkward with all the colours especially with a sunny/cloudy day.
On a normal day shooting motorbikes the conditions are ever changing so shooting in raw gives you a little more control over your editing. Getting that shot smack on in camera is a great buzz and then it doesn’t really matter which you use.

Occasionally I’m shooting one specific rider and then I would use raw. As usual in these things there is no right or wrong answer. Have a try with both and see how you get on.

I also use photo mechanic and can highly recommend it.

Gary

I always shoot jpeg fine and under expose by about 1 stop under lights. I just use the "smart fix" in Photoshop elements before saving and then sending.( I find this quicker than using PS3).
I find that the back ground is a little dark but the players shirts, ball, etc look fine. This is better than having blur. If need be I would under expose by 2 stops. If I can help it I never use more than 1600 .
Like Sam says it dose effect picture quality but picture desks understand the problems we have shooting this time of the year.

Gary.

The end of Quarry is a good spot for cornering shots. Its also a good place for panning as they are accelerating out off the corner and not going to fast.
Tower has raised banking for spectators but is a little high for the camera. For Motosports you need to be the same height as the track for the best shots.
For head on shots you could try the Camp car park. You are level with the track with no high fences but you will need a long lens
Another good spot is between Old paddock bend and Tower corner. This is one of the fastest parts of the track. Again you are at track level. Good for panning and head on shots. Its also a good point for a rear view going into Tower and again no high fences.
You can walk round the whole of the circuit if you want and there are plenty of good spots to chose from. It is exposed so some warm clothing would not go a miss.

Gary

I have just ordered a hoya 77mm pro1 from onestop digital for £27.99 including p&p.

Hi

Today I've just had my 1st picture published in a national newspaper. The Independent newspaper used one of my pics taken on Saturday of the Bristol City V Norwich City game.
I have had plenty of picture's in the local press and non-league football papers but this is the first picture in a daily newspaper.
I would like to thank fellow Epz member Sam Furlong who's help made this possible.

Gary[link=null][/link]

Ask the company if you can email them some samples of your work or give them your website address. I have done this in the past.
I agree that if your pics are good enough to use you should be paid something or at least your expenses paid for the day.
If they are serious about giving you work in the future then they should agree to this.

Hi,
I need to do a reformat on my laptop. Could you post a link to the article. Never done this before so any help would be appreciated.

The Football world cup final would be my dream event with England playing in it. Any cup final at Wembley would be fantastic.
The moto GP at Donington would also be a dream for me. Been there with my camera a few times but never in the inner ring.
I think to be honest I would love to be at any big world class sporting event there are to many to mention

Canon have my 300mm at the moment and they are resetting the AF points for me. They are also servicing and cleaning the lens. They also have my 1Dmk2n. Hopefully when I get them back they should be working good as new. I will let you know the results when I get them back hopefully by the weekend.
Gary.

you could also do what I do when I need a extra lens is hire. I hire a 300 2.8 from calumet for £65 fri-monday morning. I then have a 70-200 2.8,1.4 x and the 300 which will cover just about everything. I use 2 bodys and swap the 1.4 between the two lenses depending where I am on the track. You have plenty of time to do this between races.

The only thing to do with non league football is push the ISO up as high as it will go and hope for the best. Noise reduction dose help and try to get the best you can from the floodlights. Some parts of the pitch will be brighter than others. If you can pick a spot with a bit of light in the back ground this will help with the noise as well. I use a canon 70-200 2.8 with a 1d IIn and still get a lot of out of focus shots so concentrete on the shots close to you and in the lighter parts of the pitch.
I think that some of the images I get at games under lights give a bit of extra feel to them. I had one of mine published in three papers. Not the best picture I've ever taken but the most published.

I was there again as I have been many times over the last 25 years. More people watching this year than ever. I was at the first dune at the start of the race which is proberly about the best place to be.1200 riders going flat out for a mile suddenly hit a wall of sand. The first and best riders get over it the rest are part of the biggest pile up of motox bikes you will ever see.
I took this later on in the race on the straight.

Hi Paul. I will be down there on the friday untill sunday. Should be a great weekend lets hope the weather holds!. I will PM you with my number.

I agree with Paul about the need for a laptop. When i do portraits for family and friends i allways have my laptop with me. This way your customers can see the results there and then. Get rid of the shots you dont need and take a deposit for any they want printed. You can also edit in photoshop if needed, crop etc.When you get home send off to photobox. Like i say i do this for friends and family so i cover my cost only. I think using a laptop would make you look more professional when turning up at someones home. I would also agree about the need for L glass but you could try getting a 50mm 1.8.

another vote for the canon 50mm 1.8. Cant beat it for sharpness and value.

I use a canon 70-200 f2.8 and a 1.4x for motox. Very sharp even on a dull day. Could sometimes do with something a little longer. Thinking about getting a canon 300 f4 to go with the 1.4x when I cant get close enough to the action. Apart from that the 70-200 1.4x combo is spot on.

I have a sigma 70-300 f4-5.6 APO DG macro and i think it's very good value lens for the money. I have used it a lot for sports. I have now upgraded to a canon 70-200 for sports. I still use the sigma as a walk a round lens because of it's weight and size. It is a little slow on focusing but I have got loads of good action shots using it .You can pick them up on ebay for a little over £100 .

this http:/www.ephotozine.com/u55260/gallery/639321
can't get the link to work but it was taken last july on holiday in majorca.

I use a canon 1.4x with a 70-200 f/2.8. Cant see any loss in quality. 280mm f/4.0 is very usefull for sport. focusing is still also fast. Not quite a 400mm prime but a lot less money.
Gary

£650 was the total price i payed no import duty or VAT. Look out for the ads that state no import tax. not all state this. I was unsure about importing but as far as i can tell the lens is brand new and unuesed.

I got one last week . Used it twice so far for football and motocross. Used it with a 1.4x converter and very pleased with the results. As allready said fast shutter speeds do not need IS. Got mine for £650 from digital-rev on ebay. took three days to arive and got a three year warrenty. Never used before but i would use again now

i use aperture priority with the lowest f stop your lens will allow. use max burst and focus set to al servo and af. you have to freeze the action so you are looking at shutter speeds of 1/500 and above. stand /sit behind the goal your team is attacking near the corner. oppisite side to the linesman. If by "local" you mean park football you can move up the touchline a little for corners, thowins, free kicks to get a better angle if not stay put. the best shots are usually of the players coming towards you. try to get the ball in the shoot and keep shooting . this works for me. hope this helps

Thanks to everyone for your views. Looks like the non IS has won. I think ill go with the non IS and converter. I always have my tripod in the car so i can allways use it if needed.

HI
Iam going to buy a Canon 70-200 f2.8 to go with my 30d. The main use being sports, i.e football / motocross. By buying the non IS version i can save a lot of money . Using high shutter speeds i dont see the need for a IS lens. The money saved would go on a 1.4 converter.Or do you think i would be better off geting the IS version. ? which lens would you recommend to buy.
gary