AMA - Road America...

maczippy · June 4, 2005

A quick image as I'm drying out and knackered...GO NEIL!!!

Andrew

BBones · June 5, 2005

Man I am living in the wrong state to be filming motorcycle racing.

Nice shot

wxwax · June 5, 2005

Just a beautiful shot, macster.

4labs · June 6, 2005

Very nice!

Prezwoodz · June 6, 2005

Geez seems crazy to hold a race like that in the rain!

bfjr · June 6, 2005

Just like riding an old slip and slide

Great shot wonderful perspective

rahmonster · June 6, 2005

Prezwoodz wrote:

Geez seems crazy to hold a race like that in the rain!

No crazier than jumping off big rocks onto hard snow??

I like the shot, very nice. Looks like you all had a very wet weekend.

Skippy · June 6, 2005

What A Cool Shot

maczippy wrote:

A quick image as I'm drying out and knackered...GO NEIL!!!

Andrew

When the picture first opened I thought, gosh I didn't think they would run motor cycle races in the Fog

then I saw the bottom of the shot and the water being thrown up from the tyres.......

Great Capture on your part Maczippy.....well done.
Skippy (Australia)

maczippy · June 6, 2005

Thanks everyone!

Yes, they run the Superbikes in the rain, however, the rain got so bad, and I mean close to a waterfall on the downhill slopes of the track, that they cut the race short and Neil Hodgson won!

Yes, I was soaked....But rain shots are like gold (for me at least) as they're generally rare....

But I'm always amazed at how the 1D's hold up in the rain (I don't bother with rain covers)...

I'm still going through them but will share a few more soon!

Andrew

wxwax · June 6, 2005

maczippy wrote:

But I'm always amazed at how the 1D's hold up in the rain (I don't bother with rain covers)...

Really? Wow. Then I'm taking mine swimming.

Seamus · June 6, 2005

maczippy wrote:

Thanks everyone!

Yes, they run the Superbikes in the rain, however, the rain got so bad, and I mean close to a waterfall on the downhill slopes of the track, that they cut the race short and Neil Hodgson won!

Yes, I was soaked....But rain shots are like gold (for me at least) as they're generally rare....

But I'm always amazed at how the 1D's hold up in the rain (I don't bother with rain covers)...

I'm still going through them but will share a few more soon!

Andrew

I'm delighted for Hodgson, he had a bad season in Motogp and should do well in the AMA. Did you watch the MotoGP from China? Amazing race in the wet and Jacque would have won with a couple more laps. Thanks for the great photos ,

Seamus.

tcsphoto · June 6, 2005

maczippy wrote:

A quick image as I'm drying out and knackered...GO NEIL!!!

Andrew

Great shot, love the way they are coming out of the mist.

maczippy · June 6, 2005

wxwax wrote:

Really? Wow. Then I'm taking mine swimming.

Well, I don't think I'd go that far. But they're designed to handle quite a large amount of rainfall per hour (I read somewhere that I think it's upto 10"/hr).

The only drawback is that you cannot change lenses so it's a good idea to have two cameras with two different lenses attached just incase as you'd have to wipe them down before removing cards/lenses etc.

I'll be down your way in a couple of months for the AMA at Road Atlanta (and my wife is coming with me too..!)

Andrew

BBones · June 7, 2005

I'll be down your way in a couple of months for the AMA at Road Atlanta

Need help?

mercphoto · June 7, 2005

maczippy wrote:

But I'm always amazed at how the 1D's hold up in the rain (I don't bother with rain covers)...

How do you deal with card swaps? Find shelter, move quick, cross fingers? Use only really big cards?

BBones · June 7, 2005

I use 2 gig cards and if I have to switch in the rain, I first chimp really quick to see if there are any obvious mistakes or I bend at the waist and keep my camera in my stomach to swap the cards.

maczippy · June 7, 2005

mercphoto wrote:

How do you deal with card swaps? Find shelter, move quick, cross fingers? Use only really big cards?

I have one 4Gig card, and then 2 2Gig cards. Changing isn't too bad, I simply cover the front of the lens with a ziplock and then change the cards with the door facing down (after wiping the back with a towel)...

As it was torrential I just shot with what I had rather than risk changing, you just have to think ahaead a bit, but a 2 Gig card would be sufficient as shooting RAW will give you roughly 180+ images.

A tip for those shooting in mild moisture/light rain, always carry a little flannel as you can drape that over the camera and it will absorb the rain water droplets.....Plastic is really not a good idea due to the level of condensation it can foster...

Andrew

maczippy · June 7, 2005

1DMK2, 300f2.8, f6.3:1/400, ISO100

Andrew

maczippy · June 7, 2005

BBones wrote:

Need help?

My wife is helping me....(but thanks for the offer - truly - I probably walk on average 6 miles a day with gear!!)

But I can meet you if you like at some point? It would be ood to say HI!!

(That goes for anyone for that matter....)

Andrew

ian408 · June 8, 2005

Zippy,

This rain shot is fantastic. It gives you a whole new perspective of riding
in the rain. Not like many of us here haven't done that once or twice before

Aaron Yates looks pretty nice too. Even the shadow is nice and sharp.

Ian

maczippy · June 8, 2005

ian408 wrote:

Zippy,

This rain shot is fantastic. It gives you a whole new perspective of riding
in the rain. Not like many of us here haven't done that once or twice before

Aaron Yates looks pretty nice too. Even the shadow is nice and sharp.

Ian

Thanks Ian...yes, my first serious motorcycle accident was in the rain (hit by a drunk driver - spent over 9 months in hospital for that one...)

Couple more...

::

Andrew

BBones · June 9, 2005

For those infamous "butt shots" what speed are you using? I seem to have almost licked my issues for the head on high speed shots but the reverse angle shots I am having issues with the camera not quite being fast enough on the focus since it tries to lock focus and then fire. Guessing I need a faster shutter speed.

mercphoto · June 9, 2005

BBones wrote:

For those infamous "butt shots" what speed are you using? I seem to have almost licked my issues for the head on high speed shots but the reverse angle shots I am having issues with the camera not quite being fast enough on the focus since it tries to lock focus and then fire. Guessing I need a faster shutter speed.

Shutter speed has nothing whatsoever to do with focus speed and accuracy. Ask yourself why shutter speed would impact how fast the camera focuses on its subject? Once the mirror is up so that the shutter can open the focus has already been achieved.

I have problems with that shot too. I believe the problem is as I track the kart come at me, then away from me, the AI Servo algorithm has to realize that the object is now moving away from me and switch gears. The other problem, which is more likely, is that I am too close to the moving object. At its closest point to me the camera can't keep up with focus any longer. The farther away the object, the easier focus tracking is.

BBones · June 9, 2005

Figured shutter speed would be affecting the AI Servo in that there is a short interval for the AI Servo to be focusing and the shutter to be using that setting and firing BUT in that short span of time and with them moving so fast it has just lost the focus

BBones · June 9, 2005

And one last question that is partly on topic. They are predicting rain or at least overcast conditions all weekend and I am shooting for 4 days on the track starting tomorrow. Cloudy mode or Manual White balance?

ian408 · June 9, 2005

BB, try pre-focusing. You could close it up a bit to get more DOF. Say f/11-16 or
so?

I think you're shooting with a 1dmkII? If so, you could try changing the focus
speed. I'm at work so don't have access to the custom settings info for that.

I'd go with pre/manual focus.

Ian

mercphoto · June 9, 2005

BBones wrote:

Figured shutter speed would be affecting the AI Servo in that there is a short interval for the AI Servo to be focusing and the shutter to be using that setting and firing BUT in that short span of time and with them moving so fast it has just lost the focus

The time of the shutter is irrelevant compared to the amount of time it takes for that big mirror to slap up out of the way.

BBones · June 9, 2005

No, using a 20D in AI Servo mode

mercphoto · June 9, 2005

BBones wrote:

No, using a 20D in AI Servo mode

Me, too. With a 70-200/2.8 lens, which is known as a very fast focusing lens. I also have trouble with these fading shots on my 20D. Its just not easy.

Only luck I have is with not getting too close (the closer you are, the harder to track with AF) and thus using lots of zoom. Pre-focus at the apex. Follow the car at you but DON'T half-press the shutter until they hit the apex. Then click slightly after the apex.

BBones · June 9, 2005

So stay far away and zoom all the way out instead of getting a closer spot on the track and using less zoom works for you?

mercphoto · June 9, 2005

BBones wrote:

So stay far away and zoom all the way out instead of getting a closer spot on the track and using less zoom works for you?

Your complaint is about AF speed. Getting closer makes that worse. The closer you are to a fast moving object the harder it is to quickly and reliably focus, and to track focus, on that object.

It is utterly simple to focus track a 200mph race car if it is 2,000 feet away from you. Harder if he is only 500 feet from you. Impossible if he is only 30 feet from you. The reason is simple. At 200 mph, that is roughly (give or take) 300 feet per second. At 2000 feet, that is only 15% of the focus distance per seond. At 30 feet, going 300 feet per second, you get the idea...

I used those particular numbers just to illustrate a point. But no matter the numbers, it shows that the farther away a fast moving object is, the easier to focus track. That is because over a given period of time, the percent change in distance is smaller than if the object is closer to you.

AMA - Road America...

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