Australian Grand Prix

[MattG]

I bit the bullet and splashed out on a ticket to see the Australian Grand Prix, primarily because The Who are the closing act! This is the first year that the event has been run at 'twilight' in Melbourne, so I have no idea as to the potential lighting for the racing (presume there will be flood lights, but who knows...).

I thought I'd check the terms of entry out to see what gear I could bring and found the following:

"5. Patrons must not, without the prior written consent of AGPC, have in their possession at the Event, or bring into the Event, any of the following items:
...
(q) any photographic, video or audio recording equipment AGPC deems unacceptable for the purposes of condition 16 below, which may include (without limitation) audio recorders, camera tripods, monopods or lenses with a total focal strength of greater than 300mm and digital video equipment."

OK - no tripods. No lens over 300mm. Or does the phrase "...lenses with a total focal strength over 300mm..." mean they may look at at multiple lenses with a combined total (though impossible to achieve)? It would be a pain to turn up and have to sacrifice a lens or two... I plan on using a 55-300mm zoom and the photos are for my enjoyment. If I had a fast 300mm prime, then that would have been my choice, but beggars can't be choosers, especially when few places rent Pentax mount lenses. I also was looking at taking my 18-55mm zoom for some crowd shots.

Scoping the venue beforehand is unfortunately not possible due to family commitments, but I have checked out a few locations on the circuit map (primarily corners and short straights). Any thoughts or advice on any of this, especially anyone's experience with the interpretation of the condition of entry?

[RoyL]

Originally Posted by MattG

I bit the bullet and splashed out on a ticket to see the Australian Grand Prix, primarily because The Who are the closing act! This is the first year that the event has been run at 'twilight' in Melbourne, so I have no idea as to the potential lighting for the racing (presume there will be flood lights, but who knows...).

I thought I'd check the terms of entry out to see what gear I could bring and found the following:

"5. Patrons must not, without the prior written consent of AGPC, have in their possession at the Event, or bring into the Event, any of the following items:
...
(q) any photographic, video or audio recording equipment AGPC deems unacceptable for the purposes of condition 16 below, which may include (without limitation) audio recorders, camera tripods, monopods or lenses with a total focal strength of greater than 300mm and digital video equipment."

OK - no tripods. No lens over 300mm. Or does the phrase "...lenses with a total focal strength over 300mm..." mean they may look at at multiple lenses with a combined total (though impossible to achieve)? It would be a pain to turn up and have to sacrifice a lens or two... I plan on using a 55-300mm zoom and the photos are for my enjoyment. If I had a fast 300mm prime, then that would have been my choice, but beggars can't be choosers, especially when few places rent Pentax mount lenses. I also was looking at taking my 18-55mm zoom for some crowd shots.

Scoping the venue beforehand is unfortunately not possible due to family commitments, but I have checked out a few locations on the circuit map (primarily corners and short straights). Any thoughts or advice on any of this, especially anyone's experience with the interpretation of the condition of entry?

Your 300mm lenses would appear to be acceptable. What they don't want is those that come in with 4-500mm lenses. The best way to find out is to phone and get an idea.

And if you have to then wrap your lens well and hide it away from the other gear, chances are that they will not look if you show them the other stuff and ask if it is ok.

And I am amazed that Townsend will even be seen playing with Daughltry, after all he is just a singer (according to Townsend) whereas Townsend has declared himself to be a genius on several occasions. Would be a good show.

[EmOz]

Its a bit hit and miss with these sorts of events - many of the guys who do the checking don't know much about lenses at all, so if it doesn't look big, you might be alright.

I was hoping to pick up a ticket through one of our corporate partners, but it looks like I've missed out

[jprime84]

There will probably be some additional lighting, and the cars themselves may have headlights.

I doubt there will be huge flood lights because they might make it hard for the drivers to see.

[Cabe]

This might be a case where 1.6 crop factor is a bonus.......

[RoyL]

Originally Posted by Cabe

This might be a case where 1.6 crop factor is a bonus.......

Yeh, with an old 300mm glass and adaptor with a 2x extender, and for those real close shots, a tele extender for the front. That's 960mm for the lense, and then whatever you get out of the tele extender

Who cares if you have to shoot manual

[DannyF1966]

I'm not sure you'll be able to pitch up and take photos anywhere on the circuit you like. If you've got a ticket for one of the stands then that's your seat and that's where you have to stay (probably). Certainly when watching F1 on tv you don't see crowds all over the place, indeed much of the track is spectator-free.

www.formula1.com will have some good information about the layout of the circuit, where the grandstands are, which are fast corners, which are slow ones and so on.

You might have a bit more freedom to get closer to the track if you turn up for one of the practice sessions on the Friday or Saturday. You may not see all the cars on the track at the same time, but they'll be going just as fast and you can get exactly the same shots. Probably :-)

Oh, and F1 cars don't have headlights, so it'll be floodlit. They did a night race last year, but the track was so well-lit it might as well have been daytime!

Cheers,

Dan

[jprime84]

Stay smart in choosing your location! There are too many youtube videos of parts of racecars flying into spectators who stood at the apex of a turn.

[sfisher]

Originally Posted by MattG

I bit the bullet and splashed out on a ticket to see the Australian Grand Prix, primarily because The Who are the closing act! This is the first year that the event has been run at 'twilight' in Melbourne, so I have no idea as to the potential lighting for the racing (presume there will be flood lights, but who knows...).

I wouldn't be so sure about the floodlights. How light will it be from 5pm to 7pm in Melbourne? The GP organisers were pretty adamant that they wouldn't do a full night race, so they came up with 'twilight' as a compromise. This news article seems to suggest there will be no lights.

I thought I'd check the terms of entry out to see what gear I could bring and found the following:

"5. Patrons must not, without the prior written consent of AGPC, have in their possession at the Event, or bring into the Event, any of the following items:
...
(q) any photographic, video or audio recording equipment AGPC deems unacceptable for the purposes of condition 16 below, which may include (without limitation) audio recorders, camera tripods, monopods or lenses with a total focal strength of greater than 300mm and digital video equipment."

OK - no tripods. No lens over 300mm. Or does the phrase "...lenses with a total focal strength over 300mm..." mean they may look at at multiple lenses with a combined total (though impossible to achieve)? It would be a pain to turn up and have to sacrifice a lens or two... I plan on using a 55-300mm zoom and the photos are for my enjoyment. If I had a fast 300mm prime, then that would have been my choice, but beggars can't be choosers, especially when few places rent Pentax mount lenses. I also was looking at taking my 18-55mm zoom for some crowd shots.

This does not ban any of the items on that list. Section 16 deals with the rights you have over any images, video and audio you record at the GP (essentially none; they are for personal enjoyment only). What they're saying is that, if you arrive with any of the above items, and they believe you might be a commercial photographer, they reserve the right to refuse you entry. I'm not a lawyer, but that's my understanding of the paragraph.

I've been to Silverstone several times for the GP (latterly with my 70-300mm lens and monopod) and I can tell you that anything goes as far as photography kit is concerned. Obviously Melbourne has the right to make their own rules, so Silverstone might not be an appropriate comparison.

I'd imagine that the 'total focal strength' is a way of covering teleconverters.

Scoping the venue beforehand is unfortunately not possible due to family commitments, but I have checked out a few locations on the circuit map (primarily corners and short straights). Any thoughts or advice on any of this, especially anyone's experience with the interpretation of the condition of entry?

What type of ticket do you have? If it's a grandstand ticket, it's possible that you'll be restricted to a particular grandstand for race day (maybe even a designated seat). Usually on Friday things are a bit more relaxed. If it's general admission, then you won't be allowed in any grandstands and you'll have to find a spot around the circuit somewhere (at Silverstone there are grass banks for this purpose). I'd strongly recommend a folding chair if you're going general admission.

Originally Posted by jprime84

Stay smart in choosing your location! There are too many youtube videos of parts of racecars flying into spectators who stood at the apex of a turn.

Spectating at any kind of motorsport is dangerous, but F1 is probably as safe as it comes. I think the last time a spectator was injured at an F1 race was that dreadful weekend at Imola, 1994. Things have improved a staggering amount since then.

[MattG]

Thanks for the advice and tips. I'll be going general admission and have been to the circuit in previous years. I remember that there are grass banks available at the end of the start/finish straight that afford a decent view. The chair sounds like great advice! Also around the back of the course is a golf course, though I suspect this is a hospitality zone at the moment.

I don't trust my Pentax (though I love the K10d overall!) with image noise with an ISO over 400 and any significant dark patches, so light might be might biggest restricting factor. Still, it should be a fun day.