Which Lens for capturing fast moving things?

[bud5uk]

Hi. Just wondering which zoom lense would be best for capturing fast moving cars and bikes? I have a Nikon D90 with a standard AF10-105 lens and a Tamron AF70-300 F4-5.6Di LD Macro 1:2 which seems ok but I would like a bit more Zoom and clearer pictures if possible..
Thanx in advance for any help..

[graciousness]

You'll find that the answers, probably, that you'll get here is this: that it's not about the lens but rather it's the technique in how you capture fast, moving objects.

So do you want to simply freeze a fast, moving object or do you want motion captured with the moving object as well by way of panning?

You see, it does not matter what kind of lens you have. If you don't know how to shoot a moving object, you can have the most expensive lens in the world and that will not help you.

Google how to do panning with moving objects (how to follow a fast moving object with your camera) and you'll get tons sites that will explain how to do this. I'm sorry I'm not the best qualified to tell you about this as I only know the concept and have barely practised it. Ah, better yet, go to the Critique section of this forum, then go to Sports and do some reading there. I bet you'll learn a lot from there.

Sorry for not giving a more technical advice. It's late and there are more qualified people who can help you with this.

Cheers,

Grace

[graciousness]

Aha! Found an article here in DPS that will help you! Phew!

Mastering Panning – Photographing Moving Subjects

[RichardTaylor]

It's mostly technique (and a long lens if you cant get close to the action).

You may find the how to shoot motor sport in this flickr learning group of interest.
Just scroll down to May 2010 for the individual topics.

Flickr: Discussing Table of Contents 2 in !afterclass! Black and White

[Biomech]

If you want affordable, look for something like a 70-200mm f2.8 lens, I have a Tamron for mine although I rarely use it.

The lower the aperture (F number), the bigger the hole ->
the bigger the hole, the more light gets in ->
the more light gets in the faster the shutter speed ->
the faster the shutter speed, the more crisp and "frozen" the image.

HTH

[3bayjunkie]

the 70-300 will work fine. Ive used it before for nikon.

[SwissJon]

Originally Posted by bud5uk

Hi. Just wondering which zoom lense would be best for capturing fast moving cars and bikes? I have a Nikon D90 with a standard AF10-105 lens and a Tamron AF70-300 F4-5.6Di LD Macro 1:2 which seems ok but I would like a bit more Zoom and clearer pictures if possible..
Thanx in advance for any help..

How much money do you have?

To get more reach, perhaps the Sigma 150-500?
Clearer pictures.. 70-200 f/2.8

Those will cost you between $1000 and $2500

And that's just the start of the money pit.. There are plenty of lenses out there that cost 3 to 5 times as much, and some even more than that..

In the photography world, clarity and high zoom are expensive comodities.

[bud5uk]

Thanx for all the advice... I've decided to keep on practising with the lens I have.. Hopefully I'll get there eventually..

[ceremus]

Agreed you can capture motion using any lens... Often you want a telephoto lens, and if you want to freeze your subject in an instant, it helps to have a faster lens, meaning one with a larger maximum aperture. You need higher shutter speeds to freeze action, so the more light your lens can let in the better.

If you want to do panning as described above, most any lens will do the job, usually telephoto lengths preferred. If you're looking at a stabilized lens for the task, check to see if it has a panning mode on its stabilizer. That means the stabilizer will only be engaged for vertical movement, and it won't interfere with you moving the lens from side to side while panning your shot.

[ccting]

400mm f/2.8 (+ lense converter?), 600mm f/4 can autofocus very fast ;D. I have seen a few experts using 600mm f/4 to capture racing car... but they look like allien for many people. I mean they capture racing cars,, and other ppl capture theirs.