Hi fellow DPP fanatics!

I have a wonderful opportunity this coming week.
I will be attending the F1 race in Shanghai as part of Shell's entourage. A day after the race, I will find myself on my way to South Africa for an 8 day vacation.
What luck, and at the same time, what a dilemma. :BlackEye: :Thinking: :Grin:

I've recently taken up photography as a hobby, and like most newbies, I have very limited equipment.

I'm going into both adventures with a 350D in hand and my cousin's (famed DPP moderator, Nino Carandang) 70-200 IS.
I'll be mating that particular combo with a SIGMA 2X tele con.

Do hope you could help me out with my numerous questions.
1. Since the IS will be mated to a 2X tele con, will the resultant F5.6 be too slow for the F1 race (I will be sitting right across the Ferrari pit and the Finish line)?
2. Will the resulting 640mm (1.6x200x2) be long enough, or should I go splurge for a prime 300 F4, then mate it with a 1.4 tele con (resulting into an F5.6, 672mm IS gun)? I'm reluctant to get the 300 F4 since I think this will be the only time a 300 will be of use to me. Am I wrong?
3. I've read the panning thread, and I've tried panning shots based on the recommendations in that thread. I've had little success with jeepneys and motorbikes. How will I be able to catch a 300mph car?
4. For anyone who's been to Africa, is the F5.6 too slow to catch the animals in action? Any tips on what to bring, and the things to leave behind? (Should I or shouldn't I bring my flash, my laptop, etc)
5. Finally, any tips for both trips will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks to all in advance. :Grin:

Rob

F1 weekend is super fun!!!
Get into the Paddock Club if you can. Get a pitwalk while you're at it.
Enjoy!

hay you lucky ones! :D

I'm not sure where you'll be seated, but I think f/5.6 and a high shutter is need to catch F1 cars in action. But then again, being part of the Shell entourage, shooting with an ultra wide at the pit will provide more drama than frozen-speeding cars.

As for the 300/4, I think you'd need really loooooong lenses for safari shots don't you? I'd rather shoot wild lions from like 10 million kilometers away. :)

F1 weekend is super fun!!!
Get into the Paddock Club if you can. Get a pitwalk while you're at it.
Enjoy!

Hi Ria, thanks for the tip.
Stupid question to follow:
What's the Paddock Club?
Can anyone just go into the Paddock club?
Is a Pitwalk exactly what it means? Do I get to walk through the pit stop?
When can I get a Pitwalk? I'm sure it won't be during the practice sessions.
Can anyone just do that?

My itenerary only includes the Gala Dinner and entry to the practice sessions.
Not really sure if I can get all the way in to the pitlane.

Please erase my ignorance. :Grin:

I'm not sure where you'll be seated, but I think f/5.6 and a high shutter is need to catch F1 cars in action. But then again, being part of the Shell entourage, shooting with an ultra wide at the pit will provide more drama than frozen-speeding cars.

As for the 300/4, I think you'd need really loooooong lenses for safari shots don't you? I'd rather shoot wild lions from like 10 million kilometers away. :)

Hey Jerry, you got that right! I wouldn't want to feed a hyena pack anytime soon.
By the way, do you think I can be able to go into the pit? Is the kit lens (18-55) ok na for the pit shots you mentioned?

Rob

Rob, my answers below...

Hi fellow DPP fanatics!
1. Since the IS will be mated to a 2X tele con, will the resultant F5.6 be too slow for the F1 race (I will be sitting right across the Ferrari pit and the Finish line)?

Since the F1 races are in bright, sunny conditions this is not too slow. I would suggest shooting at shutter priority though.

2. Will the resulting 640mm (1.6x200x2) be long enough, or should I go splurge for a prime 300 F4, then mate it with a 1.4 tele con (resulting into an F5.6, 672mm IS gun)? I'm reluctant to get the 300 F4 since I think this will be the only time a 300 will be of use to me. Am I wrong?

I am with you that if you are going to use a 300 F/4 just for this particular time, then don't get it. If you have other uses for a 300 F/4 then invest in one. But if you will use it for just this purpose, save your money.

3. I've read the panning thread, and I've tried panning shots based on the recommendations in that thread. I've had little success with jeepneys and motorbikes. How will I be able to catch a 300mph car?

Practice, practice, and practice.

4. For anyone who's been to Africa, is the F5.6 too slow to catch the animals in action? Any tips on what to bring, and the things to leave behind? (Should I or shouldn't I bring my flash, my laptop, etc)

I don't think 5.6 is too slow. Bring a hat (not a baseball cap), and sunscreen lotion. :)

5. Finally, any tips for both trips will be greatly appreciated.

Get a Canon 2x instead of a Sigma.

You'd be amazed at how close the animals come to you. The animals generally ignore you bec they think you are part of a large vehicle. We had lions come within 6 feet of us. Of course these are still wild animals. That means no waving and no bright colored shirts.

I used a 75-300 IS and it worked just fine. 300 F4IS with 1.4x TC would of course be more than ideal. 2x TC might degrade your image quality.

Some of my photos: http://www.pbase.com/berckcheng/african_wildlife

Hi fellow DPP fanatics!

I have a wonderful opportunity this coming week.
I will be attending the F1 race in Shanghai as part of Shell's entourage. A day after the race, I will find myself on my way to South Africa for an 8 day vacation.
What luck, and at the same time, what a dilemma. :BlackEye: :Thinking: :Grin:

I've recently taken up photography as a hobby, and like most newbies, I have very limited equipment.

I'm going into both adventures with a 350D in hand and my cousin's (famed DPP moderator, Nino Carandang) 70-200 IS.
I'll be mating that particular combo with a SIGMA 2X tele con.

Do hope you could help me out with my numerous questions.
1. Since the IS will be mated to a 2X tele con, will the resultant F5.6 be too slow for the F1 race (I will be sitting right across the Ferrari pit and the Finish line)?
2. Will the resulting 640mm (1.6x200x2) be long enough, or should I go splurge for a prime 300 F4, then mate it with a 1.4 tele con (resulting into an F5.6, 672mm IS gun)? I'm reluctant to get the 300 F4 since I think this will be the only time a 300 will be of use to me. Am I wrong?
3. I've read the panning thread, and I've tried panning shots based on the recommendations in that thread. I've had little success with jeepneys and motorbikes. How will I be able to catch a 300mph car?
4. For anyone who's been to Africa, is the F5.6 too slow to catch the animals in action? Any tips on what to bring, and the things to leave behind? (Should I or shouldn't I bring my flash, my laptop, etc)
5. Finally, any tips for both trips will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks to all in advance. :Grin:

Rob

Hello Rob... Lucky you... I'm green with envy actually...

Hope this will help...

1. F/5.6 will be fast enough because you will be shooting outdoors... My concern actually is... will the Sigma telecon works with the Canon IS? I've used a sigma 2X telecon before and honestly it suck... I would rather recommend the 1.7X...
Use the fastest shutter and the lowest ISO possible... That is if you want clear sharp F1 cars as if they were parked right in front of you... Nothing wrong with it, though it could look a bit static... With fast shutter speeds, you need to be a bit more imaginative in your composition.... I would recommend you buy some back issues of F1 magazine to give you some ideas. Buy the issue with Mark Webber on the cover, it features an article about some F1 fotogs.

2. Practice panning, it's hard to master but... practice,practice and more practice... Use a shutter speed of about 1/60th on the straights and 1/30th at the corners but i would recommend shooting from the corners because obviously the cars are a lot more slower there. Don't forget to set the IS button to off when you're panning or set it to 1 or is it 2, im not sure

3. Bring a wide- angle lens if you can. Use your time in the paddocks for a more personal shots of the drivers.

4. Don't confine yourself at a single location... walk around...

Hope this helps!!! By the way, do you need an assistant?

ooohhhh! I envy you. I wish i had your dilemma.:Grin:

Definitely practice your panning shots for the F1. The pp's gave a lot of good suggestions. May I add that you dont rely on your LCD screen for checking your exposures? I had a horrible experience when I first used a new DSLR and relied on the LCD. Everything looked perfect until I downloaded the files and the images were underexposed by 1 stop. :Shock: (Thank God I shoot in RAW) If you can, bracket your exposures (1 stop increments) and of course the rule of thumb, shoot in RAW. I have never been to F1 race (my sister has in Barcelona) I think that they supply you with earplugs for the loud noise but just in case, it wont hurt to bring an extra pair. HTH:)

Don't forget to post your images when you get back!!

Good luck Rob! We'll be monitoring your moves right here in command headquarters... :D

hmmm... good questions cuz.

1. i think the 5.6 aperture is more than enough to shoot the f1 race. do put your camera in shutter priority, as was mentioned in an earlier post. 1/500 - 1/1000?

2. shoot in raw.

3. you may want to splurge to buy the 300mm lens. that way, you can join the birding group also. lol

4. most of your shoots, both africa and f1, will be during broad daylight. so i don't think you need the flash. although an epson p2000 will be a good buy instead of having to bring a laptop also.

5. you have 2 days left. you're leaving on thursday right? so, buy what ever you need na.

6. bring a wide angle lens. and two bodies if possible to the f1. so you won't change lenses and miss some good moments.

7. bring home some good photos.

Get the 300 :) you don't get an excuse to splurge on photo gear often :) hehe
And If ever you see some nice creature action in africa from a distance you'd probably wish you got it.

Hey guys, thanks for all your comments.


To those who suggested that I get a Canon Tele Con....there's no stock in Manila.
I'll have to wait a couple of months if I order through B&H. No time, that's why I had to go with SIGMA. Nino and I actually had a really hard time looking for a Canon Tele.
Maybe next time, I can get the Canon 1.4 instead.

Nino, I knew you'd suggest the 300. No way. I'll stick to Nono's suggestion and save my money. I'll have to borrow your P2000 for the meantime.

@Earl, Pilar, thanks for the vote of confidence. I'm not sure if my photos are worth posting here, much lessmy blurred shots of half F1 cars. Hehehe.

Funny thing is....I'll miss the end of the race. I need to get back to Manila on October 1, in time for my flight to SA. To do that, I need to leave the race track halfway through the race. All I'm hoping for is for shots of: 1. Line-up, 2. Pit crew in prep to receive the car, 3. Cornering, 4. Overtaking (wishful thinking), 5. Finally, the man who's about to retire. Too bad I can't expect to shoot him on the podium. I'll be on a plane by then.

To anyone out there in DPP land who wants to lend me their gear....just PM me, or send them to Shell House in Makati.....please?!?

il let you borrow my markiin and epson p2000.

you will enjoy the f1 race its an amazing experience. ive been to two and i cannot describe the experience. make sure you walk around to the end of the straights so you can take shots of those f1 cars breaking from 300 to 20. also bring a wideangle lens. its imperative that tyou take the scenery around you especially the crowd. youl see all sorts of people like the tifosis and other die hard racing groups. make sure you take pics of the f1 babes as well

as fro south africa, never been but its a dream of mine. looking forward to the pics

If you're a F1 fanatic, I suggest you drop your camera and enjoy the ride. :Grin:

When I watched F1 at Sepang this year I had no intention of shooting. I just wanted to watch Kimi race. Well, it turned out to be an unlucky day for me. Kimi retired very early(not even 1 lap. So I had to pick up my cam and shoot instead.

I was using a Canon 300D and Sigma 70-300 APO back then. Not bad but it would have been better if you had a longer lens and a teleconverter.

Here's one of my shots...

http://www.digitalphotographer.com.ph/forum/showthread.php?t=1349

Enjoy the trip whatever it may be! :)

Hi guys,

Just got back from a very hectic two weeks.
The trip was superb!!!
Aside from Michael winning in China, I also had a wonderful time in South Africa.

I'm not really sure how long it will take me to post some of my pictures. I guess it all depends if Nino has the time to help me out. he's very busy these days.

Regarding the expereince as well as the environment while I was in China:
It was a horrible day to shoot. The skies were grey and rarely stopped raining. To top it all off, I had to go midway through the race in order to catch my flight home. I had to listen to the race on the radio. Unfortunately, the broadcast was in Chinese, so I had no idea what was happening. All I know is that Michael won the race.

It was really challenging to shoot during that day. I was hoping for sunny weather so that I wouldn't have to bump up my ISO settings. Too bad, the whole day was gloomy. I went on to shoot with the 70-200 IS + 2X Sigma combination, having anywhere from 400 to 800 ISO. All in all, I am pretty happy with the pictures that I took.

I was able to see 3 races in Shanghai. There was the Porsche race as well as the Formula BMW race, before the main F1 race began. There is one particular gadget that I believe every budding photo enthusiast should have in his/her camera bag.
This is the extremely impressive EPSON P2000. I swear this will be the gadget that will keep you clicking long after the day is done. It is really impressive. One should never go into a shoot without it.

Anyway, hope Nino would read this and post at least 2-3 of the pist I took. Cuz, make sure you choose the nice ones ha!
Thanks in advance.

Thanks for sharing your exprience, Rob. I wish I could someday watch and photograph a race, too.

Btw, from where were you shooting?

Welcome back Rob! I'm glad that you had an awesome trip. Too bad you weren't able to finish the race to take a photo of Michael on the Podium. Anyway, can't wait for you to post your photos! :)

@Raffy
We sat right across the pitlane of Renault. Right in line with the 11th and 12th placed starters. If we were talking about Araneta Coliseum, we were probably at the Upper Box section. A little nearer than the gallery section and a bit farther than the Lower Box section (hehehe, forgive me for the PBA comparison, that's the only way I could describe it accurately : )

@Louie
Really disappointing. All I could hear from the radio was "blah, blah, blah, Schumacher!!! Schumacher!!!, blah, blah, Schumacher!!! Schumacher!!!" This was about the time that Schumi got past the pitting Alonso.
It was all in Chinese, and I couldn't understand a word, except for Schumacher!!!
By the way the commentator was shouting, you'd think he was climaxing, or something. Hehehe. They really love Schumi there in China.

I have a very interesting picture of Schumi and Alonso together during the float parade, hope that's enough payback for not being able to take a podium pic.
I'm sure we'll get to see some of my pics really soon. I'm really excited as well. Thanks for the greetings guys!

Rob

Cuz, here are some of your images.

http://www.ncarandang.com/f1/9346.jpg

http://www.ncarandang.com/f1/8924.jpg

http://www.ncarandang.com/f1/9362.jpg

Thank you dearest cousin.
Great shot of the Renault, if I do say so myself : ) hehehe

Cuz, here are some of your images.

http://www.ncarandang.com/f1/9346.jpg

[

.........classic!

Amazing! :) Schumi schumi schumi! :) Now some wildlife! :)

This is a great shot! Di lang ako fan ng renault. hehehe :Grin:

Cuz, here are some of your images.
http://www.ncarandang.com/f1/9362.jpg

Thank you dearest cousin.
Great shot of the Renault, if I do say so myself : ) hehehe

I agree with you. :)

@Louie
Really disappointing. All I could hear from the radio was "blah, blah, blah, Schumacher!!! Schumacher!!!, blah, blah, Schumacher!!! Schumacher!!!" This was about the time that Schumi got past the pitting Alonso.
It was all in Chinese, and I couldn't understand a word, except for Schumacher!!!
By the way the commentator was shouting, you'd think he was climaxing, or something. Hehehe. They really love Schumi there in China.


Hahaha...I'm sure I'll be disappointed as well if I was in the same situation! :D I'm a Schumi fan as well! :)

By the way, those are great photos! Love the Renault shot! :)

This is Felipe Massa right?

Cuz, here are some of your images.

http://www.ncarandang.com/f1/9346.jpg

Melvin, yup, that's Massa alright.
Like I said, we were positioned right in-line with the middle of the pack.
This is the only shot I could take of the Ferrari standing still, since MSs Ferrari was too far away.

Thanks for the kind words guys.
I'll pester Nino some more to place some more pics.....or I could learn to do it myself, hehehe.

Melvin, yup, that's Massa alright.
Like I said, we were positioned right in-line with the middle of the pack.
This is the only shot I could take of the Ferrari standing still, since MSs Ferrari was too far away.

Thanks for the kind words guys.
I'll pester Nino some more to place some more pics.....or I could learn to do it myself, hehehe.

Lets edit some tonight. Safari or F1?

Really small pics - I think I read the "How to post" thread wrong. Anyway.....
http://static.flickr.com/114/291285458_d82bd7beb8.jpg?v=0
He won!!!

http://static.flickr.com/105/291285457_691cad442c.jpg?v=0
Helmets!!!

http://static.flickr.com/122/291285459_b9304a0f97.jpg?v=0
Schumi with Alonso

http://static.flickr.com/115/291285454_67c3c5f387.jpg?v=0
Brakes!

http://static.flickr.com/112/291285455_c1b68f4200.jpg?v=0
Safety muna

Hope you like them!