70-200mm f/2.8 non-IS for car racing

I wrote a really nice post, lots of detail and humor, and when I clicked "Post" it gotten eaten up by the Server Unavailable error that hits these forums fairly frequently.


So, here is the condensed version:


I have the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 non-IS lens and I'm going to the 10 hour Petit Le Mans in 2 weeks. I have since read that while this is a great lens for human fast action sports events, the IS version might actually be better for auto racing since I would want to use a panning move.


I have a nice enough tripod, but the head is rather entry level, so, it's not the best for panning, though during the day I should be able to keep the camera pretty fast. I also have a monopod.


Any tips for shooting car races with this set-up?


Camera is a Canon T2i.

I also have the Canon 17-55mm kit lens with IS, so I would have an IS option available and with 18MP available, I'm sure I could do some cropping magic in Photoshop, but obviously, I want to put my 70-200mm to work.

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Originally Posted by count_schemula

I also have the Canon 17-55mm kit lens with IS, so I would have an IS option available and with 18MP available, I'm sure I could do some cropping magic in Photoshop, but obviously, I want to put my 70-200mm to work.
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Do you mean 18-55?

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Originally Posted by MattG

Do you mean 18-55?

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17-55, 18-55, what's the difference? Only 1 millimeter, right? Well, ok, 1 millimeter and a thousand dollars.


But in this case, it actually does make a difference - the cheap EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS kit lens has an IS system with automatic panning detection (an automatic mode 2 IS), whereas the excellent EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM, despite it's substantially better optical and build quality(and &gt;$1K price tag), does not feature a panning mode in its IS system.

I would suggest doing some test panning with the monopod to see if you can get clear shots using the 70-200 f/2.8 L under similar conditions. You might try shooting birds or even traffic. If the shots pass muster, then I think you're good to go with what you have.

Yes, lol, I did mean the cheapy EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS kit lens.


What is this automatic panning detection? Is it something I have to set up, or is it just how IS works on this lens?


More or less what is it doing?


Yeah, I think I will have to shoot traffic and see what results I get.


So, basically, I'm just looking to kind of pan the camera with the car?

Let me first say that I'm jealous that you will be atPetit Le Mans while I'm stuck watching it on TV. On topic I've used my 70-200 f/4 non is at the Rolex 24 &amp; homestead and I've been able to get some pretty decent panning shots though my keeper rate tends to be a little on the low side. I shot them all handheld since there are fences all around Daytona, I just went up in the stands and braced myself against the railing, started at a pretty fast shutter and kept clicking it down till I got to the point where they were blurry. Very trail and error but worth the effort in my opinion.

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Originally Posted by count_schemula

What is this automatic panning detection? Is it something I have to set up, or is it just how IS works on this lens?

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The latter. It's automatic on that lens.


Some lenses have a basic IS system which attempts to counteract any movement. With the worst of these, they'll attempt to over-compensate for movement that isn't natural for hand-holding, such as when mounted on a tripod. For these lenses it's suggested to disable IS when using a tripod, as the over-compensation can introduce blurriness.


The next grade of lenses with IS can detect that they're on a tripod and disable IS automatically. There is always the switch if you don't trust it, or if it's not working for you. When not on a tripod they attempt to counteract any movement just as the first kind does.


The third grade of lenses have 3 way switch, with off, mode 1, and mode 2. Mode 1 is like the above. Mode 2 dampens motion vertically, but allows for horizontal motion for panning. Set the switch to the appropriate mode.


The fourth grade is automatic mode 2. The lens determines you're moving in a panning motion or not, and automatically enables mode 2 when appropriate.


The latest IS mode is Hybrid IS, or HIS, which Canon has put on their latest 100mm f/2.8 L macro lens. This attempt to compensate not just for floaty sideways movements, but rotation as well.

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Originally Posted by DavidEccleston

The third grade of lenses have 3 way switch, with off, mode 1, and mode 2. Mode 1 is like the above. Mode 2 dampens motion vertically, but allows for horizontal motion for panning. Set the switch to the appropriate mode.

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Just to clarify, on lenses in your 'third grade' with an IS mode switch, when it's set to mode 2 it dampens motion in the direction orthogonal to the panning direction, regardless of what direction you are panning. So, it damps vertical shake if you're panning horizontally to follow a car or bird, damps horizontal shake if you're panning vertically to follow a rocket or a rising elevator on the exterior of a building, and also damps vertical shake if you are holding the camera in portrait orientation for framing reasons and panning horizontally (so the camera is 'vertical').


Here's what Canon has to say about their IS systems.

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Originally Posted by count_schemula

Any tips for shooting car races with this set-up?

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You should be fine with either the tripod or monopod and your 70-200. Or even without if you have a steady motion.


Tips: try panning a few times and see what settings work for you. Keep in mind that the cars at the track go a lot faster than the cars in the streets. It's very hard to get a nice panning effect while shooting street-movement. Anyway practice a lot. The slower the shutterspeed, the more panning-effect your picture gain, however the more tricky it gets [;)] Also the closer the background to your subject is, the greater the effect. And if you zoom in a bit, you can see the effect even more.


Here's some examples with the idea. And some settings that worked out for me during the amateur cycling part of a triathlon. Note that the keeper-rate isn't too high with these kind of shots.


http://www.actieinbeeld.nl/tdp/pan1.jpg


5D mark 2 with 24-105@ manual settings: 105mm f10 ISO100 1/100th and IS turned off.


http://www.actieinbeeld.nl/tdp/pan2.jpg


Same camera and lens @ Manual settings: 105mm f8 ISO100 1/160th and IS turned off.


I used manual mode for these shots, but TV works fine as well. Set the shutterspeed as you like it and let the camera sort out the aperture for you. Also note that I used fairly fast shutterspeeds, but since my background was against a forest it doesn't really matter. When you have obstacles like commercial signs etc in the background it's advisable to use a shutterspeed that wipes out the read-ability of these signs.


Anyway good luck!


Jan

I practiced this move over the weekend and it was a little harder than I had hoped with cars that were only going 50mph. I'm glad no one came up and around to ask me what I was doing. I felt a little like a spy or identity thief. Oddly, a police car was one of my few "keeper" shots, lol.


1. Turns out, my tripod does pan left to right fairly well. I set it up to swipe a particular region. At first I tried to pick a mark and swipe and fire at the mark. Not so great because you really do have to track the car. Then I tried to follow the car. Through the viewfinder was sketch. I have to wear stupid reading glasses now, and as a result, I really don't enjoy using the viewfinder anymore. So, I used Live View and that was more or less ok.


Do I really want to use my mono pod here? I'll try again, using my mono pod this time, but it seems like if I can get a decently smooth pan with my tripod that that is the way to go. Then again, the mono pod seems like a modified version of hand held, so, maybe that will be faster to track with.


2. Shutter speed was tricky. I found myself happiest around 1/60, or maybe even slower than that. The trick is to make it slow enough so that the background can blur. I imagine with race cars at full tilt, I will want to use a slightly faster shutter. I think the faster shutter will help me freeze the car a little bit, but at what cost to blurring my bg?


3. Keeper rate from this experiment was really low, like 3 out of 40. Tracking was hard enough on its own, then getting the car more or less well inside the frame, and then getting the pan right so that the car was actually sharp and in focus.


Thank goodness it's a 10 hour race.


Thanks for the help everyone. I have no pics to post, they were all pretty scrubby in the end.