p.1 #1 · Lenses to look at for automotive photography?
I'm looking at snagging an a7r IV or V (undecided yet, more on that down a bit) for automotive photography with some light landscape and maybe astro on the side. I'm not sure which lenses I should go and hunt for to pair with the Sony body st this time with so many options.
I really enjoy working with prime lenses since they typically CRAZY sharp and clear with a huge aperture. Given that I can crop in so much I would also be fine with a wider general purpose/travel lens as well (unless this crop in mode doesn't work as well as I think it would). I'm ok with zooms, but if I'm going to spend the money on that I'd prefer to get one on the better side (not top dollar, but a bit above middle of the road). I'm looking fir an overall list of potential good lenses so I can see how much I might be spending after selling/trading my current kit.
As for the a7rIV vs the a7rV, I'm very split between the two. It'd be nice to save some money with the IV, but my current camera has an articulating screen that I really love. While the V has a bunch of stuff I don't really "need", I feel like I could always trade down for the IV if I don't like the extras. Hard to decide which way to go, basically a more "future proof" camera or an extra lens now instead of later. Leaning towards the V, but might I be missing something here?
p.1 #4 · Lenses to look at for automotive photography?
mjeffv2 wrote:
Panning shots onbthe local race tracks and still outside shots (not so much interiors)
Unless you have a press pass with considerable control over your access and shooting location, you're likely going to need long zooms. Panning shots typically require narrow apertures unless you're planning to use ND filters. So again, fast primes may not be helpful.
For fast moving subjects like cars, a longer lens keeps the subject framing consistent for a longer time span than a shorter lens. The car's relative distance to you changes less rapidly when you are further away. For drags and road course straightaways, cars are moving ~100m/s. If you're only 200m away to start, the car halves the distance to you and doubles size in frame in one second. If you're 400m away, it takes 2 seconds to double (or halve) the subject size in frame. So you effectively have twice as much time to shoot.
I suggest basing your focal length choice(s) on how far or close you expect to be from the cars. Shorter lenses are more challenging to work with because you'll have such brief moments where the car fills the frame. A 100-400mm(-ish) range will probably be a good starting point. 70-200 if you can get close to the track. That would also be a nice size for pit row and off track portrait shots. 70-200 + 1.4x TC might be a good overall solution.
p.1 #5 · Lenses to look at for automotive photography?
jeffbuzz wrote:
Unless you have a press pass with considerable control over your access and shooting location, you're likely going to need long zooms. Panning shots typically require narrow apertures unless you're planning to use ND filters. So again, fast primes may not be helpful.
For fast moving subjects like cars, a longer lens keeps the subject framing consistent for a longer time span than a shorter lens. The car's relative distance to you changes less rapidly when you are further away. For drags and road course straightaways, cars are moving ~100m/s. If you're only 200m away to start, the car halves the distance to you and doubles size in frame in one second. If you're 400m away, it takes 2 seconds to double (or halve) the subject size in frame. So you effectively have twice as much time to shoot.
I suggest basing your focal length choice(s) on how far or close you expect to be from the cars. Shorter lenses are more challenging to work with because you'll have such brief moments where the car fills the frame. A 100-400mm(-ish) range will probably be a good starting point. 70-200 if you can get close to the track. That would also be a nice size for pit row and off track portrait shots. 70-200 + 1.4x TC might be a good overall solution....Show more →
Wow lots of good technical stuff there! Thankfully the stuff I'm doing is just local SCCA events so I get really close, right up to the wall or the cones with a spotter.
p.1 #6 · Lenses to look at for automotive photography?
Do you think you'd still be able to frame properly without the articulating screen? If so just go with the riv, the only major upside for you maybe the ai focus which can focus on cars which might make it easier for you to get more in focus shots, as well as the improved ibis and finally the articulating screen.
p.1 #8 · Lenses to look at for automotive photography?
For static shots in crowded areas I really like the 20mm f/1.8 G. The short minimum focus distance lets me get in close to the cars. I can reduce the number of people or exclude people visible yet still get the whole car in the shot.
p.1 #9 · Lenses to look at for automotive photography?
I use a 35 GM/ 135 GM for static shots (auction listings and private shoots) and lightweight trackside carry.
24-70 / 70-200 (with 1.4tc if needed) are also great with a bit more versatility. If you're doing mostly slow shutter pans, you could get away with the F4 variations as you're probably going to be bumping up to f16 or f22 depending on light. (ND filters are your friend on sunny days)
The 200-600 is also pretty versatile, but big. Without trackside access you're also more likely to end up with a lot of atmospheric distortion as you're shooting over grass, tarmac, fences and rails, more tarmac, some gravel, etc.
For what it's worth, I do most of my race shooting with an a9 now as the blackout free screen made a huge difference (for me) in tracking while dragging the shutter. The 7r4 will be fine as the I don't think the AI AF stuff will make a difference for cars, I pre-focus for the pans anyway and it does just fine with oncoming acquisition.
p.1 #10 · Lenses to look at for automotive photography?
ajmiller32 wrote:
I use a 35 GM/ 135 GM for static shots (auction listings and private shoots) and lightweight trackside carry.
24-70 / 70-200 (with 1.4tc if needed) are also great with a bit more versatility. If you're doing mostly slow shutter pans, you could get away with the F4 variations as you're probably going to be bumping up to f16 or f22 depending on light. (ND filters are your friend on sunny days)
The 200-600 is also pretty versatile, but big. Without trackside access you're also more likely to end up with a lot of atmospheric distortion as you're shooting over grass, tarmac, fences and rails, more tarmac, some gravel, etc.
For what it's worth, I do most of my race shooting with an a9 now as the blackout free screen made a huge difference (for me) in tracking while dragging the shutter. The 7r4 will be fine as the I don't think the AI AF stuff will make a difference for cars, I pre-focus for the pans anyway and it does just fine with oncoming acquisition....Show more →
Good to know, thanks! Does the rV also have the blackout issue?
p.1 #11 · Lenses to look at for automotive photography?
I tried auto racing for the first time a few months ago. I found myself dragging the shutter and relying on mode 2 image stabilization with my 100-400mm GM for my panning shots a lot. There was definitely a learning curve and I have more to learn (thanks Jeffbuzz for the info). I got a bunch of keepers but I shot a couple thousand pics lol. From what I hear, the Sony 70-200mm GMII, plus TC, would be great but that's a more expensive combo than the already expensive 100-400 GM. Some shots were at 100mm but the zoom throw on the 100-400 GM is so long and slow that it robbed me of enjoying the experience as much as I otherwise could have.
p.1 #12 · Lenses to look at for automotive photography?
Using a tripod and ND filters and/or multiple shots and/or stacking (preferably median stacking) can help to "eliminate" people in static shots. There were lots of people walking around this car when I took the shot:
p.1 #14 · Lenses to look at for automotive photography?
I guess you mean you take a lot of shots and combine them together so that hopefully each person shot is also covered by another shot when the space occupied by a person is clear, resulting in a final combined shot without any people?
p.1 #15 · Lenses to look at for automotive photography?
Robin Smith wrote:
I guess you mean you take a lot of shots and combine them together so that hopefully each person shot is also covered by another shot when the space occupied by a person is clear, resulting in a final combined shot without any people?
Yes, that is what I mean. Take e.g. 4 shots with a strong (or even a combination of) ND filter(s) (in the example above I used ND 400x and ND 64x = ND 25.600x) and combine the shots in a stack.
