How to Shoot Cars: All The Gear, Some Idea?
The hardware

Between Larry and myself, we’ve pretty much covered everything you need to know about shooting cars. The one thing we’ve purposely left until – almost – the end, is to talk a little bit about the equipment we use to hunt speed. Reason being, we don’t want people becoming bogged down with thoughts like ‘If I don’t have X lens, I can’t take good pictures’. This is of course, complete and utter nonsense. I could give Larry my camera phone, send him away to shoot a car and he’ll come back with better results than an amateur with the best camera equipment money can buy. The most important part of any camera is the twelve inches or so behind the viewfinder.

The purpose of this particular guide will be to show you the benefits and drawbacks of particular pieces of equipment, some maintenance tips and to help you identify what equipment will benefit you the most with your next purchase. For the purpose of clarity, all of the following equipment is my own, which I’ve bought with my own money over the best part of the last decade.

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At any particular event, I’ll usually bring three camera bodies with me. It may seem like overkill, but let me explain why. The first of the three is my Canon 7D. This camera is usually used for ‘hero’ work (i.e. suction-mounted to the exterior of moving cars). It offers fantastic value for money in that it’s a hugely capable camera in its own right and can be picked up second hand for reasonable money. Another advantage is its fast autofocus and 1.6X crop sensor. The latter of which extends any lens’ reach by a factor of 1.6 (a 100mm lens becomes a 160mm lens for example) whilst retaining the same maximum aperture. This comes in handy at particularly large race venues where I may want to extend my lens’ range without using a teleconverter.

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I shoot the bulk of my action work on my Canon 1D MKIII. At 1.3x crop, it gives me a great balance of  that little bit of extra reach but with a larger sensor for superior image quality. It’s also built like a tank and can take pretty much anything you could throw at it. Its party piece is its ability to shoot at 10 frames per second. I’m not a spray and pray sort of person, but knowing that ability is there is a huge comfort.

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My main work camera is my Canon 5D MKIII. I honestly couldn’t live without this camera. Its full-frame sensor (check out the mirror size in each camera for a guide as to the size of each camera’s sensor) produces the most beautiful images. Its ability to handle noise is mind-blowing and it’s a tough SOB to boot. I actually dropped this camera before the Grand Prix at Spa last year and split the casing clean in two. Some electrical tape and glue and it performed like a champ for the full race weekend. Of course, once back in the UK I had it re-bodied by Canon but it’s a testament to its build quality that it could take such a bang and keep working without issues.

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Obviously modern DSLRs are reliant on electricity. In saying that, they’re quite good on batteries, provided you don’t chimp on the rear screen too often. As a recent example, I’ve still something like 40% battery left on the 5D MKIII’s batteries after shooting three feature cars, two workshop visits and all the images for this post. I always bring spares with me though – even one extra battery could be the difference between getting that shot or going home early. I personally recommend sticking with official batteries made by the camera maker.

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Seeing as most DSLRs are worth quite a lot of money, it’s in your best interest to ensure they’re kept in the best possible condition. Although most modern cameras have a built-in sensor cleaning system – which usually vibrates the sensor to remove dust – particles of dust can still stubbornly attach themselves to it. For most people, the idea of manually cleaning your sensor is a terrifying prospect. They’re very delicate and using the wrong materials or equipment can render your camera as an expensive paperweight rather quickly.

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Most of the Speedhunters team won’t have the time to constantly visit a store or service centre to have their sensor cleaned (especially during an event), so we need to do it ourselves. More often than not, a rocket blower will remove most of the dust inside. For anything more stubborn, I use a VisibleDust Magic Butterfly. It’s simply a brush with extremely soft and fine bristles attached to a small motor. Prior to using it, you switch on the motor which spins the brush and creates a static charge on the bristles. You then simply turn the motor off, and carefully run the brush across your sensor. The statically charged bristles then pull any dirt off the sensor. It’s a genius solution which removes 95% of sensor dust. Don’t try using a regular brush though as you will damage the sensor. The grey object is a loupe with LED lights for inspecting the sensor before and after.

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You’ll often get dirt appearing in your viewfinder too. Don’t worry though as it’s only cosmetic and won’t appear on your image as it’s only on the camera’s mirror system. Should you want to clean it, use a blower. Don’t rub or brush it as the autofocus system depends on the mirrors to be perfectly positioned for accurate focusing. If you get overeager with a brush or a swab, you can shift the mirror and end up with lots of out of focus shots in the future. If there’s something stubborn in there, bring it to a professional.

The glass
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There’s no point in having the best camera body in the world, unless you have the lenses to make the most of it. I’ve always told anyone who has ever asked, to invest your budget in good lenses over good bodies. You could easily keep and use a good lens indefinitely, whereas you could change bodies every couple of years. If you’re not in the market for expensive lenses, you can still use this part of the guide to give you an idea as to what each focal length or lens’ speciality is.

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I’m going to go through all of my current lenses, starting with the widest focal length first. The 17-40 f/4 L is Canon’s lightest lens – the last time I checked anyway. For an L lens, which uses Canon’s best quality glass, they can be purchased for reasonable enough money. There’s particularly good value in them secondhand too. Although its maximum aperture opening is only f/4, I didn’t need the benefit of f/2.8 on its more expensive sibling, the 16-35 f/2.8 L.

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On a full-frame camera, it’s a wide lens without being fish-eyed or heavily distorted. Because it’s so wide, you don’t really get the benefit of the shallow depth of field that you would with say a 35mm or 50mm+ lens. This photograph was shot wide open at f/4 and you can see that it’s pretty much sharp from front to back.

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Whilst I never really consider the 24-105 f/4 L IS as my favourite lens, it is the dark horse of my camera bag. For some reason, I always end up using this lens when shooting feature cars as it’s spectacularly sharp, especially when it’s stopped down to around f/7.1 and beyond.

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Its versatility is amazing. It’s just such a reliable piece of glass that has never let me down. I would love to try a 24-70 f/2.8 in its place in the future, but I’m in no rush. It really is one lens to do it all.

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This is probably my favourite lens: the 35mm f/1.4 L. Its focal length is just perfect for most uses, it’s discreet, it’s light and it can practically allow you to shoot in complete darkness.

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When coupled with a full-frame camera, the results are always impressive. It’s quite a traditional focal length, always seeming to be just what you need in most situations.

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Where the 24-105 is the one lens to shoot everything in the paddock, the 70-200 f/2.8 L IS is the motorsport lens of choice for trackside work. So it doesn’t have the reach of its elder prime lens brothers, but it more than makes up for it with its versatile usability.

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It’s the first lens that should be on any wannabe motorsport photographer’s shopping list. You will be tempted by cheaper imitations or the lesser f/4 version, but resistance is futile as you’ll just end up buying it at some stage in the future regardless. There’s no other lens that comes close to the 70-200 as the backbone of any serious photographer’s camera bag.

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The 85mm f/1.2 L is a complete and utter extravagance of a lens. It’s heavy and slow to focus. And I mean SLOW. Its minimum focusing distance is almost laughable but once it locks on, it will absolutely blow you away.

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Even wide open at f/1.2, within the mere millimetres of its depth of field, it’s razor sharp. Anything that falls outside of this area of focus, is lost in the most beautiful bokeh you will ever see. It’s a lens that will both frustrate you and inspire you in equal measure.

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At almost half the cost of the 85mm L, is the 135mm f/2 L. I honestly don’t know how Canon offer this lens for what they do, because it should be double the price it is. I’m finding less and less use for it these days, but when I dust it off and use it, I’m usually left speechless and kicking myself for not using it more often.

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Like the 85mm, its ability to separate subject and background is unrivalled. Get on your belly with this lens on your camera and you can instantly make anything look good when shooting from low down. It’s also one of those special lenses that just seems to be tack sharp, all the time. I will say that the 70-200, purely for its convenience, often gets picked over the 85mm and 135mm. That’s more laziness than anything though and something I’m aiming to resolve this year.

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The longest of my lenses, and the most expensive piece of camera equipment I own is my 300mm f/2.8 L IS. For most of the Irish and UK circuits, it’s the perfect long range prime lens.

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Even using a 1.4x converter, it remains superbly sharp and fast to focus. I would say that it’s more versatile than a 400mm. It’s certainly easier to carry about due to being around seven thousand tonnes lighter. Armed with a 70-200 on one body, the 300mm on a second body and a 1.4x in my pocket, I would be confident walking trackside at any circuit in the world that I would have more than enough to deal with what was happening in front of me.

Take a fool’s advice
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Like your camera bodies, your lenses need care too. I try to shoot with filters where appropriate (usually circular polarisers) to protect the front element. To remove any dirt that does makes it through, I usually go with the routine of blower, then a light brush, cleaning solution, lens pen and a micro fibre cloth to finish. It’s a simple series of steps that have served me well over the years.

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On the subject of filters, I honestly don’t think you can shoot cars without a circular polariser. They can control reflections on any reflective surface and also boost contrast in an image. For what is a simple piece of glass, their impact cannot be underestimated. Avoid cheap ones like the plague however, as they will cause you more grief than anything else with image softness.

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Memory cards are another area you should do your research on beforehand. I’ve never had a bad experience with SanDisk so have stuck by them. It’s a good habit to format a card to your camera before you start shooting as this reduces the chances of a card corrupting.

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Whilst I rarely shoot with flash these days – I’m still learning and want to improve first – I always keep two Speedlites and a full compliment of PocketWizard radio triggers in my camera bag. Just recently, they got me out of a massive hole, when I got stuck indoors shooting a car due to a storm. It’s one of those things where sometimes it’s better to have and not need, than to need and not have. You can put together a small strobist kit for really cheap nowadays, so it doesn’t need to be a big expense for you.

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One of those small tips that nobody ever tells you about, until something belonging to you has been accidentally re-appropriated by someone else, is to label everything! I didn’t have a label-making machine when I had this realisation but I did have a nifty gold marker pen. I’ve initialed and labelled all my lens and body caps along with any batteries to ensure someone else doesn’t take them in error. When you’re in a press room and everyone dumps their gear in the middle of the table, it’s a common occurrence for mix-ups to occur. Don’t be a victim of lens cap loss!

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It’ll only be from your own experiences that you will learn what you need to have with you at all times when shooting. Certain things are obvious whilst others aren’t.

I’ve amassed my equipment over quite a long time and by doing so in a relatively logical order. I know it can be intimidating to someone who is just starting out, looking at really expensive equipment and thinking do I really need all that stuff? The answer is both yes and no. If you want to pursue a career in photography, then you will likely be investing large sums of money in your equipment. But you’ll also be using this equipment to make a living, so it works both ways. On the other hand, if you just want to enjoy photography as a hobby, you don’t need anything more than a simple point-and-shoot camera. It really is up to you how serious you want to take things, but remember to keep in mind why you started taking pictures: for the joy it brings.

For next month’s guide, we would like you to send in some photography-related questions that we can try and answer for you. Maybe there’s something that we’ve not covered or an area that you’d like some further clarification on. Either way, post them in the comments section below.

For all previous photography guide posts, you can visit the links at the bottom of this article.

Safe shooting.

Paddy McGrath
Twitter: @PaddyMcGrathSH
Instagram: speedhunters_paddy
paddy@speedhunters.com

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1

I lust after the 135mm f2, but I'm afraid I'll do the same and reach for the 70-200 more often. You're absolutely right with caving and eventually getting the 70-200 2.8 after owning the f4 too, I did exactly that last week when picking up my shiny new 5DIII :)

2

At the risk of sounding like a hipster, I would encourage photographers on a tight budget to consider manual focus prime lenses for the telephotos.

Hear me out:
1. They are really cheap. A Super Takumar 135 mm f/3.5 goes for about US$60 on ebay. Add an adapter so that the ancient fitting can attach to your camera: US$10.



2. It may be old, but optical design for prime lenses hasn't changed much over the decades. So the image quality is already very very good.


3. It's manual focus, but you can use your camera's AF detector to let you know when you've hit the right focus. So that takes the guesswork out.

4. On tracks, you don't need fast focusing anyway. You know the line which cars will take, focus on that spot, wait for the car. Track the car with your camera, and fire away when the distance is in range.

5. The manual aperture also makes you more aware of the aperture setting.

6. The manual focus is a bit cumbersome if you're not used to it, so you need pre-plan your work. It trains you to think ahead and anticipate what kind of shot will be good, rather than just waiting and reacting to whatever comes.

3

Twelve inches? Show off....

4

Hi Paddy, good write up as always Sir, we've spoken in the past and swapped info, but from this article what would you say is a good lens per-say for CQB - I'm talking the types of battles in the close confines of car shows indoors/outdoors and you've got limited distance from the subject? and maybe something that can double as a portrait/interview lens for my 6D?

I'm covered more on the length side at track, but need a little help in this area. Would you feel the covered 35mm f/1.4L, or maybe 85mm f/1.2 L could do the job.. What would your thoughts be on these two lens for these uses be both for my feedback and for the others reading?
Cheers.

5

Wait...I have a Nikon, that's why all my car pictures suck! hahaha
thx for the advice, very helpful as usual ;)

Author6

gsrwrc  I was shooting today and made the conscious effort to use the 135, but ended up reverted to the 70-200 again. There's just something about the 70-200's IQ that is just unbeatable.

Author7

tanyeewei  That doesn't sound hipster at all, it's great advice! I learned to shoot motorsport on film with manual focus and whilst it's certainly more difficult, I think it stands to you in the long run.

Author8

RossJukes  How do you use your camera?!

Author9

Roughsmoke  I would recommend a 35mm or 24mm f/1.4 for this sort of work. The 85mm is too cumbersome for the bulk of show work IMO, especially with its poor minimum focusing distance. 

I've not regretted buying the 35mm.

Author10

koko san  Glad you enjoyed it. I think I said this before but once you're in with a reputable manufacturer, it doesn't really matter which one it is. I still think Canon / Nikon are miles ahead of the rest but I think linhbergh might disagree with me!

11

Paddy, great article as always. Your guides have tutored me in the world of automotive photography so I'm slowly learning the ropes. Thanks and keep up the great work! http://bit.ly/RDPhotographyFB

12

Which body the Porsche 70-200 image shot with? 7D, I assume?

Author13

avidworks  The EXIF should be intact, pretty sure it was with the 1D3.

Author14

Delaney9n3  Great to read comments like this :)

Author15

Don't forget everyone to post your questions below for Larry & I to answer next month!

16

Having just invested in a 7D and a 70-200 f2.8 USM, I'm really looking forward to the next Gatebil show.
Since I'm not spectaculary rich I had to get the non-IS, but I really don't think I'll need it with shutter around 1/80.
'What do you guys think?

Also have the 17-40 f/4 for walking amongst the cars.

17

PaddyMcGrath avidworks  How do you view the exifs. I've been wanting to do that on quite a few pics lately. Awesome write up by the way.

18

tanyeewei I too learned to shoot in the days of manual focus.  I have yet to sink deep money into an autofocus long zoom.  I stunned all the young pups at the last drift day I went to, when I whipped out the manual focus 80-200 and started shooting.   I still carry a 50mm 1.4 in manual and a 24mm 1.8 in manual as well.

19

Awesome article man!

Interesting to hear you say that the cheaper polarisers cause soft focus issues, i have been recently questioning my own 7d when used with the 70-200mm 2.8 Mk II for focusing on anything further than 160mm as it causes some seriously soft images. I will definitely be looking at removing my cheaper polariser to see if that is indeed my issue. Fingers crossed as it would explain a lot!

20

PaddyMcGrath RossJukes  Wrong by the sound of it (I really love photography!) My girlfriend does say I pay the camera more attention than her ;)

21

stian_sjue PaddyMcGrath avidworks  I use http://safariaddons.com/en-US/safari/addon/78 but if you're a Chrome or Firefox user I'm sure there are plugins available for your browser as well

22

Is a Cannon Rebel T3i a camera good to start with i just bought this camera cause i dont have enough money to buy a 60D or 70D but im trying to get the 50mm lens and i heard its amazing but you guys inspire me alot to take photos please answer back!

23

The thing about starting off with a 70-200 f/4 then going to a 2.8 is so true. I loved the 4, but then I used my friends 2.8 and bought one a few months later. Love it. Then put that on my 1D II, gets me in trouble.

24

Four years ago I bought a 550D/Rebel T2i as my very first digital SLR.  I used it for three years as my only body, before buying a Canon 7D last year. I used it for shooting in the rain, in the scorching heat, on the track, in the snow, in the mud, etcetera and it never let me down. It has over 100000 clicks and a ton of rust on the inside but it still works perfectly.  If you're thinking about starting photographing and your budget is an issue, go for a xxxD or a xxD. Great value for money. And even when you upgrade those cameras perfect second bodies. In fact, yesterday I did a photoshoot of a car with my venerable old 550D after I used it for close-up panning shots with my 35L all day. 

Combined with some cheap but great lenses you can start for less than thousand euros. xxxD, 50/1.8 and a used 70-200 F4L and you're good to go. And it's a light and compact setup too.  In fact, it was my setup for my first two years of shooting motorsports and cars, and only in the last two years I bought myself the 24-105, 35/1.4 85/1.8 and an upgrade to the 70-200 2.8 II. Those upgrades were awesome, but I'm still very happy I started with a few relatively cheap tools. I could focus on learning how to shoot, instead of battling with complex and expensive gear. And saving money for extra's like good CPL's and a tripod or lens upgrades is a plus too, if you ask me. :)

25

izzylaguira  The T3i should take you a long way. I started out with a 1000D, which is even cheaper, and I took some pretty decent pictures with that. Look at my profile for links.

26

Paddy, what CPL filters do you consider to be decent? I used to use reasonably cheap Hoya ones but felt they degraded the quality of my shots and always seemed rather "patchy". They also had a pretty serious effect on my exposure times, particularly annoying in low light situations. I rarely use them any more to be honest! Is this something that is common for all CPL's? Where should I be putting my hard earned cash in order to reverse my opinions? I have been recommended B&W in the past, are they really worth the huge expense though? Thanks in advance, and excellent work on these articles!

27

koko san  Sean shoots a Nikon (or three) so you're in good company.

28

Paddy do you recommend having my 2 year  old 70-200L 2.8 IS serviced and cleaned?

29

I have a couple of questions I´m curious about how you do it.. 
- What kind of backpack, case, bag do you use to carry your camera equipment? 
- For shooting on rain or high dusty places, what equipment do you recommend to protect the camera gear?
- Have you created things to improvise in a situation that for example you need some light on a certain part of the image and you create a reflector with some aluminum foil? Just thinking it would be cool to share the improvised things people have created
- I´ve seen people using old school lenses like the Super Takumar 50mm f1.4, have you used some old lenses on your modern cameras? And if so what are your recommendations or ideas about it. 
Thanks for all the info you have provided, it has helped me a lot but there's still a lot to learn and I'll practice the more I can! Here's some of my pictures, hope you like em. 
http://flic.kr/ps/2tMXza

30

In the picture are Hoya Pro1D's, which are very good, and what I use so far. I've just picked up a Hoya HD as it was only a few £ more than a Pro1D, whether I'll notice a difference is debatable, but I needed the new size.

31

Upgraded to a 5D3 and 24-70 2.8 last year. 5D3 is RIDICULOUS, but it's completely blown away by the 24-70, it makes everything look good, and makes other lenses just look a bit disappointing in comparison.
My main issue is since upgrading from a 7D, the 70-200 isn't really long enough I've found for track work.
Hoping Canon upgrade the 17-40/16-35 soon as I need something wider. I still use my old Tamron 10-24 for rig shots, just set it to 15mm and away you go, works well enough for the price.
People can get too caught up in gear you're right. I have a hugely technical mind and can easily pour hours over tech specs and reviews etc, but it try to ignore it and just get out and shoot.
At the end of the day, it's worth thinking if the money is better invested in a lens, or travelling to use your equipment more. Can have the best equipment but it's useless sat at home.

32

Thanks for the gear post Paddy, it's good to know that even what relativley basic gear I have is pretty good for me. I've got a Canon 50D and recently I bought the 50mm 1.8. It's been a blast shooting with that lens as it has shown me the value of the prime lens, and the amazing effect of a wide open lens. I also have the 17-85 that works great in all situations and a Sigma 70-300. I can't wait to keep trying the tips that both you and Larry have given us!

33

I have really enjoyed this series on how to shoot cars. I have a bunch of old film cameras that I like to use(mainly because I don't have the dough for a really nice digital at the moment). My main camera is a Canon FTbN, and my backup is a Canon F-1. I prefer the FTb simply because it's lighter than the F-1, and is a bit easier on my neck. Functionally the two are pretty identical. I want to get either an A-1 or an AE-1Program for motorsports shooting, just so I can let the camera do the thinking about exposure in those situations.
Good glass is SO important. I am devoted to the Canon FD system right now, and my 50mm f/1.4 and 200mm f/2.8 are indispensable parts of my setup. 
My work is continually improving, and hopefully at some point this year I'll have a body of work this site can use. Thank you for the helpful and informative articles!

34

well, I've only got a smartphone and an extension lens...

35

izzylaguira  Hey Izzy, I shoot with a T3i and the 50mm 1.8, it's a HUGE step up from the kit lens.

36

And I hope posting pictures isn't against any SH rules, I'm just giving an example! :)

37

Hi paddy 

I have been shooting with a 60D and a 50mm 1.8, for almost a year now, and was curious, as what to do in taking the next step, buy a speed-light or invest in a new lens, thinking 35mm. If speed-light what is the best for a beginner?

thanks love these posts.

Sean

38

A correction to your article. The 1.3 or 1.6x crop factor doesn't magically magnify a lens' focal length. It just APPEARS to if you have experience shooting on a full frame camera. This seems to be the main misconception about the crop factor being posted around the internet. You're just taking a smaller center section of the image the lens produces, aka cropping down what it can actually produce on a full frame camera. No magnification is taking place. Amateur photogs should just disregard everything they read about crop factor unless they are getting into shooting film or are looking at a full frame camera.

39

godders I have two of the B+W multi-coated CPL's and they are great. I really see no image degradation on anything I use them on.

40

I'd like to see an article on the evolution of some of the speedhunters here. We always read small tidbits of your pasts in these articles but I think that would show people an example of how it's done or how this one person did it. First cameras and some shot examples. Your starting equipment and what you consider the shots that got you the notoriety to do what you do today. How the word was spread about your shot and so on. Do you feel the photography industry is more who you know or the work you do? Something like that would cover several posts if you gave each person on the team an article. Go way back before the first jobs, and more focus on what lead up to those firsts. Did you sleep in a van to make it to an event just because you didn't have anything going on local? You could even make it the theme of the month, a nod to the past type of deal.

41

Nice article as usual :).
I know that most of speedhunter pictures are more "dynamic" ones than purely static (an more with "travel" style equipment) but it will be nice to have an article about artificial lights and equipments that could be use for purely static shots (flash, light, light boxes, umbrellas, etc. ...).
An again, well done so far (and thanks for the inspiration you gave with your articles)

42

Do a post on rigshots (although its not something I see practiced on SH much and maybe a bit played out but still interesting to get people excited about it again) or Photoshop techniques like High-key processing or the Brenizer technique.

43

Great, great article for photographers. Gave me a lot of insight as to how to adapt my gear bag better for shooting automotive stuff. Things like the polarizing filter, never occurred to me how necessary that really is. Can't wait to try out some of your tips. Thanks Paddy

44

Paddy, I saw on your 500px that you used to have a 1D mk2N. How do you rate that against a 7D? I've already got a 7D and looking to getting a second body. Go for a 1D mk2n or save for a 1D mk3/1DSmk2?

45

Why doesn't anybody shoot with Nikon? All I ever see is Canon

46

Thanks for the tips Paddy! Probably one of the most succinct, detailed, yet easy to understand for a novice "How Tos".

47
ClaudioFellipheDias

HooptyHeroTyler  My thoughts exactly.

48

Paddy! I have half of your set and I have to say, the cheaper ones some how find their way into my everyday use, specifically 24-105 and of course the NIFTY 50!

49

For those who are just starting and on a limited budget: Invest in lenses, not in bodies 


I've always been a Canon guy, it made sense due to the size of its users and availability of used parts. I started about 10 years ago with a G7 then a 450D. Besides HD video recording, I don't feel that I am missing out by not upgrading the body... at all. Unless you intend to actually produce large printouts of your work from the get go, my advice is to invest in good lenses instead of good bodies. A xxxxD body will do the job for the digital world, and lenses don't depreciate over time as much as bodies tend to do. Plus, whenever you can afford a better body, all of your amazing lenses will fit.

50

@Niels  I had the mk2N and the only reason I sold it was due to the max ISO.  I shoot a lot at night so the mk4 works better for me, otherwise I'd still have my mk2n.  If you can handle a lower max ISO than your 7D then go with the mk2n.  The AF with a 70-200 f/2.8 is incredible.

51

What are peoples thoughts on kit lenses? I've got a Nikon D3100 that I bought a few years ago at uni, and since then I've been using the kit lens while I've been playing around and learning. I hear a lot of mixed views; some say you need to change it immediately, others say it can actually be useful, even to more experienced photographers

I've recently picked up my first lens outside of the kit one, a 35mm. I'm looking forward to seeing what I can achieve with that, it seems like it offers a lot in terms of both creativity and learning potential.

52

ChrisBurnham I would say use it until you feel like you have outgrown it or it doesn't meet the needs that you have. If you will never use a 400mm lens, why buy one first? Get out there and shoot and see what you feel is lacking and go from there. I started out with a Canon Rebel and kit lens a few years ago and then upgraded equiptment as I had funds or needed. Take constructive criticism, but don't let people make you think you can't make a great image unless you have millions invested. Hope that helps.

53

ClaudioFellipheDias HooptyHeroTyler Typically Canon lenses tend to be cheaper, especially the mega telephotos.

54

Bridges Thanks very much for the advice. In honesty, if I bought another lens it wouldn't be much used as what I shoot currently doesn't stretch the kit lens...as I get more adventurous and expand my range of skills and what I shoot I'll find uses for other lenses I'm sure, but I'm happy to stick with the kit lens and play around with my 35mm lens for now.

I guess it boils down to getting over the constant thought of 'how can gear improve my photography?' and just think about how improving your skills can make your shots better.

55

Hey Man, this posts about photo equipment made me choose a Canon T3i as my first DSLR, already buy a 75-300 lens too... 

I hope it works, now it's just learn some more about and practice... i send to you some pics of the next Track Day event....

sorry my bad english, i'm from Brazil and never went to a english school...

56

All i got is a Pentax K1000 oldschool SLR , any times or should i just pack it up and find another camera ???

57

So I decided to buy the 70-200 f/4 as my first proper lens and have regretted not saving for another while and buying the f/2.8. I'm an idiot!

58

Cheers. Thank you for posting this great article. The 24-105 is the lens I wont let myself buy and instead i bought both the 100 2.8 and 100 2.8L.

59

Love the article, but no tripod?

60

Thank you for putting this together!

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