Williams Grove Speedway Forums

just wanted to know what everyone was using. second part is what flash are you using?

Not using anything right now. All the races were canceled.

Canon 70-200L for the long stuff
Canon 28-70L for the short stuff
Canon 1.4 Tele-Extender for the big tracks like SG & VMS to shoot deep in the corners

Flash is a Metz 54-MZ4. Blasts out the light without having to carry a cinder block battery around..

I've been working out over the winter so I can hold this one by hand without a monopod.



Otherwise,

Canon 70-200L (new this year)
Canon 28-135
Canon 100-400L

No longer used, but still in my bag Canon 75-300

I've been using a Canon 580 EX flash. They have since released the EX II

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2013 Stats:
15 Races
9 Tracks

http://www.brentsmithphotography.com

If you can't fix it with a hammer you've got an electrical problem.

I've decided I don't want to get any dirt on me at all so I plan on shooting with something with a little more range in 2008...

Lenses:

I love the Nikon 70-200mm F2.8 AFS-VR G lens. At first I didn't like it all that much but using it with the D200 has really made as huge difference over using it with the D70 and D70S I had. I hope to see equally good results with the D300 body but time will tell. I tend to like to stand back and sweep the turns for any "excitement" so the 70-200mm is my mainstay lens.

In the medium range I have a Nikon 28-70mm F2.8 AFS that absolutely sucked on the D70 and D70S but was pretty sharp on a D200. Haven't tried it on the D300 yet.

I also have a Tamron 28-75mm F2.8 XR-DI Lens that has proven to be less than stellar at focusing and locking on anything moving. It's 1/4 the price of the Nikon 28-70 lens I have and has done great in victory lane but for on track shots, not so much.

I have a Sigma 70-200 MM F2.8 lens that is pretty nice and OK for the price but nowhere in the same ballpark as the Nikon AFS-VR G Lens. It produces nice images but just not as consistently or as sharp as the Nikon. Again, there is a trade off since it is 1/3 the price of the Nikon but the Nikon as three or four times the warranty length too. Rich Kepner (BRKRacing here on the board) has the same lens and may be able to offer some opinions based upon his weekly experience with it.

I have a Nikon 24mm F2.8 prime lens I have been using just for mall shows and indoor shows. I need something much wider in this lens range in order to pull off the shots I want. Still saving my pennies for this quest.

Somewhere in a box I have a Tomron 28-300mm F3.5-6.3 telescoping lens that I used to use with a Nikon 8008s film camera. I've never tried that on a digital body but I don't think it would be anything I would take to a track.

Flashes/Flashi ?:

Lumedyne P4LX 400 ws power pack with standard head (broken), Large size battery (broken), 54Z Super Speed Module (Broken), Norman 8" reflector head. This was (is) the very best of the best that Lumedyne offers but after standing in the off and on (mostly on) rain at Eldora's USAC Four Crown in 2006 for 21 hours it gave up the ghost and Lumedyne in their infinite wisdom has stopped making standard heads in favour of modeling heads which do me no good at the track. So now I have an $2100 flash system with no reason to have it fixed because they no longer sell a $250 standard head that would make it useable at a track.

I will be moving to a Norman 400B power pack and standard head at the end of March (see Lumedyne diatribe above). Norman still understands that not everyone is a wedding photographer or working for Penthouse !

Nikon SB800 - I use this for indoor races and mall race shows and for victory lane. It's a very versatile flash. I just wish Nikon made something I can use for the on track shots (big time artificial sun !)

Sunpak 622 handle flash with super Zoom Head. - I have a couple of these and have probably had five of these over the last ten years. They are real workhorses and pretty cheap compared to other flashes ($250 for the flash and head) but they are not real good to get caught in the rain with. The head has no weather seals and is very susceptible to both dust and moisture. On the plus side, they do emit a really cool mushroom cloud of smoke when they burn up !

Nikon 24-85 f3.5-4.5...mainly used at Winchester
Nikon ED 80-200 F2.8 D used at the Grove and Lincoln and most other places
Nikon ED 80-400 VR f4.5-5.6 D Used at Summit Point and other Road Race Tracks
SB-800 Flash

Started as a hobby...ened up being an obsession

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www.wrtspeedwerx.com
www.summitpointkart.com

Thats real good greg With your contacts i can see you shooting from space. Plus with what you have invested in this i see you with that monster lens.

I have the nikon ED AF 80-200 2.8 but have not used it much. weight is the issue.
Had my best luck with the nikon AF 28-105 3.5-4.5 it gave me the range at Trailways that i liked.
I also have a Nikon DX AF-S 55-200 4.5-5.6 ED VR someone got me for a gift that i don't know what to do with.
And last i have a Nikon AF 85mm 1.8 that i don't know when i will use.

The ED AF 80-200 2.8 is one of the older ones that has only 1 ring to it for zoom and focos.
i was looking at the Nikon 70-200mm F2.8 AFS-VR G lens to do an upgrade. but don't know if it would be worth it with my d50. Could get a newer ED AF 80-200 2.8 don't know.

i could buy one of your used d200 since you hit the lottery and got the d300. or i could get the d60 since i am cheap. But its hard to do that since the d50 is only 1 year old.

I also have Sunpak 622 handle flash with super Zoom Head but with my limited know how gave up using it.
and went to the Nikon SB800 it was good at Trailways since i was shooting around the 75 to 100 ft range and with the TTL it worked great.
I know that guy last year at Lincoln was Shooting with the sb800 and loved it. I also rememder he made some changes to mine and made it better but don't remember what he did.

I just like the TTL of the SB800 and with Trailways not having a inside white guiderail to mess with the sensor it worked for me. but at lincoln the white guiderail relly messed me up.


Also it would be cool if Lincole would put a bench in the 3rd and 4th turns for the people to set on during the long times between shooting. Iam lazy.

Do you think its worth the big bucks for me to get the Nikon 70-200mm F2.8 AFS-VR G lens.
also when i see you at Lincoln i am going to ask you about stepping up the sb800 like that guy did before.

Thanks to everyone that gave some info.

Greg, the guy who adjusted your SB-800 last year was Scott Moyer.

To me, the Nikon 70-200mm F2.8 AFS-VR G lens was well worth the price but you have get what you feel is within your budget.

Greg do you think there would be much of a difference if i got the Nikon 70-200mm F2.8 AFS-VR G lens over my older ED AF 80-200 2.8

Might not be as dramatic a difference on your D50 body. I know there was a huge difference, at least in my eyes, when I had the AFS-VR G on my D70 versus the D200. The body's electronics sort of meet the lens halfway in creating a good consistent image so the better the body, the better your results with a lens of that type. I don't know a whole lot about the D50 but your might want to try posting a question on dpreview.com in the Nikon forums to see if anyone is using that combination lens with that body and what results they are getting. Of course 99.99999999 % of those folks have no concept of what it's like shooting at a dirt track but they may be able to offer general advice on that combination.

i hear what you are saying, but then at the same time if i was to get a new body. i don't see much difference in the d200 to the d60 that is to be coming out at the end of the month. other then the $1200.00 for the d200 to the $750.00 for the d60. i know there are some bells and wistles on the d200 but a novice like me would i use them anyway. i like the 10.2 megpix over my 6 meg. i think that would give me a sharper picture. so maybe i want to spend the money on the d-60 body and use the lens i have. with the idea of getting the 70-200 one later. am i thinking correct

This is about 1 hour later and i think i am getting the d80. have you or anyone else heard any bad things with it.

I don't know anyone that has a D80 so I really don't know what they perform like. I do know that holding anything less than a D200 in your hand (D40/50/60/70/80) and then holding a D200 is like comparing a child's tonka toy to a sherman tank in terms of build construction, sturdiness and protection from the elements. Just something to think about.

Well Greg Let me be the first i went and got the d80 last night.
Here are some of the things that talked me into it.
1 still uses the sd cards. Since i had 6 of the things. in case i did not have time to download the cards.

2 its has the 10.2 megpixels over my 6 with the d50.

3 i found out the d60 would not use my older 80-200 lens where this one will.

4 it was in my price range.

and last it will do more then the d50. i just need to read the book to see what it will do.

Again thanks for all you and others do for us dumb people. see you at lincoln. some time but it does not look like this week. winters not over yet.