Lenses - How long is long enough?

8 Aug 2005

Whether your preference is for digital compact or digital SLR cameras, one thing you need to take good motor racing photos is a long enough lens. Thankfully over the last year or so nearly all of the major manufacturers have added a superzoom camera to their ranges. This is great news for anyone looking to buy a digital camera for motorsport.

So, exactly how long is long enough? I'm sorry, but if your camera has a 3x optical zoom (the most common size on the market) you're going to spend your time wishing it was a lot longer. A 3x zoom is usually in the range of 35 - 105mm which is ideal for social photography as it takes in semi-wideangle, portrait and short telephoto lengths. But generally speaking, you're going to need a focal length of 300mm or more at the long end of the zoom range for motor sport ... and that means a 10x zoom or better.

Luckily there are plenty of models to choose from with zooms between 10x and 15x, and you don't necessarily have to pay through the nose for one either. The Fuji Finepix S5500, for example, can be had for less than £200 (about eur350). It gives you a hefty 10x zoom (37-370mm) and 5 frames per second shooting rate to boot! Well worth considering if you're on a budget.

If you can stretch your budget a bit further, the Panasonic Lumix DMCFZ20 has an impressive 12x zoom (36-432mm) with a constant f/2.8 aperture. And watch out for Samsung's new Digimax Pro815 which boasts a whopping 15x zoom!

If you own a digital SLR and are looking for a lens for taking motor racing photographs you benefit from the fact that the smaller than 35mm sensors these cameras are built around means that any lens you attach has a longer focal length than it would on a film camera. Bonus! Depending on the make of dSLR, the focal length is multiplied by 1.5 - 2.0, making a 200mm lens on, for example, a Nikon, function as a 300mm lens (200 x 1.5 = 300mm).

You could do worse than Sigma's 70-300 II APO Macro Super zoom. It is certainly long enough and performs well for a consumer zoom (make sure you avoid the non-APO version of this lens). However, if you are serious about your sports photography you should consider splashing out on a pro-level lens. OK, most of them are going to be out of reach of many amateurs' budgets, but there are several models from Nikon, Canon and Sigma that shouldn't break the bank yet have the important features that make them worth spending the extra for. Super fast HSM/USM/AF-S focusing mechanisms and constant aperture are both worth forking out for, not to mention the significantly better construction, materials and sharpness a pro lens will give you.

If you have a Canon dSLR, you would be unlikely to regret spending about £600 (eur900) on the Canon 70-200mm f4 L USM. Pro quality, constant aperture, USM focusing, and a white finish too - all for a fantastic price, less than half that of the f/2.8 version. Nikon users should consider Sigma's 70-200mm f/2.8 APO EX HSM for similar money.

Bearing in mind that the Canon will behave as a 112-320mm on Canon dSLRs and the Sigma as a 105-300mm on a Nikon, either will get you closer to the action. And after all ... that's what it's all about!

Happy shooting!

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