OK I'm new here, well not really, I registered long ago but never really came around besides to read and look. I've shot for fun for a long time, use to have a dark room setup but now shoot only digital. Currently using a 300d and a Tamron 28-300. One of these days I'll grab some nice glass, a flash, and then a new body. I mainly shoot cars now. I go to weekly car meets and I also race and do track events a couple times a month. I'm thinking a flash will be my next purchase. I do have a Sigma 10-20 on its way to me but that it more for the car meets than for the track. I would love a 300 f/4L IS for the track shots. I'm just not happy at all with my current setups focusing ability and overall sharpness not to mention how much it hunts in dim lighting. I didn't know the difference when I first started using it a couple years ago but now its all too apparent.

Here are a couple randoms from the last couple times at the track. Just interested in feedback and thoughts on how to improve.

#1
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/ZJChaser/otn/IMG_7238.jpg

#2
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/ZJChaser/otn/IMG_7639.jpg

#3
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/ZJChaser/otn/IMG_7179.jpg

#4
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/ZJChaser/otn/IMG_7138.jpg

#5
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a218/ZJChaser/otn/IMG_7926.jpg

nice shots, especially considering the camera and lens you have. just goes to show it's the wizard, not the wand.

Not bad at all for the 300D there ZJChaser. I really like #1 with the flames, great catch, and tough to do with the 300D's shutter lag. that bottom one is interesting, I take it the engine blew. Nice park job too!
The 300 won't AF any faster on the 300D, it's the nature of the 300D's AF which is just plain slow and unpredictable, even with a 70-200 f2.8, I know, I have one. It's OK for sunny days but at night it's completly lost in the dark and can't focus at all on fast movers. I used mine once at a race and that was last time that body went to a track.

Also, welcome to the forum, glad you stepped out from the shadows.

JS

I'm actually glad to come back. I joined two years ago and posted some vacation pics. Since then my computer crashed and I lost probably 10 years of photographs and I'm glad to at least pull a few back off of the forums here.

The last pic is just one of the regulars chatting and joking with some instructors. I'm good buddies with the guy in the mini, we have been tracking together for many years and both now track Lotus's so I grab lots of pics for him.

I went ahead and bought a 430ex last night and I have a 10-20 sigma on the way as well. I was really hoping the auto focus had more to do with the lense than the body but my fears are now confirmed. I'll picking up a 20d w/grip once I recover from the holiday wallet drain, I think that is a good solid body until the 40d is released. Also thinking about the sigma 100-300 f/4. I know its no L glass but heck, the reviews on the thing are stellar and its not too expensive.

yeah the 20ds a nice camera, it just has a few issues with Al Servo. I may pick one up for a backup this winter.

Yeah, the 20d is better than the 300D but not by much, as Liven pointed out it has AI servo issues but also low light focus is lousy, just like the 300D it does a lot of searching, and again the shutter lag, just not as bad as the 300D.
You shoot a slightly different form of racing and thats a good thing as it gives the site another view for people to learn from. Thanks for posting!
As for the photos you lost, if you have the extra $$ at some point and really need the photos you can have the old drive recovered, I have 6 I need recovered with photos I llost, on average they wanted $1600 to recover all the files.
I now use a different setup, all photos are kept on seperate external drives which I only connect as needed. Right now I have 7 years of photos on three external drives, and have backups of all three in a serperate place (actually at my brother in laws in TN so they are in a seperate state too).

JS

so at what point does the servo focusing really improve... what model I mean?

I am also just starting to get back into photography. I miss it so. I will start shooting more forms of racing including MTB(which I used to race and will again one day) Concert and music will be another main focus of mine, another reason I'm going to need goo low light focusing :) Can't wait to get some better gear.

I know all about recovery I'm own a tech intergration company. I just had a client spend $15k on a SCSI Raid 5 recovery. My setup was also in a raid at the time and the $ goes up significantly and at the time I just used it as a mistake to learn by. It was the one time I didn't have a backup because I was in a jam and used it for something else.

AI Servo is to be used with moving subjects, as it continually focuses. I will have to respectfully disagree with JS on the fact that the 20d is quite a big step above the 300d. I have used both and while the 20d does still hunt at times and may have a little trouble with AI Servo, it does HAVE AI Servo, which makes all the difference in sports. Shooting sports with a 300d is a HUGE pain. Also the 5 fps compared to the 2.5 fps is blazingly faster, but you have to hear it to believe the difference, because on paper it doesn't look like much. More AF points, magnesium body, higher built in flash, faster AF, AI Servo, faster fps, MUCH better high ISO handling, as the 20d was the first prosumer DSLR that did so well with noise at high ISOs. It's a great camera, and is a big step up from the 300d. If you don't have the big bucks to get a 1 series camera, it's a good alternative. Also, look around for used 1d Mark Is. I got mine for 900, and I wouldn't trade it for anything other than a II N.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/CanonEOS20D/Samples/20d_d70_10d.mp3

the first one you hear is the 20d.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/CanonEOS300D/Samples/300dx4-10dx9.mp3

the first one you hear the is the 300d (aka drebel)

One thing on that first shot is to try a slower shutter speed to get more movement in the wheels. Yes, it means you have to pan more accurately, but it gives more impression of motion.
You caught the flames well there.

One thing on that first shot is to try a slower shutter speed to get more movement in the wheels. Yes, it means you have to pan more accurately, but it gives more impression of motion.
You caught the flames well there.

Agree, especially on the first one. General rule is if you can see the wheels, they need to show motion. Also try using the bottom focus point. This puts the car in the bottom of the frame, like shot #4.

thanks for the tips guys, I generally use that wheel motion as a rule too but my angle on that corner doesn't really allow panning from my position so I was banking on the lean angle of the cars to provide enough feeling of motion. My 10-20mm and now I want a new body even more, even with the relatively light Sigma on the body the body just feels flimsy, I can't imagine it feeling good at all with some heavy glass on it. I guess its a matter of build quality of the body be well below that of the lenses.

oh ya, YAY for the feature photo! :D

You got some great shots here and in your gallery. That STi looks like it's a little hurt :( This really makes me want to go to some auto events SOON :)

Dave