Frozen Pinewood River

Frozen Pinewood River

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I tend to use my current camera, Canon PowerShot SX20 IS w/ a Class 10 SDHC card and for being the camera it is get very decent photo results. I'm looking to upgrade to something more powerful in the future and looking for input on the type of camera that others recommend for this kind of photography use.

Most of the racing done around here is autocross (one car at time on low-speed courses) and ice racing (snow + sun, and up to 10 cars at a time on ice going approx 60mph).

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Well, really depends on how much cash you have to spend. You don't need to spend lots, but the basic qualities you want from the body is continuous burst speed, and that's about it, you will need to invest in good, fast glass though, most motorsports guys I know shoot with the ever present 70-200 2.8 from Canon, or other L glass.

I on the other hand shoot it with a 1000D and a crappy Sigma 70-300 tele, so I wouldn't worry too much about having the best of the best, focus on getting some good glass and whatever body you can afford after that.

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I did spend the money on a class 10 card when has helped a lot with the speed at which i can take the photos with my current canon camera, as posted above i have a fairly high budget i can work with –  Amanda Moore Sep 8 '11 at 7:28
Well for 1000 of your hard earned dollar I'd recommend a second hand 50D (about $600) and then a 70-200 lens, you can probably get the Canon f4 L for about $500-600. Takes you over budget but you'll have a really really good setup for about 3 years. –  Nicholas Smith Sep 8 '11 at 8:57
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I'm going to assume you're going to have to keep your distance. For that I think a crop sensor body would work best due to the crop factor changing the effective focal length of a lens. You'll get more reach.

If you're shooting most outdoor in the sun or bright conditions a f2.8 lens won't be as beneficial to you in those conditions as it would be in darker conditions (under the lights at night). f2.8 would definitely be the best but you could get by with a smaller max aperture for a while until your bank account allows for the fast lens.

You will need fast focus speeds...for that I think a body such as a Nikon D300 with a great focus system would be needed. Canon's equivalent is the 7D I think (sorry, don't know much about Canon).

Always hold the bodies in the store first and get a feel for them. It really does matter how they feel in your hands.

You will want a higher frame rate and a buffer that can handle it. You'll be shooting in bursts as they come around a turn or down a straight away - (based on where you're positioned) and you'll want to fire off a lot of shots. You don't want your camera lagging behind your need to shoot. I ran into this at an airshow this summer. You just have to stop and wait for the camera to catch up.

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actually not that far away ;D since i'm with the club that does these events I am able to be right there, whether it's the middle of the course or on the side of the course. distance isn't an issue. i'd prefer to stick around, or less than $1000. used equipement also isn't an issue for me - if it works then great! –  Amanda Moore Sep 8 '11 at 7:27
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