rdrechsler Loc: Channel Islands Harbor, CA

I’ve never been to a Motorcross event before, much less photographed one. I’m taking a Nikon D850 with a choice of Nikon 70-200mm, f/2.8 and 200-500mm, f/5.6 lenses. Any tips or advice?

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

I think the 70-200 sounds like the perfect choice, as lot of the action will be very close, no need for 500mm! it will let you shoot with a faster shutter speed as well!

Largobob

With that equipment...how could you go wrong. Shoot away,

PhotoKurtz Loc: Carterville, IL

70-200 is probably the best bet. or the 200-500 and plan to only use about 300mm... These guys fly fast.

"Motocross", by the way. Plan to get dusty or more. Besides the action on the track, there's plenty of family interest opportunity in the pits.

Have fun!

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SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

Dick, what kind of mx?
Is it a small one we’re you can shoot anywhere or big like a National or a stadium?
If you can get close use the 70-200 for car shots and take a wide able like a 24-105 to get really close and low for very cool shots.
Expanding on the buffer you might want to turn the mp down to like 21mp so the buffer cane fill or you could miss shots. Good luck
SS

rdrechsler Loc: Channel Islands Harbor, CA

Interesting input. It at a major venue in Riverside, CA with multiple tracks. Their media guy said I can get very close, short of providing an insurance certificate to get right on the track. I’ll take my 24-70mm, f/2.8 as well based on your comments.
Thank you.

BassmanBruce Loc: Middle of the Mitten

Be prepared to protect the front lens element from flying dirt and stones, as stated it can be a very dusty environment.

PhotoKurtz Loc: Carterville, IL

Milestone MX track?? Looks huge. Should be great fun. I expect you looked at their website. http://milestonemx.com/tracks

I've seen guys use fill flash at these things. Mid-day sun can make anything in shadow get pretty dark.

rdrechsler Loc: Channel Islands Harbor, CA

Yes, that’s the one. Thanks for the tip. I’ll be sure to put UV filters on my lenses.

krashdragon

Bring some handi wipes. Everything gets dusty....

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

You will be standing in a dust cloud for much of the time unless it is a National event. But even those can get dusty. You can also have to deal with flying mud and rocks. 24-70 and 70-200 would be my choices. Also a camera top mounted Speedlite for fill flash. Otherwise you will often not get the riders face showing up. Inside corners can be very good for closeup shots if you can be on the track. Often the deep ruts and sharp turns will slow the bikes a lot there. First curve or couple curves after the start are also good as you will have a lot of bikes coming down to a small choke point on the start. Try some panned shots too... Enjoy and good luck... A couple examples shot with a Digital Rebel back in the day...

Best,
Todd Ferguson

Broome Tioga National 2005 - Broc Hepler

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Bottom Side...no it is not Photoshopped...


Broome Tioga National 2005

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pbradin Loc: Florida

Much of the decision on which lens you use is base on a couple of things. I do racing photography at Daytona (Rolex 24) and the 12-hour race at Sebring. For shots on the banking at Daytona, I am shooting between 300-400mm on a crop sensor Canon 7D II. But on infield shots I use a 70-200 f2.8. A warning. The longer the lens, the shallower the depth of field, so you may need to stop down a little on your f-stop to get all of what you want in focus. Be prepared to crank up the ISO a bit. I usually pan my infield shots at at about 1/250th second. With the IS set on "mode 2" (panning mode), I can get clean shots, but the rotation of the wheels and the background are blurred, showing the "speed". Individual lenses will require different settings. I would take both lenses and be prepared to use each one, depending on how far you are from the action. Also, you may want to get a large part of the field on the first lap and then shift to shooting individual riders, even face and body close-ups which would require the longer lens. "Jump" shots can be a lot of fun, but get the hill in the shot, too, to help "tell the story" of what is actually happening. A motorcycle against a blue sky is kind of boring. Make sure you have a camera bag to keep your second lens in and some microfiber cloths with you (I buy mine in the automotive department at Walmart or Target. I am cheap) I carry about half a dozen with me to a race. Many people say they use a monopod, but I cannot move the camera fast enough with one attached to the camera or lens. I do everything free-hand. Try lots of different angles, coming right at you, panning as the go by you, although I am almost always getting a sort of front view as they get close. Pure side shots are harder to capture and keep sharp. remember, motocross is done on dirt and so their will be a lot of dirt flying around. Be prepared.

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Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

Good point on the DOF. With longer focal lengths at closer distances and wide apertures the DOF can be amazingly shallow. Get a DOF calculator app for your phone and play with it to put an idea in your head for DOF at different apertures, focal lengths and distances. Fortunately today there are much better high ISO capabilities than I had with he Digital Rebel 10-15 years ago...

Best,
Todd Ferguson

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Depends on your distance away from the subject as to which lens to use. Find a place where the Motorcycles are in the air (usually after a hill) I like to shoot from the front looking at the motorcycles coming at me. Choose a distance as far from that hill as possible but still have the cycle and rider dominate the scene, I would use the 200-500, depending on the distance. I would also use GROUP AUTO FOCUS, continuous auto focus, aperture priority, center weighted metering, 10 frames a second, and shoot at at least 1/2500 sec. I use a f6.3 as my sweet spot, you may want to stop down more especially if there are a group of jumpers at the same time. Shooting low and tilting your camera up gives the illusion that the cycles are high up in the air. On the other hand, showing the ground also heightens the effect. Good luck and keep on shooting until the end.
On the other hand, get close and as they go by use a slow shutter speed 1/15 sec. and pan really well and you'll also get great images.

JD750 Loc: SoCal

If you are close to the track you definitely want to have a clear glass (a.k.a UV Filter) on the lens to protect it from flying debris.