View Single Post
Old 29 Sep 2023, 11:00 (Ref:4178743)   #12
grantp
Subscriber
Veteran
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 6,396
grantp should be qualifying in the top 3 on the gridgrantp should be qualifying in the top 3 on the gridgrantp should be qualifying in the top 3 on the grid
I have a fully manual 14mmf2.8 for occasional forays into wide angle experiments, a 24-105 F4 for paddock work and the few locations where one can get sensibly close to the track now and again (Cadwell for example) and a 70-200 IS L Mk2 F2.8 with 2x extender available. So that is usually used as a 140-400 at f5.6

I also have a 600mm prime (FD Mount) from the early 1980s (and a 2x extender for that) which is so heavy a tripod is imperative. No AF either so one sets up, focuses where one wishes to take the shot and waits for the subject to appear.

It is, however, pretty good at making fences disappear so long as there is no direct strong sunlight.

The 600 is only used if I can get my car out around the track.

My camera bodies are 1.3 and 1.6 crop factors to all of those length numbers need to be adjusted for real "size" according to the camera body to which they are fitted.

In theory the 600mm, with crop sensor, extender and a small enlargement factor related to the FD to EF mount adaptor, gives something like a 1280mm equivalent. However, it is barely usable in that configuration.

I normally carry the 1D3 with 70-200 + Extender fitted, my backup in a small camera bag with 24-105 fitted and the 14mm in a lens change case for use with the backup camera where, at 1.6 crop, the 14mm becomes about a 22mm in effect.

I also have a 70-300 DO lens. DO is, I think, much the same as the PF fresnel lens that dwh mentioned. It seems to offer the same claimed benefits.

It's an interesting lens but was well used when I bought it some time ago. Eventually the electronics failed. When I got it back it failed again as I was testing it before leaving the repair agent's office, so off it went again for recalibration. That helped but one cannot trust it's focus capability (or maybe just sharpness in general) at over 250mm and it's is not fast at the best of times. I kept it as a nice option for portrait work but that's not something I have done for years.

In general I just carry stuff over shoulder or using a neck strap but holding the weight. I consider it a bit of a workout that I would otherwise not get.

However, I am still looking at the potential for putting a saddlebag style installation on my bicycle, with electric conversion available, so see whether such a configuration might, sometimes, be an option at circuits where one can no longer take the car where one would like to go. It's the weight of the 600mm that brings such an idea into question. That and the lack of suspension on my bike - which is not that much younger than the lens.
grantp is offline  
Quote