# what lense to use to shoot motocross



## Painter910 (Oct 29, 2009)

Can some one point me in the right direction as far as what lense to use to shoot motocross. I am shooting with a d40 and the kit lens but it dosen't seem to reach to far by the time i crop them down to what i want they get alittle blury. Here are some pics i have shot let me know what you think.


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## Wolverinepwnes (Oct 29, 2009)

how far will you be from the action?  anything fast would work i'd imagine, 70-200mm f/2.8.
200-400 f/4
those are expensive though, 
look into the Sigma telephoto lens, they are cheaper, but remeber that you get what you pay for! so the quality will be a little worse.
beautifull pictures by the way!


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## ErectedGryphon (Oct 29, 2009)

Switch to Canon, then you could spell it correctly like this; "Lens".:greenpbl:

J/K, I would suggest a fast zoom, like the 70-200 wolverinepwnes suggested.


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## joemc (Oct 29, 2009)

The Nikkor 70-300 vr is a good deal for the money... I own it and the 70-200 vr f/2.8

The 70-200 is better....But it is also 4 times more money. Plue the 70-200 is a lot of lens for the D40

Cheers, joe


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## ToddLange (Oct 29, 2009)

i agree, shoot with a 70-200.


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## LarissaPhotography (Oct 29, 2009)

I've been asked to shoot motocross too.  It seems like the 70-200 is the answer for so many questions that I'll have to end up taking the hit and buying it.  Btw it looks like you've been getting some good shots already.


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## duffman1278 (Oct 30, 2009)

Here's a shot that I took at 200mm just to give you an idea. I was about 50-70feet away from the car.


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## Fox_Racing_Guy (Oct 30, 2009)

I shoot MX most weekends and 90% of the time have my 28-70 mounted. You can get much closer to the action at MX tracks rather than roadracing and I rarely use my 70-200 shooting off road.


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## JClishe (Oct 30, 2009)

You might get some additional suggestions over on MotoNews, there are a lot of moto photogs there.

www.motonews.com


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## Village Idiot (Oct 30, 2009)

70-200 is killer. Does Nikon make something like the 100-400?

Nikon's 80-200 might be afordable. It doesn't have VR, but VR is probably going to be pretty useless at MX unless you're shooting at night at poorly lit venues. Even then it's only going to help with camera shake at slower sppeds, which does nothing to stop motion...


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## Rekd (Oct 30, 2009)

Fox_Racing_Guy said:


> I shoot MX most weekends and 90% of the time have my 28-70 mounted. You can get much closer to the action at MX tracks rather than roadracing and I rarely use my 70-200 shooting off road.



Man! I didn't know you could check tire pressure whilst riding. 

That would have been a great shot if you were closer! You should think about getting a longer lens.


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## Rifleman1776 (Oct 30, 2009)

You have had good answers. I would back up the responses that say it is dependant on how far you are from the action.
For those of us who go back to the days before zoomers, I can attest that a good zoom is a blessing. The 70-200 is as close to an 'all around' lens as is possible.
I used to shoot closed track road races by sitting (dangerously) right on the edge of the track at the worst curves. For that, I used a 50mm. I don't reccomend. Get back and zoom. Good luck and enjoy.


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## Rifleman1776 (Oct 30, 2009)

BTW, just after my last post an ad popped up with an 18-250mm lens.
I didn't catch brand or price. But, still, very amazing.


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## KmH (Oct 30, 2009)

ErectedGryphon said:


> Switch to Canon, then you could spell it correctly like this; "Lens".:greenpbl:


Both spellings are correct LENSE and LENS.


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## Village Idiot (Oct 30, 2009)

KmH said:


> ErectedGryphon said:
> 
> 
> > Switch to Canon, then you could spell it correctly like this; "Lens".:greenpbl:
> ...


 
No it's not. It's a butchering of the word lens that less credible sources are citing as correct. Check Merriam Webster, Lens - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia , lense - Spelling of lense from Cambridge Dictionary Online: Free English Dictionary and Thesaurus - Cambridge University Press ,


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## o hey tyler (Oct 30, 2009)

Jesus christ will you guys give it a rest already? Did you understand that he was talking about a LENS for his DSLR? Okay, good. It seems like everyone got that idea the first time around. 

Okay on to the second point of the post: Do you guys realize that you are making a fuss about someone adding an "E" onto the end of the word? That's all it is. Lens_*e.

*_Neat, we are all on the same page. Everyone knows how to read, and everyone knew what he was talking about. Problem solved! I guess the pointless whining and dictionary website citing can stop now.


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## Village Idiot (Oct 30, 2009)

o hey tyler said:


> Jesus christ will you guys give it a rest already? Did you understand that he was talking about a LENS for his DSLR? Okay, good. It seems like everyone got that idea the first time around.
> 
> Okay on to the second point of the post: Do you guys realize that you are making a fuss about someone adding an "E" onto the end of the word? That's all it is. Lens_*e.*_
> 
> Neat, we are all on the same page. Everyone knows how to read, and everyone knew what he was talking about. Problem solved! I guess the pointless whining and dictionary website citing can stop now.


 
Ifgh wea keap buchrng thea Nglush lainquidge, thin wur weel itgh nd?

The gh's are silent by the weigh.


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## inTempus (Oct 30, 2009)

C'mon folks, the proper spelling is lens.

Let's get back to something purposeful like the Canon vs. Nikon debates.


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## inTempus (Oct 30, 2009)

I need a new lenz.


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## Rekd (Oct 30, 2009)

inTempus said:


> I need a new lenz.



I can has lenzes? :lmao:


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## Village Idiot (Oct 30, 2009)

About ATVs said:


> inTempus said:
> 
> 
> > I need a new lenz.
> ...


 
Lenxorz


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## Fox_Racing_Guy (Oct 30, 2009)

About ATVs said:


> Fox_Racing_Guy said:
> 
> 
> > I shoot MX most weekends and 90% of the time have my 28-70 mounted. You can get much closer to the action at MX tracks rather than roadracing and I rarely use my 70-200 shooting off road.
> ...



I have a 70-200 but I rarely use it at the MX track, I do use it at Mid-Ohio for the road races but when I'm shooting at the MX track I'm standing right on the lip of the tranny. This particular sequence of photo's I was just starting to walk down the side of the jump and I heard the guy roll off the throttle so I knew what was going to happen and shot it very quickly. 
This is the first impact and it's easy enough to crop and zoom if I wanted a tighter shot.


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## Rekd (Oct 30, 2009)

Fox_Racing_Guy said:


> About ATVs said:
> 
> 
> > Fox_Racing_Guy said:
> ...



I was just messing with you.  

The shadow on the second bounce (first pict you posted) looked too far to the side of the track for where the bike was. First thought was a real windy day but the cloud didn't look "blown" if you know what I mean. Then I realized he must have cased before that first shot you posted was taken.

This first bounce looks much clearer and is the better shot IMO. :thumbup:


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## Painter910 (Nov 3, 2009)

Thanks for all the info. I am really looking for something better than the kit lens but i can not afford to get in to the high end stuff right now.


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