Camera Labs

hi everyone,
Im just starting out doing some greyhound racing photography as a hobby,
i got suckered into getting a fuji hs10 after being told it had 10fps shooting and a 24-720 mm lens 35mm eqv.
well what a disappointment its more like 7 frames a minute with a 7 frame buffer and 45 seconds to process those 7 files and 15 seconds to focus on a subject.

anyway if i pan and shoot in burst i only end up with the first photo being in focus (and not very well at that)
and if im at the end of a straight with a dog running at me i cant zoom to keep the dog in frame cause it goes out of focus in burst too.

does this problem occur on all cameras

are there any cameras that you can zoom or pan and it will keep in focus.

and yes ive tryed the cameras continuous focus, it isnt really continuous , and neither is the tracking af it stops when you half press the shutter button and that's impossible to use on a dog traveling about 30m every second.

any tips or camera recomendations would be apreciated

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yes i admit i own a fuji hs10, please dont hold that against me.

Hi waynoracer, sorry to hear of your dilemma, it looks like you have been given some bad advice on the Fuji. The three majors, Nikon, Canon and sonny and I assume others will do what you want.

In the meantime try using spot focusing as using wide focus can sometimes focus off the subject. A greyhound is a fast and small target. That lens range is huge, it makes me wonder on IQ.

Have a look in this section for car racing and aircraft shots, also in the bird section of birds in flight.

If you are looking at a new camera I suggest looking at the camera reviews on the forum. My D7000 gives 6fps and I found 3fps is fast enough for my needs. I'd suggest also looking at the camera lens reviews and see how fast they autofocus and stay focused. Guess there is no need to get all the bells and whistles if you are not going to use them.

Cheers

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Nikon D7000, D40X, Nikkor 18- 200 VR II, f3.5-5.6, 70-300 AF non VR, Kit Lenses.

thanks mate 6fp would be plenty if it can track a small fast moving greyhound.
as for the IQ of the hs10 its pretty rubbish very soft looking shots lots of aberrations but i guess with such range that's to be expected.
its ok for some shots though.
www.flickr.com/photos/waynoracer

the d7000 sounds like a pretty good dslr might get it with a prime 50mm 1.8 and 18-135mm

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yes i admit i own a fuji hs10, please dont hold that against me.

I'm not sure if 135mm will be long enough for sport. To assist in getting the right lens first time, I'd suggest try shooting still objects similar to what you expect to shoot with your current lens at different FL and at similar distances you expect objects to be. This will give a good indication of the lens you need without cropping to much.

One of your linked shots was from Harden, my daughter went there last week for a swim carnival with her girls.

Cheers,

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Nikon D7000, D40X, Nikkor 18- 200 VR II, f3.5-5.6, 70-300 AF non VR, Kit Lenses.

yeah i used to live in harden the church is also in harden,
for the greyhounds if i take photos at the winning post i have it at about 50mm and about 80-150 for other shots i think the largest focal length ive used on the hs10 is about 200 and thats fairly rare.
maybe even a 55-200 would be handy but i think on the crop body that makes it about 85-300 doesnt it

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yes i admit i own a fuji hs10, please dont hold that against me.

Upgrading your mem card in the camera may assist in the speed and buffering of the info into the camera.
A better card will speed that up greatly.
Have a look around the wildlife section at some of the shots and info there.
On running critters sometimes I will focus on the ground in front of them and wait for them to run into focus and then shoot,this should be a bit easier on a track where their direction is more controlled but it will still take some trial/error practice.

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Pentax K-5
Pentax 18-55mm,Pentax 50-200mm,Sigma 17-70mm,Sigma 70-300mm, Sigma 50-500mm

Hi
Sounds like a tough job for a P&S type camera. Unfortunately, like 4 XXXX said you might have to look at the offerings from Nikon, Canon or Sony and a fast lens with a usm type focus system.

Something like the 7D or eq from the other brands should make be able to track a grey hound easily enough, just need a lens that has a fast focus system. Then a 70-300 lenses might be enough. Also having the aperture of 5.6 at 300 will give you a bit of subject isolation to make the dog stand out a bit.
I was at the Grand Prix yesterday and all the practice chasing birds and birds in flight came in handy had no trouble with the FA18 or the RAAF`s Roulettes.
F1 cars on the track was a bit harder though, taking photos through the fence didn`t help either:roll:. Tracking a grey hound shouldn`t be too bad, big target compared to birds as long as you can stand close to track and pan with them. At least they run in a relative straight line and you can predict their path a bit. I have seen a few greyhound races, I appreciate how fast they are, would be fun having a go.

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Canon Powershot S95, Canon 7D, 15-85, Canon 85 1.8 USM, Sigma 30 1.4, 50mm 1.8, Canon 100 2.8L IS Macro, Canon 70-300L IS USM+Kenko 1.4 Pro 300DGX, Canon 430EX II and RS 4 Classic

just thought id update everyone.
i threw the hs10 in the local tip

Purchased a Nikon d7000 with the 18-105 kit lens
a flash and some wireless triggers
a nikkor 50mm f1.8d
and a manfrotto ballhead tripod

and the results are great
i use the body with the 50 1.8 at 2.8 320th sec and the flash at 128th power and im really happy with the shots and the focus.

thanks guys just thought id give an update

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yes i admit i own a fuji hs10, please dont hold that against me.

Glad you found a solution for your shooting, have fun.


Cheers

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Nikon D7000, D40X, Nikkor 18- 200 VR II, f3.5-5.6, 70-300 AF non VR, Kit Lenses.