Speedway with a 5D2

The_Abyss · 26 Aug 2011 at 00:07

Not anywhere as easy as I thought it might be...

I went to Foxhall Stadium in Ipswich tonight, home of the Ipswich Witches speedway team who were riding against Rye House Rockets. Ipswich are now in the Premier League which sounds fantastic but it is effectively division 2. I hadn't been to a speedway match for over 20 years.

Not a great surprise that the stadium is exactly the same as 20 years ago - virtually no investment in that time. That includes minimal investment in lighting. As soon as the light dropped I ended up shooting ISO 6400 at f/2.8. The motion, combined with those settings, played havoc with the 5D2. Focus was very frequently off, and the noise at this ISO isn't managed at all well. Tonight was one night where a 7D would really have shined over the 5D2 - better reach with the crop sensor and faster focus, overcoming the noise handling.

I don't think I've ever had a lower keeper ratio than tonight, however the night was huge fund (there were a couple of thousand people there), it was warm and the home team won

A couple from the set:

IMG_8401 by Greg Kingston, on Flickr

IMG_8516 by Greg Kingston, on Flickr

IMG_8473 by Greg Kingston, on Flickr

bulb66 · 26 Aug 2011 at 13:17

Hello fellow witcher, lol

Yep Foxhall hasn't changed a bit, it's pants really. All the money from the events held there just goes to the owner and not back into the stadium

I haven't been in years, not since Tony Rickardsson and Tomasz Gollob left.

Anyway on to the shots, as you say the lighting is not the best so the high ISO has meant there a lot on noise, out of these the first one is the best.

J

The_Abyss · 26 Aug 2011 at 21:27

I've e-mailed them to see if I can get into the centre paddock for a meeting, just to see the difference. They've only got two team photographers, and one's casual, so I might get lucky.

Would love to get a 7D out there to see the difference though.

log1K · 26 Aug 2011 at 22:29

Hello mate - next time you go give me a shout. I'll tag along and let you use my 7D to test.

The difference would be interesting.

The_Abyss · 26 Aug 2011 at 22:39

Will do - hopefully won't be another 20 year wait though...!

domthecondom · 28 Aug 2011 at 00:05

Hi,

I have taken a couple of speedway photos from the recent one at the Millenium stadium

Mind if i share them?

The_Abyss · 28 Aug 2011 at 01:26

Of course - go for it - the more the merrier. I live about 700 yards as the crow flies from the Ipswich stadium (you get used to the noise!) and I'm a little ashamed that I've waited so long to return to look at a sport that is literally on my doorstep.