motorsport camera

[termietermite]

Please stop talking about that lens, Steve!  Mr T was let out for a couple of days and came back with a D40.  The lens will be next....

[Steve Pyro]

Please stop talking about that lens, Steve!  Mr T was let out for a couple of days and came back with a D40.  The lens will be next....

   I've read on camera related forums that this is known as NAS - Nikon Acquisition Syndrome.  Not the D40x then?

[Piglet]

Is it the D40 or the D50 that you have to use only Nikon lenses on?    Seemed to me to put the cost of ownership up quite a lot?

If Jessops are still doing interest free credit I'd go for  a D200 - their price wasn't bad when we looked earlier in the year.  It's a much better camera and will probably last you longer.

I find a camcorder better - much easier to geta car in shot! 

[termietermite]

Is it the D40 or the D50 that you have to use only Nikon lenses on?    Seemed to me to put the cost of ownership up quite a lot?

As all our lenses are Nikkor it's not an issue.  The little thing looks a bit embarassed on the end of the fast zooms though!
I like the camcorder, not for the picture quality but the sound.  Wow!  Something that is always sadly lost on official DVDs in favour of some old f*rt burbling on in a flat, uninterested monotone!

[Steve Pyro]

Is it the D40 or the D50 that you have to use only Nikon lenses on?    Seemed to me to put the cost of ownership up quite a lot?

Anita,
Not necessarily Nikon lenses, but the D40 / D40x has no body inbuilt focus motor, so, to retain full autofocus, you must use lenses with their own focus motor (such as Nikon's AF-S and Sigma's HSM)

D50 / D70 / D80 / D200 etc have a body inbuilt motor so can use AF lenses with or without their own focus motor.

[alibongo]

Chris, I use a D50.  I'm pleased with my results from Sebring and Gainesville earlier this year.  Well worth the money.

I'd also recomend investing £340 in a Nikon 70-300 AF-S VR lens - very fast focusing / follow focusing and has vibration reduction.  I've found that 300mm is a better option than 200mm for us without media passes.

Hey Steve is that a good price then for the D50 body+bag+1gig card, am not sure how old it is? also what is the biggest SD card that can be used in this cam?

[Trackside]

Hey Steve is that a good price then for the D50 body+bag+1gig card, am not sure how old it is? also what is the biggest SD card that can be used in this cam?

Hi Chris. If I can join in here, I use a D70 that I've had for a couple of years now. Coupled with a Nikon 70-300mm f4.5-5.6 ED lens, I've found that it's a great set-up. Some friends of mine use a D50 with a Sigma 300mm zoom and they're very pleased with their results. They have a 1gb card which holds around 600-odd photos if you select a fine quality. Their Sigma is a cheaper lens than my Nikon but has a macro setting, which mine doesn't!

For £200, buy it, get yourself a Sigma if you don't want to fork out for a Nikon lens, and go and point it something quick! It's the best way to practice. Oh, and have fun! 

[alibongo]

Yup have just e-mailed my buddy hopefully I will get it this w/e when he comes down from London, cheers guys 

[Steve Pyro]

Chris, I paid £510 last October for a D50 and a couple of standard lenses (18-55 and 55-200), so £200 is a fair price.

I use 2GB cards and have a 1GB as a spare.

Again, extra cards can be bought much cheaper than on the high street, see Jersey based http://www.mymemory.co.uk/SD-Card

[Steve Pyro]

I keep going on about this lens (it's only been on sale for about 5 months) http://www.ephotozineshop.com/photo/lenstech/nikon/70300vr.html (sorry Termie)

I've had good results with it for motorsport - £330 from http://www.ephotozineshop.com/ or similar (my local London Camera Exchange shop has it for £399!)

[termietermite]

B*st*rd!!! I just have to look now... I suffer from NAS a little myself you know (although I only have 2 as opposed to Mr T's god knows how many).
Ref the D70.  I use one all the time and it's been adequate to any task I have set it.  I borrowed Mr T's D2H for Ricard and although it had a lot of advantages, my it was heavy to cart about in the heat.  It was OK as I was lucky enough to be able to use the press shuttle but I don't know how I'd have felt carting it and a bag full of lenses round LM on a hot June weekend.

Edit : If you are interested in looking at the average pic from a D70, most of my better stuff is here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/97986095@N00/

[alibongo]

Looks like I had better get the credit card out.....this month is going to hurt, 4 new tyres on the pick-up and road tax, and 2 lots of ferry crossings too 

[termietermite]

June is always a serious pain-in-the-wallet month but hey, it's what we live for isn't it?

[Leftie]

[/quote] If you are interested in looking at the average pic from a D70, most of my better stuff is here
http://www.flickr.com/photos/97986095@N00/
[/quote]

Mrs T,  some great shots there, much appreciated.

Jerry

[alibongo]

Hey nice piccys, as for June termie, every month is a pain in the wallet