Cycle News is a weekly magazine that covers all aspects of motorcycling including Supercross, Motocross and MotoGP as well as new motorcycles
Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/141018
pushed to th e limits o f its design . WHICH CAM ERA FOR WHAT? J*ReJJlafanfJmage C. « ~ w Z w -' U >U By Richard H. Cree d A DAY AT THE RACES Yo u are sta nd ing at the bottom of t he jump watching alI the hot dogs zap across the top, thinking, " Wow-gee, that she' am sto ut !" Just then an out-of-breat h fat man in a re d jump su it with pat ches alI over it comes panting up, fumb les around in his poc kets, loads one of the man y cameras swinging precario usly from his neck an d shoulders, and starts clacking away. As you watch the flurry of activi ty you beco me aware th at the riders must know him because they kee p tr ying to ou tdo each with cross-ups and other bits of ham. " Hmm mmmrn," you th ink . "That.'s t he stuff. If [ had a bu nch of came ras instead of my grandma's card board wonderb o x I coul d take some peac hy-kcen flicks and be o n my wa y to fame and fortu ne. Might even meet J oel Whatshisna me ." GET SERIOUS You might and yo u might no t . Th e po int is, th ere is no reaso n wh y you sho uld n't be able to tak e good pho to graphs and may be even sell th em t o rider or pu blications. All it take s is good, sound equipment, a few basics of ph otography, some co mmo n sense, and pract ice. And ent husiasm. If you do n't get exc ite d abou t ph ot ograph y, for get it . You can have th e finest equ ipment in th e worl d but if you do n't get psyc hed up, you will never reach th e level of acco mplishme nt yo u wish. GOOD EQUIPMENT WEIGHT IN GOLD IS WORTH ITS Get the best equipment yo u can afford . When I say "afford", I am ask ing, "Just how much is photography worth to you, anyway ?" If you are content with a box camera, fine. If you can afford t o get the best equipment right off th e bat , good. But most of us aren't so fort unate. So the next b est th ing is a good solid camera in o ne of the low er-pri ced lines or a used camera of the mo re expensive br ands. Of the two, I would choose th e used mo del. Why? Because the used 'to p grade mo del will pro bably be more versatile and have more features. Qua lit y is quality no matter how muc h it has be en used , as lon g as it hasn't been ab used. Most good quality used came ras co me from peo ple like you who have an interest in ph ot ograp hy an d trad ed u p to a better mo del. Or they decid ed they did n't nee d t hat ca mera afte r all. Or did n't like ph o togra ph y, after all. Or fo r a hundred different reaso ns. Very few used cameras co me ·fro!" pros for the simple reason that wor king pro fession als make up a small . portion of the market . Also, it has been my experience that pros ten d to trade am ongst the mselves . What th is mean s to yo u is that a t ypic al used Nikon , Leica, Alpa, or Co nta rex has rarely been ..~~u. 8 Now you have to decid e what camera , wha t size fo rmat. To save a lo t of tim e and ex planatio n, my advice is to get a 35mm single lens reflext (SLR) . (And if you get a good used Niko n F yo u will not only o wn a legend in it s own ti me hut will he look ed up o n as o ne-wh o-kno ws.) Why a 35mm ? Because it 's the mo st versati le, the lightest , an d with 36 ex posures per ro lI yo u won't have to be changing film every five minutes. Why an SLR ? Because most race pho togra phy is do ne with a 135mm or longer lens an d it 's easier to foc us, the lenses are cheape r, and there are a hund red o ther reaso ns. Try it, you'll like it. If yo u must have the larger 2112 film format , grea t. Th eir main st ren ghth is grainless prints and better sha do w det ail. Get a Hasselb lad mo to r d rive and a 70 mm back with a pr ism an d a 250mm Sonnar an d ha ve at it . Or a Bronica without the mo tor. A t t he end of t he day let me kno w if it was wort h selling the ho use and mo rtgaging the children and selling blood to th e Red Cross to pay for yo ur doub le hernia . Th e main prob lem wit h 2\4-size cameras is their weight , bu lk, and initial co st . Different strokes... If yo u are realIy st oked on getting a 2\4, there is an alternative. It's mad e in East Germ an y an d it's called the Pentacon Six TL. It 's shaped like a 35mm, is ab surdly low-priced, is just as versatil e as many 35' s, an d has a wide variety of lenses. It 's o ne wea k point has been the film advance . It breaks. But this has been imp roved . So be careful with it. I plan to get o ne with in the nex t few mo nth s. A new on e. Back to 35's. Listen, I realize tha t not everyone guide fapRofagrapHic 6l~8 Even with a telephot o you sho uld get very after th e third moto. Tells a story , right? O fficials, poo r fellows, are always good subjects for humo r. Photography: Richard H. Cr