Will a Canon 80D with 70-200mm f/4 or 100-400mm work for night motorsport under track lights?
Asked 6/24/2021
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I’m planning to photograph a motorsport event at night under permanent track lighting. I use a Canon 80D and would likely bring either a Canon 70-200mm f/4 IS or Canon 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6. I’d like to shoot around 1/500s or faster for sharp action shots, but on the 80D I find ISO 3200+ gets noisy quickly. For an amateur shooting just for personal use, is this setup likely to be usable, or should I expect the light to be too low for those shutter speeds? Are there better approaches for getting good results at a night race?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
5y ago
2 Answers
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My experience is based on first hand with 70D and compare test images between 70 and 80D. I also own Canon 100-400.
So first will be wise to set exposure compensation to -1 (or -1.5) because on the place will be dark and you want to show the darkness. In post do not push much the shadows. Then you can set the ISO to Auto and limit it from above. You can try ISO 6400 also.
Also consider some photos on much lower speed to show the motion.
At the end is better to have grainy photo instead of not having it at all.
P.S. Based on my personal experience light is never enough :)
Originally by user34947. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user34947
5y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
It depends heavily on how bright that specific track lighting is, but in general night motorsport is demanding. With an 80D, 1/500s+ usually means pushing ISO high, and your f/4 and especially f/4.5-5.6 lenses are not ideal for this. The 100-400mm is much more of a daylight lens here; the 70-200mm f/4 is the better of your two options, but still limited for night action.
Practical approach: use Auto ISO with an upper limit, and don’t be afraid to try ISO 6400 if the alternative is missing the shot. A noisy image is better than no image. Slight negative exposure compensation can help preserve the night look and avoid over-brightening shadows later.
Also adjust expectations and shoot what’s easier: corners or hairpins where cars are slower, moments in the pits/paddock, or intentional slower-shutter panning shots to show motion. Those are often more achievable than freezing fast action all around the track.
If you want the best chance of freezing on-track action at night, faster gear helps a lot—typically an f/2.8 lens and a camera body with stronger high-ISO performance.
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