A very wet day shooting superbikes with the Sony a6500 and the FE 100-400 F4.5-5.6 GM lens. Despite the miserable weather, I still thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to improve my shooting skills.
This was only my second time shooting superbikes. I had hoped for much better weather, sadly it wasn’t to be.
Thankfully I’d brought my umbrella with me and managed to wedge it into my jacket pocket so that it provided me with both hands free to shoot. Still, both my a6500 and 100-400mm GM lens got well and truly soaked on this day. I’m happy to report that the rain didn’t cause any issues with either camera or lens. Thank god! 🙂
A lot of the following shots are slightly overexposed, as somehow I managed to accidentally increase my exposure compensation in camera and didn’t realize until it was too late. But thankfully as I always shoot both JPEG and RAW this could easily be fixed in post if I wished.
303mm | 1/200 sec | f/5.6 | ISO 800
560mm | 1/160 sec | f/8.0 | ISO 100
560mm | 1/320 sec | f/8.0 | ISO 250
400mm | 1/200 sec | f/5.6 | ISO 640
400mm | 1/250 sec | f/5.6 | ISO 500
400mm | 1/250 sec | f/5.6 | ISO 400
400mm | 1/250 sec | f/5.6 | ISO 400
399mm | 1/250 sec | f/8.0 | ISO 160
560mm | 1/320 sec | f/8.0 | ISO 320
I’ve started playing around with the angles that I take some shots to try and add a little more drama. However, like I think the following shot demonstrates, sometimes you can easily go too far. But practice makes perfect!
400mm | 1/250 sec | f/5.6 | ISO 500
Despite the rainy conditions and low light, the Sony a6500 and the FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM lens worked flawlessly. Even in the low light and wet conditions, I didn’t notice any real reduction in auto focus speed, the lens never hunted. This lens and camera combination continues to impress me and I’m already looking forward to its next workout.
I feel that my panning skills are improving slightly, I had a few more keepers this time compared with my first superbike event. But I need to experiment with new angles and lower shutter speeds, none of the images I captured this day blew me away.
If you also love shooting superbikes or any other sport with your Sony Alpha camera, then I’ve setup the Sony Alpha Sports Shooters Group on Facebook where you can share your photos with fellow sports shooters.
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