I guess I might be the sole Kent resident to have attended the first three car race meetings of the year at Oulton Park, Cheshire, but I have always regarded it as my 'home' circuit, no matter where I happened to be living. It was also a first chance to give my freshly acquired Tamron 70-200 f2.8 a proper test...

1 - You've been framed (K-5 IIs, DA300)


2 - The shadows (K-5 IIs, DA300)


3 - Flying on the ground (K-5 IIs, 70-200)


4 - What could possibly go wrong? (K-3, 70-200)


5 - Question answered... (K-3, 70-200)


6 - Speed (K-3, 70-200, 1/125)


7 - Sorrow (K-3, DA300)


8 - Chaos (K-5 IIs, 70-200)


9 - "I'm sure there used to be racetrack somewhere around here..." (K-5 IIs, 70-200)

Yes, from Amazon Warehouse - boxed with case, hood, caps, collar and looks absolutely mint...

Hope it fulfils expectations. Mine arrived this morning and a quick early test suggests it will get plenty of use...

There are a couple of used ones for sale in the Amazon Warehouse link.

There were three, but I've ordered the other...

Thanks, other Simon.

Tamron 70-200 due to arrive tomorrow and will be pressed into service alongside DA300 at Oulton on Saturday. Fingers crossed...

Very sorry to hear that, Paul. I guess I might be told the same, but will keep my fingers crossed. I've just managed to find a second-hand Tamron 70-200 f2.8 for a very fair price and it should be with me before the weekend. That might reduce the focal pain, much as it stings financially...

Not one of my better days - the previously dropped Sigma 100-300 became less and less sharp as the afternoon went on - and the idiot holding it didn't notice until he saw the images on a large screen. A fair bit of wastage, then, and the lens will be off to SRS (thence Sigma) within the next 48 hours. The rain-affected Sigma 50-150 is being placed in a box of rice, in bid to draw out any condensation. Looks like I'll have a limited range of options at Oulton Park on Saturday.

In the meantime...

1 - Caterham three (K-5 IIs, DA300)


2 - Less than gentle giants (K-5 IIs, DA300)


3 - Sandstorm (K-5 IIs, DA300)


4 - Pick-up ruck (K-5 IIs, DA300)


5 - Great British Bake-off (K-3, Sigma 100-300)


6 - One Mk1 Ford Escort good... (K-3, Sigma 100-300)


7 - ...two Mk1 Ford Escorts better (K-3, Sigma 100-300)

Simon

I tend to vary my technique according to circumstance. If I'm panning, I usually get the best results by pre-focusing and then framing the shot via the viewfinder as appropriate. The downside is that some drivers take a different line every lap and thus drift in and out of the focus zone (in Formula One terms, Felipe Massa is a serial offender). Generally, though, it seems to be the best method.

If I'm taking single-car shots, at a sprint/hillclimb or during a practice/qualifying session, again I often pre-focus on a particular spot and trust drivers to pass through it.

In racing situations, I tend to stick with AF-C, because it's a more flexible method and gives you half a chance of capturing something if there's an incident nearby and you need to react. Like you, I don't have complete faith in AF-C - sometimes I'll take a sequence that is pin-sharp, followed by a sequence that is anything but (presumably because focus is consistently locking onto a kerb or something else just beyond the car). I generally use centre-point AF, so have only myself to blame if I miss the target.

Doubt the above will be of much use, but it's what I do.

Yrs undecided whether to cover Mallory Park, Snetterton, Brands Hatch or Harewood this weekend,
Other Simon

Some nice stuff there, Simon - particularly like the second & fourth.

A mate of mine has just picked up a Tamron 70-200 and obtained some excellent results with it at Oulton Park last weekend. I was already sorely tempted before I saw these...

Nice shots, Paul. Particularly like the Ferrari - an unusual angle, looks like the approach to Druids.

I'm standing just behind the barriers to the left of the crashing Astons. I was taking a wide-angle shot when that all happened. I witnessed quite a few mishaps, but was almost always using an inappropriate lens at the moment of impact.