The 2015 Moto GP with the Sony A7II
By Chad Wadsworth – His Website is HERE
With overcast skies, rain and major storms threatening all weekend, the 2015 Moto GP Grand Prix of the Americas went off with only a minor hitch (debris on the track prior to start). Just before the race, the skies opened up and the sun broke through, lighting up the brilliant red, white and blue track elements. Red Bull racer, Spaniard Marc Marquez, pulled off the “three-peat” with his third consecutive victory at the annual event held at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, TX.
I packed relatively light for the event, considering the number of 600mm bazookas being hauled around by circuit photographers. The Sony A7II, A7S, the new FE 28mm f2, FE 55mm f1.8, Minolta High Speed APO 200mm f2.8 (A-mount) and rain gear were all stashed away into a small Think Tank backpack.
For Saturday’s qualifying, using the adapted Minolta (a legendary lens) was like bringing a knife to a gunfight. The combination of 1987 screw drive AF motor and adapter just couldn’t keep up with the action, even with the a7II advanced AF tracking. Luckily, Sony had the FE 70-200mm f4 enroute, with a just-in-time delivery for Sunday.
What a difference the native FE lens made for AF tracking. On the A7II using Pre-AF, CAF and tracking, the lens picked up focus almost instantly and was able to stay on subject during some of the fastest racing (220mph on the straights) on the planet. Certainly, the combination had its limits but I was shocked at the number of keepers it produced. At the end of the day, I walked away confident in the current ability of the alpha platform and optimistic about future capabilities.
Until Sony has big gun lenses and a true professional body, this solution is not ideal for the tiny percentage of working pros who deal with these ultra high-speed environments but the writing is on the wall – expect that improvements in processing speed, hardware and software will soon make these cameras viable at the extreme niches of photography.
The combination of small, lightweight bodies and lenses was a boon for reportage style coverage of the event. The new FE 28mm continues to amaze with sharp rendering that reminds me of my old Ricoh GR1 and Minolta TC-1. The quick focus also came in handy when shooting some flatland BMX and Trials demos. I was just feet away from the bikes (another photographer got his foot run over) and the camera nailed focus every time. This lens is such a tremendous value! Mate the 28mm with the 55mm f1.8 and you have a dynamic duo that covers four useful focal lengths (28mm, 40mm, 55mm, 83mm) if you utilize APS-C mode on occasion.
By the end of the race, I was exhausted but high on the adrenaline from covering this prestigious event. The Circuit of the Americas is one of the finest tracks in the world and still under appreciated by the US motorsport community. If you are a fan, you owe it to yourself to make it out to Austin for the upcoming American LeMans and Formula One races later this year.
Hey Chad! Great shots I absolutely love the way you have edited your photos, and the color… what camera did you use to take most of these shots? and if you were to take one camera which one would u have taken? a7s or a7ii?
Great work love it!
Nice images!
I shoot motorsports as well, AF and long glass are the weak spots with the A7’s. People will throw out adapters and A-mount lenses, but if I’m going to use something that big/clunky, I’d prefer to use my D750 as its superior AF and Nikons better lens selection is much more suited to this kind of work.
Good to see! Marquez’s qualifying was stupefying!
Beautiful work! I love the look of these. Care to share any processing ideas? Thanks… 😉
The picture of a lonly competitor in a blured background is by far the best picture.
Ditto. Incredible shot. Frame that bad boy.
You’re not well informed, there is an very expensive SONY A-mount 4/500mm glass, which can be adapted easily with the LA-EA4 Adapter with all functions, on an any SONY A7x camera body! Furthermore, any Long telephoto lens can be adapted to These cameras! No sweat!
You should read the text again Rainer. I was using the LA-EA4 with the A-Mount Minolta HS APO 200/2.8 on the first day of he shoot and have used that combination many times in the past to shoot sports. I am quite aware of all the great long A-Mount options. The weak link in that chain is the LA-EA4. Don’t get me wrong, it is better than every other adapter solution out there and the PDAF is plenty fast but the native FE lenses just perform quicker on the a7II when using AF Lock (tracking). I would definitely be able to use the 500/4 with success but would use a different shooting style – pre focusing or MF.
Great energy in these images, lots of fun to look at. Amazing the little A7II produced these.
AP
I know exactly what you mean by being exhausted. It’s odd, isn’t it, that photography can be so draining? You wouldn’t think it, but it’s often true.
You are more or less right, I think, in saying that mirrorless cameras, especially Micro 4/3 systems, are almost ready to take over from DSLRs in this area. I’m surprised that Sony hasn’t already re-engineered existing Minolta primes for the E mount.
All this used to be done with manual focus lenses. I’m not saying that you should or shouldn’t use AF, but if you take away AF from the equation, DSLRs are obsolete already. Either way, motorsport is not something I’ve ever tried. I don’t know if I ever will do it, but it looks fun. 🙂
Awesome photos… come back Casey!
Wonderful photos. Very expressive. And the colors are great, despite the overcast weather. Any info on the post-processing work flow would be highly appreciated!
Really nice series! As other have said: transporting the atmosphere really well and great colors/crispness.
This guy is good. Much respect. These photos are inspiring to me. Thank you for sharing.
Great set of shots dude!
Thanks to all for the kudos. Glad you enjoyed the story.
Circuit of The America’s is a tightly run and well oiled venue….they know how to get people in and out of that place better than a NYC traffic cop…….
Oh yeah nice set of photos….looks like you got some pretty close shots at times, did you get a special pass to shoot photos or just get good seats?
Man, I just love these photos. Used to live in Austin a few miles from where the track is now. Still astonished that they finished that project in time!
It did seem like a minor miracle didn’t it? They did it though and what a track. One of our good friends actually designed many of the structures – the grandstand and the tower.
Great set of pictures – you made us feel like we were a part of the action. Number 26 (biker leaned over in center with spectators above) was outstanding.
Great set of photos! Enjoyed browsing through them.
Great stuff! Thanks for sharing. The colors are amazing and the images look very crisp.
these are great- awesome to see the behind the scenes and emotion, and not just a 200 picture photo dump of racing pics.
however, all of the pics with the racing can’t be real, because everyone on the internet says the A7 series can’t take action shots like a ‘real’ dslr.
great photo series- thanks for sharing.
haha, yes, I hear that a lot. Can’t be done! Sure.
I’m looking to purchase either the A7ii or the A7S this week, as my new primary camera.
I’m a VSCO kinda guy (love the processing here). Aside from in super-low light do you find much difference in the images from these two cameras in terms of how they ‘feel’?
Everytime I ask about which one I should buy I get a series of pointer on shutter speeds and features or pointed to a set of graphs.
The A7Ii is a MUCH nicer felling camera. It has better construction, 5 Axis IS built in, and is a much tougher body as well. Loads of improvements. The A7s is also fantastic but it’s claim to fame is LOW LIGHT. The A7II can do lowlight but the A7s does it better if you are in darkness. I own both and prefer the A7II…read my reviews on them as I talk about you question in my A7II review.
Even the dials? That’s the one thing keeping me glued to my a7. Love those nice big dials. The ones on the a7II look like the a99 ones, which ended up skipping abominably. Do they still feel good, Steve? The moving of the shutter button I could probably live with (great for reversing grip, shooting from the hip).
I love my A7S, I would never consider letting it go, unless there is an A7Sii. I completely agree with Steve. The A7S’ main advantage is insane low light. And that silent shutter. Both of which I can’t part with. It’s forever now with me and this sensor. Because I live in the dark.
Otherwise the A7ii is better in pretty much every other respect. Which is why I’m WAITING impatiently for an A7Sii. 5-axis IBIS would make the A7S the best camera of all time.
Thanks! I will have another look over the reviews 🙂
I should clarify – I mean the feel of the images rather than the feel of the cameras. All things being equal I’d slightly prioritize lighter weight over construction to be honest.
I’ve read people saying that the A7S pictures have a ‘medium format look’ due to the ‘bigger pixels’. I don’t know whether this is just psychology or whether a photo shot on the A7S and one shot on the A7II at a lower ISO feels any different to work with.
Steve sums it up pretty well. The a7S is a unique camera and one that I would have a hard time giving up for my low light concert work but the a7II is a workhorse – the closest thing to a professional body Sony has released.
Wonderful images, but I think I love the processing more.
Also, given you used the 200 hs g, a fabulous pidce of glass, it really illustrates the issues behind screw mount lenses. Do you think Sony’s longer SSM lenses (300/2.8, 500 4, or even the 70-400 g) would have served better than the 70-200/4?
The 200mm HS APO is indeed an incredible lens and I’ve used it to shoot Formula One on the A7 so it can be done, but I was wanting to try and use the AF tracking of the a7II this weekend. I think the weak link is not so much the screw drive but rather the LA-EA4 adapter. The native lenses support the AF tracking feature much better in my opinion.
A few words and comments. Wow. Fantastic. Was that Keeanu? Red Bull Girls are HOT!!
Your captures are not only great within themselves but you really caught the atmosphere and energy of the day in such a way as I feel like I was there. That to me is more important than the photos individually. Really good stuff!
uh, he said his name was Neo? 😉
Great stuff here, Chad! Love the colors and the images from pit row. You are correct that we Americans don’t appreciate moto go. Totally different in Europe and Asia. But, we do have the Red Bull ladies!! Wow! 🙂
Best regards,
bob
Wow! is right. The Ducati girls were pretty cute too but Red Bull was in command.
Nice capture! Is that Keanu reeves?
affirmative
Amazing shots there. Great work!!