Dean Hipwell, Doncaster, CDH Racing2015 British Superbike Championship, BSB R01, Donington Park, Derbyshire. 6th April 2015.<br/>Dean Hipwell, Doncaster, CDH Racing Dean Hipwell, Doncaster, CDH Racing, 2015 British Superbike Championship, BSB R01, Donington Park, Derbyshire. 6th April 2015. Canon EOS-1D -X, Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM, Focal length 300mm; 1/640 sec; f8; ISO 200; Shutter priority. John Ingram, Hindley, Morello Racing2015 British Superbike Championship, BSB R01, Donington Park, Derbyshire. 6th April 2015.<br/>John Ingram, Hindley, Morello Racing John Ingram, Hindley, Morello Racing, 2015 British Superbike Championship, BSB R01, Donington Park, Derbyshire. 6th April 2015. Canon EOS-1D -X, Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM, Focal length 300mm; 1/640 sec; f6.3; ISO 200; Shutter priority. Rob Mcnealy, Sittingbourne, McNealy Brown ltd2015 British Superbike Championship, BSB R01, Donington Park, Derbyshire. 6th April 2015.<br/>Rob Mcnealy, Sittingbourne, McNealy Brown ltd Rob Mcnealy, Sittingbourne, McNealy Brown ltd, 2015 British Superbike Championship, BSB R01, Donington Park, Derbyshire. 6th April 2015. Canon EOS-1D -X, Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM, Focal length 300mm; 1/640 sec; f7.1; ISO 200; Shutter priority. Chris Taylor, Coventry, In Moto Corse2015 British Superbike Championship, BSB R01, Donington Park, Derbyshire. 4th April 2015.<br/>Chris Taylor, Coventry, In Moto Corse Chris Taylor, Coventry, In Moto Corse, 2015 British Superbike Championship, BSB R01, Donington Park, Derbyshire. 4th April 2015. Canon EOS-1D -X, Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM, Focal length 300mm; 1/640 sec; f7.1; ISO 400; Shutter priority. Leon Jeacock, Kirkby Mallory, Geo E Davies Racing2015 British Superbike Championship, BSB R01, Donington Park, Derbyshire. 6th April 2015.<br/>Leon Jeacock, Kirkby Mallory, Geo E Davies Racing Leon Jeacock, Kirkby Mallory, Geo E Davies Racing, 2015 British Superbike Championship, BSB R01, Donington Park, Derbyshire. 6th April 2015. Canon EOS-1D -X, Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM, Focal length 300mm; 1/640 sec; f7.1; ISO 200; Shutter priority. Benjamin Godfrey, Long Eaton, BPG Racing , Cody Nally, Athlone, MWR Motorsports2015 British Superbike Championship, BSB R01, Donington Park, Derbyshire. 6th April 2015.<br/>Benjamin Godfrey, Long Eaton, BPG Racing , Cody Nally, Athlone, MWR Motorsports Benjamin Godfrey, Long Eaton, BPG Racing , Cody Nally, Athlone, MWR Motorsports, 2015 British Superbike Championship, BSB R01, Donington Park, Derbyshire. 4th April 2015. Canon EOS-1D -X, Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM, Focal length 300mm; 1/800 sec; f5.6; ISO 200; Shutter priority.

Its not all about capturing crashes! Jenny Tinmouth, Ellesmere Port, Honda Racing2015 British Superbike Championship, BSB R01, Donington Park, Derbyshire. 6th April 2015.<br/>Jenny Tinmouth, Ellesmere Port, Honda Racing Jenny Tinmouth, Ellesmere Port, Honda Racing, 2015 British Superbike Championship, BSB R01, Donington Park, Derbyshire. 6th April 2015. Canon EOS-1D X, Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM, Plus Sigma TELE CONVERTER 2x TC-2001, Focal length 600mm ; 1/1000 sec; f11; ISO 400; Shutter priority. Shane Byrne, Sittingbourne, PBM Kawasaki2015 British Superbike Championship, BSB R01, Donington Park, Derbyshire. 6th April 2015.<br/>Shane Byrne, Sittingbourne, PBM Kawasaki Shane Byrne, Sittingbourne, PBM Kawasaki, celebrates on the podium, 2015 British Superbike Championship, BSB R01, Donington Park, Derbyshire. 6th April 2015. Canon EOS-5D MKIII, Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 DG OS HSM, Focal length 300mm; 1/400 sec; f6.3; ISO 400; Shutter priority.

Sigma 120-300mm f2.8 DG OS HSM Lens Image Stabiliser.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I now have had a little more time to get used to the new Sigma 120-300mm f2.8 DG OS HSM Lens and although it performs brilliantly out of the box, it was now time to make use of the Sigma usb Dock and tweak some of the lenses settings to suit my needs.

This blog relates to shooting high speed action coming towards the camera, as opposed to panning.

I connected the lens to my Mac with the usb dock and launched the Sigma Optimization Pro software and then clicked on the Customization tab. As the focusing was not an issue, I moved onto the Customization Mode Setting tab.

I have altered the C1 settings to the following; to latch onto fast moving subjects coming towards, or away from the camera:

AF Speed Setting - Motor's Drive Speed Priority

OS Setting - Moderate View Mode

I have left the Focus Limiter Setting unchanged, as I don't find this an issue.

The British Superbike Championship is a fast paced action sport with riders pushing their bikes to the limits. Sometimes pushing too hard, resulting in them crashing. This all starts to happen in a fraction of a second and may not be where you are directly pointing the camera. So how quickly could the AF of the Sigma 120-300mm lens react and how would the OS 'smooth out' any camera movement in my haste to capture the incident?

As you will see from the images above, it performs absolutely brilliantly.

Motorbike Racing photography is not just about capturing crashes. Far from it. That is why I have also included the semi-silhouette of BSB's top female rider, Jenny Tinmouth, during the early morning Warm Up Session. Shot from a low angle, into the rising sun, as she crests the rise at over a hundred mph. This is a big ask of any lenses AF and OS capabilities.

To the victor goes the spoils and the image of Shane Byrne celebrating on the podium, to me captures his sheer delight in taking victory. What you can't see is that this picture is taken with me balancing precariously on a pit wall railing, to try and rise above the distracting chrome barrier, which would otherwise obscure the riders face! The AF can sometimes latch onto the spray from the champagne so you need it to be fast to refocus where you need it to. The OS has brilliantly illiminated any camera movement from my far from text book camera stance!

Again, you may have to adjust your focus settings/options on your camera body, to work in harmony with those of the lens. Please refer to your own manufactures guide for this.

Thank you for reading.