Quick Pics: Dragon Boat Racing at Stanley.

Just wanted to share a few shots I took for fun at the Sun Life Stanley International Dragon Boat Championships, in Hong Kong. Despite the hot humid Hong Kong summer heat and the packed crowds, I wish I could have stayed longer to capture more of the great moments in this huge event though I only had time to shoot a few races.

Shooting from the beach near the finish line is a great position as it allows you to capture the finish line as well as the strain and energy on the faces and bodies of the competitors. Using the Sony 70-200 f/4 “white” telephoto zoom lens (SEL70200G) on the A7R Mark I body, I found the lens didn’t quite have enough reach.

The A7R has plenty of usable resolution so cropping in does help. But being unable to get closer to the action, these situations are where big and expensive telephotos shine. Alternatively superzoom point and shoots such as Canon PowerShot SX60 HS with its 1365mm equivalent lens or the Nikon P900 review with an equivalent 2000mm lens would work will in environments like this, given that there’s plenty of light to offset the small sensor and slower lens (smaller apertures).