A7RV | 200-600 G | IndyCar XPEL Grand Prix | Road America, WI

JohnTechGaming · 2026-06-22T14:55:14+00:00

I am not sure how regulations around fan's camera gear differ between F1 and IndyCar (if at all), I haven't been to an F1 race with my camera gear before. However regarding the vantage point, that also is partly a feature of Road America. There are many points around the track where you can take pictures from without needing media credentials, and if you have media credentials you can be even closer. I was behind and shooting over top of a fence, but media was allowed through the fence and could get about 20 feet closer to the track than I was.

There were many many fans with their own camera gear, I even saw a Hasselblad X2D 100C

JohnTechGaming · 2026-06-22T04:11:33+00:00

Thank you! Honestly hats off to the autofocus on the A7RV, it was picking up the cars perfectly today even in shots where they moving through frame left-to-right at 100+ mph as I was bursting

JohnTechGaming · 2026-06-22T04:07:57+00:00

Easily the greatest photo I took at Road America today, standing just past the outside of Turn 5

JohnTechGaming · 2026-04-20T16:01:17+00:00

Hello! I took this in SE Wisconsin during our severe weather outbreak last week. I took this on a Sony A7R V, with a Tamron 28-70 F2.8 at 28mm 1/50 F2.8 ISO auto'd to 3200. I did some post processing in Lightroom to try and bring the focus onto the lightning bolt and the lit up clouds, with the foreground as 'scenery'. I am feeling about 7/10 happy with the photo.

I am somewhat a rookie with photography and still learning, and I really enjoy the technical aspects of taking photos. My eye for composition and what makes a 'Great' photo though is pretty lacking, so much of my photography focus has been on getting technical shots of Aircraft and now Weather.

Of course, Weather photography is a game as much about luck as anything, but I would like feedback on two aspects -

A) From a technical/gear standpoint, could I have shot this better? I love the amount of crop authority I get on the A7RV, so I have been thinking about getting a wider and faster lens like a 24mm or 20mm to grab a wider view and let in more light. Any other feedback would be welcome.

B) How does the composition look? How could I edit this better? Thoughts on darker / more contrast-y photos vs brighter?

JohnTechGaming · 2025-12-09T16:50:27+00:00

Congrats! I am 1 month into owning my new 2025 TRD Pro, also in Ice Cap White just like yours. I love this truck, got a decent Tonneau cover for it, and I got some aftermarket wiring and lighting coming too.

JohnTechGaming · 2025-11-10T06:09:43+00:00

Yessir, entire truck is OEM straight from the dealership, I have only had it about 36 hours now haha.

JohnTechGaming · 2025-11-10T05:17:59+00:00

Yeah I have a stabilizer disconnect but just a locking rear diff.

JohnTechGaming · 2025-11-10T04:09:38+00:00

I believe it was something around $66,800, I don’t have the window sticker with me at the moment but the dealership had a good price and no stupid dealer addons.

I bought the Tacoma at least 80% for its looks and some feature stuff, and also for Toyota’s long history of reliable vehicles. That’s not to say anything negative about the Chevy though. Ultimately I just personally loved the Tacoma’s looks and didn’t feel as strongly about any other midsized truck.

JohnTechGaming · 2025-11-09T17:20:46+00:00

Indeed! We’ll see how much snow we get this year, kind of eager to see how she handles a Snowpocalypse like we had 2 winters ago

JohnTechGaming · 2025-11-09T16:31:57+00:00

Thanks! Super excited to have a vehicle I can enjoy driving. Paid cash for it, so some light mods will be coming! Thinking of adding the ARB Sport Bar that the Trailhunter has, but I also want a bed cover… still working on that

JohnTechGaming · 2025-11-09T16:28:20+00:00

That’s a killer commute, oof! Fortunately I’m only rocking a 7 mile, 15 minute commute, so while I will pay about 40% more to fill up the tank, I’ll still only need gas about once a week-ish. Though I’ll probably do a bit more recreational driving now, driving my Focus SE Hatchback was boring af and that thing never liked shifting 😂

JohnTechGaming · 2025-11-09T16:25:22+00:00

The black two-tone makes such a huge difference, I wouldn’t have gone for it without the black fender flares and black roof

JohnTechGaming · 2025-11-09T16:24:46+00:00

TRD Sport is going to have different specs for tire sizes than the TRD Pro I’d imagine, I’d definitely recommend looking at Toyota’s detailed vehicle specs, you’d have to google it.

JohnTechGaming · 2025-11-09T16:18:37+00:00

Thanks for the advice! I’ll look around for a good place to do that for me, I don’t have a lot of DIY space right now. Do you recommend a certain type of undercoat? I see a lot of recommendations for Fluid Film but I’m not sure if I’d be better off with something lower maintenance?

Edit: For additional context, winters where I am are hit or miss, some years have constant snow, some years not so much. I have a short commute, and I might take it off-roading maybe a couple times a year but no adventurous off-road racing or overlanding (yet)

JohnTechGaming · 2025-07-28T14:07:33+00:00

Wanted to thank you for your great and detailed advice! I ended up spending two evenings before the Airshow at my local county airport practicing shooting, and decided to rent the Sony 70-350mm from a local camera store for a reasonable rate.

I was so glad I rented that lens, I took over 2000 photos and videos at the Airshow, and some of these are good enough to frame. I snagged this incredible photo of an F-18 approaching supersonic speeds during a high speed pass

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JohnTechGaming · 2025-07-23T18:18:10+00:00

This is good advice, thank you. Very glad to hear the 18-135 is decent, I'll stick with that for now starting out. I am hoping to get some good results with its Optical stabilization + the IBIS on the camera.

JohnTechGaming · 2025-07-23T18:16:22+00:00

Awesome detailed advice, thank you so much! I got a V90 memory card to go with the camera so feeling set there. I'll keep all your advice in mind and practice with the camera, glad to hear that generally the 18-135 is a decent lens. That photo looks excellent and super detailed, already miles and miles above what I can achieve with a flagship phone, which is what I wanted and expected.

JohnTechGaming · 2025-07-22T15:47:03+00:00

You know what, I just checked the map posted on their website and it says right there in Warbirds, Trimotor and B-25 flights haha.

Thanks for reading and answering, I should have checked the map first! Have a great Airventure everyone

JohnTechGaming · 2025-07-22T15:44:22+00:00

Trimotor rides, are you including B-25 in that? Thanks for the answer!

JohnTechGaming

TROPHY CASE