show us some links to your shots so we can help.

going beyond 300mm to get closer to the action gets expensive and requires more camera gear. tripods monopods etc. as you have probably already worked out.

getting into the water, are you going out in the surf or are you in a shallow flat water spot? do you want to keep working with the D60 or happy to get something else.

i use a Nereus waterproof bag for my DSLR. its light weight and adaptable to any body type. so can keep using it when its time to upgrade the body. its not the most streamlined thing and the buttons are not always easy to press if you need to change a setting. but it more than does the job.

Thanks JP
I've got a tri and mono pods- just need to get closer. The shots are ok but not close enough for my liking.
Would like to keep using the D60 in a housing if possible.

I'll have a look at the site 62. good looking fella in your avatar.
Don't forget to check out the snow kiting sceen.

Hey Ian,

I've got a Canon 7D with a Sigma 150mm - 500mm Lens (around $950 or so) which has a pretty good 'bang for the buck' performance so you could start there. I will one day get a Sigma 2X adaptor (around $400 or so) which apparently works ok but as yet not sure how that will go. It is fairly heavy so you'll need a tri/mono pod and the missus will complain for sure if you dare to ask her to take some pics. If you get the Canon equivalent lens you'll be paying big so Sigma isn't bad, does what I want anyway. Take the camera in to camera shop and ask if you can try the lens on your camera, take a few shots and see if you like it.

Good luck and have fun.

cheers,

Robbie

If you do decide to get In the water don't be shy to spend on a good housing system, it could cost you a lot less in the long run.

Also are you getting the most out of your current set up? Keep your ISO as low as possible (100), to get the best out of your lens try shoot at double its f-stop rating (ie. if it's 2.8 shoot at 5.6), this will keep things sharp/er. If you keep quality high then crop into the image in post and play around with some sharpening tools in Photoshop.

Hopefully this saves you a few grand on new equipment..

Or throw this in there general direction :)

www.gizmodo.com.au/2013/11/the-throwable-panoramic-ball-cam-is-finally-hereand-its-incredible/

You've got a 60D very nice camera I had one when I was starting out. Saffer is right the 75-300 is a pretty ordinary lens, but the EF 70-300 is a lot better and very good bang for the buck goes for around $500 new. But if you want more reach its very hard to get better value for money other than the Canon 100-400 L, but if budget is an issue then the Sigma 150-500 is ok.
You can get a housing for the 60D but a decent one will cost more than the camera!
But if you want really up close and personal shots getting in the water with a housing is the only way. Panasonic, Sony and Olympus are the 3 main brands of compact cameras that are either waterproof or can fit in a OEM housing, be prepared to spend a few bickies and also to have to swim and got in close to the subject.

If you buy Sigma 150-500, a 1.4 and 2.0 extender will not autofocus on that lens. The Canon 100-400L will autofocus with a 1.4 extender but only the centre point, and will not autofocus with a canon 2.0 extender at all.

The shot below was taken with a 70D which is just a newer version of a camera that similar to yours, but to be fair I was using a Canon L prime 500mm F4 and Extender 1.4 giving an effective range of 1120mm on the 1.6 crop factor 70D (same as 60D) body. I was approx 700-800M away on the walkway at Cronulla and this guy was bodyboarding at Shark Island. Specs for the shot are F5.6 Iso 640 and shutter 1/3200th and the best advice I was given was to invest in good quality L series lenses, and even to avoid the Canon EFS lenses as they only fir the crop bodies (70D and under).
Also this is a new Nikon thats fully waterproof - www.cnet.com/

high as a kite said..
Hi all,I'm not happy with the shot's I'm getting, just to far away.Canon D60

Lens 75 - 300Next step I guess is to get into the water.

Been searching but I thought I might ask if anyone has done it and what gear they used?

I'm after entery level for a start.

300mm should be plenty. Just get closer and buy a monopod because windy days will throw the lens around. It's heavy. Up your ISO so you are shooting at a higher speed. Remember; light bounces of water so you may need to compensate for extra light the camera 'thinks' it's reading. Muck around with giving it a extra half-stop of full stop. Use the bracketing ... or just get a waterproof point-and-click for $250 (Gumtree!!!!), and get out there with them!

Thanks guys, some real good advise. will research more.

I have the EF 70 - 300 and use either the mono or tri pod. Also keep out of the wind if possible.

What I'm trying to do is get a crisp shot and crop. Jury still out in my mind to whether a longer lens will achieve a better result(with in my budget anyway)

Steve,
I get a similar result as in your pic.
What I'm trying to achieve is to be able to bring the riders face into focus.
Well aware that the light and AF might be picking up the waves around him.

Probably expecting too much and it might be time for a swim.

high as a kite said..

Thanks guys, some real good advise. will research more.

I have the EF 70 - 300 and use either the mono or tri pod. Also keep out of the wind if possible.

What I'm trying to do is get a crisp shot and crop. Jury still out in my mind to whether a longer lens will achieve a better result(with in my budget anyway)

Steve,
I get a similar result as in your pic.
What I'm trying to achieve is to be able to bring the riders face into focus.
Well aware that the light and AF might be picking up the waves around him.

Probably expecting too much and it might be time for a swim.

Unless you can get the rider to fill about 20-25% of the frame you will not be able to crop so that the face is sharp and distinguishable. Set your camera auto focus to use only the centre focus point and make sure thats on the subjects face when you push the shutter button. Make sure you are shooting at 1/1600th or faster. Like I said the EF 70-300 is actually a good value lens and is quite sharp. The thing to understand is that your camera is a crop sensor and that it effectively increases the range of your lens by a factor of 1.6 so your 70 to 300 is really 112mm - 480mm which is a pretty good range for shooting kitesurfing from the beach or a point. Always shoot in RAW and get a copy of Lightroom on your computer, so you can adjust the image.

hey Ian,

I use a Cannon 7d and a cannon L series 70-200 f4 as my mainstay setup, the real trick is to get in close and make sure the sun is in the right position keep your ISO low and your shutter speed above 1/1000. (Min speed if they are coming straight at you)

You will get a much better hit rate with the high quality lenses as the ultrasonic focus is much faster

I don't shoot in raw as the 7d shoots at 8fps and on a good day l can take a 1000 images or more, uses up way to much memory. Also the buffer in the camera fills up very quickly . Photoshop or lightroom is definitely the way to go for post processing.

Shooting in raw does give you a lot more room for adjustment and detail recovery in Photoshop. I don't sell any photo's l just give them away and l have never met a kiter that doesn't like photo's of themselves whatever the quality.

I am lucky, where l kite l can get out on the sandbar or walk out in shallow water for a fair way "god help me if l trip as l don't use a camera housing"