D300s Autofocus: Astonishingly Fast
In actual fact, I’ve been using the D300s with the MB-10 battery grip, which adds 2 frames per second to the maximum shooting speed and 18 ounces to the weight. The first home game was in the evening, and I decided to use the 70-200 f2.8 VR with the D300s. I’m very familiar with the lens, and its behavior on the D300. The 70-200 f2.8 VR is an incredibly sharp lens, and the D300’s autofocus is generally regarded as pretty good. But in low light, there’s still noticeable autofocus lag, particularly when contrast differences are low.
This was also my first experience shooting with two bodies while actually wandering around a stadium venue. I think I need to start doing some upper body weight workouts…
I shot the band’s half-time performance, went home, and loaded up the photos in Adobe Bridge. I thought I’d gotten some good images – I’d felt in the groove that evening. But I was astonished at how many sharp, in focus images I’d shot.
Now, that doesn’t mean those were all good photographs. Most weren’t. I was moving, the band was moving, I was shooting at eight frames a second. All that means is that many of the compositions were off, sometimes by a wide margin. But the percentage of sharply focused shots seemed much higher. I’d gotten that feeling when I was shooting, but discounted somewhat due to something I call the “new toy” effect. That’s the feeling that your new gizmo is better, just because it’s newer — which is often not the case.
But when I looked at my photos, I was just blown away by how many of them were in focus, and in focus at where I’d pointed the camera. Here’s a couple of examples.
The Drum Line
Color Guard
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4 comments
Tim Adams says:
September 14, 2009 at 4:29 pm (UTC -7 )
Hey loyd,
Been following you from ExtemeTech day’s was sad to see the that end,
especially enjoyed podcasts… you allowed me to embrace my midlife geekery.
Caught your guest appearance on Tech Report leading me here.
Anywaaay…My daughter just finishing high school sports last year and now is participating at college level. I have spent the last 4 years in dimly lit indoor arenas trying to get high quality results. Shooting fast action indoors sports is always a challenge, even for the pro’s. Shooting action indoors requires fast shudder speeds, fast glass and strobe if allowed.
Some of nikon’s older prime lenses 85mm 1.8 & 50mm 1.4, are fast & affordable, though these are “D” type lens’s and focus is pin driven from camera body, thus slower than “S” type, but they do offer 2-3 stops which as you know is huge. Depth of field does become a issue at these aperatures but with good technique & timing you can achieve some high quality results.
If allowed I prefer to use 2 to 4 sb800′s with justin clamps (clipped on to any available support). If line of sight is good ( meaning your commander or on camera flash can see your remote unit) you can use Nikon’s CLS system, but CLS is not really designed for sports action photography. I found Paul C. Bluff Cybercync’s are small & inexpensive & are rated to to work up to 800 ft. as a good solution reliably remotely trip my sb’s.
With the SB’s You wont be able to run 7-8 frames per second as you do shooting with a high iso but if you can balance your ambient light with strobes you can get 2-3 frames per second.
Both these options will yield better results keeping your iso down and reducing noise.
Strobes are a little more work, but hey what’s a photo geek to do?
All the best and continued success
Tim Adams
Loyd Case says:
September 14, 2009 at 5:17 pm (UTC -7 )
Hi, Tim:
I know of others who use primes, particularly the 85mm f1.4. But I like the flexibility of zooms, so stick with those.
When I was shooting volleyball, it was actually against the rules to use speedlights. So while they’re great for freezing action, I wasn’t able to actually make use of them. So fast lenses and high ISOs was the rule of the day. I use a pair of Nikon speedlights in my product shoots, coupled with reflective umbrellas (an SB-900 and an SB-800). Commander mode is terrific; I just could never use them for shooting volleyball.
Here’s a link to some of my volleyball shots:
California State Championships last year:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/casehouse/sets/72157610820528929/
California Central Coast Section Championships:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/casehouse/sets/72157609913998324/
Jon Lusty says:
September 18, 2009 at 6:37 pm (UTC -7 )
Loyd,
Thank you much for this write-up on the D300s. I’ve had a D50 since it first came out and its been an excellent cam for me these past 4 years or so. However, I’m wanting to move up from 6MP (to allow for larger prints) and D-Lighting has appeal as well. Your impressions come at just the right time for me, right when I was trying to decide D300s or D90. I’m going with the D300s for the extra flexibility.
Hope all is going well with you post-ET. Seems you’ve landed on your feet! I think you should guest on This Week in Photography sometime. You’d fit right in with that confab, me thinks.
Jon in Minnesota
Loyd Case says:
September 18, 2009 at 7:08 pm (UTC -7 )
The one thing you should know is that the D300 has none of automated settings that your D50 has. No “sports” or “portrait” modes, for example. There is a program mode, for quick shots. But you’ll need to set up individual groups of settings (called custom banks) for your favorite scenarios.
So the learning curve is steeper, but the rewards are greater.
One other note: it’s hard to quantify, but once you climb a little of that learning curve, the 51-point metering is much more usable than the 11-points in the D90. The more granular points, combined with center-weighted or spot metering, give you tremendous control over lighting (though matrix metering can be very useful, too.)