Some very nice shots there, Rich! Id be curious to here your thoughts on how it went, and how you feel Nikon compared to your previous Canon shoots.
Hockey is probably the most difficult/tricky thing to shoot, due to the ice/lights...etc and you did very well.
Thanks. I much prefer the AF system on the D300 to the 1DMarkIIN. The shots are cleaner in terms of noise (I would say the same as a 1DMarkIII) and the lens I was using was a full stop faster than the 70-200 f/2.8 IS that I shot hockey with on the Canon so that was a big help.
It's pretty amazing that an $1800 camera compares favorably in so many ways to the $4500 Mark III. IMO the 1D series has a better build (like the D3), but the user interface and AF of the Nikon are really top notch. I was originally planning to purchase a D3 and D300 so that I'd have very clean high ISO shots but for my needs the D300 looks like it will be all that is needed.
Cost wise the Nikon was SO much less expensive. A 200 f/2 will be a $6000 Canon lens when it comes out vs. $4000 for the Nikon. That 'savings' alone paid for the D300. I got extremely lucky to find my 200 f/2 in perfect condition for $3k shipped overnight.
Holy shit batman!!! You've gotta be raving about this. There are a few very minor flaws in those shots if at all & the bad part of $1800:00 dollars was????
nice shots. are they actually shot at f2 aswell ? seems like a very accurate focus for only f2 or your focussing technique is frickin awesome. i love the ones where they are fighting...cracks me up.
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Awesome shots.. How do you like the lens?? Is it pretty easy to use? My brother always wants me to shoot at his games but I dont have the reach and speed from any of my lenses now. I was considering this one for a "down the road" purchase..
p.s. - I like the fighting pics the most. They cracked me up!!
The shots are all taken at f/2. I'd like to think I have frickin awesome technique but I have way too many images from the past to prove otherwise.
This was the first game where the 10 yo kids seemed to get into a fight mode- It was hard to shoot while laughing. It's not until I uploaded the images that I even knew what type of facial expressions they had or how pissed they were getting-lol.
TFitch85- I absolutely love the lens. It is very easy to use (albiet a bit on the heavy side to have been handholding from a balcony shooting down w/o a handstrap for an hour). That said this was the first time I used the lens and there is still LOTS I need to learn about using it to make use of what it can do. These shots were really me using a monster lens on a new DSLR in what was almost a point and shoot type use.
You can handle not having the reach by cropping and shooting closer. On the Canon I was getting by with an f/2.8 lens at ISO 1600 with some shots still being 1/3-2/3 of a stop underexposed and the images really needed to be cleaned up with a noise removal software. Shooting fast moving objects in very low light with sodium vapor lights will definitely show the boundaries of your camera and skills. If you can shoot from the penalty box and use flash then a lot of the problems should go away- I haven't tried flash on any of my hockey shots yet. Go shoot your brother- it is tons of fun and very humbling.
Oh man, I LOVE action / sports photography, and I LOVE hockey. Ah, the memories of being out there on the ice... Some of your shots are simply spectacular. Rich, you just made my week!
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Originally Posted by jcon
