On 2012-10-03 19:47:53 -0700, "Indrek" no said:



"Savageduck" wrote in message
news:2012100318464275249-savageduck1@REMOVESPAMmecom...
On 2012-10-03 17:55:56 -0700, "Indrek" no said:



"Savageduck" wrote in message
news:2012100317414116807-savageduck1@REMOVESPAMmecom...
On 2012-10-03 16:07:36 -0700, "Indrek" no said:



"Savageduck" wrote in message
news:2012100302533491745-savageduck1@REMOVESPAMmecom...








--
Regards,

Savageduck

Thanks for posting these amazing shots.

If you don't mind my asking, what camera and lens and what post
processing did you use?

Cheers,

Indrek Aavisto

The exif for all of those shots is intact, and I wasn't using anything
too exotic, a Nikon D300S and the Nikkor AF-S 70-300mm 4.5-5.6 G VR. I
shot AF-C continuos, with focus point tracking. I shot around 1,100
frames and had to work through them for keepers. I am still working. ;-)

All of the shots I have cropped, made RAW adjustments in Lightroom 4,
and finished in CS5. I used NIK Define 2.0 for noise reduction, and
then made a few contrast/levels curve tweaks, added the "frame", and
saved back to lightroom.


-- Regards,

Savageduck


Thanks for the details. I'm surprised that you only rated these
pictures at two stars. I would have said at least 4.

My rating in LR4 is meaningless, other than to separate the wheat from
the chaff, so I can filter the mass to workable numbers. I have rejects
flagged as rejects, I have those I am intending to work on rated with a
"star", usually from one to three, that is usually a selection made on
the fly. If there is one truly exceptional shot, which must attend to
immediately I will rate it at 4-5 "stars".
Then I second guess myself and go back to those left untouched to check
on them again, and inevitably I will find one with more potential than
others selected, and some more rejects.
So the "star" rating has nothing to do with a judgement on the final
result, just to stop me from going crazy, and have a workable number to
work on.

I have the VRII version of the 70-300 lens, but can't seem to achieve
your levels of sharpness and detail with the lens on my D7000

You have the same lens as I do. The current 70-300mm has the VRII
process, but is VR on the lens. I also had the prior 70-300mm D which
was non-VR. The D7000 is well matched with that lens and with the
appropriate technique, settings and practice you should get similar
results. Also, for such dynamic targets don't reject AF-C, and 3D
Tracking. Trying to make things work with a single focus point at the
speeds involved is tough. So use some of the tools built into the
camera.

I was shooting 8-20 frames per pass knowing that not all were going to
be keepers. I have found that technique is the important thing. It is
also important to find a sweet spot within the pass route. Trying to
make captures at the extremes at either end can be a gamble, and I find
that is where the highest percentage of my rejects are to be found.
One of these days I will a rent longer, faster lens for one of these
events. As I am retired, I certainly can't afford to buy, or justify
buying exotic glass, but renting for a week or two, that is something
to consider.


--
Regards,

Savageduck


Thanks for the tips.

For aircraft and birds I usually use AFC and manual aperture and
shutter speed with auto ISO. Maybe I should experiment with 3D
tracking, something I have not tried before..

Conditions not withstanding, I shot this batch at ISO 400, the light
was good so I stopped down to f/8 aperture priority resulting in
shutter speeds ranging from 1/400-1/800 second, good enough to retain
some prop blur.

For race cars where there is variable light on the track (in and out of
shade) I might use auto ISO and restrict the range to ISO 400-1600 and
remain at "A" mode. It is tough to deal with moving targets and
changing light in manual. There are some exceptions where I will use
shutter priority. The shot of the Tyrrell P34 below was taken with the
Nikkor 18-200mm VRII on the D300S.
(sorry for the OP low flying vehicle folks :-( )




The buffer fills on my camera pretty quickly, and the most I can get is
about 6 frames per burst, shooting RAW.

With my D300S I have the MB-D10 battery-pack/grip which brings the
frame rate up to 9fps, and I shoot RAW only.

Clearly I'll have to practice more to improve my technique.

Cheers,

Indrek Aavisto


--
Regards,

Savageduck

Attached Thumbnails