Which camera for sports photrography

merv

merv

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Mervyn
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Any opinions on which is the more successful for sports photography, bikes, cars etc, the Canon 5D Mk2 or the nikon D700, both are similarly priced. merv:thinking:
 
I believe the D700 has the better autofocus system, so should be better for sports
 
I have used my 5D Mkll both at rugby and cricket matchs and not had a single issue, AF worked perfectly well.

Ian
 
I use a 5d2 - but not for sports...

Wouldn't a 7d more suit sports? or a used 1dmk3?
 
The 5d series lacks the fast burst rate of the xxd and 7d bodies, so for most sports togs they'll go for the 7d or ultimately the 1d series.

My 50d is also a very good sports body, which I use it a lot for.

The 5d is still a very good sports camera, and at the end of the day its ff. I know pro's who use the 5d for equestrian, so it depends really on burst rate. The 1d and 7d do have better AF but I never found the AF of my 400d restrictive for sports, so a 5d should do it just fine.

Can't comment on the Nikon.
 
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merv said:
Any opinions on which is the more successful for sports photography, bikes, cars etc, the Canon 5D Mk2 or the nikon D700, both are similarly priced. merv:thinking:
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I use a D3S with a 400mm F/2.8 as my main sports body and a D700 with a 70-200mm as my second body, cant really say that the D700 with £50 third party grip performs any better or worse than the D3S :thumbs:
 
DemiLion said:
Nail, head.

Plus the D700 should be much better at sport than the 5D.
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Lol just noticed the op is already a Nikon man!

No point in switching systems if you already have (some very good) Nikon glass. As above a no brainer than!
 
Dibs on your 150-500mm if you switch to Canon :lol:

Dont do it Merv, stick with what you have. You have a great set up already.
 
OK guys you have convinced me stick with Nikon. Any thoughts on the D3s?
Must include some pics of the North west 200 yesterday at Portrush which I am totally dissatisfied with and here they are. I suspect if I looked at the histogram I would have twigged on something was not right - grossly overexposed for some reason. Bright day partly looking towards a highish sun but they appear washed out and the histogram is way to the right.
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MERV
 
Bring the exposure down a tad then tug the bottom end of the tone curve down a little bit, that should make those shots look great
 
squishy said:
Bring the exposure down a tad then tug the bottom end of the tone curve down a little bit, that should make those shots look great
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Or get it rignt in camera first.

Merv, are you seriously asking for thoughts on the D3s, the same D3's which is the best camera ever made for sports photography. :eek:
 
Merv, you also need to set a colour space, you probably want to set your camera to SRGB as these are showing as an uncalibrated colour space
 
Gary have gone into the menu and checked - the coulour space is set at Adobe RGB. I read in Simon Staffords guide to set at RGB and not sRGB if photos will be post processed which they always are. How do you mean the pics are showing as uncalibrated? Also where do I get at the tone curve - is it in Elements 7? merv:thinking:
 
Yes Gary I am seriously looking comment on the d3s! merv
 
Hi Adam - can I get at the tone curve in Elements 7 do you know? To reduce exposure a tad, do I need to use the RAW image where there is an exposure slider on the interface or do you just mean to reduce the brightness on a JPEG?
 
merv said:
Gary have gone into the menu and checked - the coulour space is set at Adobe RGB. I read in Simon Staffords guide to set at RGB and not sRGB if photos will be post processed which they always are. How do you mean the pics are showing as uncalibrated? Also where do I get at the tone curve - is it in Elements 7? merv:thinking:
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Merv. Adobe RGB colourspace is only for really high end pro printing, SRGB is for everything else including displaying on the web, most high street labs also use SRGB

Still not sure what you want to know about the D3s, its the best there is, simple as that

Everything Sports related on my site is with the D3S and 400mm f/2.8 with 1.4x converter attached, theres also a few with a D700 and 70-200mm f/2.8

I regularly shoot at ISO 6400 with ease

http://www.gcsportsphotos.co.uk
 
merv said:
Hi Adam - can I get at the tone curve in Elements 7 do you know? To reduce exposure a tad, do I need to use the RAW image where there is an exposure slider on the interface or do you just mean to reduce the brightness on a JPEG?
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Exposure should be set in camera and no you cant get to tone curves in Elements 7, you can adjust levels though but get it sorted in camera.
 
OK Gary have changed both cameras to sRGB. I took Simon Stafford at his word and didnt realise he was talking about high end stuff. Do you think it makes a noticeable difference?
Have found COLOUR CURVES in Elements - are they the same as TONE curve referred to by Adam?

OK no more questions about the D3s! I accept it must be the best. Would you consider trading in a D700 against a D3s?

Right off for a cup of coffee to view your website. merv:clap:
 
Thanks Martyn.
And Gary what do you mean set exposure in camera. I am set at matrix metering most of the time and generally dont use manual exposure unless I have loads of time eg landscapes. Would normally check histogram and if left or right of centre would apply some exposure compensation + or -. Also if snapping into the sky eg planes would do the same to avoid silhouetting. Is this stuff all you mean be setting exposure 'in-camera'? Sorry but I have a lot to learn so thanks for your patience! merv:bang::bang:
 
merv said:
Have found COLOUR CURVES in Elements - are they the same as TONE curve referred to by Adam?

OK no more questions about the D3s! I accept it must be the best. Would you consider trading in a D700 against a D3s?

Right off for a cup of coffee to view your website. merv:clap:
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Only if i were shooting seriously low light stuff like ISO 6400 would i consider an upgrade from D700 to D3s in todays climate, theres almost a £1800 difference.

Tone curves are different from Colour, tone curves generally affect the brightness/contrast of an image more than anything else
 
merv said:
Any opinions on which is the more successful for sports photography, bikes, cars etc, the Canon 5D Mk2 or the nikon D700, both are similarly priced. merv:thinking:
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Errm your D300 is perfectly fine... not blowing my own trumpet, but I think I do alright? ;-)

If you really want full frame, the bodies with the motorsport grade AF systems are the D700, D3/D3S...

5DMkII doesn't cut it and the Canon community know it - they want a 5D MkIII with 7D/1D MkIV AF system....

As for your shots you posted, yes, a little washed out and soft, when I get a minute I'll try to work out why, but its not the D300 at fault for sure!
 
Merv you are using Auto White Balance, I always had my D300 set to 'Sunny' unless it was really dark grey cloud then I may switch to 'Cloudy'.

However as I always shoot raw it makes no odds as I can switch it in CaptureNX2 when I PP the images.
 
Ok, looks like two things - metering mode - you're not using centre weighted, so its trying to make all that tarmac 60% grey... and its worked by the looks of things! Plus add dark coloured subjects to the mix...

Also, what lens were you using? Bright sunshine is a bitch and nano-coated glass is the way forward to keep the contrast... lesser stuff doesn't cut it on a sunny day.

Couple of things to think about there.

You can fix those images in photoshop though, I expect it will tidy up ok. Not great, but ok. Just watch out for turning the tarmac into a blue or purplish hue when you mess with the levels....
 
PS auto white balance works just fine on a D300 in daylight. Only problems can come from odd coloured light sources and/or indoors.

Don't blame your D300, its very capable indeed!
 
desantnik said:
PS auto white balance works just fine on a D300 in daylight. Only problems can come from odd coloured light sources and/or indoors.
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Strangely the only time I use Auto WB is in mixed indoor lighting.

I agree that there is nothing wrong with the D300, a very capable camera
 
Hi Kyedr, I was shooting with 70-200 sometimes with the 2xTCIII which is supposed to be a brilliant device. I have used if before with good results but I would say shooting at 400mm through bright light might introduce a hazy effect. I was just a bit surprised at such overexposure - wouldnt you think the cameras metering system would have dealt better with it. merv
 
merv said:
I was just a bit surprised at such overexposure - wouldnt you think the cameras metering system would have dealt better with it. merv
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Merv the exif on a couple of the shots I checked was reading +.7 EV, which would account for some over exposure.
 
Thanks Kyedr, no I blame myself, not the camera. I was using the 70-200 VR2 with a 2xTCIII. Those comments were useful - I have never used centre weighted metering. My next test will be the Cotswold airshow in June - all the gear and no knowledge! For single planes would you use spot, center weighted etc? For formations would matrix be OK? Any other hints for airshows welcome. merv:thinking:
 
merv said:
OK guys you have convinced me stick with Nikon. Any thoughts on the D3s?
Must include some pics of the North west 200 yesterday at Portrush which I am totally dissatisfied with and here they are. I suspect if I looked at the histogram I would have twigged on something was not right - grossly overexposed for some reason. Bright day partly looking towards a highish sun but they appear washed out and the histogram is way to the right.

MERV
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Exposure bias value +2/3
 
Was using 70-200 lens with 2xTCIII supposed to be an excellent converter.
Next task is Cotswold air show soon. What metering for planes, single and groups. I will also need exposure compensation for looking skywards. Any other tips for planes? merv:thinking:
 
Yes Martyn I set that thinking the sun in front of me might cause underexposure like a plane in the sky. How wrong can you be? I agree this is a contributory factor. I've learned a lot of options from this frame - thanks guys. merv
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