Who here is into Photography?

[Majestic Lane Poultry]

Thanks everyone for your imput. I have the 18-50 the 50-200 and the 50-300 Nikkor lens. I shoot manual almost ALL the time. I think my problem is probably in shutter spead. We are not allowed to use any flash "as it could interfere with play"

On my dial...the sports (running man) drives me crazy and I never use it. Football BTW photos are not a problem but I suck

at basketball and this is my third season with this camera. I have tried the P setting but without the flash the photos are not that great. I do set the ISO to either 1600 or HIGH but I have never changed the shutter speed.

So by up-ing the shutterspeed, changing the AV and if I can get a good setting with my lens...what to choose M or A or P???

Thank you for all your help so far and BTW...

the dog agility shot.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

It isn't the camera, its the settings you are using. Even in low light, with a crappy Tamaron 55-200, I was able to capture the pictures below. I'd bet that its the settings you are using. You might also look up 'panning'. Its basically moving your camera along with your subject. The background may be out of focus, but your subject will be sharp.

I took the photos below inside the stadium at the Fort Worth Stock Show last year. All I had was the Tammy with me, as my studio partner had our long lens. I jacked up my ISO to 1600, opened my aperture as wide as it would go (which was f4 I believe), panned with my subjects, and ended up producing a nice set. You'll notice that a lot of the horses/bulls legs are blurred which conveys motion, but the riders are generally very sharp (or as sharp as you can get with that level lens.)

 

[ScotianChick]

What shutter speed have you been shooting at if you haven't touched it? Try to compensate using the aperture. Like pick a lens with the biggest aperture opening you can get (my 50 mm is 1.8 f stops which is decently big). Open your lens up a fair bit (not too huge or you'll have trouble focusing) then compensate with your shutter speed. Try shooting at a faster speed like 400/1 and see how it works. Play around before the game starts

Then bump up the ISO a bit too if that's not good enough. I save ISO for the very last.

That's how I dealt with Mr. Suzuki during an event:

He likes to move a lot when he talks it turns out. The photographer I was supposed to be "assisting" didn't know how to change her ISO and we weren't allowed to use flash

That's how I compensated.

 

[Majestic Lane Poultry]

Quote:
Thanks. I know it's not the camera, it's the person looking through the camera

It's all I'll ever need or want for that matter. I am willing to soak up anyone else's knowledge/advice for this case.

Quote:
This sounds like something I can do. Good Advice.

 

[Poulets De Cajun]

Quote:
Thanks. I know it's not the camera, it's the person looking through the camera

It's all I'll ever need or want for that matter. I am willing to soak up anyone else's knowledge/advice for this case.

Why don't you post an example of the shots that you are talking about, along with the exif info. If you can't find the exif info, I can pull it for you. It would give us a better understanding of your starting point, and would better assist us in giving you suggestions on how to improve.

 

[Majestic Lane Poultry]

Chris,

Thanks for the offer, but I am leaving work now and headed to the school. Maybe I will post some comparison shots tomorrow.

 

[FourPawz]

Quote:
The 6 megapixel Nikon d40 is comparable to a Canon Rebel. It's an entry level camera for folks who are coming from point and shoots. It doesn't have as many bells & whistles, but does a good job for somebody who wants to dip their toes into the world of DSLR's.

Here's Thom Hogan's d40 review for you camera geeks. Note - the ISO only goes down to 200, but Nikon did build anti-noise technology into the camera.

http://www.bythom.com/d40review.htm

Speaking of motion shots, here's a motion blur image I think is pretty cool:

"Fur Fly"



Mary

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Someone else posted some rodeo shots. Here are a few I took soon after I bought the camera. I was pretty pleased with the way it performed in such low light. It was night time and the only light I had was from the lights above the arena.

I thought this one was kind of neat. I think the pickup man is the guy who owns the rodeo.

I wish the fence was not in the way of many of my photos, but there were too many people to stand up or move to a better spot! I guess I could crop it out, but never got around to it.

I like the horse's expression in this one.

And just as a comparison, it is much easier to take good action shots in bright indirect sunlight!

 

[ScotianChick]

Those turned out really well in such low light!

 

[MaggieRae]

Quote:
I've shot with a D50 and a D60. All I could suggest is cranking up your shutter speed using the dial. I do a lot of nature photography (mostly birds), so I know how tough it can be to catch the action. I've just recently got the hang of it, but I don't really know what I do. I just do it. Someone taught me how at a seminar of some sort.
Here are some sites you may want to read that I came up with when I googled it:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080810074717AA4Wfb5
http://www.southbayriders.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71227
http://www.dpnotes.com/nikon-d40-tips-and-tricks/