Shooting Vertical; D3/D300 Fast Action Sports

<p>I use both the D3 and more recently as a backup a D300, shooting mostly sports.  Currently at over 25k

shots on the D3, and approaching 10k on the D300.  Mostly I am using the 70-200 VR and the 24-70 2.8

lenses in my sp

orts shooting.<br>

I constantly amazed with the D3's ability in low light, as most of my shots are taken i

n the ISO3200-5000 range.  I use mostly 9 Point and occasionally 21 po

int AF-C mode.<br>

I am looking for advice from other D3 users that shoot fast action sports while shooting vert

ical.  Do you focus on the face and then recompose?  Do you move the 9 focus points so they are further

"up"

in the frame?<br>

I am very happy with exposure, but occasionally will lost focus as I have a BBall player driving

toward the basket (I am shooting from

the baseline).<br>

Than

ks in advance

,<br>

Harr

<p>Have you tried 51 point with 3d tracking. You can use the center point to lock focus and the move the camera around and should keep focus locked on to the face.</p>

<p>I have only done a few sports shots with pretty fast action - it was a road cycling event where the cyclists were coming around a tight corner.  I did shift the focus point based on my desired composition.  Watched for the helmet head to appear and locked on that and just let the AF system go from there.  They were often headed right at me for a little bit but it kept up. <br>

Since the cross sensors are all in the middle three columns of the AF pattern, I made sure to get it locked in when the helmet appeared if I was using one of the perimeter sensors.  If I didn't do that the AF would hunt a bit more.  But it tracked very well. <br>

Oh - this is my D300, so the sensors cover more of the frame, too.</p>

<p>I shoot with a D300 and use 51-point and 3d traking.  In fast action it's impossible to focus on the face and then recompose.  By the time you've recomposed, the action has moved on and you're out of focus.<br>

You need to shoot in continuous autofocus, not single servo.  In vertical mode, I tend to use a focus point at about the chest level for most sports like hockey.  When shooting indoors, you're shooting wide open all the time and have minimal depth of field, but you don't have to be focusing on the head to get sharp focus on the face.</p><div></div>

<p>Dan,<br>

I am using AF-C as I mentioned in my post.  Also your goalie is not running at you at full speed.  As I mentioned many of my shots come out great, just looking for ideas for those shooting in similar situations, especially when shooting vertical.  Minimum DOF is an issue especially when these guys are no more than 10 feet from me.  As others mentioned, I can give the 51 Point with 3d tracking a shot.  One concern I would have is sometimes a player will start out in the clear and as they get closer, someone will pick them up as they get closer to the basket.  I will have lots of opportunity to test this in the coming weeks.</p>

 

<p>It works just as well when they're coming right at you.</p><div></div>

<p>Another.</p><div></div>

<p>Dan,<br>

Better examples:)<br>

I will be giving this a shot this weekend.</p>