raymond bradlau

<p>My film cameras where far more costly than any of my digital bodies, film cost was much much higher than the $3000-$4000 less I will get when I sell my DSLR off on the used market.</p>

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<p>Road Racing </p><div></div>

<p>Make sure you start following the bikes a pretty good distance before where you want to make the image, so make sure you set yourself up somewhere you can see them coming when possible</p>

<p>Twist/swing with your body not your arms, you want to be in a "normal" shooting position when you take the shot not "twisited"... point your toes and body to the spot you plan on releasing</p>

<p>for a perfect pan you need to limit the movement to just side to side, many of your shots look like the bike is moving away from you vs. across your field of view.</p>

<p>Be smooth and dont jab the shutter, gently squeeze to fire</p>

<p>I find shutter priority works best, and 1/60th is pretty slow 1/125 should be plenty slow for most shots and have a much higher keeper ratio<br>

Fast moving bikes are much easier to pan than slow, panning gets harder when you are closer and with shorter lens so back up and use a longer focal length when you can</p>

<p>I get better results with the "Lock-On" set to off</p>

<p>Oddly enough NOT using VR works best for me (it takes time to settle and at the speeds bikes are moving dont need it) </p>

<p>panning from the inside of a corner is good so you can see the rider</p>

 

<p>That video shows his PJ gear, they only have 2 hands so when you pull one lens off the camera it get dropped into the bag and the other lens goes on (no third hand or time to cap lenses) a big hint on how important speed is to this guy... 2 flashes 1 with tungsten and one with FL, not time to swap flash filters....</p>

<p>I try and use caps but when working I cant its to hard to try and uncap and cap the small camera (d3/70-200) when balancing the D2x and 400 in the other </p>

<p>I am amused at how scared of dust people are, do you think you are not sucking dust in and out of your lenses when zooming and focusing.... last time I checked lenses are not air tight</p>

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<p>I actually have both the D300 and a couple D2x cameras color is totally adjustable on both and the AF seems about the same to me with fast AFS lenses but my 85mm 1.4 and 180 2.8 seem faster on the X (not enough to matter but I am pretty sure)<br>

I prefer the D2x's for sports due to the layout, more balanced feel with big lenses, crop mode and the battery system... it is killer (I can make over 2500 shots easy on one battery) but agree that the D300 might be a better option depending on the price and condition of a used D2x</p>

 

<p>Just a guess but I am thinking your using your camera in some auto mode and its messing you up, if you are shooting some type of ttl you want to make sure you are metering just the subject and not the back ground.</p>

<p>walk us through your camera setting and I bet we can fix you up</p>

<p>It looks to me as though that camera will not work, it has no SYNC PORT, not HOT SHOE to use a sync port adapter, and no way to manually set the flash to fire the strobes</p>

<p>You really need to be looking at flash & strobes vs. constant lights.... with continuos lights you will be stuck with extremely slow shutter speeds, very wide apertures and high ISO<br>

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<p>Great post, I am always interested in how pricing is laid out for this type of work.... some practically give there work away and others price it like an commercial shoot thats seems way to long and confusing for a portrait session</p>

<p>Fantastic portfolio and your color Sienna shots are adorable (great work both in camera and you post production) </p>

<p>Sorry I am not much help with pricing but if you need a loaner lighting kit (strobe,battery pack,soft box,stand....) just shoot me a message, I am located in the Strip and this time of year have no problem loaning out a location kit for a few days.</p>

<p>good luck<br>

Ray<br>

TheSBimage.com</p>

<p>Sounds like a great way to practice and experiment, I have done TFP stuff in the past but have come to the conclusion its cheaper to just hire the models (no shows, it takes forever to schedule with TFP models, weird requests at the last minute) I really like the way you are going about it.... let the MUA do all the recruiting and scheduling (thats the hard part for me) and I would be happy to deliver more than the normal 15-20 edited images I do for TFP.<br>

Be careful the MLU is not a real go getter and over zealous, Myself and another shooter did this with a hairstylist and MLU and we got crushed :) I was so used to cancelations and no shows when they asked how many they should bring he said "whatever you want" one of the best shots ever! not so much for the shooting but practice dealing with people, organizing... I managed to cut my lighting change time in half by the end of the day.</p>

<p>Make sure to post some samples after the shoot</p>

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<p>I feel the reason its always Nikon and Canon in sports...<br>

Super tele lenses (400, 500, 600) and once you drop close to 10k on a big gun you want to be sure there will ALWAYS be a body available to fit your needs.<br>

loaners and service at events (seems like less now than 10 years ago)<br>

rental houses always have Nikon Canon available.<br>

Auto focus speed/accuracy and FPS (no sure how good the Sony is vs. Nikon/Canon)<br>

Last but not least Canon spends a ton of cash on marketing themselves as the sorts camera of choice (you have to wear a red canon vest to shot the NFL) </p>

<p>I have never really tested the AF system on Sony but if it worked for me and I did not need my 400 and 600 the Sonys seem like sweet cameras, by friend only does portraits+studio stuff for work and landscapes for fun, he dumped all his Canon gear for 2 of the 24 MP Sonys (I forget the model) and a few Zeiss lenses. One bonus for a sports shooter would be the low cost of a used Minolta 300mm 2.8</p>

 

<p>Some great info already posted, I just wanted to add a few thoughts (Not groups of people but I shoot cars/motorcycles in warehouse fairly often)<br>

3 lights is much better than 2 for spreading evenly over large groups, and you need to think how you are going to light the background so you will probably add another one or two at some point.</p>

<p>You will not have to worry about overpowering the light in the warehouse, I bet as long as you shutter speed is over 1/60th it will not show at any aperture let alone the f8-f11 you will be using</p>

<p>I dont use umbrellas but I know they are the sawed off shotguns of light modifiers (not very efficient at all) I prefer big octoboxes </p>

<p>Dont skimp on stands (or look into C clamps), you will want the lights high and aiming down to get even light on the fist row of people to the last </p>

<p>How do you know what you are focusing on if the red focus brackets are considerably larger than your target? Its locking on fast and accurately but to what?</p>

<p>I sometimes get the same focus issues when shooting full length people shots at a very wide aperture obviously I want to get the eyes in focus but my AF point is the size of half there head..... I wish there was a cross hair focus point option but I dont think AF works like that so we used get used to it in these cases </p>

<p>"I have never read that anyone is making such a claim about this camera or any camera. For the life of me I do not see what posting images has to do with it. However I do think people purchase newer camera's based on specific features such as higher ISO. My personal vote is thumbs down on the beater D2x."<br>

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Links in a chain... 99.5% of the work I see the photog is the weak link. How does a camera that is say 25% better make a difference when you are not even getting near max quality out of the one they already own?</p>

<p>My point about not posting images is pretty simple, the more opinionated, gear obsessed, "all knowing" the poster is the less likely they are to show images... if they claim to be so good that they get 100% out of there camera every time they pick it up I am willing to bet they do not care to share those perfect portfolios.<br>

I agree the D2x the OP mentioned is overpriced but some of the claims of how outdated it is are just ridiculous, I think many of you feel you need latest and greatest without really thinking it through.</p>

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<p>Like some of the others it would depend on what you where using it for..... I shoot a huge amount of day light motor sports so for me I prefer the DX D2x over my D3, the larger battery over the D300 and the extra cropping feature in great for sports as well.<br>

I will buy another (maybe 2) if I can find them gently used for $1000 or less, very specific needs for day to day shooting it would be a new camera and 99.9% sure it would be full frame<br>

regardless if it works for you vs. the new stuff I do get a kick out of how "outdated" people think they are no, Honestly how many of use could say we got 100% out of our D2x's? (My guess only people without posted images make a claim like that :) ) </p>

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<p>I vote option 5, your AF point is larger then the part of the image you want to focus on..... so either have Nikon install a mind reading chip or come up with a plan to overcome this when shooting in this type os situation</p>

<p>I just wanted to ad not to confuse the AF-I with the AF-s versions... there is some confusion about the models, some people refer to the AF-I as the AFS I, there where 2 versions of the NON VR AFS 300 2.8's... the version 1 has black name plate with raised brass writing and the version 2 has brass plate with black inset writing, both say AF-S on them</p>

<p>Between the version 1 and 2 I would get whatever one looked like it had the least use, at the best price.</p>

<p>I also owned the AF-I version and the AF speed was very close to AFS, if you can get a killer deal on one I say go for it but be warned the part are far and few between.... I paid $1700ish for mine in 2004, the AF died in 2008 and I sold it for $1200 (I need AF, the guy who won it on ebay planned on using it as a manual focus lens)</p>

<p>My friend helps me shoot racing and we trade lenses back and forth pretty often, I own the AFS 2 and he has the version 1(neither are the new VR), I cant tell the difference.</p>

 

<p>Having owned the manual 2.8, the AFS 3000 f4 and 300 2.8 AFSII I find it hard to imagine anyone could go from a 300 2.8 to a zoom or the f4 model and be happy (Unless the size/weight bother you, it can be a pain to haul around and the small f4 would be a big bonus if thats the case) </p>

<p>I would wait (save) for a 300 2.8 AFS I or II, lenses least for a long long time and the best ones seem to stay in my bag for ever longer so it actually works out being cheaper buying the right stuff once vs. lower cost 2 or 3 times.</p>

<p>Besides, you mention birding... you will no doubt have a tele converter on often and that no fun in good (read low) light with a f4 or f5.6 lens</p>

<p>My educated guess is that your red AF marker is larger than the actual point you are trying to focus on.</p>

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<p>Just an FYI<br>

With flash guns the lower the lower setting the shorter the flash duration with studio strobes its the opposite and at full power they are are at there shortest flash duration</p>

<p>Devon McCarroll, with our x1600's its a little different because we have the 1/4 power switch.... the flash duration is always shorter with the sliders on max but our is fastest on the 1/4 setting sliders all the way up (1/2000 sec)</p>

<p>The Elinchrom Ranger RX with speed head is a pack head system but the has a very short flash duration, the price for a kit is not all that bad but man to they nail you when you need extras like replacement tubes, longer cords, speedrings and reflectors!</p>

 

<p>I have yet to use my 700 in extreme cold, but thanks for the heads up I would never have given it any thought as all my other cameras work fine frozen.</p>

<p>"you can get information about this experience on google"<br>

I like that answer, really no reason to have a forum then is there<br>

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<p>There are several ways I would do it with my skill and gear, and even more ways a professional furniture photographer would do it with there great skill level.... so I am going to explain how I would do it if I where you (not after perfection just a good starting point)</p>

<p>If I wanted to get something like you posted, keep my costs low and had lots of room...<br>

As a starting point I would want a really big light source to soften the shadows and keep the reflections and hot spots in check, huge soft boxes and translucent panels are insanely expensive and because we dont need the shooting space to look good or travel well I would just hang a cheap (cheap is thin) queen sized white bed sheet between my light and furniture (you can hang it from the ceiling, string it between to light stands or ladders)<br>

<img src="http://www.pbase.com/image/120454696/original.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>because we using a bed sheet and want to use a small small aperture of f11 or so we will need a light with fair amount of power (not a monster but not a little portrait light either) An Alien Bee 1600 or 800 would be good here. </p>

<p>This is what I would START with, after playing a bit you will see things that bug you like shadows on the wall, a rather flat looking image you may want to make the texture of the furniture "pop", maybe its to sterile and not real enough...... then you can ad back ground lights to skim aver the back wall with strip boxes killing shadows, skim light over the face of the furniture also using a strip box to ad depth and contrast, ad a table lamp like in your sample but DRAG THE SHUTTER to warm it up giving the image a "real room" look.</p>

 

<p>Cool someone who also shoots motor sports (not many here)<br>

<br /> I know Profoto is regarded as one of the best and there are a ton of reasons to buy them but the model you linked to does not seem so hot for sports (I dont know much but sports and lights I have tried, owned and rented a bunch)<br>

<br /> A flash duration of 1/700-1/1800 is really not fast at all, even my low cost White Lightning x1600 are the same 1/1800, and when switched to 1/4 mode (boxing, basketball, hockey....) get down to 1/6000... but for cars and bikes even 1/700th is probably enough, its the fast moving arms, legs, bats, balls, hair and fingers of other sports where you will need far shorter flash duration<br>

<br /> Built in reflectors doesn't seem like the way to go for motor sports, you will almost certainly want a long throw reflector option.<br>

<br /> The recycle speed is less than ideal for sports, I know my x1600's are the same<br>

<br /> How are you going to power these at a track? I also use/own mono lights for sports and use 2 "Vagabonds" just a name brand for batteries and pure sin wave converters... I need 1 300 watt converter for each x1600 to keep my recycle times at (or very near) there max.<br>

<br /> No matter what you buy keep a little extra money set aside for a Pelican case, beefy stands and sand bags for you motor sports work<br>

<br /> I love my monos and "Vagabonds" but honestly sports is an area where Elinchroms Ranger RX Speed pack and head system are better ultra fast flash duration (t1 1/4000 or something) moister sealed and far more portable than monos and batteries... I rent when I need to, even though the kit is a good price I just could afford to buy into a system where extra flash tubes cost $300, longer cables cost $200 and $100 speed rings.... I think its very important to look into the total system costs before you buy anything.</p>

<p>I hope you dont think I am acting like a know it all or am rude, like I said I dont know much about anything but I have owned and rented many different lights over the years so this one area I do have a fair amount or real world experience</p>

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<p>Dont forget to factor in your time as a fairly large part of the expense (not just shooting time... but your research time, learning to use what you get (both the gear and software/edit part of the equation) <br>

Also post some samples of what type of shots you are after, a floating chair or chest against a plane white BG would be easier than a sot of a chair in a room setting where the light looks "real"<br>

fairly easy <br>

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getting harder<br>

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