D300 gets its first run at the AFL

[losfp]

Wotta brilliant little instrument the D300 is for shooting sports!!! Took it out to the SCG for the Swans v Port Adelaide. The autofocus is fast as hell and generally accurate.... and the insane clattering of the shutter going at 8 frames a second is guaranteed to bring a smile to your face

I mostly kept the settings at A priority @ f/6.3 or f/5.6 (shooting the 70-200 w/ 1.7x teleconverter)... So shutter speeds normally somewhere between 1/500 and 1/1250. Multi area AF, 9 points, AF-C.

For metering, I set the camera at centre-weighted, but I need to play with it a tad more I think. Sometimes got quite easily confused if there was an overly bright (ie: sun glinting off seats) or dark (ie: shadowy grandstand) background.

My full gallery of keepers - http://losfp.smugmug.com/photos/272225182_ihCeC-M.jpg

Most are quite severely backlit though, with WB problems sneaking in towards the end due to the setting sun.

Can't wait for a cloudy day at the SCG

So anyway.

This is probably my favourite. Super mark, the kid fell over backwards a second after this shot. Ball spilled free, but the umpie judged he'd had enough of it to award the mark.



This is called "not enough talk". Both players intent on attacking the ball, and ran into each other.



This is called "Oh my god, the aliens are landing". 'nuff said.



As for this one... Not really an action shot, it is just after a belter of a tackle where the Swans player managed to get his opponent's jumper just about all the way off. (That shot can be seen here - http://losfp.smugmug.com/photos/272225158_g6StK-L.jpg ) Just found something hilarious in the shot. Furious action one second, and stunned mullets the next as they watch the ball bounce away.

[gstark]

Des,

Love the third and fourth of these. Great shots that capture the emotion of the sport. For me, that is what it's all about.

[phillipb]

Third shot looks like the player is trying to mark the ball with his mouth.
Great shots Des

[sirhc55]

Spot on Des, all shots are just perfect

[Geoff]

Great work Des, these are excellent images! Well done buddy!

[losfp]

Thanks guys

It's always a tricky balance when taking sports photos - you can go for the obvious shots: player lining up for goal, ruck contests etc.. But those are rarely very interesting because there's not as much emotion or real action in the frame. I like taking photos of high marks, however those are not always predictable - you have to anticipate, and have good reflexes. Players running in full flight with the ball are always good, which is where the AF tracking of the new D300 really come in. What I'm trying to get a few more of are reaction shots - those can sometimes be the best ones even though the ball may be 100m away.

[mickeyjuice]

Some nice stuff there. FWIW, I usually shoot footy in manual - keeps everything pretty consistent.

[MCWB]

Des, these are all awesome, you have the D300 working a treat! Bastard, I had almost convinced myself that I should invest in glass rather than upgrade the D200!

[Alpha_7]

Great stuff Des, nice work the gallery has plenty of fine shots!

[ozimax]

Great shots at a difficult to photograph sporting event. #3 is an absolute classic and should be on the back page of the Herald Sun or something.

As for the D300, 8fps (with attached grip I assume) sounds like a great camera. My 30D is a wonderful camera but it's auto focus just doesn't cut it in the sports department. I actually think my old D70 was better for surfing/footy etc than the 30D. Don't worry, I'm not going to jump across the tracks to the light side, but a faster focussing body to compliment the 70-200 F2.8 lens would be great....on the wish list!

Ozi.