D810 and Sports

camjam · Sep 12, 2014

Anyone shoot sports with a D810 that would care to comment about their experiences with this camera?

Thank you
Jim

sscarmack · Sep 12, 2014

Didn't it just come out like last week?

KmH · Sep 12, 2014

The D810 is more a studio camera than a sports camera.
In FX/5:4 format the D810 can only shoot up to 5 fps. True sports cameras shoot 10+ fps.

No doubt, to get all 5 fps you'll have to be sure and set up the camera to do that.

TheLost · Sep 12, 2014

Depends on how old and rich you are...

If your rich and can afford a 1DX or a D4s then you'll be disappointed in the 5 FPS.

If your old and poor and remember the days when you dreamed of 5 FPS on a film camera then you'll love the image quality and Auto Focus performance.

camjam · Sep 12, 2014

KMH, my wife and shoot with a D7000 and a D7100. I am looking to replace the D7000. We primarily shoot high school sports (field and court). But we also shot a little of everything from senior photos, dogs, landscapes, concerts, etc. . The D7k and D7100 are at 6 fps. Some days it would nice to have a high fps, but with sports like baseball and softball I find getting the timing right is sometimes better than a higher fps.

Cannot afford even a used D4, so I am looking at the D750 and the D810. The D810 stretches my budget, but due to all the different types of photography we do, the D810 looked interesting. However, I want to make sure the AF on is going to be able to handle sports in low light.

KmH said:
The D810 is more a studio camera than a sports camera.
In FX/5:4 format the D810 can only shoot up to 5 fps. True sports cameras shoot 10+ fps.

No doubt, to get all 5 fps you'll have to be sure and set up the camera to do that.

slackercruster · Sep 12, 2014

I'd like to buy a sports cam, but why is FPS so important? What is wrong with fast AF and just getting the shot? FPS sounds like the guys that want to shoot movies for street photography and pick the best image from thousands of frames.

Here are my choices I'm looking at:

Nikon 7100, Pentax K3 or Fuji XT-1. I don't need FF for my limited sports work, what do you think about these choices? (I already have a lot of Pentax glass, so am leaning towards it, but I can get something else if it makes a big difference.)

TheLost · Sep 12, 2014

camjam said:
However, I want to make sure the AF on is going to be able to handle sports in low light.

The AF system in the D810 is top notch.... thats why Nikon keeps saying things like "The D750 has the AF system from the D4s/D810".

elementgs · Sep 12, 2014

The D810 is causing me a bit of problems at the moment when burst firing.

I'm going to pick up a faster compact flash card and see if that fixes the problem.

The issue I'm having right now is that in burst, and sustained shooting over a period of 10-20 seconds, the write speed bogs down the camera tremendously, and literally locks out basic functionality in the camera, such as moving the focal point within the viewfinder.... something that forces me to stop firing when I need to recompose quickly.

I literally can't perform basic functions while the camera is clearing the buffer....

I'll be creating a new thread on this topic momentarily.

Greg Thompson · Sep 12, 2014

elementgs said:
The D810 is causing me a bit of problems at the moment when burst firing.

I'm going to pick up a faster compact flash card and see if that fixes the problem.

The issue I'm having right now is that in burst, and sustained shooting over a period of 10-20 seconds, the write speed bogs down the camera tremendously, and literally locks out basic functionality in the camera, such as moving the focal point within the viewfinder.... something that forces me to stop firing when I need to recompose quickly.

I literally can't perform basic functions while the camera is clearing the buffer....

I'll be creating a new thread on this topic momentarily.

Its the flash card..i was having a similar problem, thought it was the battery, charged it back to full still issue...changed cards no issue anymore...well at least for the time being. *fingers crossed*

elementgs · Sep 12, 2014

Greg Thompson said:
Its the flash card..i was having a similar problem, thought it was the battery, charged it back to full still issue...changed cards no issue anymore...well at least for the time being. *fingers crossed*

Good to hear. I'm ordering some faster cards tonight.

jaomul · Sep 13, 2014

I thought the native 5fps on the d810 did not require you to be in crop mode. It's 5 fps with up to 7fps in crop mode

D-B-J · Sep 13, 2014

What about a used D3S? Those should be significantly cheaper than the D4, and will give you pro level FPS.

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Mach0 · Sep 13, 2014

D-B-J said:
What about a used D3S? Those should be significantly cheaper than the D4, and will give you pro level FPS.

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Not significantly. Maybe a grand or less

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D-B-J · Sep 13, 2014

Options? See B&H's used website for the D3, D3S, and D3X.

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cowleystjames · Sep 13, 2014

I have the D4s and D810.
Shot the tour of Britain yesterday, coming through Oxfordshire.
D4s buffer was amazing, Raw and jpg fine, continuous high, no buffer issues whatsoever.
D810 continuous high, buffering after about 15-20 shots, I could then only fire off one or two frames every couple of seconds, and that's with Lexar Pro cards rated at 1000x.
This is not a sports camera, well not for action sports. May be okay for chess.
Just thought I'd try it as I don't usually use it for sport, now in know why!