fstops, ISO, shutter speed, DOF pt.2..

[bluewaterjon]

Hello all, last time I got a lot of valuable input from you all, and I thank you. I will now be using the triangle of ISO, shutter speed, and aperture more intelligently; specifically, I'll probably not exceed 1/1000 of a sec, and will use higher # f stops- (ie- larger #'s than 2.8, maybe 5.6 or 8 or higher) to get more depth of field(and sharper shots).My equip is Nikon D300 & D700, Nikon 24-70 f2.8, Nikon 70-200 f2.8, SanDisk IV CF,MB-D10.

Remember I am shooting fast moving marlin from a moving, heaving boat, these are fish move lightning quick, jump erratically and erupt from the water in places that are hard to predict, so all the help I can get in getting more DOF to get the whole fish in focus, the better. Most of the shots I was having issues with are the ones with the 70-200 lens, when the fish is at the farther end of the range, say, 145mm, and having too shallow of a depth of field. I am shooting in continuous high speed mode mode- the whole jump may be less than 1 sec, so I need all the help I can get, and I have a MB-D10 to help me out. Shooting in RAW lossless compressed, 12 bit on the D300 so I don't lose fps, 14 on the 700 since the fps is unaffected or close to it by the 14bit.

The results I was not happy with are that the DOF was so shallow, not even the whole fish was in focus- parts of it that were farther or closer would almost always be soft, and if there was any spray flying off in front of the fish ( I mean, within a couple of feet), the lens would focus on that and the fish would be soft.

You told me I can raise my ISO to get the proper exposure, since you told me I need it so that my aperture won't be wide open and letting as much light in(you may remember that I was shooting wide open at 2.8 and using unnecessarilly high shutter speeds- 1/4000 and up!).

My question is, how come no one ever suggests using the EV as another way of altering the exposure, so that I could still shoot at 200 and keep the noise down? Why not bump up the EV until there's enough light- or the sensor is more sensitive, whatever- instead of raising the ISO? Noise is important- these are mags that are super picky and there's a lot of competition. They want nearly full frame shots that are tack sharp.

I know you might say, just shoot with the D700 and who cares if the ISO's are raised, that camera can handle it, and that's true, but the D300 gives me so much more distance and range without having to use the 1.4x teleconverter, and when I put the 24-70 on the D700, I get really nice wides for when the fish is right next to the boat.
Thanks very much in advance for your input,
Jon Schwartz
BTW, Here's an example of one of my shots;one time when, despite my lopsided settings and no DOF, the shot came out ok.
Bluewater Jon Schwartz: Fishing articles, photography, travel, stories, and adventures