dog park with 180mm f/2.8

pixmedic

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finally got the used nikkor 180mm f/2.8 out for some test shots.
There are a couple of things I learned today. typically, I only use primes for portraits, which are non moving.
Fixed focals when you are trying to hit moving objects...totally different ball of wax. Not having the ability to zoom in or out felt like a real handicap at first.
but after a while, I learned to anticipate my subjects a little better and move accordingly. zooming became one less thing i had to worry about messing with.
It is definitely an acquired skill. My biggest concern for these test shots was the shutter speed. 180mm is long, and this is an old lens with no VR. All the shots were taken hand held. i didn't bring a tripod. I went ahead and shot in shutter priority, and most of these were shot at 1/4000. I think even handheld i could have dropped the speed a little lower, but i didn't think about it at the time.

the really fast shutter speed made the camera drop the aperture to around f/4, give or take depending on where i was standing. in going through these pictures, I think next time i will try half that shutter speed or lower so the lens can be stopped down more. like I said, i was REALLY concerned with camera shake. I got to practice a bit of camera holding technique and a little panning. these were taken around 11:00 to noon-ish.
I think I just need a little more practice to pin down where I need the shutter speed to be to stop action and camera shake, and still be able to stop the lens down a little more. anyway, heres a few. minimal processing in LR4, just RAW conversion and WB. everything else is SOOC. The main "focus" of the test today was to try and get good focus handheld with the 180mm, which I think i did ok on.

#2 is my favorite. I think with a little slower shutter speed and a smaller aperture i could have gotten the other dog in focus as well. this is what the practice is for.


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Bumping for any technique tips for hand held action shots on longer lenses.
 
Hey Jason, I wish I could help out but I'm a tripod type a guy. Speed shots aren't my thing.
After everything you contribute here, I'm sure you'll get a dialog going.
 
Not being too picky, but some have parts of the dogs cut off, even just a little bit. I realize it's a fixed FL, but that's why you need to ZWYF.

But overall, I'd say your First Light Outing was a success!
 
yeah you can lower the SS alot, 1/4000 is pretty quick for only 180mm, you should be able to go down to 1/250 without too much difficulty, and with good technique even lower, but 180mm isn't terribly tele, its when you get into the super tele area (like 300-400+mm) that really amplify the tiniest flaw in your technique (like breathing, etc). however to freeze the action, something around 1/1000 or something would be fine for dogs just running around, that would allow you to stop down a bit. with a quick look, the shots look fine to me as far as the focus you were practicing for goes. Was there a specific technique you were looking for information on, or just in general?
 
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Yea sparky, im still learning panning. As soon as i "thought" the dog was in frame... They werent. I started at 1/400 and was still getting blur. I definitely think i jumped too high with the shutter speed. Have to make some adjustments on the next trip.

This lens focuses pretty fast on the d200, and i am pleased with the sharpness. We go to the dog park once a week, so as long as people dont mind seeing dog pictures, i can keep posting and hopefully improving my action shots.

I was really just looking for general hand holding techniques for standing and sitting.
 
I've found that the 180 AF-D can easily be shot at 1/640 without any shake problems; whether that will freeze the movement of a moving subject depends on the direction of travel, distance, and size of the object in motion, plus its speed. I think 1/4000 is a bit, okay, way too much, unless of course you were holdin' the camera with one hand and waxing the 'stache with the other,off hand... (as I do some days when I've left the house in an hurry...). SLower speeds, like 1/125 will usually work too, if you're steady and practiced. You'll find it's not a speed-burner on focus speed, and yet, not absolutely horrible either. On movement at a fairly fixed distance, that moves parallel to your shooting spot, the 180 AF or AF-D focuses pretty well...but it is not the greatest thing on really fast,erratic action, or stuff coming right up on your position FAST. The better the body's AF system, and the smarter the AF system is used, the better the lens can perform.
 
I've found that the 180 AF-D can easily be shot at 1/640 without any shake problems; whether that will freeze the movement of a moving subject depends on the direction of travel, distance, and size of the object in motion, plus its speed. I think 1/4000 is a bit, okay, way too much, unless of course you were holdin' the camera with one hand and waxing the 'stache with the other,off hand... (as I do some days when I've left the house in an hurry...). SLower speeds, like 1/125 will usually work too, if you're steady and practiced. You'll find it's not a speed-burner on focus speed, and yet, not absolutely horrible either. On movement at a fairly fixed distance, that moves parallel to your shooting spot, the 180 AF or AF-D focuses pretty well...but it is not the greatest thing on really fast,erratic action, or stuff coming right up on your position FAST. The better the body's AF system, and the smarter the AF system is used, the better the lens can perform.

I really should have had an easier time with it. I have my thumb right by that rear dial, and i can see my shutter speed in the viewfinder. all i had to do was turn the dial and adjust the shutter speed in increments and see what it did. I think next time i will start at 1/1000 and see what i can stop the lens down to at that speed. there were a few shots i really wanted more DOF on. I think I have focus down pretty well, now i just have to put the rest together. framing with the prime was the hardest for me. I may try a bigger dog park. the one closest to our house is a good size, but has a bunch of fenced off partitions. at 180mm, I didn't have much time to compose, focus, and shoot before the dogs were either too close, or around the corner. (was easier with the zoom) either way, I may make it a habit to bring the camera and a few lenses to every dog park trip just to get the shooting practice in. maybe it will lead to some dog portraits or something.
 
Yeah, with fixed focal length lenses in the wild you have to figure out your field of view and then move around a lot.
 
A 180mm on a 1.5x body frames very "tight". I think it's actually a little shorter than 180, like 176 or something, and the 1.5x is almost 1.52, so it's like a 270mm effective focal length...so...most dog parks are,relatively speaking, going to be kind of small areas...it's really,truly a lens that comes into its own on FX or 35mm film...it's a lot handier than a 200mm when you are close....but longer than a 135mm...it starts to get that "magnified background look" so many people like, and yet, at the same time, it does not utterly blow-out the background like a 300/2.8 does.

I think you'll find where the 180 works a treat is things like festivals and parades and a wide range of daylight "scenic" view type situations.

Here's a very small pic I took with my old D1, also a 1.5x camera, in August of 2001, using a 180mm AF. Full-frame, uncropped.
$14412270.jpg
 
A 180mm on a 1.5x body frames very "tight". I think it's actually a little shorter than 180, like 176 or something, and the 1.5x is almost 1.52, so it's like a 270mm effective focal length...so...most dog parks are,relatively speaking, going to be kind of small areas...it's really,truly a lens that comes into its own on FX or 35mm film...it's a lot handier than a 200mm when you are close....but longer than a 135mm...it starts to get that "magnified background look" so many people like, and yet, at the same time, it does not utterly blow-out the background like a 300/2.8 does.

I think you'll find where the 180 works a treat is things like festivals and parades and a wide range of daylight "scenic" view type situations.

Here's a very small pic I took with my old D1, also a 1.5x camera, in August of 2001, using a 180mm AF. Full-frame, uncropped.
<img src="http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=40032"/>

Yea, it was a little long for that inclosed an area, but it worked ok for testing the used lens i ordered. My next prime will be an 85mm i think. Next zoom i want is sigmas 50-150 f/2.8
 

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