It's not the camera, it's the photographer...

manaheim · Mar 20, 2013

I was taking pictures at my daughter's chorus concert tonight. I was a good distance away and the light was pretty horrible.

I picked up my camera, zoomed in to 170mm, set it to 1/60th of a second (handheld) and came out with shots that looked like this:

How could I possibly pull this off, you ask?

Why, because of my gear!

ISO 1600, creamy smooth and almost no noise... because I have a full-frame D800 that looks at ISO1600 and laughs.

170mm at 1/60th of a second because I have a 70-200 2.8 VR2 lens that allows me to take shots at stupidly slow shutter speeds and still get away with stopping down a notch or two to maximize that quality.

And I could do it from where I was seated because it's a 200mm lens.

Now was this an amazing photo? No. Proof positive that gear alone won't get you there, but the key thing I'm always thumping the table about is that... in certain situations... if you don't have the gear, you have no HOPE of getting there no matter how good of a photographer you may be.

My D300 and some of my "standard" lenses would NEVER have pulled this off with this kind of quality.

Just thought it might be worth the object lesson.

Ballistics · Mar 20, 2013

Ohhhhh you done did it nowwww :lmao:

pgriz · Mar 20, 2013

Pfttt. Being your usual humble self again, and NOT mentioning that you got this shot while beating off a jealous fautographer who was trying to get his paws on your sweetheart, or that you had to balance on top of the theatre chairs because ... well just because.

Other than that, thanks for letting me know who's gear I will need to borrow when one of MY daughters is performing. :lol:

2WheelPhoto · Mar 20, 2013

+1

I'm luvn' the D800 shooting stage events in low light too, and its not even close to what I bought the cam for. Hired for one event and word of mouth has led to several, and that workhouse D800 keeps pulling it off no matter how dim the stage lighting

TCampbell · Mar 20, 2013

They're actually wax models. He's in a wax museum. He used an iPhone and he doctored the EXIF data. Admit it.

2WheelPhoto · Mar 20, 2013

TCampbell said:
They're actually wax models. He's in a wax museum. He used an iPhone and he doctored the EXIF data. Admit it.

Trever1t · Mar 20, 2013

Isn't that VRII sweet? lol, I've got usable images as slow at 1/20 at 200mm....not that I'd try that too often.

2WheelPhoto · Mar 20, 2013

Trever1t said:
Isn't that VRII sweet? lol, I've got usable images as slow at 1/20 at 200mm....not that I'd try that too often.

YES!

Ballistics · Mar 20, 2013

So is it safe to say that the noise is not much of an issue even with the 36 MP?

desmondlewissmith · Mar 20, 2013

Funny that you write this now... I recently picked up a D3X. Previously I shot a D2X. At 1600 or HI rather, the noise on the D2X is HORRIBLE. The D3X at 1600 is FREAKING INCREDIBLE. I totally agree that you must at minimum have the gear to accomplish the great photos your talent will allow you to accomplish.