Going to the dogs with Nina.

[JaniceL]

Gotcha! Dress warm....but mobile. I had wondered if there would be laying on the ground (I am totally down with that!), or running. Guess I was off on both. You just stand?

*makes note: minimal caffeine intake tomorrow am*

Nina, thanks for the information on the differences of the cameras.

Janice, again, congrats on your beautiful captures and what must have been an amazing day.

Sure wish I had thermal pants....

LOL, minimal caffeine is right. I am a heavy drinker . . . of coffee that is and planned ahead.

Thank you. They are not as sharp as I like but I'll get there. It was amazing. Enjoy your day, I can't wait to see what you post.

Have fun.

 

[BobH]

geez, I only had a turtle neck, T-Shirt, sweatshirt & jacket ... was frozen to the bone, but slow traffic going home gave me a chance to thaw a bit LOL

You didn't dress warm enough? I thought you'd been to a dog show before?

 

[NinaS]

most trials there is no charge to get into, the big one "Rose City Classic" at the Expo Center in Portland in two weeks charges for parking & entry ... a couple of others I've been to charge for parking (when they're attached to some of the AKC Conformation shows) but majority are free all the way in

 

[NinaS]

shut up Bawb

 

[BobH]

shut up Bawb

Hey... It's Baughb...

 

[NinaS]

if you say so ... Baughb

 

[BobH]

no standing, you sit

That would be nice. I seem to recall I was standing at Argus so that I could shoot over the railing. (I'm certain I was standing, just not certain exactly why) Guess different shows have different setups.

 

[NinaS]

Argus is a different place, because of the restricted size, we are often doomed to the outside of the arena, but I almost always find somewhere to sit for most classes LOL

almost all the other places either the fence is low enough to shoot over, or you can sit inside the ring ... of course, it is also up to the judge & the show committee to be in the ring

 

[JaniceL]

Chair? Will do. Got one of those. I guess a lap blanket can help since I don't have the thermal pants.

Janice, how heavy was that lens after awhile?

Sorry, I missed this question. It wasn't all that heavy but I used my knee to brace my arm like a tripod

 

[NinaS]

I brought a monopod in case someone wanted to use it, as, if you're not used to holding the weight of the camera/lens combo, it can be painful

 

[BobH]

I brought a monopod in case someone wanted to use it, as, if you're not used to holding the weight of the camera/lens combo, it can be painful

I'm guessing Leia is long gone, on her way to the Show, but yes, a monopod is a great suggestion. It supports the weight while also allowing you pretty much all the mobility you need. As an added bonus (sounds like an informercial!) it will also steady the lens, which can mean sharper shots.

One thing to consider. Some image stablized lenses aren't compatible with tripods and need to either be turned off or set to a different setting. Check the manual that came with your lens for details.

And yes, your arms and shoulders will probably be tired at the end of the day... But not too bad, and it's worth it.

 

[BobH]

PS - Some of you are possibly thinking "I never shoot dog shows, why do I care?"

Well, for most of the dicussion, you can delete "agility trial" and insert "soccer game" or whatever other sport you might be shooting, and the advice will be exactly the same for the most part.

 

[BobH]

> the worst thing about the camera is it
> is a 16+MP camera, and sports shooters
> don't want or need all those MP's LOL

OK, so I'm curious. I know on the Nikon I can choose to shoot smaller images. I can choose from 4288 x 2848 [L], 3216 x 2136 [M], 2144 x 1424 . I'm pretty certain that Canon offers the same sort of option.

I've never shot anything but the largest one, but I wonder how things work at the lower resolutions. Does the camera shoot faster if you go smaller? Is there any dis-advantage to the smaller size other than the obvious one (it's smaller). I wonder if changing the image size would have any effect on the burst factor? I'm guessing it wouldn't, but I don't know.

Maybe Janice can play around a bit and see what happens. Obviously you can't do it during a production shoot, that's not a good time to experiment, but she could try it someday while just playing around.

> for what I do the 50D out performs most of the better bodies,
> but only the sports shooters will ever agree with me LOL

Actually, Nikon apparently agrees with you. They just released an updated D3 and D300, but they didn't bump the megapixels. Instead they kept them at about 12, and didn't join in the megapixel arms race. They say that they feel that's the sweet spot for size and quality at the moment, at lest with the components they're using.

 

[arlinescott]

Leia,

You can get lined Adidas running pants for $22 at Costco in the mens section. Works almost as well as thermal pants. Another tip that seems weird but works is wearing full nylons under your pants and socks.

 

[popsphotos]

Leia,

You can get lined Adidas running pants for $22 at Costco in the mens section. Works almost as well as thermal pants. Another tip that seems weird but works is wearing full nylons under your pants and socks.

I was taught the nylons trick when training with the SAS in 1959-1960. I wear knee-hi under my wool socks all the time. It works for warmth in the winter and chafing in the summer. (I refuse to say in public what I wear under my wool long-johns on winter shoots. )

Keep an eye on the military surplus stores. you can find Swedish or Swiss wool cargo pants at $20 or so. Cargo pants are great for photography because of all the pockets. They often eliminate the need for a camera bag.

Cargo pants, photographers' (fishing) vest and a jacket give you many pockets in which to stash all sorts of stuff. You might not look all dressed up for the ball, but you are supplied to go out and have a ball.

Pops

 

[JaniceL]

> the worst thing about the camera is it
> is a 16+MP camera, and sports shooters
> don't want or need all those MP's LOL

OK, so I'm curious. I know on the Nikon I can choose to shoot smaller images. I can choose from 4288 x 2848 [L], 3216 x 2136 [M], 2144 x 1424 . I'm pretty certain that Canon offers the same sort of option.

I've never shot anything but the largest one, but I wonder how things work at the lower resolutions. Does the camera shoot faster if you go smaller? Is there any dis-advantage to the smaller size other than the obvious one (it's smaller). I wonder if changing the image size would have any effect on the burst factor? I'm guessing it wouldn't, but I don't know.

Maybe Janice can play around a bit and see what happens. Obviously you can't do it during a production shoot, that's not a good time to experiment, but she could try it someday while just playing around.

> for what I do the 50D out performs most of the better bodies,
> but only the sports shooters will ever agree with me LOL

Actually, Nikon apparently agrees with you. They just released an updated D3 and D300, but they didn't bump the megapixels. Instead they kept them at about 12, and didn't join in the megapixel arms race. They say that they feel that's the sweet spot for size and quality at the moment, at lest with the components they're using.

As far as the burst factor I don't know that I would be able to sense the difference in the burst speed but it seems reasonable that a smaller image would have a smaller record time which factors in to the speed. Here is their disclaimer on their website which seems to support that . . ."Varies depending on the subject, CF card brand, image-recording quality, ISO speed, drive mode, Picture Style, etc." Regardless, I can't go past the max burst speed which is set at 3.9 shots per sec which for me is fine.

Nina's camera is lightning fast and not being used to that I'm sure I used up her batteries pretty fast because of my trigger happy finger.

 

[squirl033]

just read through this thread... wow... didn't realize those agility shoots were exercises in cold-weather tolerance!

as for the cameras, the extra pixels don't hurt anything, as a rule, because the faster processors can write the data to the cards more quickly... IF you have fast memory cards! mine are all 80x or faster, which is ample for my 40D, which shoots 6fps, and is plenty fast for most action shots. my 5D is hopeless for that sort of thing, it only does 3 fps... i've heard the 50D isn't really any better at high ISO than the 40D, but since i rarely shoot above ISO 800, and never above 1250, for me it doesn't make much difference.

the biggest factor in shooting speed isn't image size, but shutter speed... you have to keep the shutter speed up in order to maximize frame rate. the newer cameras have deeper buffers, as well, which means you can shoot at max fps for longer before the camera has to "catch up".

 

[NinaS]

Rocky, the 50D does outperform the 40D at higher ISO's, that is the primary difference between the two bodies (besides MP's), which is why I bought two of them LOL

I shoot large JPGs, as you never know how big the client wants an image, so shooting smaller my hurt me in the sales dept, but, if needed, you can hold the hammer down and take 20+ images, it never slows down, if you hold the shutter button down it shoots for ever LOL

as I hire 2nds for weddings & agility, & used to let them use their own gear, I get to compare most bodies in similar situations, the 5DII rocks in low light, such as weddings, but sucks in low light sports ... every camera has a plus & a minus ... now I generally supply 2nds for agility with my gear, as I love the end results, as you can see from Janice's posting

 

[JaniceL]

Thank you again Nina, it was incredibly fun and your 50D is far superior for this to my 5dmkII.

Most of my shooting is landscape and I can make really large enlargements with mine but that would not be a likely purpose for these dog shots. It's all about the right tool for the job.

 

[NinaS]

I'm sure if I made my living doing portraits and/or landscape, I could easily fall in love with the 5DmkII or the 1D series cameras, as in a lot of ways, they are far superior in quality, well, at least in price, so we assume quality LOL

I did research before I bought my 50D's, I had been saving for a 1DNmkII when the 50D was announced, and specs side by side, I went with the cheaper body, because sports cameras are used & abused ... remember, my older 50D has well over 230K images & still ticking (like a timex) LOL

the lesson, is know what you plan on doing with your camera, research the best ones for your needs, then make your informed purchase.

When people ask me what they should get, my first question is "do you have kids? how old" If there is the slightest chance they'll be watching/shooting youth sports in the next few years, I do advise the 50D, 1DNmkII or now the 7D ... because after their first basketball or volleyball game, they'll thank me for fast camera & fast glass LOL