quote:

Originally posted by VictimNoMore:

Stop right there. By having the camera below your eye, you are effectively hurting your reaction time. It needs to be up to the eye. I am right-eyed. I have the camera up to my (right) eye, and keep my left eye open to see what's going on outside the frame. This allows me to anticipate/react much quicker. Try it and see if it works for you.


I also pre-focus (and hold the focus lock button on my lens) on the batter, then wait for the pitch and fire away. Rhythm.

Hope this helps.

Sweet. I will try with the both eyes open and the right looking through the camera lens. I was never one to be able to shoot (firearms) with both eyes open, so hopefully it'll work better with the camera. But in picturing it, I can see how much of a time saver it will be.

I do pre-focus and focus lock on the batter. I actually do that for a lot of plays. When I think a girl might steal or there is play at a base, I focus lock on the base. When I am shooting the pitcher from the side, I focus lock on the pitching rubber.

Thanks for all the advice.

Another suggestion for www.nikonians.org . It is a good place.

I have that same lens. Somehow broke a piece of plastic off the f-stop ring which engages the autofocus on the camera so mine will not work now.

It's a great lens but can be slower to autofocus then the newer 70-200 f2.8 because it's using the cameras autofocus motor. This will always be slower than the newer lens with onboard autofocus motors.

I had the same problem you're having shooting sports. I sucked it up and dealt with it because I wasn't doing it much and couldn't justify the cost of the 70-200mm. Although it's a great lens.

I think your be better off with the newer lens vs. the body. Good glass will last a lifetime. Bodies are always changing.

Also, look at KEH for used gear. I've bought a few lenses from them and they have always equal to or better then the grade they give them.

Looks like you are getting some good feedback at Nikonians.

FYI: I registered for the free arrangement and was under that for about a year. Wanted to wait until I determined how much I would use it and what aspects were relevant before I ponied up for the paid membership. Have been a paid member for a couple years now and feel like it is worth the fee. Good group, very knowledgeable and always willing to offer help. Just like this group!

quote:

Originally posted by holdem:
Sweet. I will try with the both eyes open and the right looking through the camera lens. I was never one to be able to shoot (firearms) with both eyes open, so hopefully it'll work better with the camera. But in picturing it, I can see how much of a time saver it will be.

I do pre-focus and focus lock on the batter. I actually do that for a lot of plays. When I think a girl might steal or there is play at a base, I focus lock on the base. When I am shooting the pitcher from the side, I focus lock on the pitching rubber.

Thanks for all the advice.

Awesome. Have fun, and just keep shooting and learning from each game.

Have you looked at the D7500?

https://www.dpreview.com/revie...speed-and-capability

https://www.dpreview.com/forums/1034

BTW, WHEN you go to the D500, I can highly recommend the book, "Mastering the D500" By Darrell Young.

And, you might keep your eyes on the Nikonians site. Sometimes, there will be a used D500 for sale there.

I’m just an amateur photographer and wanted to upgrade my camera for a trip to Africa a few years ago. I ended up getting the D500 for its quick autofocusing ability and was not disappointed with the pictures I took.

I also ended up getting a 200-500mm VR lens and that thing is amazing. When you don’t have time to set up a monopod the VR lens can be handheld...

My first Nikon was a Nikkormat FS that was made around 1965, so I've been in and using Nikon cameras for a bunch of years.

Pertaining to your question there are two factors in play in regards to focusing speed.

One is the type of focusing DRIVE. Your 80-200 is a Gear Drive Nikkor and the gear drive system is slower than the in lens ultrasonic drive systems, which is used in the 70-200 that replaced the 80-100. As for the VR, it's a bonus and it is actually an asset because it really does provide the ability to capture sharper images.

The second factor is the Focusing system, that installed in your D7100 is a bit "dated" and it's a consumer level system. Yes it is very good, but it cannot hold a candle to what is installed in the D500.

So, my advice is for you to take a "bridge" approach. I would advise your purchase the D500 body and install the 55-200 AF-S DX Nikkor VR to that camera. Yeah, get yourself a 250 dollar comsumer grade lens and use that until you can afford the 70-200 megadollar zoom. Because if you set the aperture on the 55-200 lens to F5.6 and compare it to the 70-200 set at f5.6 you will find the much cheaper lens is just as good for image quality as the much more expensive lens. I fact the cheaper lens just might be a tiny beet better. What you get with all those dollars for that 70-200 is the constant f2.8 aperture and more rugged construction.

Yeah, I know, you "need" that f2.8 aperture. Take it from someone who shoots from APS to 4x5 inch film you do NOT need a wider aperture. Fact is that is a look that is beyond dated and image quality at f2.8 will almost always be lower than at f5.6 to f11. In addition if you have a slight "miss" on the focus of an image the increased depth of focus of a smaller aperture will turn that "miss" into a hit.

Finally there is the image quality of the D500. That will be a bit of a revelation, especially the image quality at higher ISO settings. I would expect that you will find that ISO 3200 on the D500 is quite close to ISO 800 on your current camera in terms of noise. I also suspect strongly you will find the color reproduction is a bit better.

PS; don't have a D500 yet but one is on my wish list. My choice is the D750 because I have a boatload of full frame Nikkors dating back to 1965 I can still use on the D750. Also have a D300 where I learned how good the modern consumer lenses really are, the 18-105 AF-S VR stunned me with it's image quality.

Another idea, take a look at the Nikon D7500. It's the upgrade of the D7100 and uses the guts of the D500 for faster imaging. It will be a similar control layout to your D7100. I recently bought a D7500 and now my D7100 is my backup body. I haven't tried any sports photography with it, but so far the landscape and wildlife photography I've done with it I've been extremely happy with.

Ultimately, as you progress further in shooting sports (and it sounds to me like you do enjoy it, the challenge of it), you will need to give a hard look at a used Nikon D4 or D5. Heck, I break out a D3 from time to time just because it is still a relevant camera in good daylight.

Perhaps look into selling photos of the players to their families? That can help bankroll more gear.

Multiple bodies and using remotes are the next cliff you can walk off, but I don't think you want to go there just yet.

Just keep shooting and trying new things, see what works and what doesn't.

I had a D7100 that I wound up upgrading to a D7500 (faster sensor, fewer card slots). I typically use my 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR as my "carry-around" lens, but I don't shoot video, so I'm not sure I can add much to this thread. With one possible exception: Have you considered back button focusing?

Properly set, back button focusing will allow you to continue to have sharp focus during your shooting, even if the focal distance changes.

You can read about it here: http://luminescentphoto.com/bl...kon-af-on-technique/

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:

So, my advice is for you to take a "bridge" approach. I would advise your purchase the D500 body and install the 55-200 AF-S DX Nikkor VR to that camera. Yeah, get yourself a 250 dollar comsumer grade lens and use that until you can afford the 70-200 megadollar zoom. Because if you set the aperture on the 55-200 lens to F5.6 and compare it to the 70-200 set at f5.6 you will find the much cheaper lens is just as good for image quality as the much more expensive lens. I fact the cheaper lens just might be a tiny beet better. What you get with all those dollars for that 70-200 is the constant f2.8 aperture and more rugged construction.

I do have the 55-300 f4.5-5.6 AF-S DX VR lens. And I can tell you from side by side comparisons that the 80-200 absolutely CRUSHES the 55-300 when it comes to focusing speed. I do not have an answer for that other than I have to assume all AF-S lenses do not share the same motor. But they are not even close, on either the D7100 or the D500 I played with. Why would the 55-200 be any different?

quote:

Originally posted by fpuhan:
I had a D7100 that I wound up upgrading to a D7500 (faster sensor, fewer card slots). I typically use my 18-140mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR as my "carry-around" lens, but I don't shoot video, so I'm not sure I can add much to this thread. With one possible exception: Have you considered back button focusing?

Properly set, back button focusing will allow you to continue to have sharp focus during your shooting, even if the focal distance changes.

You can read about it here: http://luminescentphoto.com/bl...kon-af-on-technique/

My mother has recently gotten into wildlife photography and she uses this technique. I do not mind the traditional technique though. I think part of it is that my finger is so well trained from years of shooting matches (USPSA, 3 Gun, F-Class) that applying the proper pressure to the shutter release button is easy for me. The camera is set to focus tracking for when I am shooting a moving object. And then I use the back button for focus lock for when I do not want that to happen.

I have the D750 with the 70-200 lens (along with several others). That lens is by far the fastest and highest quality lens I have. since I got it, its rarely off my camera. I'd go for that without hesitating.
Also look at Ugly Hedge Hogs - great photo forum: https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/d...issue?digestnum=2101