Seriously considering changing systems.

[CuriousMike]

I've had my D5000 for almost four years now, and I've had a lot of fun with it.

I've been taking a lot of photos of dogs the last year and it's becoming my niche.

One of the things I've been let down on is focus-speed - in particular with instances of the dog running head on to me.

I've posted a couple of questions on DPR, in both the Amateur/General section and the Nikon APS-C area looking for advice on how to improve.

At this point, short of pre-focusing on an area and waiting for the dog to run thru that plane and shooting (which just is honestly too much work and I still haven't had a perfect hit), my techniques seem reasonable - up the ISO, clamp down the aperture to get more in focus, steady held, with/without VR etc.

I haven't got a concrete answer is the slow focusing is my body or my kit 55-200 lens.
Do I upgrade the body or the lens to improve focus speed?
"They work together" - so, upgrade both?
I know the Nikon/Tamron 70-300 are both purported to focus fast than my 55-200 kit lens, but ... fast enough to solve my issue?
Would an upgrade the D5200/5300 body help?

And now the Sony A6000 comes out with "super fast continuous focus."
I was enamored with the marketing videos (including a scene of a dog running directly at the photographer) and thought maybe I'd just dump Nikon and get the A6000 and their 55-210.

But then I saw some samples of A6000 at 100%, and the detail is super smeary - it looks like a P&S. At "scaled to monitor" resolution, the images look sharp. So far I've heard "Sony is overly aggressive with the NR on JPGs and shoot raw and forget it", but I've seen a few converted raws and they still seem slightly smeary. Maybe that's just what 24 megapixels of resolution does?

 

[Syborg1211]

The nex series lenses leave a lot to be desired in terms of picture quality. There are some newer ones that cost a crapload that are pretty good.

Are you using AF-S or AF-C? AF-C could help. Are you using the viewfinder or liveview mode? Liveview mode is slower. The 55-200 is definitely a slow focusing lens. The 70-300 is faster. I recommend you rent some lenses and see if they're fast enough for you.

 

[blastingcap]

Believe it or not, successful high speed action photography predates autofocus.

That said, the Nikkor 55-200 and 55-300 are reportedly slower at autofocusing. For quicker AF-C, you want the 70-300 Tamron or Nikkor, but even then if the dog is running head on into you, your body may not have enough focus points to do an adequate job of tracking them. I have this problem with faraway fast-moving birds on a D5100 despite having a Tamron 70-300.

The most reliable way to get good shots under such circumstances, at least for me, is to crank up the shutter speed, which often means cranking up ISO to my personal tolerance limit, and also to go manual focus and sometimes pre-focus and wait for the bird to get in focus. I have a very fast SD card to help take longer bursts of photos at these peak times, knowing that many of them will be out of focus, but that at least one will likely be in decent focus. Don't bother with VR unless you're doing a panning shot; the bird isn't holding still. Use optical viewfinder of course, too much lag on live view.

But it sounds like you already know this, except maybe the burst of shots thing. Buy a faster SDHC card and try manual first before you go for some marketing claim by Sony. Last I heard, their hybrid AF-C still sucked compared to high-end DSLR phase detect AF-C, but the A6000 has more autofocus points than most lower-end consumer-grade DSLRs which helps.

P.S. Try center-point-only when using AF-C mode. Don't worry about framing, you can crop photos after you take the shot.

 

[CuriousMike]

I primarily shoot in AF-C, single point focus ( and I use the center point.)
I track the dog and for the most part feel I can get the focus point on her head.

I shoot in A-priority, typically F6.3-F8 and adjust ISO until shutter speed is > 1/1000.
One suggestion that does help is if I take the photos with the dog as far away as possible - but then I don't have enough resolution to crop in (or, when cropping in just losing detail.)

I have a fast SD card and shoot burst (but the D5000 chokes after 3-4 shots, shooting RAW+Basic jpgs).

The Sony e-mount lens selection is slim compared to Nikon (but really, outside of Canon, what system has as many choices?), but they do have a couple of F4 lenses that are < $1k that are reviewed well.

I've got that upgrade itch and the Sony was initially pulling me in, but now I'm just not sure.

I will continue to pay attention to DPR's Sony forum and look at some of the shots from owners.

 

[biostud]

Wouldn't a faster SD card help the choking?

 

[Syborg1211]

I think you'll be really surprised by the amount of difference the lens makes on focusing. If you really want to see the peak of what your camera is capable of, then rent the 70-200 f/2.8 and be prepared to be amazed.

 

[CuriousMike]

I literally have one of the fastest card I could find.
Shooting just raw ( or certainly, just JPG ) would help.
I'm simply at the limit of the 2009-tech buffer.

 

[CuriousMike]

I think you'll be really surprised by the amount of difference the lens makes on focusing. If you really want to see the peak of what your camera is capable of, then rent the 70-200 f/2.8 and be prepared to be amazed.

"Honey, can we sell your car so I can buy this awesome lens !"

 

[blastingcap]

I literally have one of the fastest card I could find.
Shooting just raw ( or certainly, just JPG ) would help.
I'm simply at the limit of the 2009-tech buffer.

Get something with UHS-I support then? Next step up among currently-available cameras would be a D5200 which also has a ton of more autofocus points. D5100 also has UHS-I support, albeit with fewer AF points. UHS-I will let you unleash 95MB/s cards.

Also, many cards advertise "up to" xyz speed but that's for read, not write speed, and even then some don't hit it. And there are a lot of fake SDHC cards out there. I would recommend buying a Sandisk 95MB/s UHS-I card from an authorized dealer like B&H, Amazon, Costco, etc. if your camera can handle UHS-I.

 

[CuriousMike]

The cards on the table are:
a) 70-300 Nikon/Tamron - cheaper overall option. I'd gain reach, they focus faster but overall not sure if it'd solve the problem.
b) Refurb D5200 - I'd gain pixels, 2 generation newer sensor, faster writing. Not necessarily faster focusing with my current lenses.
c) A6000 - Small form factor, more pixels, likely faster focusing even with 'kit' lenses, 2 generation newer sensor.

I did some research on cards, and the best value (at the time) was a PNY that is likely faster than the D5000.
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...hs_1_card.html

 

[Syborg1211]

"Honey, can we sell your car so I can buy this awesome lens !"

Hah, well I wasn't suggesting you buy it. I was just implying that I do not believe your camera is holding you back as much as the lens. The 70-200 would be the fastest that's possible with your current camera. If that doesn't satisfy you then maybe it is time to change cameras or systems.

I do think you should just rent the 70-300 and see how it performs. Checking Lensrentals.com, it's 66 dollars to rent one for 6 days - less money for less days if you so choose, but 66 dollars to see for sure whether the lens is going to solve your problem or not is a lot cheaper than switching cameras or buying the lens straight up without knowing for sure.

 

[biostud]

Try shooting medium size pictures (6mp)

 

[gar655]

I used to shoot soccer (youth so no really that fast). I didn't get consistently good results until I had a Canon 1DMkII, Canon 70-200/2.8 and a Sigma 120-300/2.8.

Depending on how fast the dogs are moving, their color (dark/black dogs will be harder to focus on) you won't get consistently good results until you upgrade both your camera and lenses. It's just the way it is.

Just like cars and motorcycles, speed costs money.

If this is something you plan on making money with then you need to get the right equipment. Futzing around with mediocre gear and expecting great results is just wasting time. The only thing that will be consistent is your disappointment in the results.

The A6000 is NOT the way to go for shooting action stills.

Step up to at least the Nikon 7000 series camera and the 70-200 F4.

 

[blastingcap]

http://www.dslrbodies.com/newsviews/its-the-focus-nikon-should.html

Timely article? I doubt the A6000 can do much better than D7100 or even a D7000 or D5200 in centerpoint AF-C for moving objects. It'd be a minor miracle if it even TIED, let alone WON. Be skeptical of youtube vids, too; for instance, the EM-5 looked great in youtube videos where there was already large depth of field with large objects like cars... but in real life when pushed by doing things like photographing birds in flight it can't keep up with fast moving objects for long.

 

[CuriousMike]

If this is something you plan on making money with then you need to get the right equipment. Futzing around with mediocre gear and expecting great results is just wasting time. The only thing that will be consistent is your disappointment in the results.

Purely a hobby.

I wish there was a website ( like DXOMark ) that could give you stats like focusing speed of various lenses on controlled body.

 

[tdawg]

Does the D5000 have 3D focus tracking? If so, have you tried that? Is the 55-200 you're using and SWM or screw-type autofocus motor? I'm no expert, nor am I experienced in getting shots of dogs coming at me head on -- I've tried, but it's always spur of the moment and I'm in the wrong AF mode -- but those are some things I'd look at.

 

[AViking]

I used to use that lens on my old DX Nikon. It's not that bad. I think head-on with moving subjects is just pushing the limits. In low light it's really tricky so start with good light so you can have a very fast shutter speed.

There are a few ways to do it.

1. AFC single point. I would use the back button as AF-ON. I would use a fast shutter speed and be shooting at a high burst rate. If you're setting these up then consider a monopod or tripod even.

2. AFC 3D. I used this yesterday and I think it can be very effective if you use it in combination with a high burst rate. I get a lot of keepers using it.

3. AFC multi point.

I think your best bet is with 3D tracking. Also you should be aware of your minimum focus distance and time the dog so that you have it framed good enough to get a few shots before he gets too close.

One thing I'm absolutely certain about is that buying the Sony will not help you. You're far better off getting a faster focusing lens. I have the 70-300 as well but I don't think I've ever tried head on shots with it.

 

[CptObvious]

You'd have to downsize the A6000 photos by 50% (24MP vs. 12MP) to get an apples-to-apples comparison with your D5000. My old Canon 5D at 12MP looked sharper at a pixel level than the 6D at 20MP with the same lenses, but downsized to the same resolution the detail was similar (and the 6D beat the 5D for color/dynamic range). The 55-210mm is not a bad lens, maybe on par with the Nikon 55-200 and other entry-level tele zooms. I haven't seen AF tests with that lens and the A6000 yet, but assuming the lens has a linear AF motor there should be a nice AF speed increase with the A6000.

 

[CuriousMike]

I've tried AFC-3D, and it's no better than AFC-Single point.
I push the ISO up to keep the shutter speed fast.

I find it interesting that there are numerous comments here suggesting the A6000 won't be any faster than my current-system (perhaps with a faster lens.)
I'll have to wait for more reviews of the A6000 to come out, and hopefully they'll be able to back up Sonys claims of "fastest AF system ever" with some numbers.

 

[CuriousMike]

Try shooting medium size pictures (6mp)

I've never tried this; and last night when I saw your comment I dismissed it.

I don't think I should dismiss it; rather, I think I should try the smallest image size possible and see if that ups my burst rate in a meaningful way.

Also, play with JPG settings. I don't know if basic is necessarily faster than fine (presuming it takes some computing time to compress the quality down to basic).

 

[tdawg]

I'm surprised people are suggesting file size, burst rate, buffer fill, and memory card speeds. Unless you're using a dog of a card, you should be maxing out the write speed of the camera body. And why lower file size to try to increase buffer when the resulting resolution is the same effect as cropping down a larger resolution photo?

Burst rate is what, 4 or 5 fps on the D5000? That's basically hard-coded in the camera and can't be manipulated. Buffer fill can be manipulated by smaller files since it's less data to write from the buffer to the card, but I don't ever advocate at shooting at less than full resolution.

But hitting the buffer limit is easy to mitigate; just start firing with the subject more in range of when you want to capture said subject. No use starting a burst when the subject is nowhere near close enough that you'd just be throwing those images away.

Nailing focus is all about the AF capabilities of the camera and can't really be manipulated. I've seen your pictures in the past so I know your issue isn't a matter of poor technique on your part. If the camera can't AF and track effectively to capture subjects coming head on at a fast clip, then a more modern camera with a new AF module may be needed.

 

[CuriousMike]

God damn logic.

 

[Tom]

I keep my Nikon J2 around because it's great for the kind of shots you're talking about. And the 30-110mm lens for it is also a very nice lens.

 

[CuriousMike]

Marketing:
"New ultra-fast AF system
Even quicker than most professional DSLRs, the phenomenal autofocus speed of the &#945;6000 camera is powered by Sony&#8217;s advanced Hybrid AF system. The new model features a focal plane phase-detection AF sensor with an extremely wide autofocus coverage area &#8211; 179 focal points&#8211; that is teamed with high-precision contrast-detection AF. This potent combination allows the camera to accurately track and respond to a subject moving through nearly the entire frame, and to shoot at an eye-popping speed of up to 11 frames per second with continuous autofocus. It&#8217;s an unprecedented combination of speed and frame coverage in today&#8217;s market."

 

[blastingcap]

I hope you realize that the E-M5's AF was also faster than many lower-end DSLRs and they advertised the heck out of it... but that was for single shot. What matters in your case is continuous autofocus/tracking. And on that front, I doubt the A6000 can beat high-end DSLRs though they might get close or even match low-end DSLRs. The Nikon 1 series for instance can actually beat many low-end DSLRs in continuous autofocus making it popular among some birders (who also want the 2.7x focal length magnification).