There were approximately 50 professional photographers at the Breeders’ Cup along the track yesterday. I would venture to say that the ratio between Canon and Nikon is 6:4. Three short years ago at an event like this, there were only a handful Nikon shooters among the sea of white lenses. Not that it matters but it is just an “observation” in the professional world and not that it is not known anyway. In addition to their setup on tripod/monopod some photographers also setup their gear along the track from a low angle of view or perched high above from a mini observation tower, like in the first image.
I talked to a few of them. A photographer with a Nikon setup told me that his company switched to Nikon as a direct result of the 1D Mark III debacle 2 years ago. He is using two D3 bodies right now. Another Canon guy that works for the Associated Press told me that the AP switched to Canon about 8 years ago and he never had any issues with his 1D Mark III. He also had a 5D with him.
The middle shot, showing a single Nikon shooter out of 10 professional photograpers, is not representative of the current actual ratio, BTW. It was true 3 years ago though. That guy on the third image was apparently bored between races... and he is an L shooter.
As a side note - I believe in lenshood and religously put them on, regardless of the situation. Not only to minimize flare but also for protection purposes. Some pros, as you can tell from the images, did not even bother.... What's up with that?
Back when I started shooting as a news photographer, it seemed there were about 10 Nikon shooters for every Canon shooter... It was not uncommon for me to be the lone guy with a white lens on the sidelines.
Here's a remote with the Canon New F-1 at the Breeder's Cup (from about 100 years ago ):
Aah, Gary, that's a shot from a perspective I couldn't get being only a spectator.... That is really a great shot. There were easily 20+ cameras/lenses setup like that along the track to the north that would give you a view of the stand like yours 100 years ago . A few of them are displayed in the second image. The photographes themselves are typically on the south side, where 99.99% of the people/spectators were on.
BTW, the first image of the "observation tower" shows 5 Canon bodies and 3 Nikon bodies, all remotely triggered, of course.
Dawei Ye wrote:
You know...I don't understand why people can't just pool for photos...surely it's not necessary to have that many photographers
A logical suggestion. Copyrights and legal stuff, I guess. Seems like a cross licensing
arrangement between the jouralism companies and such would save them money.
I suppose time-to-web requirements are very tight now though. If I am hiring my
own guy/gal to shot an event I can push them hard to deliver the images quickly.
Tougher if it's the "other agency's/company's shooter."
Dawei Ye wrote:
You know...I don't understand why people can't just pool for photos...surely it's not necessary to have that many photographers
Do you think New York Time wants to use the same images as your local news paper for the same event? Also do you think all photographers shoot the same even with the same subjects etc and get the same results....? NO WAY, lol...
and he is an L shooter.
. A few of them are displayed in the second image. The photographes themselves are typically on the south side, where 99.99% of the people/spectators were on.