D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

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Archive 2010 · D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

BlueReptile
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p.1 #1 · D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

99% of the meets I cover for USAG are usually under TV lighting and I don't have to worry too much about not getting enough shutter speed. I'm usually at ISO1600, 1/1600 and f2 on a D3 under these conditions. That all changed when I was sent to the LV Sports Center in Las Vegas this past weekend for the Winter Cup. No TV coverage, the venue was smaller than most and it was dark with cycling lights. Not much different from the local meets I cover

My usual combo D3 + 200/f2 would have been ok except it was too tight. Luckily the newly acquired D3s arrived day before I left and figured it was time to give it an acid test by slapping on the 70-200 (I was really missing the Nikon equivalent of Canon 135/2).

EXIF are intact. Shot raw, converted to jpg and downsized in Aperture. I only have one thing to say... "AMAZING!". These have no noise reduction of any kind, which is even more impressive considering in-camera jpg or NEFs processed by Capture NX have some built-in noise reduction to them.

1-9 with D3s + 70-200 (all as ISO10000 except one at ISO8000 I think)
10-11 D3 + 200/f2 (ISO4000-5000)
11 D700

As always C&C welcome!

-John

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Feb 09, 2010 at 01:18 AM

msauk
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p.1 #2 · D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

looks great. That place looks big to me, but the amount of lights in there is terrible lol

it looks like it was meant for a concert

Feb 09, 2010 at 01:43 AM

luketrot
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p.1 #3 · D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

I don't need to switch to Nikon.... I don't.. I don't.. I don't.. Sigh.... Nice series John.

Feb 09, 2010 at 01:44 AM

P Alesse
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p.1 #4 · D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

John... I see trusses above the mats. Were they planning on putting in additional lighting and it just didn't work out?

Feb 09, 2010 at 02:22 AM

Aqualung
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p.1 #5 · D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

Very nice. Which 70-200? VR I or VR II?

Chris

Feb 09, 2010 at 02:44 AM

BlueReptile
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p.1 #6 · D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

msauk wrote:
looks great. That place looks big to me, but the amount of lights in there is terrible lol

it looks like it was meant for a concert

Thanks. This was an premier event, and usually premier events are held in places like this:

Feb 09, 2010 at 02:55 AM

BlueReptile
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p.1 #7 · D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

luketrot wrote:
I don't need to switch to Nikon.... I don't.. I don't.. I don't.. Sigh.... Nice series John.

You know even our fellow Canon shooter John P is armed with a D3s and 70-200 VRII...

Luke, come to the dark side... (Sorry, couldn't resist)

Feb 09, 2010 at 02:57 AM

BlueReptile
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p.1 #8 · D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

P Alesse wrote:
John... I see trusses above the mats. Were they planning on putting in additional lighting and it just didn't work out?

Nay, they're just teasers. This meet has always been dark. Previous photographers were complaining about the lighting, but they were also using MarkII class bodies. Pretty soon we'll be able to shoot in completely darkness and still produce nice images

Feb 09, 2010 at 03:04 AM

BlueReptile
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p.1 #9 · D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

Aqualung wrote:
Very nice. Which 70-200? VR I or VR II?

Chris

VR I Chris.

Feb 09, 2010 at 03:04 AM

luketrot
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p.1 #10 · D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

You know even our fellow Canon shooter John P is armed with a D3s and 70-200 VRII...

Luke, come to the dark side... (Sorry, couldn't resist)

It's 3rd grade all over again.......

This past weekend I was doing a little show'n'tell of John's D3s pics from the previous weekend in NY. 6400iso, never looked so good.

Feb 09, 2010 at 03:08 AM

dj dunzie
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p.1 #11 · D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

As much as I always want to respond to threads like this with "it ain't the gear, it's the photographer"... in this case, I will say this is a great camera body in the hands of an outstanding photographer. Yeah, the camera is capable of great low-light results, but you've captured great images here that have nothing to do with the camera itself. Well done John. You're right though, just a couple generations of bodies ago, we're close to giving up on this event or shooting the still stuff instead of the action.

Feb 09, 2010 at 03:11 AM

Geoffrey Bolte
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p.1 #12 · D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

Looking good John, but Luke, John P had a D3s and a Mark IV this weekend for gymnastics wonder which way he will go, granted everyone else but a few have gone over to Nikon.

Guess we shall see.

Feb 09, 2010 at 03:19 AM

BlueReptile
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p.1 #13 · D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

Thanks DJ.

Well Geoff, John P is going to MD with me this weekend, so I'll have to exercise my executive privilege and demand he use the D3s...

Feb 09, 2010 at 03:22 AM

Marty Bingham
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p.1 #14 · D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

BlueReptile wrote:
Luke, come to the dark side... (Sorry, couldn't resist)

That's funny as Hell.......

Good shooting under tough conditions.

Marty

Feb 09, 2010 at 03:36 AM

mmcatee
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p.1 #15 · D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

From the lighting rigs suspend over the mats looks like they easily could have added more lights I am guessing that was brought in just for the event.
Great pics btw very nice job in shooting under terrible conditions.

Feb 09, 2010 at 01:15 PM

J4644
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p.1 #16 · D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

Hi John,

These images are pretty compelling for the argument of Nikon's edge over Canon in terms of high ISO and low noise. I have all Canon gear, but am seriously thinking about the switch. Especially with Nikon's announcements of some new wide angle lenses. I hope Canon can at least have the better AF on the Mark 4, this may save them.

Jim

Feb 09, 2010 at 04:38 PM

msauk
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p.1 #17 · D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

You guys know that for most prints or even web use you will never see noise right? lol

I do find it funny

It may have an edge but on a normal print you will probably never see the difference.

Feb 09, 2010 at 06:01 PM

J4644
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p.1 #18 · D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

Hi Matthew,

You are probably right. I would love to see actual prints from both at a decent size to really compare them.

Jim

Feb 09, 2010 at 08:59 PM

run53
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p.1 #19 · D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

The lack of light has not negatively impacted your ability to get great gymnastic images. They are fantastic!

Now you know how difficult it is for us mere mortals shooting our kids in the dungeons. The light you had is still better than I usually get at my typical HS or USAG meets (girls level 9). My typical settings are 1/320, ISO 3200, f/2.

Feb 09, 2010 at 09:38 PM

P Alesse
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p.1 #20 · D3s and ISO10000 Gymnastics

run53 wrote:
The lack of light has not negatively impacted your ability to get great gymnastic images. They are fantastic!

Now you know how difficult it is for us mere mortals shooting our kids in the dungeons. The light you had is still better than I usually get at my typical HS or USAG meets (girls level 9). My typical settings are 1/320, ISO 3200, f/2.

Please understand that BlueReptile is shooting the premier events BECAUSE of his years and time spent as a "mere mortal" shooting dungeons and youth gymnastics. There isn't a person on this forum that has near the shutter clicks in darkness, which I guess to be over 1 million, as John Cheng.

And a message to all those other "mere mortals" who think you get into these events by luck. It aint so. John has paid his dues exponentially over all others for many, many years. Please do not EVER diminish or make light of that fact. Not in gest. Not as a sidenote. Not sarcastically. Not EVER.

Feb 09, 2010 at 10:42 PM

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