why bother releasing the AF-ON button then? i am tracking birds in flight and so on. no point is ever turning off AF while tracking, so shutter button AF is all that is needed. at 90% hit rate with birds in flight, i don't see any advantage to using the AF-ON button.
The focus speed is very quick to me - at least as good as 70-200 VR or 300/2.8.
As for the vignetting - I turned that setting off, shot a white ceiling with the SB-900 attached using the 200/2 at F2 without the hood and it sure does look like it has some especially in the lower corners. I am not sure if the flash caused any of this. I might try some more testing tomorrow to see if that makes a difference or not.
D3 stutters in AF-C and focus-priority mode. Both of my D3s behave that way with all my lenses, including 70-200, 200/2 and 400/2.8. Change it shutter-priority makes the stutter go away and to be honest, I still get sharp frames in a sequence of short bursts in shutter-priority mode.
HerbChong wrote:
why bother releasing the AF-ON button then? i am tracking birds in flight and so on. no point is ever turning off AF while tracking, so shutter button AF is all that is needed. at 90% hit rate with birds in flight, i don't see any advantage to using the AF-ON button.
Herb...
The only time I release the AF-ON button AFTER acquiring focus is if I want to take a shot of something coming through that plane where the focus is. An example whould be hurdlers. I press the AF-ON button to focus on the hurdle where I want the hurdler to cross, release the AF-ON button to lock the AF, then wait for the hurlder to come near the hurdle and fire away. In my experience, and MHO, I think separating focus and shutter fire gives the camera less to think about and do it's thing. I think most sports shooters use this method, only keeping their finger on the AF-ON, or * button, and fire away with the shutter button.
HerbChong wrote:
why bother releasing the AF-ON button then? i am tracking birds in flight and so on. no point is ever turning off AF while tracking, so shutter button AF is all that is needed. at 90% hit rate with birds in flight, i don't see any advantage to using the AF-ON button.
Herb...
I pan motorsports and use the AF-ON button for focus and turn off focus for the shutter button. This give me the ability to start VR (shutter button) for my pans way before I start to focus, thus giving the VR a chance to stabilize.
both of you are dealing with subjects with predictable motions. i am not. only the largest birds in flight do that. try it tracking a swallow in flight with a 600/4 + 1.7X.
Herb...
gman1339 wrote:
I pan motorsports and use the AF-ON button for focus and turn off focus for the shutter button. This give me the ability to start VR (shutter button) for my pans way before I start to focus, thus giving the VR a chance to stabilize.
i didn't say 90% keeper rate. i said 90% hit rate. that means focused on something that i want it focused on. my keeper rate is about 10% pretty much all the time because i get more fussy if i get more hits.
HerbChong wrote:
both of you are dealing with subjects with predictable motions. i am not. only the largest birds in flight do that. try it tracking a swallow in flight with a 600/4 + 1.7X.
mine AF's constantly, stuff moves....fast tele primes, what you shoot? 
