First day out with the Nikon D600

[Fredo]

So, I wanted a D700, looked for a D700, found a couple of pre-loved D700's . . . and bought a D600.
It popped up out of the blue, only 200 clicks, guy needed the money and had the invoice to prove he owned it . . . and I was happy with the price.

First day out was Saturday arvo for the local hockey 1st Division game and . . Nooo! Its under flood lights!!
As good as the D300 is, I could never get decent images with it under these rotten lights.

The initial settings wasn't hard to set up. Pretty much copied what I used with the D300 - along the line of, turn everything off and just turn on what was needed.
With one exception, I turned on auto-ISO. Yes yes, I know . . its an 'auto' function and by doing this I'll go straight to the gates of the damned . . anyway I did it and I'm pretty glad I did!
Here look :-

1/250th - f/4 - ISO 4000
100309

1/250th - f/4 - ISO 4500
100311

1/250th - f/4 - ISO 4500
100312

1/250th - f/4 - ISO 5000
100310

[arthurking83]

...... turn everything off and just turn on what was needed.
With one exception, I turned on auto-ISO. Yes yes, I know . . its an 'auto' function and by doing this I'll go straight to the gates of the damned . . anyway I did it and I'm pretty glad I did!
.....

That's pretty much what I would have done, and funnily enough that's what I do(when required).

Nothing wrong with using the features that camera manufacturers have developed over the years to assist in getting the required shots.
That's what most pros would also do.

I don't think pushing the ISO levels higher is an issue with the D600, which I believe is better quality than the D800 is at the pixel level at elevated ISO values. But I reckon you may need to push a bit more to achieve even faster shutter speeds. I think the main subject's face should be as sharp as possible in each image, and I can only see this in #3(and I think in #4 too).

Never done hockey, and as already indicated I will be shooting some lacrosse soon, so I'll find out for myself what the lowest shutter speed would be appropriate, but as all sports guys will tell 'ya... faster = the best option.
I'd be inclined to go for 1/320 as a minimum based on these shots .. otherwise utilise the fastest frame rate the body can achieve and sift through to find all the good ones.
Also, are you using a 70-200/2.8?
If so, you may be better off opening up to f/2.8 to get the extra shutter speed(or maybe f/3.2 or f/3.5) and forego some sharpness/contrast .. which you may be able to process back into the images later in PP.

[Sdison]

Looks like the purchase has served you well.

What lens/focal length are you using for these?

[Fredo]

Looks like the purchase has served you well.

What lens/focal length are you using for these?

Arthur's comments about focus and shutter are right and the AF is a lot different to the D300 but I am still blown away by being able to shoot at ISO 5000!

Lens is 70-200 f/2.8 and nearly always at f/4 for field sports.

[arthurking83]

Did your workflow with the D300 involve the AF-On/AF-C method for focusing?

if so, are you using the AE-L button on the D600 in a similar manner.

accurate focusing(or lack thereof) could be due to the linking of AF to the shutter release .. or something like that(just guessing).

D600 supposedly has a very good AF system, although I believe slightly below the level of the D300/D7100's AF system.

BTW: the reason I didn't get a D600 was because of the lack of the AF-On button(#1 reason) and the missing 10 pin plug .. among other reasons.

Anyhow, you can see that as a first play, it has done well in some of the images .. it may just be a matter of getting used to it and working out what method achieves the best results for 'ya.

[Fredo]

Did your workflow with the D300 involve the AF-On/AF-C method for focusing?
if so, are you using the AE-L button on the D600 in a similar manner.

Yeah I do use this technique Arthur . . one of the best tips I was ever given, and Yes I'm using the AE-L button on the D600 the same way.

Let me clarify here, the AF on the D600 is absolutely fine . . just different to look at throught the viewfinder.
Its early days in our relationship. We're just getting to know how each other works . . .