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First time shooting with my new DSLR

amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
edited September 5, 2007 in Sports
As I plow headlong into my mid life crisis I found my self attending my old antique radio clubs monthly meeting friday night just to see some of my old chums. not the wildest of crowds but good guys none the less and its nice to see friendly faces as you ponder all of the sinking curve balls lifes batting cage throws your way.

whats all this mean?

not much except a friend had a Nikon D40 there that I played with a little. He showed me some pics he took and I was surprised to hear that the D40 sells as low as it does. Being cheap and knowing DGrin is heavily biased towards Canon I decided then and there to buy the Nikon as my first DSLR just because I can :D and because I'm tired of wanting a DSLR.

I went to Best Buy Saturday determined to leave wtih a DSLR in hand. I chose Best Buy because I know they offer extended warranties and given the delicate nature of digicams SLR or not I wanted to make sure I got an extended warranty. On top of that I always like to grab a few trinkets at Best Buy when I'm buying 12 months same as cash and I was quite pleased to finally add Black Sabbaths Sabotage to my CD collection. I normally don't like to go as high as 11.99 for a CD but given the special circumstances I thought it warranted the splurge. Say what you want about Dave Matthews and all the rest of todays so called recording artists.

When someone can top Megalomania I'm all ears.

Sting me!

So without to much hemming and hawing I pulled the trigger on a Nikon D40 which was selling for $599. The sales kid offered me a Nikon 2 Zoom kit, which was the D40 along with the 18-55 lens it comes with, and for another 200 bucks Nikon throwns in a 55-200 zoom, (which sells for $249) which would have made it $799. but when he rang it up it came up for $699, which he wasn't even aware of but he just assumed they lowered the price.

worked for me. :thumb

As I rummaged thru the car today for a knife to cut my tomato for a tomato and mayo sandwich while attending the local motocross for the second time in a month I realized I finally have come home when it occured to me that I had a Black Sabbath and an Ozzy CD in the car at the same time.

what exactly does that mean?

it means that I finally got to play with a DSLR today.

did I mention that a 2 gig SD hgh speed memory card cost a whopping $35? :huh

welcome to the new millenium.

so here is one that I like.

we'll upload a few more and then hash over some first impressions of my first DSLR.

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    dbaker1221dbaker1221 Registered Users Posts: 4,482 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    congrats! great start....thumb.gif I think I'd crop a bit more of the fence at the bottom though. just my opinion.
    **If I keep shooting, I'm bound to hit something**
    Dave
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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    dbaker1221 wrote:
    congrats! great start....thumb.gif I think I'd crop a bit more of the fence at the bottom though. just my opinion.

    thanks for viewing.

    the thing about these shots of that jump is that it was taken from a fairly long distance. I'm guessing 125 feet? but I'm bad at judging distance. but for me the fence helps add perspective. I've got some more coming that I got all bike/air and no fence. I think you'll like them.

    the purchase of the D40 is starting to sink in now. besides being cheap I'm a chronic second guesser. should I have spent more? should I have gone with Canon? but we live with our decisions and make due with what we have. I'm liking the results for the most part. I'm realizing that for a first time effort the results were acceptable and that with some time and understanding of the camera and features I can get better results. these were pretty much point and shoot with the camera on the sports setting.

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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    obviously the fence got in the way here but it was nice to be able to shoot into a pack knowing I had a chance of getting something good. shooting sports and motocross in particular is just hoping you are shooting at the right time. if you wait for a monster shot you'll usually miss it.

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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    a little more zoom might have made this one a home run.

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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    I like the ability to capture some depth here. wouldn't get that with a point shoot.

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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    a little long distance jumping.

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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    I did pull out the Canon A95 since I had it with me. I had used it last time without utilizing the sports setting and wanted to see how it worked.

    here is a comparison between the D40 and the Canon A95. both on sports settings. I let the Canon shot get a tad closer. I didn't even realize at the time that I had bagged the same rider with both cameras from the same spot.

    the D40.

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    the Canon.

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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    but I did get some decent shots with the point and shoot Canon.

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    and some not so decent.

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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    some more decent shots with the Canon.

    and by the way this "open mini" class.

    these bike flat out haul ass with a proportionate rider on board.

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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    more comparisons.

    pretty much the same shot with the Nikon

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    and the Canon.

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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    Carlo Coen in search of more Sunday afternoon Kawasaki Contingency $$$. :D

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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    another Nikon/Canon comparison shot only with a 3 week time differential.

    same rider.

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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    #777 was running in the mini's. a girl taking on the boys.


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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    #1 Carlo Coens son.

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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    60 years old on a 1975 TM 125.

    he don't need no stinking gloves or mouth protection.

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    dbaker1221dbaker1221 Registered Users Posts: 4,482 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    I like some of these other action shots alot. I think the d40 will work fine for you...as for the fence..If you throw a step stool in your car that might be enough to shoot over it.

    you did wellthumb.gif
    **If I keep shooting, I'm bound to hit something**
    Dave
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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    maybe the best shot of the day as he was in the process of almost losing it due to a little much twist grip on a little traction.

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    so I started stalking him each lap.

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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    190864517-L.jpga few more variations on the same corner by the local HOG.

    Honda Owners Group. mwink.gif



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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    I finally got bored with that corner and moved a whopping 100 feet down track, forsaking the safety of my shade tree to the next corner for a totally different perspective. which I needed badly.

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    note the synchronous roosts.

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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    dbaker1221 wrote:
    I like some of these other action shots alot. I think the d40 will work fine for you...as for the fence..If you throw a step stool in your car that might be enough to shoot over it.

    you did wellthumb.gif

    thanks. I needed to get over the hump and get the DSLR. I'm sure the Canon is great also but my son has some Nikon's and a little lens sharing is always a nice option. One thing that really caught my ear about the D40 was battery life and I shot over 250 shots Sunday on the same battery. I never checked the level but it had more than enough juice for a long day.
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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    #75 had transmission problems and it kept popping into reverse.

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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    When Carlo Coen is in attendance in the expert class the race is usually for second place. He is early 40's.

    note #61.

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    #61 is 15 years old and was riding with the experts and put in a very good showing running top 5 in all the classes he was in.

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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    the 2 lines to enter the whoops section. tight and wide.

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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    taken later in the day with the sun much lower, a good view of the teeth of the whoops. turns out 509 was a son of a friend of mine so at that point I was definitely stalking him.

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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    earlier in the day with a higher sun and the battles of the whoops rage on.

    very pleased with these shots.

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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    maybe the best shot of the day and probably the one I meant to post last night but the thumbnails all look alike.

    not bad for a $700 camera that comes with 2 lens.

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    DoctorItDoctorIt Administrators Posts: 11,951 moderator
    edited September 3, 2007
    Doood! sweet! Glad you finally pulled the trigger on a real gun nod.gif

    Just from this one set of photos, I can see you were getting better as the day progressed. Nice to be able to just fire away with no shutter lag, eh? naughty.gif

    It's also to your benefit that you know what you're shooting. Play that up. You wouldn't be a great ballet shooter, but you know your bikes, and it shows, you know what to anticipate from them.

    some good shots in there thumb.gif
    Erik
    moderator of: The Flea Market [ guidelines ]


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    DJ-S1DJ-S1 Registered Users Posts: 2,303 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    clap.gif Congrats on the purchase, you have a great start there and you will improve by leaps and bounds once you get comfortable with it. Looking forward to more posts like this (sorely needed here IMO).


    amadeus wrote:
    a little more zoom might have made this one a home run.

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    Nothing a little crop can't fix. I try to get the framing perfect in-camera but I'm rarely that lucky. Cropping slightly can alter the focus of a shot and improve it trmendously.
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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    DoctorIt wrote:
    You wouldn't be a great ballet shooter, but you know your bikes, and it shows, you know what to anticipate from them.

    some good shots in there thumb.gif

    thanks. clap.gif

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IImhchDkHIk

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    amadeusamadeus Registered Users Posts: 2,125 Major grins
    edited September 3, 2007
    DJ-S1 wrote:
    clap.gif Congrats on the purchase, you have a great start there and you will improve by leaps and bounds once you get comfortable with it. Looking forward to more posts like this (sorely needed here IMO).


    thanks. I'm looking forward to a lot more. talk about cheap entertainment. plus I can head out in the over 50 class and take the Canon along for the ride. wings.gif
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