Karting

First outing for 2015! I've been a little lazy, and haven't gone on a photo outing since last year.

So for 2015, it's off to Sonoma Raceway (formerly Sears Point) for some go kart action. I tried the V1 with the 70-200mm VR and TC-14EII. A little too much reach, and AF tracking wasn't as good as the D3, but it's great if you want to get up close. The camera correctly reports the focal length with the TC attached.

The D3 lacks a bit of reach (I was too lazy to bring the Sigma 500mm), but playing with 3D AF got some good results. Panning is still not my best skill though, and the 70-200mm really doesn't like it when you're shooting into the sun.

A slow, but not bad, start to 2015.

What to do when your camera focuses way off the mark

Being a bit lazy over the holidays, I relied on my D3200 for the family snaps. Imagine my surprise when over 90% of the shots showed a bad case of back focus. My brother had shown me an image he had taken of his car a few months ago using the D3200 where nothing of the car was in focus. I thought the lens might be bad, but didn't have the time to look further into it. Paid the price for my procrastination.

I brought the body and lenses home to do some testing and confirmed that the camera was focusing about a foot behind the indicated AF point when using the viewfinder and the phase detect AF sensors. Switching to Live View and the contrast detect sensors gave perfect focus every time. A solution, but not a good one as contrast detect AF is very slow.

Phase detect AF: notice the camera equipment inside the cabinet is in focus

Contrast detect AF: The cabinet is in proper focus. Odd note that the AF sensor indicator for contrast detect is larger than that for phase detect AF. 

So now it's off to the interwebs to find out if there's a way to fix this without sending the camera to Nikon (warranty is over). Turns out there are a couple of cams that can be turned to adjust the AF of a D3200 (among other bodies). Made some adjustments (and managed to get a fingerprint on the sensor, ugh), and now the AF is much better. Still not perfect, but good enough.

Lesson learned: do a thorough test before signing off on the camera.

Ecstasy and agony

While attending this year's SuperHero Street Fair, the neck strap on the V1 managed to slip free of the buckle, causing the camera to drop a foot or so to the sidewalk. The hood on the 30-110mm has several scratches and nicks. The left corner of the V1 also has some chips. Not a good day.

The event was more populated with costume revelers this year, making it a constant shoot fest. I used all the lenses in my small bag (35mm, 50mm, 30-110mm, and 10-30mm), with the 50mm getting the least use as it was a bit  too long. I do love how the V1 kit can be so small yet have such breadth and depth. I do wish that F-mount AF lenses were able to use AF points other than the center as focus-and-recompose is a pain for events.

I haven't gone through all the images as 2013 is still calling. In the meanwhile, here are some that jumped out and demanded to be edited.

The downside of digital

It's finally over. After almost two months, I've finished editing the final photo from the Bay to Breakers. I was there for five hours, which explains why I ended up with so many shots. Staying later means more photos of the party crowd. Not too many nude runners this year (or I missed them due to the crowd density).

The pictures came out nicely despite the sun coming out later in the day. The usual kit of D3+70-200mm VR+TC-14E. No flash this time. The usual case of eye strain after the event, and a hungry belly.

Complete set of photos can be found here

Hit rate: 566/2,510, or 23%

Now that the B2B ordeal is over, I can go back to my regular editing schedule, which puts me further back to September of last year. Sigh.

Popping the cosplay cherry

I've been to several comic book conventions, JPop festivals, and cherry blossom parades. But I've never attended a pure cosplay event. I managed to attend one last weekend, and it was a bit of overload. Lots of people in costumes, and lots of photographers milling around them. Some photogs even brought lighting setups with them. Talk about dedication.

I only managed a few shots, as most of the time I was just gawking and enjoying the view. Hopefully I'll be better prepared for the next one. I stuck to my favorite portrait lens (the 105mm f/2DC), and it didn't disappoint. There are times when I'm amazed at what this lens produces. It has a pop that's lacking in the 70-200VR. Hopefully Nikon will update it with an AF-S version so I can use it on the V1 and D3200.

On a side note, there was one photog using a view camera. It was interesting to watch him do the careful setup and focus required by such a large rig. It would be nice to see his results, given the care and time he put into his photos. Another one was using a medium format Mamiya, which was a surprisingly light rig. Large format rights would be fun to try, but my manual focus skills are pretty nonexistent, so it wouldn't be much fun.

Hit rate: 16/58, or 28%

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Full album can be found here

On another side note, I've been stuck trying to edit photos in a chronological order. So future posts will be jumping back and forth as I find albums that are more interesting or need more timely processing than others.