Spoony

Cheers :) Yeah I'm not sure who is more shocked today, me going back to work since 22nd Dec or Striker stuck at home doing nothing haha.

I spend my last week of holiday's camping on the Boyd river with Striker and the old man. In the end I spend that much time in the river with both the D750 and X-T1 I counted myself lucky I didn't end up testing the 'weather proofing' of either of them. haha Striker in the Boyd River by Dan P, on Flickr The little nut bag can't get enough of trying to 'fetch' ever sinking rocks. haha Striker focused on fetching ever sinking rocks. by Dan P, on Flickr Striker in the Boyd river chasing by Dan P, on Flickr Striker in the Boyd River attempting the 'fetch' rocks, haha by Dan P, on Flickr Striker Shake by Dan P, on Flickr

I think it can do, I'll have to check :)

^ haha, yes, some dogs start jumping so far our with massive distance. trifecta, I would certainly recommend the D750. For the money, at the moment I don't think there is another body that offers such a balance of 'do it all' abilities combined with top IQ and low light performance. .

Awesome, small world! Haha yeah Trek is a bit like my boy, not all that interested in super super friendly dogs. His so cool though, Denise let me run him around a little course once :)

Thanks Guys :) You know Denise and her dog Trek? She's been the most awesome and helpful influence on Striker and my training.

Last Saturday I was both a competitor with Striker and photographer for the final Agility comp of the year a Brisbane Agility Clubs grounds. It was such a fun day, Striker managed a second place in his second ever comp and a clear round too. :) I am loving the Autofocus ability and low light performance on the new toy (D750). The night shots are all at 1/800th and ISO 8000 . DSC_3824.jpg by Dan P, on Flickr DSC_5936.jpg by Dan P, on Flickr DSC_5929.jpg by Dan P, on Flickr DSC_5315.jpg by Dan P, on Flickr DSCF5961.jpg by Dan P, on Flickr DSC_5132.jpg by Dan P, on Flickr DSC_4597.jpg by Dan P, on Flickr DSC_3937.jpg by Dan P, on Flickr DSC_4613.jpg by Dan P, on Flickr

Haha ouch!! yeah it is a bit of a risk, but the angle can look great. This is one positive of my mirrorless camera with the tilt screen, ie don't have to lay on the ground, just the AF doesn't hold a candle to the DSLR, which also has a tilt screen but Live View is even more useless. 1st world problems? lol

Cool fun pics!! I'm guessing you're lying on the ground for some of these!

Cheers :) Yes the 2.8 zooms are quite size-able. I think that one without the tripod foot 1300 odd grams! The problem is with what you're trying too do and wanting shallow DOF and subject isolation, the only easy way you'll achieve it in most settings, especially on an APSC size sensor body is with faster lenses. So shorter primes or 2.8 zooms. So getting slow wide range zoom isn't going to give you much blur unless there is quite a bit of space behind the subject, helps also if they are closer relative to the space behind. For me it's best to work out what focal length you need for different situations. Ie you may only use the longer zoom, say a 70-200 2.8 for action shots and similar of your dog(s), perhaps at the beach etc where it isn't too bad to lug around for a bit vs hiking. Where as hiking you may find yourself not need a long zoom at all? Though if you come across wildlife they are handy, and in this case you'll usually already want that lens on to begin with. This is where a large focal range zoom is handy, but unfortunately doesn't offer the easy bokeh you're chasing. You can get shorter range 2.8 zooms 17-50mm just of APSC bodies, so they are compact and not overly pricey (ie if you're happy with grey market under $300). It could be a consideration coupled with a 70-200? This would give a fairly practical walk around lens, while not 'prime' fast or likely as sharp, would give good wide angle for landscapes etc, and also still able to take closer range potraits and through the background a bit in the correct setting. http://www.tamron.com.au/di-ii17-50_a16.html Always keep in mind that the shorter the focal length, generally faster the the lens needs to be the throw the background. Ie a long slow zoom can still give heaps of blur if you allow reasonable of space behind the subject, and keep the subject as close as possible to you. You can't achieve this with a short focal length so much unless you have a really fast lens. So with a bit of planning and the right locations and placement you can achieve good things, it just takes more thinking and work :) One thing to also consider is if you want to shoot your dogs in action is shutter speed. You're going to need 1/640 + at minimum, generally I use at least 1/800th. Is is really going to push the ISO anytime there isn't bright light, even just mid/late arvo is enough to do this on a slow lens. So think of the faster lenses and zooms not just offering you better bokeh but also allowing you to shoot the action over great times of the day and when the lighting is becoming nicer too. An example using a very slow zoom on an APSC body, still some nice blur as the subject fills the frame and isn't too far away, a fair amount of zoom is used and also the background is further away. ISO 800, 1/800th F 6.4 172mm Ebony - Animal Rescue Queensland by Dan P, on Flickr

Yeah for sure!!! And agree, my X-T1 + 12mm 2.8 + 35mm 1.4 + 50-230mm sloth + Nissin i40 all fit in my sling bag at near the same weight not much more size than the DSLR + 70-200mm 2.8. Mind you most of it is that lens, sure the body is somewhat bigger and has a bit more weight but given the performance difference on any level that's not good light and static subjects it's more than acceptable. Couple the 50-140 2.8 on the X-T1 and in my opinion the advantage really chopped down to almost insignficant. It's not a great deal smaller (12mm length and a few mm diameter, 300 odd grams) than the Tamron, yet can't offer close to the same performance in quite a variety of situations on each comparative body. In saying that the Fuji 'kit' will be my grab and travel go too + for close range, the compact fast super sharp primes and also sharp compact zooms (even the cheap XC's are aweseomely sharp, destroy Cannkion' cheap lenses) are where that systems at, for me at least

So much awesome info in this thread, weld done Snook and others! Haven't recently also acquired a Nikon body to compliment my Fuji gear (see my other thread) I'd support what a few others have mentioned regarding a 70-200 2.8, however suggest finding a good used one, and NOT a Nikon, just go Tamron. If you look at reviews and back to back test (ie on DXOMark) there is nothing it really accept the costs. You'll be able to pick a second hand one up for under $1000 easy (or $1350 new) . Still not cheap but will give you great results even on the entry level body. It's also the smallest and lightest 70-200 2.8 vs Nikon and Canon's offerings, but it still is a heavy beast and will look as such especially on the front of D3300. Being APSC the D3300 won't get quite this level bokeh in the example below, but it will still work nicely and plenty enough for most situations to give nice isolation. As for a short lens to go along with it, I'd first think of how you'll shoot. The 70-200mm will still work well for portraits you'll just need some space from the subject. If you want to shoot portraits closer then on an APSC body I would recommend a fast prime. If you don't need the speed for low light and shallow DOF for portraits at the short end then a normal zoom (ie upto 70mm) might be more practical and also be useful as a general travel lens. You may not want to lug a 70-200 2.8 around travelling. Striker on the boardwalk by Dan P, on Flickr

Figured I'd update this thread. I ended up sourcing a new D750 Lowepro toploader bag + Used Tamron 70-200 2.8 for $3k total. It's certainly a different beast to the X-T1 in regards to focus performance and handling. It snaps off shots and focus rapidly quick. Shadow recover and low light is very impressive. Able to shoot at 1/800th of second after the sun goes down and still get clean shots with punchy colour is awesome. A Even if the X-T1 had the 50-140mm 2.8 on it it couldn't achieve this, mainly because their ISO claims are bit bogus but also because ISO 6400 is the limit. The one under lights on the XT-1 at ISO 6400 would have had the shutter speed under 1/200th and a total blur. Reality is any of these example below either doubt the ISO or 1/2 the shutter speed vs the X-T1. I thought the internet claims were just fanboi's ragging on Fujifilm but I did a little exposure vs shutter vs ISO test myself and they aren't. Agility example below is under crappy lights and at ISO 8000. Agility under lights. D750 1/640th + ISO 8000, not too shabby by Dan P, on Flickr I'm in awe how it nails focus with such shallow DOF with a running hound, ISO 3600 Striker on the boardwalk by Dan P, on Flickr Another at ISO 4000, forgot to reduce the shutter speed but it seems don't really have to be that mindful anymore, at least when using this camera Testing the new D750 + Tamron 70-200 VC 2.8 by Dan P, on Flickr BMX DOG :) hehe Testing the new D750 + Tamron 70-200 VC 2.8 by Dan P, on Flickr

Yep very true. I was a bit neive when I bought into the xt1 and there was a bit of hype around when I was shopping about focus ability. In reality the hype one could only relate to older mirrorless bodies. In real usability terms for tricky action certainly not the right choice for the coin. Has taught me patience and different technics though. Which may still be handy

Hmmm this album of a D750 + 70-200 2.8 shooting agility gives a good idea of its abilities. It seems focus tracking is used with plenty of sequences very sharp (no chance of that with X-T1). Loving the subject isolation in some of shots, cleans up what is generally messy backgrounds at fields and gives great depth.