[Recovered Thread: 121246]

[rfortson]

Went to the practice round of the Shell Houston Open. It was pretty wide open, and they allowed cameras on those days (no cameras during the actual tournament). It was a great time to take pictures. All shots taken with the Pentax K100D and the Pentax SMC 300mm f/4.0 lens (handheld, manual focus).













Russ

[Mark1616]

Russ I really like these, I've never tried shooting golf but having looked at these I would really like to give it a go. Is the lens a MF or AF one as I'm trying to work out how you got such good focus using MF?!

The first one is great as the Shell logo in the background sets the player off really well. The on in the sand trap (bunker for those of us in the UK) is great timing but for me I would have like to see the face. I also like the creativeness of the 2nd to last.

[JohnG]

Russ,

Really like the first shot . Shot 2 is a little loosely framed for my liking - nothing in the background that adds to the shot. On shot 3 I like the idea but I think this type of shot works better with more interesting background - i.e. where you can see the green. As is, the whole image is a bit soft - with an interesting background that wouldn't matter. I agree with Mark on the bunker shot - need to get a face. I also agree on the 2nd to last - nice idea!

Mark - as for manual focus, it shouldn't be an issue for golf - it's not like the player is running - and once they address the ball their head shouldn't be moving more than a few inches forward or back in the focal plane.

[Mark1616]

JohnG wrote:

Mark - as for manual focus, it shouldn't be an issue for golf - it's not like the player is running - and once they address the ball their head shouldn't be moving more than a few inches forward or back in the focal plane.

I personally find that even with the diopter set for me that I'm never quite perfect when using manual, I was OK in the old days of a real manual lens which used the centre to show when you were in focus but not with a current lens.

[rfortson]

Mark1616 wrote:

JohnG wrote:

I personally find that even with the diopter set for me that I'm never quite perfect when using manual, I was OK in the old days of a real manual lens which used the centre to show when you were in focus but not with a current lens.

I agree with your view of manual focus, Mark. I have the same problem. BTW, don't look at the full sized shots. I got probably about a third of my shots in focus. The rest work well for web shots. My eyes just won't reliably tell me when I've got it focused.

This was the first time I've shot golf, and I can see the wisdom of picking the right spot and letting the players come to you. If I'm familiar with a course, that's the way I watch a tournament. This was my first time at this course, and I also wanted to walk it, so I rarely stayed in one place very long. Hence the hodge-podge of shots.

I can get some great shots with this lens when I get it in focus. However, I'm thinking of getting an autofocus lens just so I can improve my ratio of keepers.

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. Now, if only I didn't have to wait a year to try out those suggestions. :-)

Russ

[JohnG]

Russ,

Line yourself up accross from them on the greens. If they hit into a trap - the great thing about a practice round is you can simply move to the other side of the green and wait.







plus you can get some cool chip shots:



For the tournament by me I don't have a choice - they don't allow cameras on competition days.

[rfortson]

Nice shots, John! I'll have to give these suggestions a try next time.

Russ