Medieval Market in Chillon Castle (2nd series)

[tcom]

Hi

I returned today to the Chillon Castle for the medieval market and tried to get another series:

1
K-5, DA*200, f/3.5, 1/125s, 250iso


2
K-5, DA*200, f/4.5, 1/40s, 320iso


3
K-5, DA*200, f/3.5, 1/50s, 400iso


4
K-5, DA*200, f/2.8, 1/60s, 400iso


5
K-5, DA*200, f/2.8, 1/125s, 3200iso


6
K-5, FA31, f/2.5, 1/30s, 1600iso


7
K-5, DA*200, f/2.8, 1/15s, 800iso


I will probably return on next weekend, but take the D3s instead. The K-5 produced great results given the conditions, but in these light conditions, the AF needed more time making me miss the moment. I will probably post here a few photos of the D3s as comparison.

[bramela]

A beautiful series. Excellent portraits, very well captured.  Well done!

[Mike Pearson]

Excellent portraits Dominique - look forward to the comparison series 

Mike

[Ron Kruger]

That 200mm is a special lens. I was a bit puzzled by how to 200 shots looked so much better than the 31, but then I went back and noticed the ISO settings.

[tcom]

Thanks for the comments.

Ron: the DA*200 is an excellent lens in all regards, but well, in late afternoon, light disappears quickly inside a medieval castle and I quickly had to increase the ISO, making direct comparisons between the FA31 and DA*200 difficult.

[tcom]

Well, I returned today to the Medieval Market in the Chillon Castle, but this time with the D3s together with AFS14-24 and AFS70-200.

The conditions were pretty different which makes it a bit difficult for direct comparison. Last week, there was a nearly clear sky (which does not show on the photo but still gives more light) than today with nearly rain and snow the whole day. I took more photos indoors than with the K-5 a week ago.

Nevertheless, the D3s is an extremely fast camera as well in focusing as in general handling. The D3s does make it easier to capture the right moment. I also appreciated the high iso performance as I was shooting indoors in really low light. But having said that, in regards of color rendition, I do prefer the K-5 over the D3s.

Here a few photos from today:

8
D3s, AFS70-200, 160mm, f/2.8, 1/160s, 800iso


9
D3s, AFS70-200, 110mm, f/2.8, 1/60s, 12800iso


10
D3s, AFS14-24, 15mm, f/4.5, 1/25s, 3200iso


11
D3s, AFS14-24, 14mm, f/4.5, 1/50s, 3200iso


12
D3s, AFS70-200, 155mm, f/3.5, 1/80s, 1000iso


13
D3s, AFS70-200, 116mm, f/3.5, 1/320s, 2500iso


14
D3s, AFS14-24, 18mm, f/3.5, 1/200s, 12800iso


15
D3s, AFS70-200, 112mm, f/3.5, 1/80s, 1000iso


16
D3s, AFS70-200, 70mm, f/3.5, 1/80s, 1000iso


17
D3s, AFS70-200, 80mm, f/3.5, 1/80s, 1000iso


18 The 9FPS were really useful for this photo
D3s, AFS14-24, 24mm, f/3.5, 1/100s, 1000iso

[davidhampshire]

these are excellent shots,  dominique,   but i can't help thinking the pentax images are just a little nicer for some reason,   they seem more deep ,   or that 3-d effect than the nikon images,    not sure if that is the case with the originals,   or what,  but what do you think,  am i way off on that ?     dave

[tcom]

Well, the weather conditions were not the same and the K-5 would probably not have been up to the task capturing the dancers and musicians indoors (the D3s was at 12800iso and did not even need noise reduction).

But in regards of color rendition and overall rendering of the photos, the K-5 performs better.

This comes however to no surprise to me. The D3s is designed to be fast. Its primary use is to take photos especially of sports and concerts with the main use in newspapers.  The primary need is not the best possible and finest color rendition, it's primary need is to be fast enough to get the shot whatever the light is. That being said, for indoor sports or for concerts where shooting time is limited, I do not want to miss the D3s.

The main problem with the K-5 is that the most suited lens for this kind of work in regards of focal length is the DA*50-135 but this is sadly also the slowest focusing Pentax lens. Nikon understood this and provides with the AFS 70-200 the fastest focusing lens.

[davidhampshire]

as i said,  these are excellent photos,   as per your usual,  anyway,  dominique,   just could see some kind of difference in them,    but thanks for explaining the speed thing to me.      i think nikon does probably have a faster autofocus,   or maybe better autofocusing system.    but the shots you get with the k-5 are amazing,    and even more so with that 645.    
dave

[JIMBO]

Man, I looked hard at both sets Dom and yes the lighting is so different on the two series, but I still think the D3's shots look more natural. I have the 70-200 and would difinately agree that is one beautiful and fast focusing lens, even in low light conditions. In the end though its the photographer that makes the image come alive and you seem to do that with any brand of camera. Cheers and thanks for sharing not onyl your images but you insight to the two systems. Cheers and the best to you and yours over the Holiday Season. JIMBO

[tcom]

Thank you Jim. I guess it is a matter of taste, I do prefer the rendering of the K-5 over the D3s, but the D3s is definitely a pretty large step ahead when it comes to operational speed and AF performance.

I returned today one last time for this event (the medieval market closes today) and I took again the D3s. I have to add one point, the D3s handles the flash also much better than Pentax. Somehow, I always need a few attempts with the K-5 and either its internal or the 540 flash before getting the needed result and when the light changes, I can start again. With the D3s, I put the SB900 on the hotshoe and take the photos I want, no need for trials.

Well, here is another bunch

19
D3s, AFS24-70, 40mm, f/8, 1/320s, 200iso


20
D3s, AFS24-70, 60mm, f/4.5, 1/125s, 200iso


21
D3s, AFS50/1.4, f/3.5, 1/160s, 200iso, flash


22
D3s, AFS24-70, 70mm, f/4.5, 1/60s, 200iso, flash


23
D3s, AFS50/1.4, f/2.2, 1/200s, 200iso


24
D3s, AFS24-70, 35mm, f/4, 1/60s, 200iso, flash


25
D3s, AFS24-70, 26mm, f/3.5, 1/200s, 800iso


26
D3s, AFS24-70, 28mm, f/4, 1/100s, 1250iso


27 Storyteller
D3s, AFS24-70, 24mm, f/4, 1/20s, 2000iso


28
D3s, AFS70-200, 120mm, f/2.8, 1/60s, 2000iso, flash (operator error, 200iso would have been enough when using flash)


29
D3s, AFS70-200, 70mm, f/3.2, 1/60s, 200iso, flash


30
D3s, AFS24-70, 24mm, f/3.2, 1/60s, 500iso, flash


31
D3s, AFS50/1.4, f/1.8, 1/640s, 8000iso


Well, that's all. These and more photos about the event and the castle are under http://www.flickr.com/pho...76192919/with/6533093189/. As I entered the castle with my press card, I also had to write an article which I published under http://ipaimpress.com/medievalmarket/ for those interested.

[davidhampshire]

excellent dominique,   i like 19 and 25 especially.

dave

[JIMBO]

Thank you Jim. I guess it is a matter of taste, I do prefer the rendering of the K-5 over the D3s, but the D3s is definitely a pretty large step ahead when it comes to operational speed and AF performance

I by no means meant the K5 was lacking in anyway Dom. When I look at the two series I do notice the K5's look great but the D3's, to me, look more natural. Have you done any processing on either sets? I would agree with the flash system too. I have both the 540 and the Nikon 900. I am not sure itf its the flash or the camera it self but the 900 is one great flash. Cheers. JIM

[JIMBO]

PS: what are you using to set your white balance? JIM

[tcom]

Thanks for the comments.

Jim: in regards of the flash, I can't say if it is the camera or the flash as the D3s has no internal flash, but the SB900 is really indeed a great flash and really well handled by the camera.

In regards of processing, I took all photos in RAW, as well K-5 as D3s and processed all under Lightroom. The processing included adjusting exposure as well as tweaking the contrast and black levels when needed. The photos were all taken in AWB and did seldom need adjustments under LR.

Using different cameras at the same event does really allow to compare them, even if I did not take both K-5 and D3s on the same day to compare them in the same conditions. The weight, overall handling and color rendition do speak for the K-5, the amazing AF speed, overall speed of the camera and handling of the flash system do speak for the D3s.