Testing the Nikon D5 on College Lacrosse

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 400, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000

The past two days I shot two Lacrosse games. The Citadel was playing in the SELC Southwest Division tournament.

I was trying different settings with the camera and still haven't settled on all my settings.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 320, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000

I tried the 3D focusing on normal and then wide. Due to the players running around the goal and therefore having people in front and behind the subject it was hard to stay focused with this setting. Now I also didn't modify the long versus short delay on continuous focus.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 2000, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000

The camera was staying on the player I focused on with 3D it was just I might have them covered up by so many for pretty long time for sports.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 900, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000

No question the Nikon D5 was locking in faster, shooting so much faster frame rate and giving me superior results over the Nikon D4. Yes it is a real upgrade for a sports camera.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 720, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000

I think there are two sports which I am so comfortable shooting that when I am shooting those sports I will know even more. However, basketball and football are not in season. I did shoot some baseball at the Citadel earlier with the camera, but I don't think this is quite the same challenge as Lacrosse where the focus would be a major factor.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 640, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000

I do think that the dynamic range is also better than the Nikon D4. It is holding together highlight to shadows on a bright sunny day. That is a wide ƒ–stop range for sure.

Nikon D5, Sigma 120-300mm ƒ/2.8 DG OS HSM | S, Sigma TC-2001 2x, ISO 800, ƒ/5.6, 1/4000

I am looking forward to shooting more sports in the coming months to really test the camera's capabilities.

One more thing that I did notice is the buffer is huge. I never once had the camera slow down the next faster XQD cards and the camera's processor let me shoot 12 fps with never having to wait on the camera.

I also shot about 30% more than I would normally shoot due to how quick the camera was handling.

To see more images go here to gallery I have on line http://www.stanleyleary.com/gallery/Citadel-Lacrosse/G0000RauPQOuPQGM