As good as D70s served me I did have a few issues with it.  Most notable was a tiny viewfinder and relatively in-flexible AF system.  In addition the high ISO noise was not something everyone would be comfortable with, but I learned how to shoot dance at 800 ISO, which produced decent photos.  For the most part the noise at high ISO was not as much of a problem as the loss of contrast was.  As soon as I bump the D70s to 800 ISO or past it, the photo contrast, vibrance and general color reproduction go to hell.   When this is coupled with a plethora of dance photos I take it really bums me out when I loose a lot of color dynamics from the stage lights.  This was good enough for me to force an upgrade.

Initially I was thinking of getting a D700.  This would’ve been a major upgrade and it would get rid of all the problems I have.  The issue was that this is a full-frame camera and I didn’t have the set of lenses needed for it.  All of my lenses are and always have been full-frame lenses, but the focal range I have is perfect for a DX sized sensor and the situations I shoot.   For instance my main lens a 17-35 f/2.8 has shown to be perfect for stage photography. It gives me that medium range of full-frame cameras (25-55mm) and my other lens, a 50mm f/1.8, is a perfect portrait lens on a DX sensor.  As such I didn’t get the D700 since it would warrant a purchase of a 24-70 f/2.8 or similar lens, and that would make the cost ridiculous and as such not worth the upgrade.

I chose D300s since it seemed most appropriate for me as the pro-sumer camera that will allow me to get used to the feel of higher level cameras at a lower price point.  A difference between the older D300 and D300s is slight.  With the addition of video, which I’m not crazy about, there isn’t much, except one thing, a center AF button.  I find myself wanting this button all the time, to quickly activate my center sensor on AF.  At the speeds I have to work at I find this extremely important, especially if I have 51 focus points and need to go to center, sometimes it can take 3-4 clicks which at times it feels like it can take forever.  This was less of an issue with D70s due to a lower number of AF points, but I still would’ve loved to have it, since under all the confusion of shooting it comes in useful not to have to think about which sensor is active and what I need to do to get it to the middle.

My first outing with D300s was to the Cougar Mountain Zoo.  I went to check out the baby tigers and to see how well the camera works.  In essence there was no great surprises.  Everything worked fine and at 200-400 ISO I would be hard pressed to spot any major differences between D70s and D300s.    Of course this is all considered after post-processing, D300s provides slightly better looking images right out of the camera.  After this I couldn’t wait to try the D300s under more serious conditions.  I didn’t get any major chance until Rex’s rehearsal for Physical Poetry dance show.

I did the rehearsal last Wednesday and I’m getting ready to do the real show tonight.  I didn’t have a chance to really study the pictures from the rehearsal, but just a quick look showed me that D300s does a great job and I’m able to push it to ISO 1600 without having to worry too much about noise and loss of contrast.  At ISO 800 it looks stellar.  The viewfinder is amazing.  I used D300s with 17-35mm lens and the D70s with a 50mm and the difference is stagering as I switch back and forth.  Everything about D300s makes it give you much more control, yet faster access to changing settings.  I don’t think I had to take the eyes off of the viewfinder at all the whole time I was shooting.

After the show tonight I’ll spend some time editing photos and will try to write a continuation of this article with some examples and show major differences between my old and new cameras.

I’ve got a BUNCH of photos finished up so I will be posting them to the website hopefully this coming weekend.

Today is also the last full day of Jamaican experience.  Headed to Kingston around 2pm local time and will probably just do some chilling at UWI’s Mona campus.  I think the plan is to go to some restaurant so we don’t have to eat KFC again .

Should be landing in Seattle around 8pm on Sunday.  There will be a big Jamaica slideshow and music party at my house afterwards.  You will be notified on Facebook and here.

Saturday was another big photo day since the final dance was happening so we stuck around the UWI campus and rehearsed in the morning and then did the parade in the evening.  The dances were decent, but the scenery and the general feel to everything was amazing.  There was a lot of diversity and everyone was in a great mood.  After the parade there was a big dance hall style party with food and more dancing.   That night I spent sleeping on the floor in Sammie and Stacy’s room.  I never managed to get a 3rd night at the hotel since it was all booked up.

Sunday was the big travel day.  We headed out to Montego Bay from Kingston.  The ride was about 3.5 hours along the windy mountain roads.  We arived at Sandals Inn around 3pm.  This place is great.  Very quiet, clean and close to all the action.  One downside is that it’s a total couples place.  It made it ackward at times, but we had a big group so it sort of worked out.  I ended up sharing a room with Sammie.  We spent most of the day chilling at the pool and enjoying the all inclusivness of the place.  It was a big change from eating KFC and Jamaican patties in Kingston .  We met some new people and most importantly the bartender Jonathan and entertainment guy Loco Ray.  These guys completely made our vacation. 

On Monday we went to Sandals Montego Bay.  It’s another resort that we had all the privileges at and it was much larger and a lot more fun.  There we spent the day sailing, snorkeling and lounging at the beach.  I managed to get a sunburn which took me out of commission.  We ended up playing Bingo at one point as well, were I met Nardya, a real Jamaican queen.  She’s one of the entertainment folks at the resort.  That night there was a beach party followed by the outing at the Margaritaville club. I ended up leaving kind of early since my sunburn was killing me.

On Tuesday we did some shopping at the local craft market and some of the shops on the strip in Montego Bay.   After that we went back to Sandals at Montego Bay.  I spent most of the day hanging out with Nardya.  They had some parties at night and she was working through most of the night, but she did managed to show me a lot of photos of her.  She’s apparently a lingerie model in her spare time.  I was sad that I never managed to get a photo of me and her together, but we exchanged contact info and we will definitely keep in touch. 

Wednesday we headed to Ocho Rios.  It was an 1.5 hour ride from Montego Bay right along the coast.  The place we stayed in is Jamaican Grande and it’s a lot more touristy and a lot more crowded place than either of the Sandals spots.   We reserved some dinners at the restaurants and spend the time chilling.  This place is much nicer at night since the night sky looks a lot better.  Montego Bay didn’t have that great of a night sky since the airport was close by and the lights from it were making the sky too bright.  Wednesday turned out to be one of those “do nothing all day” days. 

Thursday we ended up shopping for some stuff and I finally got me some music and a bag to carry all my souvenirs back in.  I’m now on a hunt for a perfect native mask.  I think I found one at this gift store, but will have to double check.  Rest of the day the girls spent at the pool, while I was afraid to expose my still slightly burned body to the elements.  We also ate at a Chinese restaurant here at the resort, and surprisingly it was not bad at all .

I woke up early today, Friday, even though I spent the night at some clubs and singalong spots at the resort and was the last person to hit the bed.  I think that nap I took yesterday did some good.  Today we’ll try and go to the falls, but I’m not sure now since there is a big downpour.  Lets hope it doesn’t last.