In my two decades of teaching photography, I’ve enjoyed pushing the limits of cameras. Which is why at the Chiefs/Chargers game last weekend I decided to use two cameras made more for commercial or landscape photographers, not the sports-specific cameras the rest of the pros were using.

Cameras tend to be designed for specific uses. Entry-level for people who aren’t serious, but want better photos than a smartphone can provide. Midrange for those who want to make a hobby out of it and learn to control their cameras. Prosumer for serious but not professional photographers willing to spend real money and time. And, of course, the pros. The major camera companies know these groups well and try to offer a wide range of cameras for differing needs and budgets. As a Nikon School instructor, I’ve shot every digital camera Nikon has made since 1999, and I have its current pro sports/news cameras (Nikon D5 and D500). So why use a D850 and Z 7 for last weekend’s game? Here’s why.

Usually, when shooting the Chiefs for the Associated Press, I’m shooting for archive. That essentially means stock, where my goal is to make clean, strong photos that the AP can sell. Because of that, I’m less focused on getting every important play. That’s how one of my pictures of Patrick Mahomes ended up on the cover of a book at the end of last season. And that helps explain my camera choices.

If I want the highest frame rate and fastest autofocus, along with excellent high ISO capability, it’s hard to beat Nikon’s D5. With a day game, however, I don’t need really high ISOs (in other words, not above 2000). And for the photos I’m trying to make, that high frame rate is less important as well. But resolution? While 20-megapixels is plenty for almost all uses today, for stock, more is always better. If clients decide they’d rather make a vertical out of a horizontal image, those extra pixels can mean the difference between a sale or no sale. And when shooting action, being able to crop in and still have lots of pixels is a definite advantage. Which is why I took the D850 and Z 7 to the game. Both are good at high ISO, have relatively fast frame rates (7-9fps), good (Z 7) to great autofocus (the D850 has the same system as the D5) and most importantly, give me 45-megapixel captures.

Below you’ll find a few examples. And come the Chiefs’ playoff game January 12, odds are I’ll be back out there with those “non-sports” cameras once again. (If you’d like to see the other Chiefs photos I’ve shot for AP this season, click here.)

This is a 45-megapixel capture of Patrick Mahomes coming out onto the field for the start of that final game of the season. Even if a client chose to crop it into a vertical of just Mahomes, they’d still have 20-megapixels to work with. Nikon Z 7, Aperture Priority, ISO 400, 1/1000 at f/5.6, -.3 EV, Nikkor 24-70mm f/4 lens.

Tight action of players from both teams, with faces, is always good to have. But this is not how I shot the image. The play was fairly far away from me (see the next photo), but having megapixels to spare, I could crop way in and still have a six-megapixel image to submit. Nikon D850, Aperture Priority, ISO 1600, 1/1250 at f/4, Nikkor 200-400mm lens.

Here’s the uncropped original image. If I’d been shooting this with even a 24-megapixel camera, that crop would only leave me 2.6-megapixels of data, which would really limit how the image could be used. Starting with 45-megapixels, however, I still had six remaining, plenty for most print uses. Nikon D850, Aperture Priority, ISO 1600, 1/1250 at f/4, +.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm lens.

The Nikon Z 7’s autofocus system isn’t as powerful as the one used in the D5/850/500, but it still does a good job staying on and with the action. Nikon Z 7, Manual exposure, ISO 1600, 1/1600 at f/4, Nikkor 200-400mm f/4 lens.

This is exactly the kind of photo I’m looking for. Kansas City’s All-Pro interior lineman Chris Jones isolated, emotional face showing and clean, out of focus background. Plus this frame is barely cropped, meaning about 40-megapixels of data. That’s also Chris at the top of this story, climbing into he stands with the fans as the Chiefs find out the Patriots were beaten by Miami. Nikon Z 7, Manual exposure, ISO 2000, 1/1600 at f/4, Nikkor 200-400mm lens.

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