A little race

I took a break from my PhD work yesterday to shoot a race in Etten-Leur. Alberto Contador and Chris Froome were the two winners in the pro category, just as you would expect, but it was fun to watch. I had a hard time deciding which camera I wanted to bring, primarily because I prefer shooting my D800 to the A7r, but I like the Zeiss 135mm lens on the A7r better than anything on the D800 at a similar length. Since I used the 135mm at the Tour de France, I decided to take the D800 and a Nikkor 85mm 1.4G. I could have taken a 100mm Zeiss makro planar, but I wanted to use the auto focus on the Nikkor lens. I don't know why though, since I almost never make any attempt to focus on something when its moving, let alone pro cyclists moving at 40MPH. Instead, I focus on a bit of pavement and then wait for them to cross it and that can be done with manual focus, no problem. Actually, the only camera I've used where I really like the auto focus system is the Phase One. I don't know why it seems better or easier to use to me, but it does. Maybe because the viewfinder is brighter and larger, it is easier to see if it is focused on the right thing? Also, the continuous focus is very fast. One other thing is that the motor in the lens makes a noise when it focuses. This could be irritating, but I prefer it to the totally silent Nikkor, because sometimes I can't tell if it has done anything. With the P1, I hear the noise and know the focus has shifted. Here is a shot from the TdF (Sony A7R + Zeiss 135mm ZA):

And another fast AF shot with the Phase One DF+ and Schneider 80mm LS lens:

AP