fz15 football action photos

[lorilu]

Hi Everyone,

Sports Mom, here. I am loving my fz15, but I need some help in taking better action pix at night at football games. I took some great pictures last Friday night, but they all had one little problem...they were blurry! I knew I must need a faster shutter speed, so I tried S mode, but when I tried to set the speed to 1/800 or 1/1000, I got red numbers at the bottom of my display and a totally black picture. I also tried this: spot focus as well as the three-across weight. I also had it on A mode at this time. I got this recommendation for indoor gym pix, but I think this method needs tweaking for football. Any suggestions? I know I can count on you guys!

Thanks,
lorilu

[JLV]

The bluring sounds like too slow a shutter speed. If you have not already tried this, set the ISO to 400, that should allow a faster shutter speed.

[emalvick]

I think you need to focus on the shutter speed. You are basically in the same type of situation as you were with the indoor gymnasium shots.

As someone mentioned, increasing the ISO will help get a bit more light in. Try 200 or 400. That'll help make it so you can use the faster shutter speeds.

Force the camera into a 2.8 aperture. You probably already did, but that will get as much light in as possible. Try using slower shutter speeds. If 1/800 and 1/1000 don't work, try 1/500 and even 1/125. You may have to try to take shots in a little slower action, but I've had sports shots with 1/125 turn out good. And, when there is a bit of a blur it just looks like a better action shot.

If you are needing slower than 1/125 or 1/60, the action will probably definitely blur. All I can say is try taking shots where the action is going a bit slower, and perhaps get a monopod to help steady your hand.

Erik

[John_Reed]

Hi Everyone,

Sports Mom, here. I am loving my fz15, but I need some help in taking better action pix at night at football games. I took some great pictures last Friday night, but they all had one little problem...they were blurry! I knew I must need a faster shutter speed, so I tried S mode, but when I tried to set the speed to 1/800 or 1/1000, I got red numbers at the bottom of my display and a totally black picture. I also tried this: spot focus as well as the three-across weight. I also had it on A mode at this time. I got this recommendation for indoor gym pix, but I think this method needs tweaking for football. Any suggestions? I know I can count on you guys!

Thanks,
loriluYour lighting inside a gym would be better and allow faster shutter speeds, but outside at night, you're getting into some truly low-light situations, where ISO 400 just doesn't cut it for any kind of reasonable shutter speed. I'm not recommending that you buy a Canon 20D, which would let you shoot up to 8X faster at ISO 3200, but in order to freeze any action, you'll need shutter speeds at least as fast as 1/250, and at night, outside, ISO 400, even at f2.8, won't hack it. You COULD try for some "panning" effects, where you aim the camera at a running halfback, for example, and follow the runner through the shot. These shots can turn out nicely, and actually a slower shutter speed helps them to come out well. And if all else fails, perhaps you should just sit back and enjoy the game?

[lorilu]

Thanks to all who gave me tips to improve my football pictures. Last night's game shots turned out great. I used S mode and bumped my shutter speed up to 1/100 and 1/125. I had f2.8 wide open and the pictures were great. I was sitting in the stands at full zoom, too. No monopod. Thanks, Mode 2 OIS!!! I have attached a sample. I only resized it to upload more quickly and have not touched it up at all. Let me know what you think.

Thanks again,
lorilu

[John_Reed]

You pulled off a nice shot there, and the slight blur of moving legs enhances the effect of it. Well done! Looks like you had more light than I thought you did.