Canon S2 - Advice Needed on Sports Photography

[cat]

I'm having a few problems getting to grips with action shots and would appreciate advice!!! Am coping ok in good light

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/scatatonic/footy1.jpg

but with the darker evenings, and supporting a side who's floodlights are missing a few bulbs!!!, I'm struggling!!

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/scatatonic/facup6.JPG

The above was shot in TV mode with the shutter speed set to 1/500 and the ISO at 400, as you can see any movement just blurs.... not sure how to improve the results I'm getting ( although I have just realised safety shift was set to on and therefore overriding my settings which didn't do me any favours at all! ) Can anyone recommend how I compensate for poor lighting? We'll be on the BBC next Sunday and desperately want to get some good photos to frame with my ticket ;)

[swgod98]

You may be SOL! :\ With ISO at 400, you can't do too much. Make sure your aperture is maxed out..2.7 if not zoomed in. 3.5 if zoomed in. You can also try zooming out to get that slightly better fstop.

Try setting your camera to M mode. Set your aperture to 2.7/3.5 and your shutter to 1/500...snap away and hope it comes out :\ If it's only a little underexposed, you can easily brighten it. If it's too underexposed, you can lower the shutter, but then you may start seeing subject blur depending on how fast the movement is.

I got nothing else for ya...good luck.

[cat]

every little helps! ;) Camera coped fine at Villa Park under floodlights but Worcester City was asking too much :D At least kick off is at 1 on Sunday!!!

[ktixx]

Have you tried shooting with the IS off for those night games?
Ken

[cat]

Have you tried shooting with the IS off for those night games?
Ken

no I haven't - how would this help? I have a very steady hand anyway ( previous camera didn't have IS ) so don't really need it.... although with an exciteable crowd jostling you it can be handy!

[lirand]

Hey,

I've got several questions as a follow up:

1. 1/500 should be enough? Won't I ever need shutter speed that is faster than 1/500?

2. Could you elaborate on the "disabling IS" thing? Why and how should it help?

3. On action photos as mentioned in this thread - should the flash be set to "on" or "off"?

Thanks!

[ktixx]

Hey,
I've got several questions as a follow up:
1. 1/500 should be enough? Won't I ever need shutter speed that is faster than 1/500?
2. Could you elaborate on the "disabling IS" thing? Why and how should it help?
3. On action photos as mentioned in this thread - should the flash be set to "on" or "off"?
Thanks!


Of course you will need shutters faster than 1/500. If you are outside on a bright sunny day shooting indy cars going around a track then you will need to bump up your shutter speed significantly. For sports such as soccer, baseball, football etc. 1/500 should be fast enough.

IS isn't usefull for action shots and if you are trying to pan you may get a lag from the IS that will actually make the shot worse.

As far as the flash - the flash should be on for low light shooting, however when very far away (such as a soccer match) the flash will be ineffective. When you are close to the action that the flash will be effective, The max shutter speed (flash sync) may be slower than you need (ie: 1/250) which may not be fast enough for the action.
Ken

[Severin]

I would see what happens with the same settings you had originally but with the safety shift off and see what happens. I expect this would get rid of almost all of the blur, even though the photo may come out a little dark, but as others have said most photo editing programs could lighten it up a little.

[lirand]

As far as the flash - the flash should be on for low light shooting, however when very far away (such as a soccer match) the flash will be ineffective. When you are close to the action that the flash will be effective, The max shutter speed (flash sync) may be slower than you need (ie: 1/250) which may not be fast enough for the action.
Ken

Could you please explain the "flash sync" issue? Does that mean that by using the flash I actually "slow down" the shutter?

[ktixx]

Flash sync is the fastest shutter speed that you can use when you use the flash. The 20d for example has a flash sync of 1/250, which means that you cannot use a shutter speed faster than 1/250 when you use the flash. I am not sure what the s2 sync speed is.
Ken

[JTL]

Flash sync is the fastest shutter speed that you can use when you use the flash. The 20d for example has a flash sync of 1/250, which means that you cannot use a shutter speed faster than 1/250 when you use the flash. I am not sure what the s2 sync speed is.
KenIt's a very impressive 1/500 of a second...

[ktixx]

It's a very impressive 1/500 of a second...
Thanks JTL, So the flash sync wouldn't be anything you would need to worry about because the 1/500 is the fasetes shutter you can use, which is fast enough for most action.
Ken