taking HS sports pix

[Sports Mom]

I'm the mom of HS soccer and basketball players and would like to capture better pix using my canon rebel xti.

Can anyone give me suggestions for camera settings or lens to enhance my collection.

[faisal]

What lens and accessories do you own...??
Got a budget in mind??

[Sports Mom]

have 2 lens from my old film camera...canon 28-80mm and 70-300mm...both f/4

not getting sharp enough action shots particularly for basketball in the gyms.

I was considering the canon 17-55mm f/2.8
today read good review on tamron 17-50mm/2.8 and tamron 28-75/2.8

I usually stand off the corner of the bball court taking pix of the players around the hoop...and may be as far out as the 3 point line.... my pix are not as clear as I would like and often darker than I want....

[michaelb]

The Canon 17-55 f/2.8 IS is a brilliant lens; I used to own it and I loved it, but if your shooting moving subjects indoors then you may need a lens even faster than f/2.8.

You might want to consider the Canon 85 f/1.8 and the Canon 100 f/2, which are relatively inexpensive, fast focusing and very sharp.

[Csae]

I would recommend the 85/1.8 for that particular task as well, using wide angles to cover sporting events can get, dangerous.

I'd rather have some distance.

Also make sure you shoot raw, so you can bump it up a stop in post for that added brightness. Don't use the 1.8 to get brighter pictures, instead shoot at 2 and go for as much shutter speed you can get from maybe iso800 or so.

[faisal]

The Tamrons will be a big no cause the XTi focusing is not great in low light. When shooting with your current setup, what settings are you forced to shoot at. Got any example shots that we can have a look at with their respective EXIF.

I'd recommend an 85mm as well but I'd have a look at the 50mm f1.4 as well depending on how far you want to be and what kind of shots you want to shoot.

[D Thompson]

not getting sharp enough action shots particularly for basketball in the gyms.

.... my pix are not as clear as I would like and often darker than I want....

While a faster lens may help, there may be a couple of things you can do in the meantime. It's hard to know what's wrong with your shots without seeing one with the exif intact. Try these and see if it helps.

1) bump up the ISO to 1600. I'd rather have a little noise than blur, the noise can be fixed. Plus, getting a better exposed shot at a higher ISO is better than shooting at a lower ISO and bumping up IMO.

2) use TV and select a shutter speed of minimum 1/125th. Depending on the action you may need to go faster.

3) shoot RAW for a little more latitude in processing.

[Sports Mom]

You all are very helpful and giving me lots to think about and try thanks...

Let me give you a bit more info... to help you... help me....

last basketball season I was loaned a nikon camera with a 17-55/2.8 lens that I used to take almost non-stop good pix (atleast for me...I'm not a professional and don't plan to be)... that's why I'm thinking about the canon 17-55/2.8.... the lens is about the same range as I'm using now but with IS, wide angle and 2.8...

another mom sits side line using a 50/1.2... I'd like to be able to do something different... and with more range so I'm hesitant to go with a fixed lens... but I'm going to think about it since a couple of you recommended that...

I've never had "luck" with the TV setting on my camera...
EVERYTHING seems REALLY dark...

I've been shooting 800 ISO...I'm going to try some 1600

I've never shot RAW only jpeg... is there enough difference for me to learn/use this?

When I figure out how to attached pix for you all to see I'll let you know....
so you can "consult"...

thanks again...keep the advice coming....

[Sports Mom]

OK photographers....
I have attached 4 pix...

The white uniform shot is last year in our home gym.

The 3 dark uniform shots are at an away gym this weekend.


All these are with my camera on AV f4.5 (wouldn't go any lower) and iso of 800...

Welcome your comments....

[D Thompson]

last basketball season I was loaned a nikon camera with a 17-55/2.8 lens that I used to take almost non-stop good pix (atleast for me...I'm not a professional and don't plan to be)... that's why I'm thinking about the canon 17-55/2.8.... the lens is about the same range as I'm using now but with IS, wide angle and 2.8...
If it's in your price range then I'd say go for the 17-55. Nice lens, fast & fixed aperture, and the range seems to fit what you shoot comparing to the 4 shots (48, 28, 45, 45mm) posted. The IS won't help with the action shots tho. You still may need a little faster.

You might take a look at either the ef35 f1.4 ($1399) or the ef 35 f2.0 ($319) as these get you just a little more light, however they are primes. You can always crop in a little tighter if needed in post.

I've never had "luck" with the TV setting on my camera...
EVERYTHING seems REALLY dark...
Your 4 shots are in AV mode and it will select whatever shutter speed (no matter how slow) to get the exposure. In TV "you" select the shutter speed needed to stop the action and the camera chooses the aperture. In this case it can only open up to f4.5 (because of being variable aperture) which is not enough for a correct exposure. ISO of 1600 will gain a stop. The exposures (ISO800, 1/60, f4.5) look close, maybe just a bit under. Using TV with ISO1600, 1/125, f4.5 would result in the same exposure, but would help with the motion blur which you're gonna get at 1/60. You may need to get the shutter up to 1/500 to stop the action. That is where the f2.8 or even f1.4 helps.

I've been shooting 800 ISO...I'm going to try some 1600
That will help, but you still need to get off of the AV mode - use either TV or M.

I've never shot RAW only jpeg... is there enough difference for me to learn/use this?
Yes. However, RAW files must be processed/converted. DPP can do this which came with your camera. RAW gives a little better control over WB and exposure. Downside is you must process each file and may be a bit of a learning curve, but nothing you can't handle. The in-camera settings determine how the jpeg is processed and while you can adjust them IMO you get better results adjusting a RAW file. RAW may not be for you and that's ok.

[Sports Mom]

I'm going to use TV and 1600 ISO next game...


Thoughts on 35mm vs. 50mm vs 85mm...

Originally several suggested the 85 mm for bball pix...I think that would be a "tighter" focus area than I'd be comfortable with since most of my pix last season are in the 30-60mm range....

So I think I'm debating between the 35mm and the 50mm

The 35mm would give me room to work with and I assume the f/2 would take sharper pix than the f/4-5.6 I've been working with so I could do some zooming and cropping come print time...

Thoughts on the 50mm f/1.4 vs f/1.8.... reviews I've read seem to say the 1.8 takes nice pix but the 1.4 is worth the extra money....

If I get the fixed lens instead of the Canon 17-55 f/2.8 I could still afford the Tamron 28-75mm f/2.8. Do you think it would be an improvement over my current old canon 28-80 f/4-5.6 no IS? I've read it's a nice walk-around...

[Csae]

Use the "Center point" AF And Servo Focus, they will be listed in your manual, focusing on the center of the shirts will probably help.

I believe some of these shots the camera focussed on the crowd.

Use TV set it for over 100, 160, 250, should be a good start, then set a +1 compensation if you want your shots brighter.

You should definitely see a good improvement, especially with any of the lenses suggested here, but i'd try these new tricks before buying a new lens.

[sportsmom1713]

I've been researching the Canon t1i myself for sports as well. How are you liking your camera so far? WHY are MOST gyms dark??? Just makes for grainy pix. I'm still using a Fuji S6000fd, but it's just not the best camera for sports.....well, indoor sports that is

[sportsmom1713]

I've been researching the Canon t1i myself for sports as well. How are you liking your camera so far? WHY are MOST gyms dark??? Just makes for grainy pix. I'm still using a Fuji S6000fd, but it's just not the best camera for sports.....well, indoor sports that is. Are you using an additional flash or just the pop up flash?

[gotocin]

canon 50d or canon 7d.that is a good review of canon 50d for sport,hope it can help you.http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=795070&page=2

[Flossmoor40D]

Thoughts on the 50mm f/1.4 vs f/1.8.... reviews I've read seem to say the 1.8 takes nice pix but the 1.4 is worth the extra money....

I have the 50mm f/1.8 version and many others will tell you the same thing I am about to, it hunts in low light when focussing, which will likely lead to either missed shots or out of focus shots. For your use, I would vote for the f/1.4 hands down given the action you are trying to capture, you can't afford to have the lens hunting for focus.

[jwhite]

I've shot basketball games the past two years for fun at a local high school. Here is what I've been using:

Canon 5D w/ 70-200mm f/2.8L. Yeah, the 5D isn't the best sports body with its slow frame rate but its all I had. Recently I bought a 40D, so I'll be moving to it. I always shot at f/2.8 to get as much light as possible. I used ISO 1600 most of the time and even occasionally bumped it to 3200. I'd rather have noise and get a good shot that's frozen. Since I primarily shot at one high school I knew what the gym was like. I usually found a good sweet spot for the shutter speed. Anywhere from 250-400. Even at 400, there was some motion blur with the players and ball. Once I found the shutter speed I wanted, I set my camera to manual so I had direct control over everything. I also shot RAW so I could bump things in post-processing. Occupationally I'd follow the team to another high school in which case I had to try out the shutter speed/ISO to get the best settings, but usually they were in all in that ball park.

I liked the 70-200 because it got close ups of the players. I prefer that than the wide angle shots of basketball. With the 40D I might have to move to the 85mm or 50mm though because of the crop factor though. I shall see how it goes. Been busy the past few weeks so I haven't taken any this season. First one will be a few days after Christmas.

Here are some of my previous shots:
www.jrwhitephoto.com/sports