Indoor volleyball

[cdr116]

I'm shooting an indoor volleyball game tomorrow for my high school newspaper.

Do you guys think the canon 100mm 2.8 macro would work for sports?

I'm thinking I'll bring my 28-105mm and my 50 1.8 but my only long lens (70-300 quantaray) is essentially a piece of crap...


any ideas for the lenses/tips on anything else for shooting volleyball?


OH and i'll also have an on-camera 430EX

[tim11]

Do you think flash will be allowed? I doubt it.
Assuming you can roam the court freely for position then the 50 F/1.8 and 100 F/2.8 will definitely do nicely. I have never shot indoors volleyball and what settings to use depends on what sort of lighting a particular venue has. However, I'd start with Tv mode (at least 1/200sec) and shoot in RAW, use ISO at least 800.

[VTEC_EATER]

I'm shooting an indoor volleyball game tomorrow for my high school newspaper.

Do you guys think the canon 100mm 2.8 macro would work for sports?

I'm thinking I'll bring my 28-105mm and my 50 1.8 but my only long lens (70-300 quantaray) is essentially a piece of crap...


any ideas for the lenses/tips on anything else for shooting volleyball?


OH and i'll also have an on-camera 430EX

They probably wont allow you to shoot with the 430, or any flash for that matter. The 100/2.8 might work, but be prepared to shoot it wide open with ISO1600 to stop any action. I think you will find the 50mm being a bit more handy, that is if they allow you to shoot along side the court. Gymnasiums sports are pretty demanding and you may find some shortcomings in your current gear. I'm not saying you should go out and pick up a 5D MkII and 200 F/2 (how awesome would that be) but don't be troubled if the photos are grainy and slightly blurry. Even the best gear can struggle in a gymnasium.

Good luck.

[cdr116]

now I'm a little worried... haha


I've shot in this gym with flash before and no one cared, but that was basketball so it's a little different. They might care more for volleyball.

Okay I'll bring the 50 1.8, the 100 2.8, and the 28-105 i guess. maybe not the 100...idk


and the flash just in case. I'll go ahead and ask the referee beforehand if it's okay for me to use flash

[VTEC_EATER]

now I'm a little worried... haha


I've shot in this gym with flash before and no one cared, but that was basketball so it's a little different. They might care more for volleyball.

Okay I'll bring the 50 1.8, the 100 2.8, and the 28-105 i guess. maybe not the 100...idk


and the flash just in case. I'll go ahead and ask the referee beforehand if it's okay for me to use flash

I would probably shoot in Manual. The lighting is not going to change while in the gymnasium. If possible I would try to get Shutter speeds of 1/320 or greater, and if you can stop the lens down to F/4 or so, that might be nice. This will probably require some high ISO's though. If you have to shoot wide open, so be it. Do you have an auto-ISO option?

Continuous auto-focus, I believe you call this Ai-servo mode, is a must. I don't know what options you have for your focusing system, like single point AF, or grouping, or tracking, etc. But setting up the camera for tracking will help with the players running all over the place. Uhhh... Other than that try to keep up with the action.

[Csae]

Don't shoot in manual.

Gymnasiums have hot spots to their lighting, and players moving around the court will actually be lit very differently in different areas of the court.

At least that was my experience anyways. You're definitely looking around 1/180 - Iso 1250 at the least. Not sure with the flash (If you end up using it at all)

Im kinda curious how the 100 2.8 will perform in AI servo, normally, macro lenses arent that fast at focusing... I don't expect you to use the 50 or the 28-105 much, changing lenses = missing moments. and at 140mm, you're pretty decent for most of your shots, plus f3.5-4.5 is ridiculous in a gym. I find the 50 1.8 to not be fast enough in focus, especially in low-light for sports.

[tim11]

....
Gymnasiums have hot spots to their lighting, and players moving around the court will actually be lit very differently in different areas of the court......

I agree with that commment. There will be no uniform lighting at any given place. Just point the camera to different directions and see the change.

You wouldn't have time to adjust both aperture and shutter in manual mode. I'd set ISO, use Tv or Av mode and let the camera takes care of the rest.

cdr116: this is good opportunity for you to learn. Don't despair if you don't get high percentage of good shots because like others said, gym photography is very challenging with the best of cameras and the best of photographers.

To have better preparation for the future, you should read a few books on lighting and exposure.

[nism]

sigh indoor volleyball photography is tough
depends on the quality of the gym light..

i use a 85 1.8 with no flash, 1600ISO, or sometimes 1000ISO, shooting in Av
the shallow depth of field comes into play with people moving about.
i used to use the 24-70 2.8, but it just wasn't fast enough
some eg




my biggest gripe was that the AF loved to lock onto the net lol

[Ray Schnoor]

Depending on how well lit the gym is, I normally shoot anywhere from 1600 to 3200 ISO to get the shutter speed somewhere around 1/300 to 1/500 if possible. I also leave the aperture at f/2.8 and normally shoot with a 70-200mm lens.

Examples:




Ray.

[zmikers]

Also, shoot RAW so that if these"hotspots" throw your exposure either way out of whack it will be much more forgiving in PP! Volleyball is much easier to shoot than basketball because 90% of the action is at the net. You will definitely get away with shorter lenses such as your 100mm and 50mm. If the lighting permits, try to use smaller apertures for less shots missed because of out of focus subjects.

As a university level indoor and pro level beach volleyball player, flash in indoor volleyball can be a piss off, especially when serving, but tolerable. Some gyms allow it, some do not, just ask.