Hey, I'm using a new Canon 7D and I'am really into sports photography, but I have a bit of a delima. When I go to take shots at my high school sport events, like at the moment, basketball, gymnastics, wrestling, I can't seem to figure out the best settings for the poor lighting in the gyms and these wierd reflections that seem to be coming off the gym floor and lighting the atheletes all wierd. So my questions and curiousities are, what settings would in your oppionion be best for high school sports that take place in the gym, M, TV, AV, P, shutter, aperature and iso that would make decent pictures, acceptable noise, and exposure that if need be could be fixed in photoshop, and what would be causing really odd lighting and reflectios on the people standing on the gym floor? Also what lens would be best for those sports if you can stand pretty much anywhere around the sidelines of the court? Perferably Canon, but if a Sigma, Tamron, or other lens would be better then GREAT! But none of those crazy $10,000+ tele prime lenses lol, something less, but still good, no way I could get one even if I wanted right now :p
Thanks, will appreciate anyones help
7D is the best camera there is for sports photography (that's still reasonably priced!)
In low light conditions it's the lens you need to worry about. Unfortunately, you'll probably need a telephoto lens with a high max aperture (f/2.8), and they are very expensive. Unless of course you can get in real close, and then you could use the 17-55mm f/2.8 which is less expensive.
You need to use the highest aperture you can (so f/2.8 or lower if possible) and keep the shutter speed as high as possible too. So, I'd suggest going in to manual mode and trying your max aperture and shutter speed of about 1/100, and of course set your camera to take multiple photos and your focus to be on AI SERVO. Trial and error will determine the best shutter speed to use, but with the rest of your settings as above it should be the only thing you really need to worry about. Oh, and perhaps ramp up your ISO if the light is too low. Your photos might be grainy, but they'll have less blur.
Let me know if any of this isn't clear, and good luck.
Kody, check out my sports gallery-wrestling pics at http://lisalynnsphotography.zenfolio.com/
I use a canon 5d Mark II and a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras and a extrnal flash
i shoot in TV mode
I'm using a Canon 50D (Hoping to upgrade to a 7D soon) with a 100-400 L series lens. The lens makes a huge difference when shooting sport and action shots. My usual setup it to use AV mode, set to the widest your lens can manage, 4.5 in my case. Setting your ISO to around 400 should give you a decent shutter speed, but this can be increased in poor light or bad weather conditions.
I've been taking American Football and Rugby Union for around five years and this setup works well for me. I haven't done much indoor sport though.
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In low light conditions it's the lens you need to worry about. Unfortunately, you'll probably need a telephoto lens with a high max aperture (f/2.8), and they are very expensive. Unless of course you can get in real close, and then you could use the 17-55mm f/2.8 which is less expensive.
You need to use the highest aperture you can (so f/2.8 or lower if possible) and keep the shutter speed as high as possible too. So, I'd suggest going in to manual mode and trying your max aperture and shutter speed of about 1/100, and of course set your camera to take multiple photos and your focus to be on AI SERVO. Trial and error will determine the best shutter speed to use, but with the rest of your settings as above it should be the only thing you really need to worry about. Oh, and perhaps ramp up your ISO if the light is too low. Your photos might be grainy, but they'll have less blur.
Let me know if any of this isn't clear, and good luck.
I use a canon 5d Mark II and a Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L II IS USM Telephoto Zoom Lens for Canon SLR Cameras and a extrnal flash
i shoot in TV mode
I've been taking American Football and Rugby Union for around five years and this setup works well for me. I haven't done much indoor sport though.