So sick of dealing with this lighting. I really want strobes, but I really want my 1d. I'm so stuck as of what to do. I have a 50 dollar gift card to adorama, and a 10 dollar coupon, so id only be spending 140 + shipping, but thats 140 that leaves my pocket from the 1d purchase. Thoughts?


http://img314.imageshack.us/img314/5783/img2561copy6fw.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img314.imageshack.us/img314/9462/img2563copy6gw.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img314.imageshack.us/img314/5576/img2574copy9iz.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img314.imageshack.us/img314/2748/img2585copy7uj.jpg (http://imageshack.us)


taken at f/2 (yes, I finally realized how much sharper f2 is than f1.8 on the 50mm f/1.8) and 1/500 at ISO 1600.

Liven,
You'll need more than $140...don't forget you'll need a way to fire that strobe. The best way for sports being a transmitter/reciever pair that will work with the camera and strobes.

I'm curious, is thee supposed to be green on the scoreboard in that bottom shot?
That shot has the best color of all of the shots.

JS

yeah, I included the scoreboard to go along with the caption that I *didn't* include.

Rachel Titcomb fights against Bow defenders for a shot as the clock winds down in the first half. John Stark and Bow were tied going into the second half.

To be honest with you livin if I could get this good of stuff where I'm shooting regularly I'd be tickled to death.

Serious. This looks like better lighting than what's in my college gym right now. I barely get by with my 85mm at 1.8. Nice work.

oh dont get me wrong. These are the best of the bunch. Here's a few of the worst of 'em (the ones that are actually in focus. I hate one shot focus too. Basically, I hate everything to do with the DRebel.)



http://img243.imageshack.us/img243/3917/bad1copy0ev.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img328.imageshack.us/img328/9634/bad20rs.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

http://img287.imageshack.us/img287/1237/bad36ye.jpg (http://imageshack.us)



oh and did I mention the light in the middle of the court is absolutely atroscious? I think I did, but I'll just say it again. probably approx 1/250 f/1.8 ISO 1600

what I think the cameras should do is this: make a cycling custom WB setting. Make it so you take a WB of a light over a certain period of time, and the camera remembers that setting and instantly starts on a WB loop. Then, until you turn it off, it will continue this loop. Now to figure out how to make it....

I like complaining

On a Rebel? Wow, nice. I quit bringing mine when my department bought a 20D. Shutter lag bothered me too much. Still, it seems like you have a lot of bright, white walls and a floor that isn't too dark. My biggest complaint of my gym is of the dark floor (maybe it was in fashion in 1961, who knows.)

http://ww2.clunet.edu/erik/random/IMG_6059.jpg

Grrr. I can't wait until they finish our new sports complex. The gym is huuuuge.

http://ww2.clunet.edu/erik/random/IMG_0847.jpg

So, back to strobes. How would you set them up? I've never used them before.

Strobes for say, basketball are mounted up high in the rafters or on stands. Always off to the sides so they don't blind players. The best setup is to have 4 strobes, one in each corner set up as pairs at each end as pairs A & B. When shooting at end A only that pair of lights is selected on the transmitter so only those 2 strobes will fire and the same when you move to end B. For some things you may want a 4 seperate strobes, say wrestling on 4 different mats. You set up your stobes over each mat as A, B, C, D and select whichever strobe you want by the mat your shooting.

JS

The more I read about arena lighting the interesting it becomes. So at NBA games, I would guess some photographers are able to fire the strobes up in the rafters and others just use available light? I always thought there was enough light in those arenas that if the video cameras can operate fine (maybe because of the low light capabilities of the big pro Sonys) then flash/strobes weren't needed. Oh, how little I know about lighting options....

actually, lot of video cameras run at a slower speed than is needed to freeze a photo. If you pause a lot of video, you'll see quite a bit of motion blur. It's just the piecing together of these blurry photos, that makes the picture seem clear to our eyes. But strobes not only provide more light, they provide more consistent light, with better color. That's why the pros prefer them.

There are some really badly lit arenas, say the Pepsi Colesium at the Indiana, but even at well lit places such as the RCA Dome and Conseco Field House the lighting is hit and miss. There are areas where you lose the light and strobes would help there. The dome would be difficult to deal with strobes, but at Conseco many of the shooters do use strobes. Their companies pay to use them there.
I figured out the problem at the RCA Dome...it's the new fiield turf which is darker and also soacks up more light due to the black rubber in it.

I'll find out out how much of a difference the 70-200 with IS makes a difference Friday night when I shoot the Indiana Ice game at the Pepsi Colesium. I haven't shot there in almost two years.

JS

Brent,

Considering that you're using a DReb and your results are pretty good, I would save my money and wait for the 1D before I buy strobes. I don't think it would help you that much, especially since you're stating that your problem is autofocus related.

You might want to think about downloading one of the hacked firmwares for your D-Rebel. It will give you something close to AI-Servo autofocus. I don't know if it is fully functional AI-Servo, but it is unlocked in Creative Mode. I think that will help you more right now than spending money on Strobes.

Sean

Ekstasis,

It depends on the arena. Photographer friendly arenas will have enough available and consistent light to enable you to shoot without the aid of strobes. That doesn't mean that photographers don't use them - some prefer the strobes for greater color saturation.

High Schools and colleges are becoming more photographer friendly. Many schools are trading their old sodium vapor lights for newer flourescent lights because they use less electricity. This makes selecting a white balance somewhat easier as most cameras have a setting for flourescent lights, but your settings can still change just by moving to another corner of the arena.

Brent,

Considering that you're using a DReb and your results are pretty good, I would save my money and wait for the 1D before I buy strobes. I don't think it would help you that much, especially since you're stating that your problem is autofocus related.

You might want to think about downloading one of the hacked firmwares for your D-Rebel. It will give you something close to AI-Servo autofocus. I don't know if it is fully functional AI-Servo, but it is unlocked in Creative Mode. I think that will help you more right now than spending money on Strobes.

Sean

I have all the newest hacked firmare, and still no Al Servo. I have it, but for some reason (probably the mechanics inside the camera) it does not allow me to release the shutter. I can focus with it, but not take pictures. This is how it is for everyone.

In the creative modes, it turns on automatically if it detects a moving subject, although sometimes it has a hard time figuring out when a subject is moving. Pretty inconsistent with my Rebel, even under bright sun.

Hmm...its been a long time since I had my Digital Rebel, let alone used it. I think I could use Servo-AI, but I don't remember. I think it worked, anyway. But then, the last time I would have used it was over a year ago.

it works in sports mode. But again, like i said in the hockey post, I hate using presets. you can also manually turn it on by twisting the focus ring when it's autofocusing, but I don't like doing that as it strains the AF motor.
It shouldn't bother the 70-200 unless it's the old version. The new version has full time manual focus and the AF motor shouldn't notice it, or I should say you shouldn't feel or hear it. Does your 70-200 have dual mode IS?

JS

it works in sports mode. But again, like i said in the hockey post, I hate using presets. you can also manually turn it on by twisting the focus ring when it's autofocusing, but I don't like doing that as it strains the AF motor.