I have a question about trying to use my Power Shot A530 at some upcoming snowmobile ice oval races. Is there anything I can do to get some decent shots if I have to use a higher aperture?With this camera at full optical / digital zoom my only available apertures are 5.5 or 11.For the most part, in order to bring anything close enough I'll be using full zoom. I'm guessing I would want to use the lower aperture to get the fastest shutter speed I can right? Are there any suggestions as to what ISO I should try to use, or is that kinda dependent on the light conditions.Typically in the past its been pretty bright / sunny at these races. Just looking to get pointed in the right direction.
thanks for any advise,
trig

yes, lowest f number to get the biggest aperture. ISO is dependent on conditions, but on p&s's doesnt really go higher than iso 400 while still getting somewhat usable images. you'll want to set your exposure compensation (if you can do that on the 530, i know you can on the 540) for about +1 stop, just because the metering will be thrown off by the white snow, especially if its sunny.

The compensator is adjustable on this camera,here I would have thought you would go the other way with it.Thanks for the tip.

Whats the minimum shutter speed needed to freeze motion 1/250 ?
With the ISO, is it better to use a lower one if you can get the shutter speeds needed to freeze motion.

there is no "minimum shutter speed" because all sports/actions vary. Some people say 1/250, but the common agreed speed is 1/640. Yes, use lower ISO if possible. you get more dynamic range and less noise.

Thanks Brent, this gives me a good starting point. Even though its just a little p&s camera..It should be a good practice / learning experience I hope.I can't wait for the races to give it a try and see what kind of images I can get !

I'm not very good with the terminology part so this may sound stupid,but what do you mean by "more dynamic range"?

Even 1/800 will not freeze motion, let alone 1/640
You will need to pan with your subject to get them sharp even at 1/640
At full zoom on a P&S then I reckon I get 1 in 5 at best sharp, because as it takes the photo the display goes blank !
Minolta A1, A2, Z1, Panasonic FZ20 all to the same (annoying) thing of blanking the electronic viewfinder display while shooting

SW, it also depends on where you're shooting from. the side, 640 won't do. at an angle or head on, it should.

dyanmic range refers to the ability to capture both darks and brights in the same image without losing the details in the bright or dark.

Thanks for the explanation Brent.

SW, I will have to practice with panning also,that could be tough as those guys are moving. thanks for your input

There's one question you guys have raised for when I upgrade cameras.If I'm way off base here,I will ask this question in another thread.
Because of the high shutter speeds needed for sports photography,especially if you're fully zoomed.Is that the advantage to using a lens with the lower f rating? for example the 70-200 f/2.8

thanks again for all the help,
trig

Because of the high shutter speeds needed for sports photography,especially if you're fully zoomed.Is that the advantage to using a lens with the lower f rating? for example the 70-200 f/2.8
Exactly right.
The wider aperture the better, particularly for indoor sports like basketball, volleyball, badminton, ice hockey, ice skating ... for me indoor shows like the Autosport International Show live arena pose problems even at f2.8

yeah. The lower the f number, essentially the more the lens opens. It's not just that, but rather a combination of the lens opening and the focal length, but the lower the f/ number, the more light can get to the sensor. the more light that gets to the sensor, the faster the shutter speed can be.

Not the greatest but here are a couple from the World Champion snowmobile races I went to last weekend. I had a good learning experience so hopefully the next ones will be better. :-)

play with the levels in ps and it will bring out the colors better ... i did an auto level and it made it much better ..

where in WI are ya and where were the races ???

Yup, Wyatt's got the right idea. You really need an f2.8 lens, but since you can't change that you should do OK for your own use with PS to "fix" the problem. Who knows, if the noise ins't too bad the local paper may even be able to use them.
Prints on the other hand wouldn't look too good, newsprint can hide some of the noise issues as it will look "noisey" anyway.

JS

Wyatt, I wish I had ps :-(
I live just north of WI Dells,those races were in Eagle River Wi. They have a couple more races in Wi this year. If you're interested in going to see them, I could give you the dates and towns they'll be at.
JS,
What I really need is a better camera and that f2.8 lens! :-)

I was trying to remember what everyone told me in this thread. After reviewing some of the shooting data,I think I see what some of my problems were. I will be trying again the next races I go to.
trig

If you don't want Photoshop CS, buy Photoshop Elements 5.0... I think it is worth the $89.00. And you will be able to use it if you get another camera...

Good Luck..

Phil

here is auto levels in ps ... just a preview of what you can accomplish ...

Phil, thanks for the info

Ben, Thanks for the preview,that definitely looks a lot better.

trig