Indoor Sports Pictures

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  • 01-17-2008, 03:55 PM
    Art Collins
    Indoor Sports Pictures
    I have Nikon D80. My daughter does gymnastics. You can't use any flash while their competing. All the pictures that I have been taking are coming out blurry. What settings on the camera do I adjust to so the pictures don't come out blurry.

    Thank You,
  • 01-17-2008, 04:49 PM
    mn shutterbug
    Re: Indoor Sports Pictures
    What lens are you using?
  • 01-17-2008, 06:31 PM
    Art Collins
    Re: Indoor Sports Pictures
    Lens: Sigma DC Zoom 18-200mm 1:3.5-6.3 62mm UV
  • 01-17-2008, 08:05 PM
    mn shutterbug
    Re: Indoor Sports Pictures
    I'm not a Nikon guy, but I can tell right away that your lens is probably too slow. I believe the lens needs to open to no less than 2.8 on a well lit gym and preferably 1.8 or more on a dimmer gym. If you had a fast enough lens, I would recommend shooting in Av and opening up to the largest aperture (smallest number). This would give you the fastest shutter speed. What's happening to you is, the shutter speed you are using is much too slow to stop action. I know nothing about gymnastics but I would think you'd want a shutter speed of at least 1/400 sec.

    Hopefully, someone with this type of experience will jump in with better advice.
  • 01-17-2008, 09:35 PM
    ciddog91
    Re: Indoor Sports Pictures
    Art,

    I shoot mostly gymnastics as my son competes. I shoot a Canon, but I can tell you my set up.

    I shoot with a 2.8 lens (set at 2.8), ISO about 800 to 1600 depending on the gym (most are poorly lit) and shutter of 1/250 or faster.

    You will have to see how your camera handles high ISO, but you will need to push that to get faster shutter speeds. You will want as large an appature as possible (2.8 is good, but as said before 1.8 is better and remember the LOWER the number the larger the appature). These will give you the shutter speed you will need to keep everything from beng blurry or dark.

    I hope this helps.... Post some pics...

    Phil
  • 01-18-2008, 07:11 AM
    mn shutterbug
    Re: Indoor Sports Pictures
    Oh yeah, I failed to mention ISO. As Phil mentioned, at least 800 or preferably 1600.
  • 01-24-2008, 08:09 PM
    rhogeo
    Re: Indoor Sports Pictures
    Hello. I'd appreciate any advice you all could give. I have shot any SLR type camera since my old Minolta Maxxum I had years ago. Since then, my wife and I have had only good, compact, point and shoot cameras (mostly Canon SD series).

    I'm ready to get back into SLR type photography. I want to take shots of my kids playing sports (basketball, tennis, riding dirtbikes, etc) where the point and shoot cameras just don't cut it.

    I have always had great luck with Canon, so I'd like to stick with them. Since I am a beginning DSLR user, I had narrowed it down to the Xti (maybe now the XSi) or the 40D. I really think the 40D is much better bang for the buck. I would like to add a Canon 70-200 F/2.8 IS USM lens very soon afterwards, but hope the 28-135 kits lens would be a good start.

    I would very much welcome any comments and advice from you all with experience. Many thanks in advance.

    - Geoff
  • 01-24-2008, 08:39 PM
    gryphonslair99
    Re: Indoor Sports Pictures
    Quote:

    Originally Posted by rhogeo
    Hello. I'd appreciate any advice you all could give. I have shot any SLR type camera since my old Minolta Maxxum I had years ago. Since then, my wife and I have had only good, compact, point and shoot cameras (mostly Canon SD series).

    I'm ready to get back into SLR type photography. I want to take shots of my kids playing sports (basketball, tennis, riding dirtbikes, etc) where the point and shoot cameras just don't cut it.

    I have always had great luck with Canon, so I'd like to stick with them. Since I am a beginning DSLR user, I had narrowed it down to the Xti (maybe now the XSi) or the 40D. I really think the 40D is much better bang for the buck. I would like to add a Canon 70-200 F/2.8 IS USM lens very soon afterwards, but hope the 28-135 kits lens would be a good start.

    I would very much welcome any comments and advice from you all with experience. Many thanks in advance.

    - Geoff


    I'm a Canon shooter and a sports shooter to boot, so of course I favor Canon, however, you mention that you have or had a Minolta Maxxum. Do you still have it, or at least the lenses? If so, are they good quality lenses or the low end consumer stuff. Buying a DSLR is not like buying a P&S camera. Buying a DSLR is buying a system. Camera bodies will come and go, but good glass properly cared for will last a lifetime.

    If the lenses you have are good glass, then you might want to look at the Sony products. They have just come out with the A700 and the lenses that you presently own may well work on the Sony A700. If so then you are ahead of the game as far as spending money on glass.

    If you are starting fresh with nothing to bring into this venture then IMO you can't go wrong with the Canon line. It and Nikon have the two most complete systems you can buy into on the market today. That is not to say that Pentax or Sony make poor cameras, but the vast amount of accessories and options are still geared toward the Canon and Nikon lines.

    The 40D is a well priced camera that is well equipped to handle sports shooting with a 6.5fps rate and wonderful high ISO performance. It is a great camera for all around photography.

    I am a serious hobbyist and shoot a 40D and a 30D. Since I am a hobbyist, not a working photographer I put my money into lenses. Yes I am an admitted Lcoholic. I only own one lens slower than f2.8 (the canon 10-22). All of the rest of my Zooms and half of my primes are all L glass. Two of the three primes that I own that are not L glass are the 50 f1.4 and the 85 f1.8. Their L counterparts have too slow of focus speed for sports use. The only other prime I own that is not a L glass it the 100mm Macro. There is no L counterpart in that focal length in a macro.

    Don't neglect to look at Nikon, Pentax and Sony as well. Take a good look at all the systems before you decide. The one thing that I do know is if you buy a camera that you end up not liking for what ever reason, you will most likely not use it. If on the other hand you end up with a camera you love, you will have a hard time putting it down. Hope this helps. Good luck.
  • 01-25-2008, 10:55 AM
    rhogeo
    Re: Indoor Sports Pictures
    No, I wish I had kept it, but sold it some time ago. I have looked at the Sony A700, very nice unit! I just keep leaning back to Canon, mostly for the exact reasons you stated (tons of accessories) and also that there are some many forums out there that have oodles of Canon info from experienced people like you. Not as much for Pentax or Sony.

    I am leaning towards renting a 40D for a few days and see if it makes me happy.