Action shots with nikon

[vaudeth7@msn.com]

How do I get good shots of basketball other than change the ISO to 1600?

[gryphonslair99]

It would be helpful to know what body you are shooting. With out that however here is what I can advise.

Indoor sports photography is a compromise where the ISO is usually the compromised factor. A good sports shot freezes and isolates the action. To accomplish this for something like basketball you need a shutter speed of 1/320th of a second with 1/500th the ideal. 1/250th is the bare minimum but expect some ball blur and even some player blur depending on the action at this shutter speed.

Indoor sports also requires fast glass with fast auto focus. F2.8 is pretty much the minimum standard for shooting indoor sports. I shoot Canon so I can't advise on Nikon lens focus speed. Just keep in mind the fastest glass is not always the best glass. Canon's 50mm f1.2L and 84mm f1.2L both are fantastic pieces of glass, but the focus speed of these two lenses do not lend lend themselves to action sports. They are outstanding for portrait work though.

That leaves the ISO. That is where your compromise comes into play. You are generally going to have to set you aperture to it's widest value and your shutter speed at 1/320th. If you have the luxury of shooting a lens with a max aperture of f1.4 then you might want to bump it up a bit to f1.8 or f2.0. Even the best glass tends to be a touch soft wide open.

You don't say what mode you shoot in. If you are comfortable in manual then do so. Once your aperture and shutter speed are set then find the ISO that will accomplish the job, even if it is 1600 or even 3200. You can always do some post processing to help a noisy photo. One that is out of focus however can not be fixed.

If you do not feel comfortable in manual mode then shoot in Aperture Value. I know that may seem backwards but it will help you produce the best shots. Set you aperture wide open, and adjust your ISO to get the necessary shutter speed. Light in gyms are usually dim but usually pretty even across the court so once you find your target you should be good for the whole court.

Keep in mind your exposure. A dead on exposure at 1600 or even 3200 ISO can produce some very usable shots. A dead on exposure is one of the best way of greatly reducing high ISO noise.

The last thing to do is to be prepared and to practice. Get to the event early. Meter the court, take some test shots and be set when the action begins. If you are shooting games that involve one of your children then talk to the coach and see if they will let you come to a team practice or two so you can practice and experiment. Also if you shoot in the same venues a lot take a small pocket notebook with you and write down the settings that worked at the different venues. All of the hoods for all my sports glass have taped cards stuck to the outside with settings for the various college venues, both indoor and out that I shoot in here in my area. It is a quick set, check and shoot that way. Good luck.

[freygr]

You will need a different lens than came with the camera. One good lens of many lenses for indoor sports is the Nikon 80-200mm F2.8 zoom. This lens will get the light needed for the fast shutter speeds need to stop the action.

[another view]

You probably won't be able to use flash, and chances are it won't give you the look you want anyway. F2.8 zoom lenses are very expensive. Can you give us some more info?

What camera are you using? If you don't have a DSLR, the f2.8 lenses aren't even an option. Realize that f2.8 isn't a magic recipe for a Sports Illustrated cover shot. It's just a tool. It may help, but not without a lot of practice too.

Do you have a budget for new equipment, and if so how much?

Are your ISO1600 shots too noisy? Have you tried software like Noise Ninja or even Nikon's own Capture NX2? Can you post an example and tell us about the problems you're having with it?

[Dylan8i]

change to iso 3200 or 6400 :-P

[freygr]

You probably won't be able to use flash, and chances are it won't give you the look you want anyway. F2.8 zoom lenses are very expensive. Can you give us some more info?

What camera are you using? If you don't have a DSLR, the f2.8 lenses aren't even an option. Realize that f2.8 isn't a magic recipe for a Sports Illustrated cover shot. It's just a tool. It may help, but not without a lot of practice too.

Do you have a budget for new equipment, and if so how much?

Are your ISO1600 shots too noisy? Have you tried software like Noise Ninja or even Nikon's own Capture NX2? Can you post an example and tell us about the problems you're having with it?

My self after trying all the above, as my camera is an older camera and the fastest ISO is 1600. There is not any choice in the mater unless I a) upgrade the camera $$$ or b) purchase a fast lens $$$. The last time I looked that lens in my post the Nikon 80-200mm was in the $800-$900 price range and a new Nikon camera body starts at $1200 and goes up to $7000 depending on which body I'm able to upgrade to (NOTE I have some screw driver AF lenses so I'm limited in body choices). As you can see the lens is less costly and I still have not purchased the lens (3 years now and still waiting ). And yes the noise at ISO 1600 is hard to manage and shows up in the shadows.

[another view]

Lets be sensitive to budgets here - the OP may be shooting with a point and shoot and not have the means or interest in spending a ton of money on equipment. Learning to make the most of the equipment that we have is something that almost every photographer could work on, especially those of us with nice gear. Even guys like Joe McNally probably don't know every feature that they have to work with.

Very nice shots over the years have been taken with P&S cameras, although high ISO and action is a difficult thing to do with any camera. If the OP replies to my questions above and can provide us with more information, then all of us can provide some good experienced help. Until then we're just shooting in the dark (pun!).

[Ultra Magnus]

Strobes are always an option- how you implement them depends on each situation-

This example shows what a small strobe can do, even though it's w/ posed shots- http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/04...le-lights.html

This one is more relevant- http://strobist.blogspot.com/2007/02...llege-gym.html

Doesn't cost a ton of money either...a lot cheaper than a new body w/ F2.8 glass- and seriously, as an amateur, don't overlook the third party F2.8 lenses, a lot cheaper and can give excellent results, just maybe not quite as excellent as top of the line glass.

The sigma 70-200 2.8 has SSM, so it focuses pretty quickly, but is rated a bit soft wide open, the Tamron 70-200 2.8 is sharper but uses the camera focus motor. Wait, I take that back I just checked and the Nikon version has a built in focus motor... Don't know how the focus speed compares to the Sigma though...

Check-
http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/...0-200_2p8_n15/
http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/...0-200_2p8_c16/

BM

edit: one more - http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/04...asketball.html

[Franglais]

change to iso 3200 or 6400 :-P

That was what I was going to say too..

It's indoor stage performance time of the year, and I have three events in succession. The first was last weekend. 1/250s at f1.8 means 6400ISO so I finally started to explore the Hi settings on the D300. I was amazed at the quality. Far better than 1600ISO film or the D70 at 1250 ISO (which I used 2 years ago). It's not as good as 400ISO but still quite presentable.

I actually miss the noise. It gave the images a sort of raw look. I suppose I could always put it back in software

[gryphonslair99]

Strobes are always an option- how you implement them depends on each situation-

This example shows what a small strobe can do, even though it's w/ posed shots- http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/04...le-lights.html

This one is more relevant- http://strobist.blogspot.com/2007/02...llege-gym.html

Doesn't cost a ton of money either...a lot cheaper than a new body w/ F2.8 glass- and seriously, as an amateur, don't overlook the third party F2.8 lenses, a lot cheaper and can give excellent results, just maybe not quite as excellent as top of the line glass.

The sigma 70-200 2.8 has SSM, so it focuses pretty quickly, but is rated a bit soft wide open, the Tamron 70-200 2.8 is sharper but uses the camera focus motor. Wait, I take that back I just checked and the Nikon version has a built in focus motor... Don't know how the focus speed compares to the Sigma though...

Check-
http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/...0-200_2p8_n15/
http://www.dpreview.com/lensreviews/...0-200_2p8_c16/

BM

edit: one more - http://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/04...asketball.html

While I would agree and do the Strobist thing on occasion, I would suggest to the OP that they check with the school, league etc first. Be a shame to spend the money only to be told that it is not allowed.

[freygr]

It depends also on what your shooting. Equestrian events flash is not good.