The basketball challenge... help required!

OK, so we don't get to see a lot of basketball here in the UK - particularly of the professional kind.

In a couple of months, professional basketball returns to Brentwood in Essex. This may not be earth-shattering news but it could open up some opportunities for me as the local paper I shoot for will undoubtedly need pics.

My usual work involves outdoor sports: cricket, soccer, rugby. Going indoors is going to be a little bit different. My 'standard' lens is 300mm outdoors with or without the 1.4x converter - so I am going to have to work differently from a courtside position I'm sure.

I hope you guys can help me out with a few pointers. The key things (I imagine) are going to be (i) lens choice and (ii) shooting positions.

No flash will be allowed so it's down to available light (and no, I won't be able to visit the venue in advance) but both my bodies (1d mark II and 10d) are able to reach 3200ASA in desperate times!

The current kit bag contains: 17-40 f/4L (too wide, too slow?), 28-70 f/2.8L (might be OK?), 70-200 f/2.8L (OK too?) and 300mm f/2.8L (too long?)...

I was wondering what you regular basketball shooters use and where you station yourselves around the court. I am also considering adding an 85mm f/1.8 or 100mm f/2 lens to the bag - a good choice?

Any tips would be of great use to this basketball 'virgin'...

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Originally Posted by gmen

The current kit bag contains: 17-40 f/4L (too wide, too slow?), 28-70 f/2.8L (might be OK?), 70-200 f/2.8L (OK too?) and 300mm f/2.8L (too long?)...

I was wondering what you regular basketball shooters use and where you station yourselves around the court. I am also considering adding an 85mm f/1.8 or 100mm f/2 lens to the bag - a good choice?

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I think you'll be fine with the lens you have and are considering..

You'll use the 300 or 70-200 for shots when you are on one end and the action is on the other. Although you may get away with just using the 70-200, that way you can zoom out when the action gets closer to you.

It's be awhile since I shot any basketball, college 10 years ago, but I generally stayed at one end, and may or may not have switched sides when the home team did.
Back then I used a 180 and 105 lens.
Depending on the lighting, you'll have to push your film to 1600 or maybe even 3200, the minimum shutter speed you'll want to use is 1/500. Anything slower than that and you'll start to get motion in the players.
Good Luck!
Brian

Thanks Brian for the tips. I'm looking foward to shooting it very much but I'm trying to get my head around the dimensions of the court. Given the amount of points scored in a basketball game, I guess there are plenty of shooting opportunities, irrespective of what end you decide to sit at!

i use a 200 mm 2.8.i get to normally use a flash.but i normally hang out behind the backboard.you will get alot of great shots from there.youll get knocked around a lil bit so be ready.some officials will let you hang out their,and some wont.lighting should be ok ,ive had problems in the past with a yellowish tint to pictures,a wooden floor of a yellowish was causing it.
good luck without a flash.with flash i can shoot a much slower shutter speed,ill shoot 125 wiyh flash,works great.i shoot without a pod of any sort.
freelance1031@aol.com

i also agree with brian, 500 will probably be the speed to shoot,just enough to stop without blurr of motion.200 mm will allow you to open up for closeup action.if you have to use a longer lense,make sure you use a monopod,or it will be very fuzzy,and out of focus looking. byebye