Floodlit - Football/Soccer photos..how to?

[ies photos]

I tried my first floodlit game tonight with my 30D and 100-400 IS L with some sucess and some well poor results. I am a complete begineer so please point out my obvious mistakes as I am here to learn. I had shutter priority selected around 500, and ISO from anywhere between 200 and 1600. Results all came out to dark and not in CS2 the RAW images as expected come out grainy.
I was thinking on the way home should I have used full manual mode and set the F number higher while maintaining a high shutter speed and lower ISO???

Any help is appreicated, I can ping anyone a copy of my pics for critique.

Ian

[JSPhoto]

You need a faster lens, a 4.5 and slower won't work. You need at the least a f2.8 lens such as the 70-200 f2.8 A good flash will also help. No matter how good the light appears at football or soccer fields it doesn't look the same to the camera.

JS

[Homer]

I agree with JS in that you need a faster lens but I would also set the camera to aperature priority at the widest opening. The 4.5 is not going to work so invest in a 70-200 f2.8 lens and just adjust your ISO to get what you want.

Jim

[WsW-WYATT-EARP]

I tried my first floodlit game tonight with my 30D and 100-400 IS L with some sucess and some well poor results. I am a complete begineer so please point out my obvious mistakes as I am here to learn. I had shutter priority selected around 500, and ISO from anywhere between 200 and 1600. Results all came out to dark and not in CS2 the RAW images as expected come out grainy.
I was thinking on the way home should I have used full manual mode and set the F number higher while maintaining a high shutter speed and lower ISO???

Any help is appreicated, I can ping anyone a copy of my pics for critique.

Ian

Ian ,

I too am a beginner and been lurking and posting here and there around these forums. I have read countless times the 70-200mm f2.8 is the bread and butter when it comes to shooting sports. Of course my beginner mind thought ya right whatever. Well last night I went to the local bike races at the veledrom. It is also floodlit for racing later into the night. I first tried the "sports preprogram on my nikon d-50" hmmm too dark.. ok lets try shutter priority since i need a fast shutter to get sharp images of these bikers cruising around this circle ... too dark again ...

ok sit and think a bit .. need a lower f-stop to allow for the most light .. and a decent shutter speed to catch the bikers ... just wasn't happening with the lens i have... on the way home I came to the conclusion that "70-200mm f2.8" lens is needed ...

as JS said fast lens for shooting in that condition. I thought about putting my speedlight on top of the camera but didn't want to blind these people when they are zipping along on their bikes at 30-40 mph in a pack .. so i played for a while seen what i could do ... then watched some racing and went home with my tail between my legs ... it was a learning experience which was good .. one thing i forgot to "play" with was the ISO which could of helped me out some. since being at the bike races I am able to get right up next to the track and be as close to the action and the races as possible ...

I looked at the 2.8 lens today ... going to be a while before that happens .. will keep playing in the stuff under the lights to learn more and try to do most shooting with ample light ...

good luck and welcome to the boards .. great bunch of people with a great wealth of knowledge !!

Ben

[masdog]

Welcome, Ian.

As JS and Homer already mentioned, you'll need a faster lens. As stated, the 70-200mm F/2.8 is the standard lens for all sports, especially if you plan on shooting in low-light situations.

I have a few other tips that might help you out.

1, every field is different. My college soccer field was poorly lit, and even using ISO 3200, I couldn't get usable results at night. My high school field had much better lighting, and I could get away with ISO 800 in the center of the field. The results you're having could have a lot to do with the lighting you're shooting in.

2, you'll need to look at the white balance setting you're using. One thing I've noticed with my 20D is that changing the white balance setting can change the shutter speed and aperture needed to get a clear photo. Consider using custom white balances when needed.

3, and this isn't for now, but as you get more comfortable, start learning to shoot in Manual mode. This will give you greater control over the image, and you'll be able to adjust your exposure based on lighting without having the camera change it for you.

Until then, go to aperture priority (AV) and set it to the lowest number possible. Remember that the lower number means a wider aperture.