How to photograph Basketball with a Nikon D50

[jillybeanh2]

I just got a new Nikon 55-200mm VR f/4-5.6G, IF-ED, AF-S, DX camera lens for my Nikon D50 DSLR camera. I like to shoot college basketball and I have had nothing but blurry images. I need to know what setting to set it on and what I should change. Maybe the ISO?

[zerodog]

With the D50 and that lens combo you will struggle to get a fast enough shutter speed to stop motion indoors. For starters you will need to crank your ISO up as high as possible. Not sure on the D50 how high you can go within reason. Maybe 3200? Then set your exposure manually using 5.6 as your aperture setting. Then see where your speed ends up. My guess will be somewhere around 1/100. Not really enough to stop the action. Unless you get it at just the right spot and your panning is right on.

As far as options go for improving? A faster lens would help a ton. Something like a 70-200 f2.8 is what you need. On a budget you can get a Nikon 80-200 2.8 AFD for $500-$600 used. Or look to a Sigma 70-200 2.8. The wider aperture will give you higher shutter speeds.

[dhyravy]

With the max ISO on the D50 being 1600, you won't have enough shutter speed at f5.6 indoors. I shot with the D50 for a couple of years (still do sometimes) and used it for basketball extensively with the 80-200 f2.8, Sigma 18-50 f2.8, and 50 f1.8. The big difference is that I use remote flash for basketball. This allows the ISO to be at 500 to 640 which results in some nice shots. A lot of people think that sports shooters just buy all that expensive gear because we like it. (even though we do!) But the reality is that good quality fast glass is just a requirement if you want to shoot sports. About the only sports I shoot in daylight are softball and baseball which are a very small part of what I shoot in a year. There are a number of shots in my member gallery from that body.

[crusty]

The big difference is that I use remote flash for basketball. This allows the ISO to be at 500 to 640 which results in some nice shots.

Definitely going to have to read up on this option and invest in a flash. Been messing around with basketball shots woth my Nikkor 70-200 2.8 and first my D90 and since upgraded to D300S, i've still got way too much noise. Good thing it is the off-season, and I'll have until the summer to read up on it and come up with a good solution before the summer season starts.

[cozmocha]

I'm lucky to get a speed of 1/640 with a 2.8 lens at iso 1600 in a well lit venue. I'd see what I could get with a shutter of around 1/250 and shoot non fast moving action.