HS football, problem with WB/exposure

[jcharleshenry@gmail.com]

Consecutive photos show variation in exposure and white balance. A series of 6 may cycle three times. Data shows they all have the same exposure, f-stop, shutter speed.
The difference is obvious, almost like two different cameras. Some images just look darker but looking at the histogram shows a moderate shift between images.


Shooting HS football on dimly lit fields. D300, either 300mm or 70-200, F2.8, Manual settings, 2.8 and between 1/250 and 1/500, ISO 3200+ either Auto WB or Pre-set. Do not believe I have bracketing set.

Someone has suggested that the 60 cycle of the lights changes exposure but I don't this. Camera store and Nikon rep can see the problem, but have no explanation.

[dhyravy]

From what you describe, you have a definite case of lights cycling. This is very common with ambient light shooting both outdoors and indoors. AWB is about the only hedge you have and it doesn't work all the time. This is mainly seen when the "spray and pray" (fast continuous shutter) method of sports photography is used since the camera shutter moves fast enough to catch the power cycle that your eye can't see. Since I use flash for night HS football and remote flashes for indoor sports, I have learned over the years to develop better timing. With flash, you don't have the option of simply holding the shutter button down and tracking the subject. If I could come up with an answer to this, I could retire comfortably