Beginner needs help

[AustinRiver]

Hello. My name is AustinRiver and my wife and I are novice photographers. We have interest intaking basketball photos and are struggling with settings. Would appreciate any info on shutter speed, aperture setting, iso and best lens to use to stop action shots. I know this is a lot but we are trying to get some consistancy. Our pics are either to dark, blurred or a happy accident. I have a Canon 5D and she has a Rebel Xti. We have a 70-200mm f2.8 and just bought a 50mm f1.4. I have a 28-75mm f2.8 that fits my camera but not hers and she has a 17-85mm f4-5.6 that won't fit my camera. I think the 50mm f1.4 may be the best if we are courtside but TV or AV and what settings? Thanks for comments and I hope we enjoy this form

[readingr]

Austin,

All the lenses that fit the 5D fit the XTi so don't understand why the 28-75mm doesn't fit the XTi if it works on the 5D.

Canon have two sets of lenses EF and EF-S. The EF-S will only wiork on the XTi but the EF will work on all canon SLR's

Can't help with the settings for basket ball so I will let someone else sort that out.

Roger

[BFiredup]

Welcome to the forum....

I am just learning myself...so I don't feel that I am the one to give advice...but don't worry, one of the guys here will help you. Sounds like you have the right equipment. I have been using my 85mm f1.8 lately...seems to give me brighter shots in the dark gyms....
Got to up the ISO if you are getting dark images....I use anywhere from 800-1600 depending on the gym....use center focus....and rapid shot....

But don't worry, they will get you straight here.....they have helped me a TON....

Have fun shooting....

[Old Timer]

First let me say welcome to PR and the Sports forum. There are a number of very accomplished sports photographers here that can help you improve your photography and they are very willing to help. Secondly yours is a question that is ask a lot here and the short answer is there is no magic bullet. Conditions vary so drastically from one gym to another so there is no one setting that work every time. I would suggest however that you get out of any auto modes that you have been using and go to manual settings. You have all the camera and lens you should need to take good photos. Set the lens on your widest aperture and your speed at 200 at least to stop action (faster if you can get away with it). Adjust your ISO to a setting that gets you acceptable exposure and fire away. If you are still to dark or your images are still blurred the only other solution is to add external light. Hope this helps a little. I would encourage you to post a few examples of your photos, that will give us a better idea of where you are and what might help. Check out some of the other resent thread that address this same issue and you may find some additional answer.

[AustinRiver]

thanks.. this is very helpful. I think I have found an excellant resource.

Roger, thanks for putting me in the right direction about the lens. You are right. I assumed the 28 would not fit because it was purchased to replace the EF-S that would not fit the 5D. I nevedr tried to put it on the XTi. After reading your post I did and it worked.:thumbsup:

Bfiredup...
thanks for the encouragement... I have seen some of your picks and they are great.

[AustinRiver]

Roger

Thanks for putting me on the right track. I was told I should buy the 28-75 to replace the 85-17 that was an EF-S and would not fit my 5D. I never thought to try it because I bought it to replace the other.

[Homer]

Hi Austin,

Not an expert but have shot a lot of basketball. As OT said above there's no magic solution to shooting baskeball but I will hopefully point you in the right direction.

This advice is mostly for middle and high school, as their gyms tend to be the worst when it comes to lighting. When I shoot a basketball game I'll usually set me camera to aperture priority at my lenes widest opening (f/2.8). I also use the 70-200 f/2.8L IS lens. I will then adjust my ISO to get the shutter speed I need. Now the lighting can change from the key to center court, so once I get a few decent test shots I'll set my camera to manual at these settings and shoot away. If I keep my shutter speed where I can get nice bright shots. You will get a lot more noise in your shots when brightening then if you had to darken them slightly. Of course I try for perfect exposure, but with the lighting in these gyms and how they change from one end to the other I'll slightly overexpose the picture with the higher ISO and then darken them slightly while processing. I find I get a lot less noise even with the high ISO doing it this way.

Another option you can try is the flash. When I use a flash I'll bounce it off the ceiling. I'll usually shoot at either 1600 or 3200 ISO, which ever will give me a decent shutter speed.

Jim

[rovowen]

I have read and hopefully I didn't miss it, but you should do a
custom white balance everytime you change gyms.
I have the Canon 430 flash and tried it and felt it didn't accomplish enough to justify using it. I on the third set of bleachers and shot a player near the basket with a bounce flash off the ceiling and I didn't notice any better shot. Then I pointed it straight out and took another shot and did notice an improvement, but still not enough. I am allowed to walk around the court and can even shoot under the basket. I'm sure the flash would help some under the basket. But
have been afraid it would affect the players that close. Now, from what I have seen and read strobes are another story.

This was taken with a Canon 20D, Canon 85mm f/1.8 and the setting were ISO 800, shutter 1/320 and aperture of 1.8.

This was a volleyball match taken last year. Don't remember the settings but think they would be F/2.8, ISO 1600 and shutter around 1/250 with a Sigma 50-150, because I don't think I had
the Canon 85mm.

[JSPhoto]

Welcome to the forum

Well first off your lenses are all interchangeable, what fits the XT series will fit the 5D, if a lens won't fit make sure that all the screws are in place completly, the 5D mount may (should be) tighter.
The 5D is a great body however, it, like the XT suffers from a slow AF compared to bodies such as the 1D series, thats most likely why your getting blurred photos as it can't track as fast as the action is.
Shoot in M Manual Mode, use an ISO of 1250 or 1600 and the 70-200 and a shutter speed 300 or above and you should OK in most gyms, if not add a 580EX flash in "fill flash" mode and you should br good to go. With the XTi you won't have any choice but to use hirdt ISO and pre-focus as it won't focus fast enough no matter what you do.

JS

[AustinRiver]

this is very helpful. Thanks. We have 2 gyms and 2 games going on at the same time and it is very different from gym to gym but we seem to get shots back to back that are very different. On will be dark and the next ok... shot in the same 2 seconds.

[JSPhoto]

this is very helpful. Thanks. We have 2 gyms and 2 games going on at the same time and it is very different from gym to gym but we seem to get shots back to back that are very different. On will be dark and the next ok... shot in the same 2 seconds.

Each gyms lighting is different, in fact it can change day to day because of the lighting used, a bulb goes out and it will change your WB. Or they replace one it ill change. Even age changes some type of lights, as they get older they get weaker and change the WB.

JS

[topcat2000]

hi im new to this as well but you photos look great , well done. cant give any advice as i have not got a clue at what im doing and why things dont come out as i would like them too!! pratice makes perfect everyone keeps telling me !! at least we enjoy doing what we do .