These are some of my favorite pics from a recent HS Basketball game. I rented a Canon EF 70-200mm f/4 L to see if I like it. Let me know what you think!
These are great shots, you have an eye for the action of the game. It looks like the f4 lens is giving you just enough shutter speed to pull off some sharp pics, but they are a little underexposed. If you shot in RAW you could bring these up to exposure perfectly.
Solutions, 1. Double your ISO.
2. Choose a different lens, zoom or prime doesn't really matter but you need to get to f2.8 at least. For basketball, I like to choose primes like the 50mm or an 85mm, with a prime you will pick at least two stops of light more than the f4 lens... thus giving you 4 times the shutter speed when you need it the most.
3. Buy the f4 lens and shoot in RAW and fix every single image in post later. Not fun.
Having said all that let me say that I LOVE the fact that Canon offers a 70-200mm f4 lens, this is a huge hole in the Nikon line-up IMHO. I have the AF Nikkor 70-710mm f4 and really like it but Nikon decided in 1988 that no one really needs a tele f4 zoom.....I disagree.
Like I said, you have a natural eye for the action...A few small tweeks and you are there!
You did well with the composition and catching the action esp. since you're new at it. The last one has the best color etc. Looks like the others need the most adjustment.
I did my nephew's B-Ball but it's been some years; I used either 400 or 800 ASA/ISO film. Usually I used at least a 1/125 shutter speed which is slow for sports, 1/250 or higher would be better but I was usually in a gym dark enough to not even get decent meter readings and it was too dark to be able to use the ideal settings. (I just learned over time what worked). I'd usually try to open up the lens more for closeups, if I was shooting down the length of the court I'd close down the lens aperture to get more depth of field.
It might take follwing suggestions like Barry's and trying out different settings; I found that different settings worked in different venues with different lighting.
Thats a very in depth review by Barry and he is certainly worth listening too, note that Rob agreed with him and Rob is one of PT's top sports photographers on here, guess what I am trying to say is and taking a long time to get around to it I agree with Barry great photos that need a few tweaks, keep posting.
www.dcimages.org.uk
"A good photograph is one that communicate a fact, touches the heart, leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it. It is, in a word, effective." - Irving Penn
McBeth Photography wrote: These are great shots, you have an eye for the action of the game. I looks like the f4 lens is giving you just enough shutter speed to pull off some sharp pics, but they are a little underexposed. If you shot in RAW you could bring these up to exposure perfectly.
Solutions, 1. Double your ISO.
2. Choose a different lens, zoom or prime doesn't really matter but you need to get to f2.8 at least. For basketball, I like to choose primes like the 50mm or an 85mm, with a prime you will pick at least two stops of light more than the f4 lens... thus giving you 4 times the shutter speed when you need it the most.
3. Buy the f4 lens and shoot in RAW and fix every single image in post later. Not fun.
Having said all that let me say that I LOVE the fact that Canon offers a 70-200mm f4 lens, this is a huge hole in the Nikon line-up IMHO. I have the AF Nikkor 70-710mm f4 and really like it but Nikon decided in 1988 that no one really needs a tele f4 zoom.....I disagree.
Like I said, you have a natural eye for the action...A few small tweeks and you are there!
I did shoot these in RAW with shutter speed 1/500 and ISO 3200, except the 2nd one was 1/200 and ISO 1600. I have a little bit of room left to raise the exposure, but I definitely want to try another lens with f2.8. I'm worried about shooting at ISO 6400 because of the noise factor.
I did shoot these in RAW with shutter speed 1/500 and ISO 3200, except the 2nd one was 1/200 and ISO 1600. I have a little bit of room left to raise the exposure, but I definitely want to try another lens with f2.8. I'm worried about shooting at ISO 6400 because of the noise factor.
I really appreciate the advice
You're welcome. A 2.8 zoom will help a lot, but don't rule out shooting with a prime lens ..... nearly all of them will get you to f2 and the focus is fast as well. Not to mention that they are much lighter than a 2.8 zoom, the weight factor alone has helped me get shots that I couldn't get with a big zoom.
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Barry you hit it right on 
I agree with Barry great photos that need a few tweaks, keep posting. 
Carl Mendez 1 post
