Indoor Volleyball pictures - advice needed
in [Digital Cameras]
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From: Eric Babula on 15 Jan 2007 13:07 acl <achilleaslazarides(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote in news:1168881811.474733(a)seven.kulnet.kuleuven.ac.be: > Hi. I suggest you read the book you got and find out what shutter > speeds and apertures do (I assume you don't know judging from your > post; if I'm wrong, apologies). Also, I vaguely remember that you > asked advice about this before, and was told that you need a fast > lens (ie numerically small max f/stop). You didn't get this (I > suppose it'd be too expensive to get a zoom, and you didn't want a > fixed focal length), so your job is made more difficult. > > You probably could use something like aperture priority and choose > the widest aperture and highest ISO (as you did), as you need a > fast speed to freeze the action (or you could pan with slower > speeds, but this probably isn't the kind of thing you're after). > > Regarding the cloth, you could use it to meter off: assuming the > light is the same everywhere, meter off the cloth at manual mode > and just leave the exposure like it is. Although you can do the > same thing by just taking a few shots before the game starts and > using the histogram to adjust the exposure, then leave it there. > Works just as well. > > Anyway. Read up on that book and ask questions here. Good luck! I do somewhat know what the shutter speeds and aperture do, since I started playing with that, with my P&S camera, trying to get decent pics of my daughters' volleyball games. Still learning. As for the lens - you're right, I didn't want a fixed focal length, just yet. I'm not sure at what length I'd typically be shooting, so I chose the zoom for now. And, I know I didn't get a really fast lens, either. But, I was told that with the Pentax K100D and the in-body IS, an f4.0 lens would act more like an f2.8 in another camera. The guy in the camera store was convinced I'd be able to get very good pics with this camera and these lenses, and not have to upgrade to something much more expensive. We discussed more expensive cameras (Nikon D70, D200, Pentax K10D), but he convinced me that this camera and these lenses would make me very happy. With the camera, I got a DVD on basic Photography, which I'm gonna watch. And, I got a coupon for a photography class, which I will take. Those, and reading the book will get me a pretty decent understanding of what I'll need to do. But, I just wanted to hear from the experts here, too! From what I've seen, not many publications discuss indoor volleyball too much. I guess it's not much different than basketball - lighting, movement, etc., are pretty similar problems to deal with. Anyway, thanks for your input! Much appreciated! -- Eric Babula Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
From: Eric Babula on 15 Jan 2007 13:09 acl <achilleaslazarides(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote in news:1168882020.291768(a)seven.kulnet.kuleuven.ac.be: > Eric Babula wrote: >> I did seem to have a bit more success after talking to this guy. I >> used my 18-55mm lens, set ISO to 1600; manually set white balance; >> zoomed full so I had f5.6; shutter speed set at 1/90; and I seemed >> to get better pics this way. He said I should have shutter speed >> around 1/180 or so. I tried that, and it didn't seem to be as good >> as 1/90. Maybe I need to play some more. Or, maybe there are some >> other settings that I didn't take care of. Any ideas? > > I forgot to say: If you get 1/90s at ISO 1600 and f/5.6, then, if > you try to use the longer lens, you'll get again 1/90s to 1/180s at > max aperture. This is really at the limits of handholdability for > those focal lengths, and you'll have extra problems from the fact > that your subjects are actually jumping around playing volleyball! > So, unless there is more light, the longer lens will just give you > a headache (but may give some good shots with care and luck). Remember, the Pentax K100D has in-body IS, so that helps somewhat, too! I'm still convinced that I can and will get some good shots with what I have! I'm already seeing an improvement over the P&S (Panasonic FZ5), so that's encouraging! -- Eric Babula Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
From: Eric Babula on 15 Jan 2007 13:12 John McWilliams <jpmcw(a)comcast.net> wrote in news:MbOdnSwjdvTKJjbYnZ2dnUVZ_t-mnZ2d(a)comcast.com: > It sounds like you learned a ton in one day. I'll leave out the > grey card/cloth for now, as with a custom set WB, imo, you don't > need to bother with a greycard. Others may disagree, and > vociferously, but it's not important now for where you are, imo, > obviously. > > The other guy likes the 1/180th because for him it's the fastest > speed he can use without grossly underexposing. For you, it'd seem > to be the slower speed that you can use, perhaps as a function > solely of your lens. > > Now, when I have to do volleyball, I'll take a flash along and use > it unless there is protest. Most gyms have lousy lighting. > Yeah, I think I did learn a lot! And, I'm glad I wandered around and sat next to that guy, and had the audacity/guts/whatever to ask him a bunch of questions! Sometimes, it pays to humble oneself and just approach someone and ask! -- Eric Babula Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
From: Eric Babula on 15 Jan 2007 13:22 "Flavius" <jrobarts(a)sprynet.com> wrote in news:3ZOqh.11181$w91.7729(a)newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net: > > "Eric Babula" <ebabula(a)care2.com> wrote in message > news:Xns98B96DBEC6409ebabulacare2com(a)66.192.254.231... >> Ok, I got my DSLR (Pentax K100D) with the kit 18-55mm lens >> (f3.5-5.6) and a Promaster 70-300mm lens (f4-5.6), and started >> playing with it, trying to shoot pics at my daughter's volleyball >> tournament this weekend. FYI - I'm new to real photography, > > > > FAST GLA$$ (GLASS) > > > > > > > My budget wouldn't allow the really good glass, unfortunately. Maybe some day. I wanted fairly big zoom, decent speed, and needed to keep the cost low. The Promaster was the solution the camera shop had for me. If I find out I can't stand this, and IF I sell enough coins on ebaY, maybe I'll end up getting a fast lens (85mm f1.4, or 135mm f2.8, or whatever) for the kids' volleyball. -- Eric Babula Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
From: Cynicor on 15 Jan 2007 13:37
Eric Babula wrote: > acl <achilleaslazarides(a)yahoo.co.uk> wrote in > news:1168881811.474733(a)seven.kulnet.kuleuven.ac.be: > >> Hi. I suggest you read the book you got and find out what shutter >> speeds and apertures do (I assume you don't know judging from your >> post; if I'm wrong, apologies). Also, I vaguely remember that you >> asked advice about this before, and was told that you need a fast >> lens (ie numerically small max f/stop). You didn't get this (I >> suppose it'd be too expensive to get a zoom, and you didn't want a >> fixed focal length), so your job is made more difficult. >> >> You probably could use something like aperture priority and choose >> the widest aperture and highest ISO (as you did), as you need a >> fast speed to freeze the action (or you could pan with slower >> speeds, but this probably isn't the kind of thing you're after). >> >> Regarding the cloth, you could use it to meter off: assuming the >> light is the same everywhere, meter off the cloth at manual mode >> and just leave the exposure like it is. Although you can do the >> same thing by just taking a few shots before the game starts and >> using the histogram to adjust the exposure, then leave it there. >> Works just as well. >> >> Anyway. Read up on that book and ask questions here. Good luck! > > I do somewhat know what the shutter speeds and aperture do, since I > started playing with that, with my P&S camera, trying to get decent pics > of my daughters' volleyball games. Still learning. > > As for the lens - you're right, I didn't want a fixed focal length, just > yet. I'm not sure at what length I'd typically be shooting, so I chose > the zoom for now. And, I know I didn't get a really fast lens, either. > But, I was told that with the Pentax K100D and the in-body IS, an f4.0 > lens would act more like an f2.8 in another camera. Well...I don't understand how IS makes 4.0 into 2.8. It can make 1/30 look like 1/125 second. But the big problem with sports shooting is that you need to control for the speed first. I turn IS off now when I shoot hockey, because the speeds at which IS makes a difference are too slow to freeze the play. So there won't be any hand shake, but there'll be action blur. You have three variables to work with for a given level of light - aperture, speed, and ISO. You have to set the speed to where it won't blur the action. Then you can open up the aperture as far as you can, and set the ISO to give you something as close to the proper combination as you can. If I don't have a big light or two, I sometimes shoot raw, then batch process everything to get it to the right level. Anything above ISO 400 on my camera starts to make noticeable noise in the darker areas (faces) when I look at it full size. If you're printing smaller, like 4x6, it won't be a huge issue. Anyway, try shooting some action RAW so that you can take it back and fiddle with it to see exactly what settings you'd need in the gym. |