Indoor Volleyball pictures - advice needed
in [Digital Cameras]
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From: Adrian Boliston on 15 Jan 2007 17:35 "KenJr" <kennyjr(a)NOSPAMatlanticbb.net> wrote in message news:MPG.2015c1ec1e9c572998968d(a)news.atlanticbb.net... > If you still get unexceptable results your only alternative is faster > glass. Try looking on Ebay for fast primes at or near the focal lengths > your using. You should find some nice inexpensive manual focus lens. Would MF be ok for fast moving sports? I'm not sure that DSLR is really set up for MF use, although it can be done for more static subjects I expect. Cheers adrian www.boliston.co.uk
From: Eric Babula on 15 Jan 2007 19:02 ASAAR <caught(a)22.com> wrote in news:mbqnq29anhlau8118dopm4qeajs9v5k76m(a)4ax.com: > On 15 Jan 2007 18:07:32 GMT, Eric Babula wrote: > >> 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. > > You'll probably end up being very happy with your K100D, but you > don't completely understand what the IS is doing for your pictures > and what its limitations are. First, the IS generally reduces > movement enough so that you get 2 or 3 extra stops of exposure to > play with, and whether you want to take advantage of stops of > aperture or shutter speed is up to you. IS doesn't eliminate camera > movement, it just reduces it. It's the same with using a faster > shutter speed. The faster speeds don't eliminate camera movement, > they just proportionally reduce it. So if you turn IS off and need > to shoot at 1/500th sec. to reduce camera movement to acceptable > levels, with IS turned on you can slow the shutter speed by 2 to 3 > stops and end up with the same acceptable amount of camera movement. > One stop slower would be 1/250th sec, two is 1/125th sec., and three > stops is 1/60th sec. Whoever told you that IS would let an f/4.0 > lens produce results similar to an f/2.8 non-IS lens is way off, > since the difference is only one f/stop. The two to three f/stop > advantage that IS can provide would allow the f/4.0 lens do the work > of an f/2.0 (two stops) or f/1.4 (three stops) lens that didn't have > the benefit of IS. > > But there's one thing that you haven't factored in. The IS won't > be nearly as useful for taking pictures of your daughter's > volleyball games as you think. That's because you're not taking > pictures of trees or buildings or mountains, which would be fine for > your exposure settings of f/5.6 and 1/90th sec. But that shutter > speed is too slow for a moving volleyball player and especially for > a very fast volleyball. You might even want to use a faster shutter > speed than the 1/180th sec. the other guy used, but to use the same > 1/180th shutter speed and get the same exposure (1/90th sec. is > twice as long as 1/180th, so it's one stop slower) you'd need to > increase the aperture by one stop, from f/5.6 to f/4.0. At full > zoom this isn't possible with your lenses, so the only options > remaining (other than finding a way to get more light) would be to > either use a higher ISO (your camera may not have ISO 3200, and if > it does, it might produce really ugly results) or just underexpose > by one stop, using f/5.6 and 1/180th sec., and try to correct the > underexposure with a photo editor. Some other things you could try > would be: > > 1. Instead of using the 18-55mm lens at full zoom (f/5.6), use it at > a wider zoom position so that the aperture is closer to its f/3.5 > maximum aperture. You'd then be able to get the same exposure at > 1/180th sec., but would have to crop and enlarge to get the same > shot. This would only be useful for small prints or situations > where high resolution isn't needed. > > 2. Use the bigger lens instead [Promaster 70-300mm lens (f4-5.6)], > and if used at the 70mm zoom position you'd have the faster f/4.0 > aperture, would be able to shoot at 1/180th sec., and this would > even give you a slightly longer focal length than is possible with > the 18-55mm lens. > > 3. Try to find a cheap 55 f/1.8 fixed length lens. Then you'd be > able to get the same exposure with a much faster shutter speed, > close to 1/1000th second. This is an advantage you have with the > K100D, as it supplies the IS, not the lens. :) > > Wow! You went way above and beyond with your explanation! That all seems to make a whole lot of sense to even me! Thank you for your insight! I'm gonna try using your suggestions during warmups of my first daughter's tournament next weekend. Actually, they have practice tomorrow and Wednesday, so I could bring the camera there, and practice then! That way, I'll have a better idea of what I can and can't do! Thanks again! -- Eric Babula Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
From: ASAAR on 15 Jan 2007 19:32 On 16 Jan 2007 00:02:15 GMT, Eric Babula wrote: > I'm gonna try using your suggestions during warmups of my first > daughter's tournament next weekend. Actually, they have practice tomorrow > and Wednesday, so I could bring the camera there, and practice then! That > way, I'll have a better idea of what I can and can't do! > > Thanks again! You're welcome, and good luck with the practice, both yours and your daughter's. :)
From: KenJr on 15 Jan 2007 20:13 In article <512dt6F1hfg7pU1(a)mid.individual.net>, adrian(a)boliston.co.uk says... > Would MF be ok for fast moving sports? I'm not sure that DSLR is really > set up for MF use, although it can be done for more static subjects I > expect. Any K-mount lens Pentax has ever made will work with the K100 (or any other Pentax DSLR). Some of the older screw mounts will need an adapter, but they will work as well. You would have to use manual exposure and focusing, but it will work. With practice I see no reason why you couldn't capture action shots, it has been done in the past before autofocus was invented.
From: Frank ess on 15 Jan 2007 20:46
Eric Babula wrote: > 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! This is my standard reply to "Shoot volleyball": http://www.larry-bolch.com/ephemeral/ Scroll down about a third of the page. Strangely enough it turned up in a Gooooogle search for "shoot volleyball". -- Frank ess |