Indoor Volleyball pictures - advice needed
in [Digital Cameras]
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From: Cynicor on 16 Jan 2007 20:04 Rita � Berkowitz wrote: > Cynicor wrote: > >>> This only works when your lens HAS 2-3 extra stops to play with. His >>> lens was 5.6 at max zoom. If he had been using a faster lens, he >>> could have opened up his lens 2-3 stops and in doing so had a faster >>> shutter speed by the same amount. For instance, if he was shooting >>> at f5.6 at 1/100, he could have opened up the aperture to f4 and >>> shot at 1/200, or opened to f2.8 and shot at 1/400. Bingo - now he >>> can stop the motion blur! IS will also help to offset camera blur >>> caused by moving the camera quickly to catch and follow the action. >> >> One of the things that you should train yourself to do when you're >> shooting sports is to anticipate the action instead of following it. >> If I see a breakaway developing, I'll prefocus on the goalie so that >> when the action hits, I'll be able to squeeze off a couple of shots >> in a row without adjusting anything. > > Some people would rather blast off 10,000 shots at an event and pick out > a handful of keepers. The other issue is if you are serious about > shooting indoor volleyball there's only two lenses capable of the task, > the Canon 200/1.8 and the Nikon 200/2. Using any other lenses then them > two you are better off not wasting your time. Depends upon where you're sitting. The 70-200 VR lens is just peachy, and the difference between f/2 and f/2.8 isn't going to lose you the non-pro shots. I just found this site - you can rent a 300mm f/2.8 Canon lens for $150/week. I wonder if renting a 200mm f/2 rental for a special game would be something good to try. I rented a 70-200 VR for a weekend to get used to it before I bought one.
From: Eric Babula on 18 Jan 2007 13:36 Steve Cutchen <maxfaq(a)earthlink.net> wrote in news:150120072130037396%maxfaq(a)earthlink.net: > In article <150120072113418465%maxfaq(a)earthlink.net>, Steve Cutchen > <maxfaq(a)earthlink.net> wrote: > >> Technique > A few other things I thought of. Think about what makes a good > shot. Sometimes, the best shot is not at the point of ball contact. > For example, > Shoot the server when the ball is at its apex. > Shoot the outside hitter when they are "fully loaded", just before > the swing starts forward. > Get the setter just after the set is gone, and you'll have a good > chance of getting the attackers looking to the ball in > anticipation. Shoot two players as they are subbing in for each > other. Try to get the excitment of a player AFTER they make a > great play. Get the outside when she's screaming after the line > shot past the double block! > Get the high fives after the ace serve. > Get the bench as they are in mid rise to their feet. > Get the player's concentration before the opponent serves. > Get the fans. > Get... the idea? heh. > Steve - Sorry, I'm having troubles with my newsfeed, both at work and at home. So, I'm getting only some posts (like, I didn't get the one you sent right before this one - had to read that on groups.google). Damn it! Anyway, I'll try to address both of your posts, here. My girls are 13 and 11, and in club volleyball. Does that make much of a difference? Well, speed of action is quite a bit different than your HS shots, I guess. But, otherwise, all the concepts you mentioned would be pretty much the same, wouldn't they? I checked out your website, and was able to download a bunch of pics and check out the EXIFs on them. Thanks for the link! Helps me learn. Also, it helps me learn the positions I 'should' be in to take great shots. I say 'should', because in many club tournaments, you're only allowed to be sitting at one end of the court. I'd love to be on the sideline, around the 10-foot line, but that might not be possible in many cases. I'll just have to do what I can, with what I have. I will be on the sideline, given the chance, though! Looks like you like to use ISO 3200 for pretty much everything (oops, just re-read your earlier post, and you said just that!). Your shutter speed varies, I'm assuming with your focal length or Aperture. But, your Aperture is often between f4.0 and f5.6! That's what I'd mostly be at, too. My 18-55mm is F3.5-5.6 and my 70-300mm is f4.0-5.6. So, I really 'should' be able to get pics nearly as nice as these, with practice, right?! Ok, you use Noise Ninja to reduce the noise. I downloaded the trial version, and wow! It seems to really help with the noise for ISO 3200 shots! Nice! But, how do you get the brightness and color to be maintained. Like, this pic of yours: http://www.clearlakevolleyball.com/teams/varsity/Creek/Creek- Pages/Image13.html The blues still look blue, the reds look red, etc. It seems, as I go up in ISO and shutter speed, the pictures grey out. Dark blues and greens become more toward black, etc. What are you doing to keep the colors and skin tones nice? BTW - I do play volleyball too - so I kinda have an idea of the game, and where the 'money shots' are! I'm just hoping I can get the Pentax K100D to capture what I see! ;-) Thanks again for all the help! -- Eric Babula Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA
From: Steve Cutchen on 18 Jan 2007 15:24 In article <Xns98BC80377824Cebabulacare2com(a)66.192.254.230>, Eric Babula <ebabula(a)care2.com> wrote: > Steve - > > Sorry, I'm having troubles with my newsfeed, both at work and at home. > So, I'm getting only some posts (like, I didn't get the one you sent > right before this one - had to read that on groups.google). Damn it! > > Anyway, I'll try to address both of your posts, here. > > My girls are 13 and 11, and in club volleyball. Does that make much of a > difference? Well, speed of action is quite a bit different than your HS > shots, I guess. But, otherwise, all the concepts you mentioned would be > pretty much the same, wouldn't they? > > I checked out your website, and was able to download a bunch of pics and > check out the EXIFs on them. Thanks for the link! Helps me learn. Also, > it helps me learn the positions I 'should' be in to take great shots. I > say 'should', because in many club tournaments, you're only allowed to > be sitting at one end of the court. I'd love to be on the sideline, > around the 10-foot line, but that might not be possible in many cases. > I'll just have to do what I can, with what I have. I will be on the > sideline, given the chance, though! At that age, they are playing below the top of the net, so you want to be on their side. Shots through the net are pretty lousy. Also, at this age, much of the game is serve, serve receive and passing. A bit of decent setting, but not so much hitting. Very little blocking. 13s are starting to hit decently, but it is still not the key to the game. So pictures taken from near the net plane are going to be the best. Often times, I was able to plant myself at the base of the up ref's tower, unless it was a really big tournament where the courts were literally edge to edge. If you can get planted there, especially if you have a club shirt on, you can make yourself look like you think it's OK to be there... Try it and see if they run you off! A hard part for me was trying to be quiet while photographing near the ref. heh. > Looks like you like to use ISO 3200 for pretty much everything (oops, > just re-read your earlier post, and you said just that!). Your shutter > speed varies, I'm assuming with your focal length or Aperture. But, your > Aperture is often between f4.0 and f5.6! That's what I'd mostly be at, > too. My 18-55mm is F3.5-5.6 and my 70-300mm is f4.0-5.6. So, I really > 'should' be able to get pics nearly as nice as these, with practice, > right?! Certainly! > Ok, you use Noise Ninja to reduce the noise. I downloaded the trial > version, and wow! It seems to really help with the noise for ISO 3200 > shots! Nice! But, how do you get the brightness and color to be > maintained. Like, this pic of yours: > http://www.clearlakevolleyball.com/teams/varsity/Creek/Creek- > Pages/Image13.html > The blues still look blue, the reds look red, etc. It seems, as I go up > in ISO and shutter speed, the pictures grey out. Dark blues and greens > become more toward black, etc. What are you doing to keep the colors and > skin tones nice? I'm often shooting wide open with the lens, so the aperture is whatever it can get to at that focal length. Noise Ninja doesn't really help with colors. I do play a bit with the Levels equivalent in iPhoto to help with exposure. But correct color is set with custom white balance. Noise Ninja will let you save profiles created from your persoanl camera. Very nice. > BTW - I do play volleyball too - so I kinda have an idea of the game, > and where the 'money shots' are! I'm just hoping I can get the Pentax > K100D to capture what I see! ;-) > > Thanks again for all the help! I started right where you are, but with a much inferior camera. When my daughter was 14, her team won a Junior Olympic Bronze Medal. That same year, we finished third in the Cajunland tournament in New Orleans; the same convention center where the carnage took place in the wake of Katrina. That was a sobering sight, because we remembered it with such fond memories. She is now finished with her Junior year in HS. Club is over for us. And we have one more year of school ball. I also played when younger, and know the game well, so it has been something we could really share. Club and school ball have been a blast. Have fun with it!
From: David Dyer-Bennet on 18 Jan 2007 18:05 Steve Cutchen wrote: > Often times, I was able to plant myself at the base of the up ref's > tower, unless it was a really big tournament where the courts were > literally edge to edge. If you can get planted there, especially if > you have a club shirt on, you can make yourself look like you think > it's OK to be there... Try it and see if they run you off! I discovered something very like this in highschool -- if I behaved like I was doing something official, and avoided being in the way, I was almost always left alone. I'm sure this wouldn't work at the Olympics or at an NFL game, but it works great at highschool and college events, and others not at the national level, or not "big-time" sports. This is one of those "it is easier to get forgiveness than permission" things; they may not even have procedures for giving permission, but if you look real enough nobody will take the time to actually run you off.
From: John McWilliams on 18 Jan 2007 19:59
David Dyer-Bennet wrote: > Steve Cutchen wrote: > >> Often times, I was able to plant myself at the base of the up ref's >> tower, unless it was a really big tournament where the courts were >> literally edge to edge. If you can get planted there, especially if >> you have a club shirt on, you can make yourself look like you think >> it's OK to be there... Try it and see if they run you off! > > I discovered something very like this in highschool -- if I behaved like > I was doing something official, and avoided being in the way, I was > almost always left alone. I'm sure this wouldn't work at the Olympics > or at an NFL game, but it works great at highschool and college events, > and others not at the national level, or not "big-time" sports. This is > one of those "it is easier to get forgiveness than permission" things; > they may not even have procedures for giving permission, but if you look > real enough nobody will take the time to actually run you off. Another method to give the above another boost is to offer to shoot for a local paper. Even the HS publication. Then before the match, introduce yourself as Joe Blogs "who's shooting for the West Deedonk Record" to both coaches and the Refs, and you're pretty good to go. Above all, enjoy! -- John McWilliams |