Sport shooting

[Andrew Tay]

Hi, my friend asked me to shoot some shots of him playing tennis, at night 8-9pm. I'm using 550D. Pls advise my setting :
55-250mm lens, shutter mode, AI servo mode, continuous shooting, etc

Anyone can advise ? I'm a beginner. Thanks.

 

[SkyStrike]

I would assume this is outdoor environment (those Sports Council type) depending on the side "lamp post" lights.

Depending on where your tennis court is, you may not be able to stand near to them (I wouldn't want to anyway....tennis ball are fast and hard) and you may need to utilize the mid (100mm)-far end of the lens which the max aperture is f4.5 to f5.6 (which is quite-very slow at night)

I can only say that the Shutter speed depends on the type of effect you want for your shot. E.g. freeze motion with the tennis ball freezing infront of the tennis racket while swinging or some motion blur when swinging the racket etc.

Based on my limited experience with "freezing" movement with this lens at night at long focal length (wide open at f4.0 or at f5.6), you will be using 1600-3200 or higher all the time no matter 1/100 or faster 1/250 >.


My recommendation, set your ISO to your max tolerance of high ISO (for my 500D, ISO1600 is my max tolerable, not sure about yours). and start shooting at whatever shutter speed you want. Your camera will most probably be keeping the aperture wide open. Also, do keep in mind, that high iso = more noise.

 

[Andrew Tay]

I would assume this is outdoor environment (those Sports Council type) depending on the side "lamp post" lights.

Depending on where your tennis court is, you may not be able to stand near to them (I wouldn't want to anyway....tennis ball are fast and hard) and you may need to utilize the mid (100mm)-far end of the lens which the max aperture is f4.5 to f5.6 (which is quite-very slow at night)

I can only say that the Shutter speed depends on the type of effect you want for your shot. E.g. freeze motion with the tennis ball freezing infront of the tennis racket while swinging or some motion blur when swinging the racket etc.

Based on my limited experience with "freezing" movement with this lens at night at long focal length (wide open at f4.0 or at f5.6), you will be using 1600-3200 or higher all the time no matter 1/100 or faster 1/250 >.

My recommendation, set your ISO to your max tolerance of high ISO (for my 500D, ISO1600 is my max tolerable, not sure about yours). and start shooting at whatever shutter speed you want. Your camera will most probably be keeping the aperture wide open. Also, do keep in mind, that high iso = more noise.

Hi, I'm taking freezing movement, can I don't use high ISO 1600 ? The noise kills the sharpness. Any other setting ?
Thanks.

 

[Rashkae]

Hi, I'm taking freezing movement, can I don't use high ISO 1600 ? The noise kills the sharpness. Any other setting ?
Thanks.

You are limited by the equipment you have. If you want a fast shutter speed but want lower noise, you need to have a larger-aperture lens, or switch to something like a D3S.

 

[Andrew Tay]

You are limited by the equipment you have. If you want a fast shutter speed but want lower noise, you need to have a larger-aperture lens, or switch to something like a D3S.

Understand now..if I hv a lens with 1.2 aperture, then problem solved, am i right ??

 

[SkyStrike]

Understand now..if I hv a lens with 1.2 aperture, then problem solved, am i right ??

You will introduce another "issue", cos at f1.2, your dof will be quite razor thin... This means, your focus must be spot on and or must have enough depth to get your shot

 

[Rashkae]

Understand now..if I hv a lens with 1.2 aperture, then problem solved, am i right ??

Maaaaaybe, if the lighting conditions are ok.

But then:

1. There's no 200mm f/1.2 lens - usually these are 50mm or 85mm only, not enough focal length.
2. f/1.2 will not be very sharp - lenses normally benefit from stopping down
3. Your depth of field will be thin - your subject may not have enough in focus, and your aim with the autofocus will need to be damn accurate.

So, you could get/rent a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, that will help already. But if it's at night and you still want to freeze motion, you may still need to tweak your ISO and push it upwards.

 

[Andrew Tay]

Maaaaaybe, if the lighting conditions are ok.

But then:

1. There's no 200mm f/1.2 lens - usually these are 50mm or 85mm only, not enough focal length.
2. f/1.2 will not be very sharp - lenses normally benefit from stopping down
3. Your depth of field will be thin - your subject may not have enough in focus, and your aim with the autofocus will need to be damn accurate.

So, you could get/rent a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, that will help already. But if it's at night and you still want to freeze motion, you may still need to tweak your ISO and push it upwards.

Wow wow wow. Alot for me to learn. So it will be no diff if I use a 18-55mm or a 55-250 mm ( beside the zoom) ?

 

[SkyStrike]

Wow wow wow. Alot for me to learn. So it will be no diff if I use a 18-55mm or a 55-250 mm ( beside the zoom) ?

Just another "small" diff...other than for 55-250, your aperture will be f4.0 @ 55mm compared to 18-55 where at 55mm, aperture = f5.6

 

[Andrew Tay]

Just another "small" diff...other than for 55-250, your aperture will be f4.0 @ 55mm compared to 18-55 where at 55mm, aperture = f5.6

Wow, u are very precise. Thank u very much. Will show u some shots after I take. Cheers.