Taking sport pictures with my DSLR

[akasg1]

Hi there,
I am new to the forum. I have been reading posts for hours now and I am so impressed with all the talent. I just have to try some of these beautiful things you all do. But for now I would like to try and fix a problem with my picture taking. I have recently gotten a Canon Digital Rebel XT. I just love it! I have been taking pictures of my grandaughter at her basketball games and using the auto sport mode. Most of the pics are nice but a lot of them come out to blurry. I would like to move to the creative mode and try the sport pictures to see if they would not look so blurry but am not sure of how to do that. Does anyone have this camera or one of the EOS Canons that could help me get to the next level of picture taking? Any help would really be appreciated. I am taking all these pics so I can do an album of her first season.
Thanks again for the help if any and also for the great galleries of pictures you all have.
Melba

[Carbone]

Sports pictures are a combination of many factors, amongst them :

- Good lighting conditions
- Fast lense (one with a small minimum f number)
- Shooting at high ISO (400 and more)
- Having access to a good spot :)

What is your current lense?

Also, Canon offers a very brilliant site on the Digital Rebel XT :

http://photoworkshop.com/canon/

click on the first icon, at the bottom left, then in the list, click on the Digital Rebel EOS XT tutorials. There 30 something tutorials, from general digital photography to EOS XT specifics. It's a must!

Ray

[akasg1]

Thanks for the reply Ray and the info on the Canon site.
I have the lens that came with the camera, the 18-55 and while on vacation in St. Thomas in December last year the guy at the Royal Carribean Camera shop said that this lens, the Sigma 55-200 F4-5.6 was all the equipment I would ever need for this camera! So I bought it and have been using it on the Auto mode but would like to try the creative mode with it.
I will go to that site and check it out though, thanks.
Melba

[bwolford]

I have a Canon DR. I take 95% of my pictures in gymnasiums at Gymnastics and high school events.

The guy at the Royal Carribean Camera made a sale, but not a customer. That lens is just as slow (f-stop wise or appeture wise) as the lens that came with your camera. All it does is extend your picture taking from 55 MM to 200MM. You can get closer from further away.

I agree with Ray:
- Good lighting conditions - Never happens in a gym though.
- Fast lense (one with a small minimum f number) I've found F2.0-F3.5 is the slowest I want for indoor gymnasium pictures in order to have a fast enough shutter speed at a reasonable ISO,
- Shooting at high ISO (400 and more) - you can crank your ISO way up with the lenses you have, but you will get grain. I usually shoot 1600 with my stock lens (same as yours) but I can get to 400-800 with my F2.0 100MM lens. My 50MM F1.8 lens is consistently reliable at ISO 400, but SLOW focusing.
- Having access to a good spot. My first purchase for these shots was a 50MM 1.8 Canon lens for about $89 retail new. I used my manual zoom (feet) to move around the events or gym to get better pictures. I eventually moved up to a 100MM F2.0 lens ($300) and still used the tennis shoe zoom. I my latest lens purchase was a 70-200MM F2.8 IS USM lens ($1700). If money's no object THAT's the lens you really want. For $1700 you can stay in your seat AND take pretty consistently good pictures at ISO 400-800 and shutter speeds of around 200 or faster. Ideally, I should add the 24-70MM F2.8 to my bag and I'd never touch the 50MM and 100MM unless I was taking portrait shots. Unfortunately I really don't have another $1200 for 1 (one) more lens. If I had $1200 I'd spend it on portrait lighting.

ramble ramble ramble. I hope you found some value in the opinion shared.

Brice

[nkeevers]

Welcome to the Canon World! I also just got a Rebel XT about 3 months ago and I love it! I have used the sport mode to take continuous pictures at an event with my 17-85mm lens and I haven't had any problem. I'm thinking that might be because I have an image stabilization lense where it reduces shake. Also a small f-number is good. That reduces shake if that's a problem.

I picked up a book from the library called "Digital Rebel" Digital Field Guide by Charlotte Lowrie which covers the Rebel XT and it has been a great help. I'm always referring to it since I'm still learning the camera and photography for that matter.

[akasg1]

Thanks Norma, I have the book already and it is a big help. My problem is not shaking but some of the pictures come out with just a portion of the players in focus and the others really blurred or sometimes everything blurred. I am going to try the AV mode on Saturday morning and see if they come out better. I would like to get the lens you mentioned, the 17-85 though. Does anyone use a UV filter on their Rebel XT? I have read a lot of opinions about them and just not sure yet.
Thanks again for the information,
Melba:)

[Carbone]

I have a filter in fitted on every lense I have. It's much cheaper to replace a filter than it is to replace a lens ;)

Ray

[Ward Grant]

My problem is not shaking but some of the pictures come out with just a portion of the players in focus and the others really blurred or sometimes everything blurred.

Just to add to previous comments-gym photos, especially at junior and high school, are tough. As a college student (in the pre-digital days) I worked as a stringer for the local newspaper and did a bunch of local gym shots.

Cranking up the ISO helps, but as pointed out, you'll get additional grain. You may be able to reduce this in Photoshop or one of the on-line noise reduction filters.

One technique is to pan the camera and follow one player. The others will be out of focus, but often they will give a sense of motion, which can be a neat effect.

Another tip is to try and catch the athlete at the "stop" moment-top of the jump shot, that second hesitation on the open pass, etc. This is often luck but the player is stopped for a second.

If you have the patience (do as I say, not as I did), try "zone focusing". Set your manual focus to a distance you know (say 8-10 feet). You may have to practice some with a helper before the game. Keep the camera in this location and shoot when players come into this area.

Finally, try some non-action shots, if you have not already. A player waiting to go into the game, a huddle up with the coach, tense facial looks in a close game-these can help fill out your action shots and will give you an opportunity for clear shots without motion.

[kayser]

Ward,

I liked your last point about taking non-actions photos. My husband takes a lot of photos at minor league baseball games, and I'm always asking for "extra" shots, of the umpire, players laughing or celebrating... they end up adding great flavor. And, for Melba, they would be great for a collage, to show different moments of the game.

[Wendy]

I too have a filter on every lens :)

Wendy

[ME100FINN]

Most of the pics are nice but a lot of them come out to blurry. I would like to move to the creative mode and try the sport pictures to see if they would not look so blurry but am not sure of how to do that. Does anyone have this camera or one of the EOS Canons that could help me get to the next level of picture taking?

I am not familiar with the Rebel, but I suggest looking at the different focusing selections on the camera. It can be tiresome trying to watch the game through the lens, but keep a center focus point on the player's chest or head.


I am a new owner of the 20D and started shooting my kids' basketball games this past month. Below is a sample shot with the canon 75-300 f/4-5.6 IS USM III, Manual Mode f4.5 1/250 ISO1600. I cropped the photo a tad and did some slight sharpening, but it is pretty close to what came out of the camera. This gym was very well lit -- OH, I had my 420ex flash that I would bounce off the ceiling for shots too--yes!! try it!!
http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/563/img0874edited1filtered9nx.th.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0874edited1filtered9nx.jpg)

This is a new to me with my camera. I have read many posts that suggest a 85mm 2.0 lens for basketball. it runs about $320 or so -- looks like a versatile lens and it is "fast" for sports (as I ahve read). I just will go crazy not being able to zoom when shooting sports! I dont think I could shell out over a grand for a zoom lens though...sigh.

Well, at least you can see that a good shot IS possible with the mentioned lens. Lighting is really the biggest hindrance -- if you dont have a 1.x-2.x lens, you may have to use a flash (I recommend BOUNCED) and high ISO.

Oh, if you go Av mode, that will give you the fastest possible shutter speed for the conditions. You may still find there is more blur in the image than what you want. If so, sample in Manual mode with the settings I used.

Chew on that for a bet....and visit the Canon 20D forum (or others) at dpreview.com and search for the word "basketball". You can find nuggets of wisdom and experience there!

This one you can see I didnt keep up with my son -- he is not in focus as much as the other players/floor -- but the motion is stopped nicely:
http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/4640/img0857edited1filtered2to.th.jpg (http://img85.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0857edited1filtered2to.jpg)

I like this shot too.

Since this was my first time capturing faster images with the camera, I was impressed with the results I got. Not many of the pictures were very interesting, but it was a start.
http://img125.imageshack.us/img125/1095/img0853edited1filtered1hx.th.jpg (http://img125.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img0853edited1filtered1hx.jpg)

Oddly, the gym floor is different colors from one end to the other. Yes, these were all from the same game, same day. But, my son's jersey is the same in every shot. Matching the colors from photo to photo can be a tough job too! That's another thread though... ;)

[akasg1]

Ward,
Thanks for the info. I do take a lot of shots other than playing the game. Not all the shots are bad and the camera really does a wonderful job just on the automatic sport mode. I just need to learn how to go outside the box and try the creative mode more. I appreciate all the information everyone has given on this thread. And thanks also for the information on the filter, I'll be picking up a couple of them tomorrow!!

[bwolford]

I put a UV filter on every lens. Too much money invested to have to replace or repair one due to a scratch. It doesn't visibly effect quality or color.

Flash is the obvious choice to improve the shots assuming:
1) You can use a flash. Gymnastics meets don't allow flash photography of the competition.
2) You can get close enough for the flash to be effective.
3) The lens is short enough not to interfere with the flash (unless bouncing the flash), assuming you don't have a flash bracket or some other means to move flash off camera.

Brice