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rovershooter

rovershooter

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steve
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hi all
i have been asked to cover a local boxing clubs fight night and as i have never done a boxing event i was hoping that somebody could give me some tips and advice please eg lens iso ect also am i allowed flash as i know it will be dark apart from the ring lights
 
What kit have you got and what is the lighting at the venue like ?

I should be more specific about the lights, I have done some venues where the lights were apalling and then others where they are only just light enough. Then there are the occasions when they are using flourescent strip lights which were brighter but caused all sorts of WB problems...


Others will comment as they get on the forum later this morning
 
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hi tugster
thanks for the reply, i have a canon 40d with various lenses but im not sure about which one i should use, will a 18-250 or 70- 300 be ok i think the lighting will be pretty glum as the tournament is actually in the boxing club itself
 
Unless the lighting is good Steve, I think your maximum apetures will be insufficient to allow for a suitably fast enough shutter speed, so you can achieve sharp images. This is with the ISO cranked right up too.

Are you allowed to use flash?

Some Kickboxing events allow it. I have never asked to use flash at any boxing gigs I have covered as I always thought it wasn't allowed. Ask though.

You would be much better off with a faster prime...A 50mm may be short but the wider aperture will allow you faster shutter speeds. It may even allow slower ISO setting too...All dependant upon the available light.

I thin KIPAX (Tony) on here uses a 30 or 35mm lens, f2.0 if I recall correctly. But he does get close up to the action,
 
Boxing shot at ringside.. 70-300 will be far too long..

Lighting wont be good..you will probably need f2.8 as a minimum and as high an iso as you can get.. shutter speed is whatever you can get really.. you wont be able to pick and choose.. get it to the fastest you can.. you wont be too fast in those conditions.

Flash is a bit of a no-no ... Some let you use flash and if its the only way to get pics then they have to put up wiht it but the pictures dont look good IMHO ... Grainey pictures isnt a setback when covering boxing.. in fact it can add to the picture..


WB will need setting..best to set it in camera.. shooting raw isnt a good idea becasue of the amount of pics you will quickley need to take... you will need to make a decision on that one.

I prefer a prime 35mm lens on a 1.3 crop camera.. I prefer not to use a zoom as theres enough to do and its not really needed... Be ready to move your focus point from left to right as center spot isnt very good for this sport.. you need to move it to the boxer advancing towards you. hence why i dont use a zoom as action is fast and your moving the focus point about and aquiring focus and taking the shot.

Oh yeagh.. shoot in manual.. almost 100% definitely on that..
 
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thanks for that advice kippax, im really looking forward to the event as like i say i have not done any boxing yet, but now feel more confident with this advice from you thanks
regards
steve
 
I managed to get a spot a few years ago for Harrison vs Sprott and what I found was depending on where you are placed.

If you are going to be behind the crowd, try and go before the event and judge how far away you will be. I was placed on the baclony at Alexandra Palace for one round so needed 300/400 and capture it from above.

The rest was ringside and no flash allowed. Ideally the first thing I would say, ensure you have a filter and some sort of cloth. These guys sweat alot. I took a few filters along and cleaned em between rounds.

Ideally you want to be under the ropes but not inside the ring if that makes sense. I guess you can rest your lens on the edge of the ring. I would say a 24-70 would be perfect for this and crop when required. Ideally I would still go for a prime as mentioned.
The best I found is dead centre on one side, dont bother moving around too much since you wont know which way they will go.

I found the best body for me was any with the joystick to pick my focus point since its difficult to compose as quick as the guys move.

Just crank up the ISO as high as you dare. Other than that, have fun. After a few rounds, you will be able to predict when the big hits etc are coming.
 
I've used flash a lot in fight gigs
it's cheating but as a fill flash, with a diffuser on and not aimed at the fighters, they never notice. done enough that if it was a problem they would have had a word I think :P
IN the gigs I've done there was so many random lights, ring corner lights and even randomly coloured nightclub venue spotlights that it wasn't an issue.
in a smaller boxing venue I'd resists and just up the ISO
f2.8 is what I would aim for tbh

if it's noisy, then carry on anyway, and recover it afterwards, or shoot RAW and go from there too
 
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