Ice Hockey Newbie

Philpalmer

Philpalmer

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Phil
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Hi all.

I have the opportunity to shoot my local ice hockey team very soon. I've never had any experience with indoor sports so any advice would be much appreciated.

I'll be shooting with a nikon d7000 with a tamron 70-300mm f4-5.6

Thanks !

Phil
 
Peterborough, planet ice. I've seen a few guys on Flickr with an f4. I mean they are not overly fantastic but I think if I can master what type of shots to go for then when the money's right I'll upgrade to a 2.8
 
No they weren't at Peterborough. I went there Sunday to shoot. The lens really does struggle. All shots were having to be took at ISO 6400 with is just far too noisy for my liking. Sometimes my lens can stretch to 3.5 but it flicks back to 4 -4.5. Is there a way to lock it at 3.5?

Thanks

Phil
 
Philpalmer said:
No they weren't at Peterborough. I went there Sunday to shoot. The lens really does struggle. All shots were having to be took at ISO 6400 with is just far too noisy for my liking. Sometimes my lens can stretch to 3.5 but it flicks back to 4 -4.5. Is there a way to lock it at 3.5?

Thanks

Phil
Click to expand...

None of that makes sense Phil.
Your lens is f4 at its widest so therefore f4 is your widest. Ive no idea where you are getting f3.5 from as it is just not possible.
Unfortunately you are not going to get anything of any decent quality with the equipment you are using no matter how much skill you have in other areas of photography.
 
WattieTattie said:
Your lens is f4.
Click to expand...

f4.5 at its widest

you cant lock the fstop when your zooming phil unless you set at f5.6 then it would be the same through the zoom... afraid thats the downside of a cheap lens (sounds harsh but) Its just one of those sports (as indeed most indoor sports are) that require slightly better equipment.. never beleive the old myth that a good photogrpaher can get a pic with any camera
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I guess i will be upgrading sooner than I thought. What's your thoughts on the tamron 70-200 f2.8?

Cheers
 
Philpalmer said:
Thanks for the replies guys. I guess i will be upgrading sooner than I thought. What's your thoughts on the tamron 70-200 f2.8?

Cheers
Click to expand...

That would be a decent choice and certainly miles better than the lens you have just now.
However I believe you will still be shooting around the 6400 iso mark.
 
70-200 is a preffered choice of most ice hockey shooters.. never seen a tamron myself.. sigme and canon good though.. as Phil says the ISO will still be an issue BUT its half expected.. I wouldnt be trying for a perfect noise free picture..
 
Thanks very much for your advice guys. I know I'm not going to be there for a while but when I see the pro shots from the NHL I just think 'how can I get close to that'. I guess it all comes down to the lighting in the Arena and quality of lens.

Thanks again
 
Personally I'd look at the newer Sigma lenses, they have always been fairly good but the latest ones are really excellent. I've just bought the 120-300 f2.8 Sport and cant believe how good it is.
In the mean time carry on practising but maybe look to capture some of the more static shots to maintain sharpness, also perhaps run your images through noise reduction software which will improve them a little.
 
The Tamron 70-200 f2.8 Vc is the tops, it also supposed to beat Nikon version :) In test Which leave the sigma in third place.
 
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I'm not a ice hockey shooter but points I'd like to make are:

#1 I'd personally would have cropped that to either upright or with the player slightly more to left of centre which magazines and newspapers sometimes like for adding text.
#2 Puck not in the shot (not sure how vital that is but if football always more sellable with the ball). I'd also clone out that stray hockey stick!
#3 & #4 No faces no shot :(
#5 Again I'm unsure about this with the end of the hockey stick cut off, not sure if this is a cardinal sin or not BUT the back end of number 3 is a worry :D

One general rule is to ensure your horizontals are level and with barriers surrounding the ice pad it does stand out.

HTH
 
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