Low light sports photography

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Katy Conway

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Katy
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Hi, I have been taking photos for the local football team which has been fine during the summer, but now I am struggling with low light issues for evening matches, and as the night draw in this will affect the afternoon matches too.

I am using a REBEL XS, I have a Sigma 200mm telephoto lens f2.8. I put the ISO up to 1600 but still I can't get sharp images. If I have fast enough shutter speed to freeze the movement the image is too dark to see, if I slow the shutter speed down I get blur of movement. The pitch has flood lights but still not enough light, so I am wondering how the pro's capture their shots?

Am I missing a trick with settings or do I need a new lens? Would appreciate your suggestions. Katy
 
Hi Katy - to freeze the action at a football match, you really need a minimum shutter speed of 1/800th and preferable 1/1000th. Your aperture should be maxed out at f2.8 and your ISO set to obtain the correct exposure. In dark footy grounds the ISO required will be very high. I'm not sure how high the ISO will go on the Rebel XS, but suspect that 1600 will be the max??

If it doesn't go high enough for a correct exposure at 1/800th and f2.8, you will always struggle in low light conditions.
 
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I don't have sport shooting experience, but I would consider similar photos and settings as a guide.

I did a search for '200mm football night' on flickr, the results were american football - but it might give an idea. Both were using ISO6400, and you can see here the affects of the shutter speeds.

f3.2, 1/320, ISO6400 = some blur but it works to show movement
https://www.flickr.com/photos/boing...kvP-gcR5q5-gcRpQp-gYBoBH-gcSC1h-gcRoD6-gYBrKs

f2.8 1/800 ISO6400 = sharp
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dgwph...vP-gcR5q5-gcRpQp-gYBoBH-gcSC1h-gcRoD6-gYBrKs/

Does the body not handle above 1600? what shutter speeds are you using?
 
I put a longer detailed response a couple of munutes ago which has dissapered ?
 
heres my response that i presume got lost because I posted the same time as mods where moving the thread ???

Presume by local football team this is grass roots stuff. the lighting will be quite bad.. your lens is as good as your going to get at f2.8 ..But your camera is going to let you down.. iso 1600 just isn't good enough.. sorry to say but its a myth that a good photogrpaher can get a picture with any camera.. sometimes the equipment isn't up to the job..

Aperture, Shutter speed and ISO are the only three things you can change to get more light that you need.. your iso is at its limit.. your aperture is at its limit.. that just leaves shutter speed and as you can see to get a properly exposed shot the shutter speed is too slow... using slow shutter You can stick to players running directly towards you.. this is best done shooting behind the goal line not the sides.. wait until the player fills the frame.. under expose and try to bring back up in software... use a monopod (tripod not good at a football match) a monopod will help stay steady on the slow shutter

Other than that its a simple case of needing better equipment with higher ISO capabilities :(
 
nigpd said:
Hi Katy - to freeze the action at a football match, you really need a minimum shutter speed of 1/800th and preferable 1/1000th.
Click to expand...

sorry. complete and utter tosh... Shutter speed will be relative to a lot of things.. she has already stated using a 2.8 200mm lens.. theres no need for 800 shutter speed.. its desireable yes but under floodlights as asked for.. no not at all...
 
The Rebel XS is the bottom of the range 1000D in the UK which has an upper limit of 1600ISO.

If you cannot get the shots you need at this level, the only real answer is to change camera body with a higher ISO limit. All the newer Canons have a higher limit, and with the new 7D2 on the market, there may be some bargains on the outgoing 7D.
 
andrewc said:
If you cannot get the shots you need at this level, the only real answer is to change camera body with a higher ISO limit. All the newer Canons have a higher limit, and with the new 7D2 on the market, there may be some bargains on the outgoing 7D.
Click to expand...

Agree and would highly reccomend the 7d at this stage.. the prices are quite good.. although this is relative.. prices are good for what they are but still high for hobby use I guess...
 
If the club value Katy's contribution, maybe they could contribute something to the cost...

There is likely to be a lot of 7D's on the s/h market as soon as the 7D2 hits the streets. MBP and Wex are offering part-exchanges which they have to get rid off...
 
I've only been taking low light sports pics for about a year (so quite a newbie compared the hardened pros here and I've learnt a lot). I was in a similar position to you a while back taking pictures of ice hockey and floodlit grass hockey. I bit the bullet and changed my camera from a 400D (Max ISO 1600) to a 70D which I can now comfortably use at 6400 (or even at 12800 at a push). The crop sensor means I can still have a good reach with the 70-200 as well as being able to crop in and the AI servo focusing is fast enough in 95% of cases to maintain focus. You also get back button focus which I can't believe I ever managed without.

A monopod may help you lower the shutter speed a bit which could help as long as it's fast enough to freeze the action. It depends how steady you can hand hold the camera.
 
+1 for monopod and stool I shoot for both my sons teams and struggled with Nikon D50 max iso 1600 come winter months upgraded to Nikon D7000 and can comfortably goto iso 6400, just need to get a 2.8 lens now
 
mojorisin said:
+1 for monopod and stool I shoot for both my sons teams and struggled with Nikon D50 max iso 1600 come winter months upgraded to Nikon D7000 and can comfortably goto iso 6400, just need to get a 2.8 lens now
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Off topic slightly - but what's your secret? lol. I've found the D7000 a push at 4000 ISO, going any higher and the quality of images drops to an unacceptable level for my taste.
 
helloimkev said:
Off topic slightly - but what's your secret? lol. I've found the D7000 a push at 4000 ISO, going any higher and the quality of images drops to an unacceptable level for my taste.
Click to expand...

I would hazzard a guess that your answer is in your question :)
 
helloimkev said:
Off topic slightly - but what's your secret? lol. I've found the D7000 a push at 4000 ISO, going any higher and the quality of images drops to an unacceptable level for my taste.
Click to expand...
Yes I agree some are softer / noisier at 6400 but then not shooting professionally so sometimes getting the shot is better than nothing at all, still major jump from 1600 Max
 
Not all pro stadiums live up to the great light!! This was the John Smiths Stadium in Huddersfield Last night for the RL play offs!! 1/300th@ 6400 in the shaded area!

11,000 volt fuse blew apparently & so a generator powered half the stadium for over 1 1/2 hrs LOL. The game still went ahead though!

 
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