Sports Hall Photography

HA!! GOOD LUCK!! I am doing exactly the same, but an AMA regional event in Bradford.

Ok, last one I did in Reading was a pain.. the light is lousy and you couldn't get near the mats. I used a 70-300 sigma and ISO320 and still couldnt get shutter speeds high enough [with hindsight I would have pushed ISO's much further but was I didnt get 'noise reduction' then], as min f number at 300mm is F5 on that lens.
So, first job when you get there is to find out how close to the action you can get, and take some test shots, cranking up the ISO if you have to, but the quicker the lens, I think the easier it will be [I have decided to rent an F2.8 70-200 especially for the occasion this time]

Also, aswell as full frame shots, try and get a few close ups if you can, you know, a punch or a kick landing home - not easy, I failed dismally last time, but it was fun trying and determined to bag something on Sunday.

The only other advice is to enjoy it, and make the most of slwer bits of action, they are easier to shoot :lol:
 
Cheers LL

Its the crappy dull lighting Im worried most about. I have decided to test my dads Xmas present (well, he wouldnt want a duff one), its a 24-70 f/2.8 USM L, so hopefully I will be close enough with the 70mm zoom. I have a 70-300 5.6 too, but Im hoping to use a bit of L lens!
 
the 70-200 f/2.8 VR is pretty good, though you have to time your shots so the subject blur isn't too outrageous...Take lots...whack the ISO up and maybe consider converting the final images to B&W where the noise appears more like film grain than hideous digitised jumbliness...
 
Arkady said:
the 70-200 f/2.8 VR is pretty good, though you have to time your shots so the subject blur isn't too outrageous...Take lots...whack the ISO up and maybe consider converting the final images to B&W where the noise appears more like film grain than hideous digitised jumbliness...
Click to expand...

:shake: I wont be finding out unless Mr LL is feeling particularly generous. The Compeition has been 'reclassified' [I know not why] which means that we will not be going, AMA Brit squad only event now!! I only found out last night, so not in the best of moods about it....

....so, need to persuade him that hiring the lens anyway, just to check it is the one I want to invest a fairly large chunk of hard earned in is a good idea :help:
 
Have a look at this thread if you haven't already. It helped me a lot when I had to do the same thing. :)

Tips from me include:

Use a high ISO, it gets quite noisy at 800 and 1600 but it's something you are going to have to get used to, it's almost certainly the only way you can get the speed up.

I found that even though I was at the edge of the mats I was using the 75-300 far more than the kit lens (although they were kids). I did find that I was being pushed at the lower end of the range sometimes, if I had a choice of a lens specifically for this I would choose a range of 50-150mm ish. That all depends on how close you can get though, and as you will be photographing bigger people the 24-70 may do if you can get close.

Good luck, and if there are any more questions stick 'em up and hopefully we will be able to get some answers for you. :)
 
cheers for the linky to the other thread, thats really useful.

would single point focus, AI servo be the right way to go? I dont know anything about white balance, Ive never adjusted it before, would now be a bad time to change things? I dont want to make things too complicated for myself.
 
If you shoot in RAW, you can tweak white-balance later. Just need to make sure you have enough memory-card space :)
 
how many raw shots would I expect to get per gig of memory?
 
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