Sports and Action Photography?
Should you use the "sports mode" for all action shots?
Is a 75 – 300mm lens sufficient for shooting action shots?
I do a lot of high school basketball sports photography, and I can say that the less your camera has to think about, the better it does. Since you don’t provide a whole lot of information, I’ll answer as generally as I can.
First consideration: how close to the action can you be? I’m allowed to be right behind the baseline in the gym, so I can get away with a 50mm prime lens. If I had to be in the stands, I would need a longer focal length.
Second consideration: how is the lighting? Inside a gymnasium, the lighting is pretty constant from one side to the next. That means you can put your camera on "manual mode", set one exposure for all your pictures and get great exposure all the time. Gymnasiums do happen to have some of the worst quality of light, so you’ll have to experiment with color balance to get something that works for most pictures. If you are lucky, the lighting will be relatively good. Outdoors and the lighting isn’t always so consistent–particularly if it is a night game.
Third consideration: how much motion blur can you handle? The higher the shutter speed the less motion blur. If you can’t go fully manual, you might consider "Tv mode" (Time Value) mode to have the same shutter speed, but let the camera choose the right aperture. Letting the camera choose both the shutter speed and the aperture in "sports mode" will probably give you fewer results you’ll want to keep.
As always, there are certain compromises you’ll have to make. When you have to compromise, always favor the faster shutter speed. Depending on the lighting where your event is, you will probably need a lens with a wide aperture (the lower the f/ number the wider the aperture). If your 75-300mm lens shoots f/2.8 and has image shake control it can be a pretty nice lens. If you are right next to the action, it might actually be too long of a lens. A 50mm f/1.4 prime costs about $350 (it’s a standard price point regardless of the system you shoot), and an 85mm f/1.8 prime is about the same. Both are excellent choices depending on how close you are to the action.
What you don’t want: flash. If you are far from the action, or shooting football where the field is very large, even the most powerful flash won’t always reach the players. It’s also distracting to the players, which can cause injuries.
It tends to produce noisy images and the mode forces you to focus in the center at all times. I prefer to have more control. Good photo techniques, high shutter speeds, low ISO, and fast lenses on (A) or (M) modes are my keys.
I only use the "sports" mode if I am surprised and need the shot right now.
***
Addendum: Great shot Perki! The shot also exhibits the noise that I was talking about. One of the downsides to the "sport" mode.
References :
I was able to capture this by using sports mode.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3008/3072100094_706fff85e9.jpg
It eats batteries quickly but works well in certain situations.
References :
I do a lot of high school basketball sports photography, and I can say that the less your camera has to think about, the better it does. Since you don’t provide a whole lot of information, I’ll answer as generally as I can.
First consideration: how close to the action can you be? I’m allowed to be right behind the baseline in the gym, so I can get away with a 50mm prime lens. If I had to be in the stands, I would need a longer focal length.
Second consideration: how is the lighting? Inside a gymnasium, the lighting is pretty constant from one side to the next. That means you can put your camera on "manual mode", set one exposure for all your pictures and get great exposure all the time. Gymnasiums do happen to have some of the worst quality of light, so you’ll have to experiment with color balance to get something that works for most pictures. If you are lucky, the lighting will be relatively good. Outdoors and the lighting isn’t always so consistent–particularly if it is a night game.
Third consideration: how much motion blur can you handle? The higher the shutter speed the less motion blur. If you can’t go fully manual, you might consider "Tv mode" (Time Value) mode to have the same shutter speed, but let the camera choose the right aperture. Letting the camera choose both the shutter speed and the aperture in "sports mode" will probably give you fewer results you’ll want to keep.
As always, there are certain compromises you’ll have to make. When you have to compromise, always favor the faster shutter speed. Depending on the lighting where your event is, you will probably need a lens with a wide aperture (the lower the f/ number the wider the aperture). If your 75-300mm lens shoots f/2.8 and has image shake control it can be a pretty nice lens. If you are right next to the action, it might actually be too long of a lens. A 50mm f/1.4 prime costs about $350 (it’s a standard price point regardless of the system you shoot), and an 85mm f/1.8 prime is about the same. Both are excellent choices depending on how close you are to the action.
What you don’t want: flash. If you are far from the action, or shooting football where the field is very large, even the most powerful flash won’t always reach the players. It’s also distracting to the players, which can cause injuries.
References :
http://flickr.com/photos/bloritsch/
The simple answer is an emphatic,
NO.
I don’t see noise in Perki’s shot – maybe that other guy has poor screen resolution but my $1200 Sony GDM-FW900 (http://www.computerpoweruser.com/editorial/article.asp?article=articles%2Fhardware%2F2002%2Fh0506%2F41h06.asp ) rivals anything out there (and beats most) and I can’t see anything wrong with it.
Asking if a 75-300mm lens is sufficient for shooting action is not telling me anything about the lens other than it’s a zoom. Is a Bugatti Verone suitable for driving? There are other factors involved with action and the prime information needed is the ‘speed’ of the lens (just as knowing if the Bugatti will be driving on a gravel road is important to being suitable for driving). Action requires a lens that has a ‘fast’ aperture… f/2.8 or better – if yours has that then it can handle action quite well assuming you aren’t shooting in the dark.
References :
Professional Photographer in Philadelphia.
http://www.onemodelplace.com/member.cfm?P_ID=13971