Express Action Sports

My goals: freezing the action of live performers even if the lighting is not too bright.

Additional: What lens should I be using? I prefer a zoom lens so that I could frame the subjects better.

First and foremost you’ll need a camera that allows you full manual control.

Freezing action is a function of shutter speed. Shutter speed is a product of light, lens aperture (f-stop) and ISO. In concert situations where the light is usually dim you’ll have to "open up" your lens and increase your ISO. As you increase ISO, image quality begins to suffer. Noise Reduction circuitry helps but its no cure-all. As you "open up" your lens, its performance declines – most all lenses give their best results at between f5.6 and f11. A lens wide open, say at f2.0 or f2.8 will admit the most light but the edges won’t be as sharp and you’ll see some light fall-off from center to edge. As in all things there are no solutions only trade-offs.

Turning now to my trusty FotoSharp "Day & Night Exposure Guide" we find:
Indoor sports, circus – floodlit suggests:
f2.8 @ 1/125 @ ISO 800
f4.0 @ 1/60 @ ISO 800
f2.8 @ 1/250 @ ISO 1600
f4.0 @ 1/125 @ ISO 1600

School stage/auditorium suggests:
f2.8 @ 1/30 @ ISO 800
f4.0 @ 1/15 @ ISO 800
f2.8 @ 1/60 @ ISO 1600
f4.0 @ 1/30 @ ISO 1600

About all you can do is decide what image quality is going to be acceptable to you. To get a zoom lens with a maximum aperture of f2.8 is probably going to be expensive. Sigma offers a 50-150mm f2.8 zoom for around $700.00 and a 70-200mm f2.8 for around $900.00. A Canon 70-200mm f2.8 is around $1,150.00

The Sigma 50-150 is only for use with cameras using the APS-C sensor. Its image circle is too small for a film camera or a larger than APS-C sensor.

A good monopod might help you go to a slower shutter speed but then you might not be able to freeze action as you said you wanted to.

I am starting off in the world of sports photography and am looking at how to improve my technique? Any Ideas?

to get (im going to use the term) magazine quality images, you have to have a few items.
1) zoom lens with a big aperature; ie: F2.8, F1.8 and at least a 200mm if not 300mm or 400mm. tele-zoom combo lens are great. but its still hard to beat the image quality of a prime lens.

2) you must have a camera capable of AI Servo mode. which is the camara’s ability to hold focus of an object while it moves foward/backward/sideways/any which way while the object is in it focus screen.

3) you got to have a lot of film or a lot of memory cards. sports photography is very much a mash the button and hope scenerio. the better you get you will of course learn to recognize when to shoot and when not to. but that will take you down from maybe 600 images of an event to 250.

i said these 3 things you need because you are probably frustrated with your present efforts because the images are blurred and seriously OOF and or in focus but the DOF is so huge you are looking at a scene of everything with no COI.

now to technique.
1) shoot low as you can to the action. usually on your knee is best.
2) use whatever ISO you need to get to a speed of no slower than 1/250. any slower and you will have the beginnings of a blurred image.
3) focus on waist as the center of your focus screen. its easier to track movement looking at the waist.
4) learn the sport. if you dont know it then learn what the players are doing. that way you will know when something important is going to happen and be ready for it.
5) get as close to the action as you can. within reason of course. thats why you still have that big zoom lens strapped up.
6) shoot vertically and landscape.
7) look for the shoots that are happening away from the "action". everyone has a story out there dont miss it because you are stuck following a ball around.

thats the basics. good luck

First and foremost, I know very little about photography in general but I’m always fascinated to see photos of sports men and women caught in the action and in particulalrly their facial expressions. My question is this:

Q) Lets say you’re a pro photographer at say the olympic games, you’re extremely close to the action and you’re photographing 100m sprinters. To get very sharp pictures of athletes frozen in position without any motion blur what sort of camera settings would you be looking to use and what sort of lens would you have?

Fast lens – minimum 200mm f2.8 often 300 or higher.
Shutter speed minimum 1/250 preferably higher. As low an iso as you can but raise it to get the shutter speed required.
Camera on burst mode – fast motor drive (5fps minimum preferably higher)
Prefocus on spot where you know the athlete will be and hit the shutter just before they arrive.
You can also follow focus or pan the shot depending on where you are and what effect you are looking for.

It all depends on whether you are outside in sunny conditions or inside under floods but the essence of any good sports shot is knowledge of the sport, anticipation and timing.

I would like a complete package (camera, lenses, etc) under $1000. Is that possible? Are bundles better to save a few $$?

Any of the major brands – Sony, Pentax, Nikon, Canon, Olympus – with the kit lens are good starting points. Read reviews of all of these cameras and choose the one that you believe best fits your needs. Don’t wear blinders that limit you to Nikon or Canon.

I suggest avoiding "bundles" unless all they include are a second lens. The ones with a tripod and filters and all the other items usually included often are of low quality and are things you’ll likely discard.

You might want to consider buying a body, a 50mm f1.4 lens and a zoom of perhaps 70-200mm with an f2.8 constant aperture. The 50mm f1.4 will be good for portraits and any low-light, non-flash photography you might do and the 70-200mm f2.8 zoom will be suitable for most sports situations. Its important to have a constant aperture zoom so your shutter speed will remain the same as you zoom from 70mm to 200mm. Zooms with variable apertures such as f4/5.6 are very slow lenses and your shutter speed will decrease. If your shutter speed at f4 is 1/125 sec. at f5.6 it will drop to 1/60 sec. With an f2.8 zoom under the same conditions your shutter speed would be 1/250 sec. and stay at 1/250 sec. as you zoom from 70mm to 200mm. Another advantage of a fast f2.8 zoom is a brighter viewfinder which makes it easier to compose in lower light and helps the AF to work better.

Here are some reputable sites:

http://www.keh.com
http://www.adorama.com
http://www.bhphotovideo.com
http://www.uniquephoto.com
http://www.beachcamera.com

There are many other reputable sites and just as many – if not more – scam sites. If you see a deal that just seems too good to be true, check the seller at http://www.resellerratings.com

Good luck and happy shopping.

I am shooting with a Canon Rebel XT 350D. It is easy to stop action during the day, in the natural daylight. But what about when the sun goes down. I am finding it hard to stop action. The camera is not focusing as fast and my pictures are coming out blurry. So after a certain time I just quit shooting. What am I doing wrong. I have been using the auto/sport setting. And no I don’t have an external flash.

Try your ISO setting at 800 or 1600 if you don’t get to much noise at 1600. If you’re using the stock lens (17-85mm f/4-5.6) you are probably shooting at f5.6 depending on what sport you shooting; I am sure you’re zooming in. You may need to buy a lens with f2 or f2.8 (these may get expensive). As for your focus try different modes; the one shot AF mode may work faster than the predictive one. Ditch the flash also; I know you said you don’t have an external. I would not use an flash as depending on where the subject is your flash is probably not even getting there which will result in an under exposed shot. Also, if you are using the flash your out of focus may be due to the limits of the flash sync; the shutter can not exceed 1/200th so you will blur if you have a fast moving subject.

All in all, ditch the flash, use the widest aperture you have, and let the camera set the shutter speed (just watch out if there are big lights that you are getting in the shot; it will mess with the auto exposure and under expose you); or, get a meter and set the shutter speed yourself.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

I am a pro portrait photographer; about to get into action shots.
I have a Canon 30D. I have 3 zoom lenses available.
18-55mm
35-80mm
80-200mm

I will be shooting indoors, in a gym. I will not be using a flash. I do not have a lens hood. I have a very small lens flare guard ("Camera Armor, I think). Also, which aperture setting do you suggest? These images will be used on the league’s website. Also, when shooting action shots, is it easier to shoot on manual focus or set the auto focus to the center spot? Thanks
I have several spot options with auto focus, and continuous focus. The gym is just the basketball court & a little side-line area. The widest aperture on all the lenses is 4.5 .

Depends on how close you can get, but the 35-80 plus the 80-200 are both good ideas.

It really depends a lot on the speed of the lenses. Lenses with f2.8 max aperture and that actually work properly wide open are the best bet.

http://photography-techniques.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_choose_a_basketball_lens

Definitely use autofcous, on a sports setting or continuous focus setting so the system changes auto focus as the subject moves

using the nikon D1H

First of all, crank up your ISO to 1600 or more.
Secondly, set your camera to "Aperture Priority" and choose the largest aperture opening of your lens (the smallest number). If you are using a normal zoom lens, note that as you zoom, the aperture shrinks (nomber becomes larger) which also reduces the shutter speed. This will cause blurring.

The ideal solution is to use a zoom lens that has a large aperture opening – f2.8 and where the aperture is constant throughout the zoom range. The ideal lens would be the Nikon 70-200 VR which costs an arm and a leg (easily U$D1500). A cheaper alternative is the 50mm f1.8 prime lens (non-zoom). You should be able to get a shutter speed close to 1/500 with this set-up.