question for sports photographers

[robinmichaels]

Ok, I have been doing some small time wrestling shots for my kids and such and have been wondering about a few things. First off, does everyone shoot just the one shot or do you do 'burst' shots and pick out the best of the burst? Those really nice big lenses that everyone has, are you doing manual focus for the shot or are they auto focus to allow you to just point and shoot the event without trying to focus the movement on the fly?
I have been doing the 'burst' shots without a flash and the pictures come out ok but grainey. I have tried a couple with the flash but want to get a better flash so I can aim it up and away from the faces of the kids wrestling. I am trying to work my way through the next step on sports photography and trying to get over that hurdle.
Thanks for any advise on these few questions.

[OsmosisStudios]

The reason pro sports photographers have BIG lenses is they also have BIG apertures at LONG focal lengths. Think f/2.8 at 400mm, or f/4 at 500mm. Comparing that kind of light gathering ability at those focal lengths to the 18-270 you list in your signature is like comparing a ferrari to a yugo.

Superzooms, especially those with an f/6.3 max aperture at the long end, arent suited for sports of any kind, let alone indoors. You can raise the ISO and use flash all you want, it's still not the same.

If you're serious about shoot sports, a 70-200 f/2.8 or 300 f/2.8 or f/4 would be better suited. That would be the bare minimum, frankly. Ideally the 400mm f/2.8 would find its way into your camera bag.

[Sime]

So, I'm not a sports photog, but I've done a little bit (I'll post one so you can see)

I've shot two sports events - A boxing match and a RedBull Air Race (Both for work)

- Both were burst mode.
- I used a 100-400mm f4.5-5.7 lens, I used it in Auto Focus mode.
- For boxing, I found the flash made my shots very clinical, so I switched out flash for a fast lens (f2.8) and that gave me the result I was after.

boxing : (Natural Light)



air race



I think it's important to get the fastest lens you can and work form there as a base. Try and work with the light you have and then see if you need to upgrade your gear. WIll you share a shot with us?

Sime

[RichardTaylor]

I shoot motor sport - in the daytime.
Camera is set up so;
Centre focus point only, and focus tracking active.
Usually shutter priority except in poor light.
Lowest possible ISO to give me around F8 @ 1/320 however in poor light I will not be afraid to bump the ISO up. The shutter speed will vary depending if I am panning or shooting motor cycles etc.
As I am doing it for myself without tight time constrains on picture delivery I shoot RAW.
I almost always use a monopod except when panning.

As the previous posters have indicated a good lens does make a huge difference both in light gathering abilities and focus speed & accuracy.
I did shoot one event with a slow lens similar to the one you are using and wasn't impressed.

Now days I use Canon "L" lenses, admittedly the mid priced ones and not the super fast/very expensive ones.

You may find that if you are shooting at around the same focal lengths a fast prime may meet your needs


Here are some examples of mine .
(1)

Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture: f/5.6
Focal Length: 400 mm
ISO Speed: 1250

(2)

Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture: f/11.0
Focal Length: 400 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: -2/3 EV

(3) This is one of the reasons I use autofocus.

Camera: Canon EOS 40D
Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture: f/11.0
Focal Length: 400 mm
ISO Speed: 200

[robinmichaels]

ok, here is what I have gotten from this last weekend. These couple show what I am getting but I would love to know how to clean these shots of the noise. Is there any editing software that can 'clean' these and get them a little better?

[RichardTaylor]

Just had a good look at pic #2
The images are way under exposed.
Have a look at the histogram. you will see it all bunched up on the left hand side.
For ISO 6400 I think the noise is fair.

I wouldn't be shooting at 1/400 & F10 in that sort of light.
I would be shooting near wide open and around 1/200~ 1/250 with a lower ISO.
Also before shooting seriously check your histogram.

As for the pics posted the exposure can be considerably improved by adjusting the histogram (white point) and by a new layer with the blending mode set to screen and the opacity adjusted.

As far as noise reduction goes I sometimes use selective noise adjustment in photoshop. I havn't used programs like Noise Ninja etc.

[OsmosisStudios]

There's no need to shoot at 1/400, especially with wrestling. It's, relatively speaking, a slow sport.

You could probably get away with 1/125 if you Really needed it. Shooting at f/10 is less than ideal too: f/8 at the VERY most.

If that's a full image (and not a heavy crop), you could probably get away with a 300mm f/4 or, if you really wanted to, the 300 f/2.8 VR

[jdepould]

Fast lenses (preferably with VR) wide open. I start at ISO800. Usually try for minimum 1/500 shutter, though wrestling you probably don't need that.

[robinmichaels]

Thanks for all the advice. There was a meet last night and I made adjustments for the shutter speed, ISO, and dropped the F down. This made some really nice and drastic changes, thanks again everyone. Here are a couple of shots, untouched, from last night. I will be going back through to crop and such.

[kirbinster]

Shots are still a little dark. Remember that you are much better off to push the ISO up and get a correct exposure than to stick with a lower ISO and have an underexposed image - that is how you get noise.