Sports photography

[jeangraham]

I need some help. I have a Canon Rebel EOS. I was at a wrestling match yesterday and wanted to take some pictures. I have a 75-300 canon lens. I am just learning how to do manual settings and such. I have used this lens before and I do ok with it. It was in auto focus and sports mode. My question is everything is coming out blurry. I also switched to manual mode and its blurry. Is there a way to shoot and or should I be using a different lens? I also like to take my dogs playing. I enjoy taking action shots and would like to know the proper equipment and way to do it. Thanks for any help.

[Biomech]

Post an example so we can see the stats. I imagine you had a long focal length and the shutter speed was too slow. Id suggest putting thecamera into S or Tv mode and shooting at ssomthing like 1/320 and maybe bump up the ISO, that should get you started. Jim here shoots alot of dog sports, im sure he'll chirp up

[Jim Poor]

Originally Posted by jeangraham

I need some help. I have a Canon Rebel EOS. I was at a wrestling match yesterday and wanted to take some pictures. I have a 75-300 canon lens. I am just learning how to do manual settings and such. I have used this lens before and I do ok with it. It was in auto focus and sports mode. My question is everything is coming out blurry. I also switched to manual mode and its blurry. Is there a way to shoot and or should I be using a different lens? I also like to take my dogs playing. I enjoy taking action shots and would like to know the proper equipment and way to do it. Thanks for any help.

Sounds like it was too dark for you to get a fast enough shutter speed. What were your settings?

For action like that a bare minimum of 1/500 is needed and 1/1000 is ideal.

[Chip]

Indoor and nightime sports are tough. To get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action (no blur), you generally need a fast lens and a camera that will let you shoot at high ISO. But gear alone typically isn't enough. You also need the knowledge/familiarity to use all that gear.

If you're not already there, then becoming familiar with the exposure triangle should be a big help.

[WooD]

Originally Posted by Chip

Indoor and nightime sports are tough. To get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action (no blur), you generally need a fast lens and a camera that will let you shoot at high ISO. But gear alone typically isn't enough. You also need the knowledge/familiarity to use all that gear.

If you're not already there, then becoming familiar with the exposure triangle should be a big help.

This is true.

I've shot at 1/300 and got usable results.

[Jim Poor]

Originally Posted by WooD

This is true.

I've shot at 1/300 and got usable results.

Sure, and I've shot down to 1/250 when I absolutely had to, but I don't recommend it in general.

[Biomech]

I've always found 1/320 ish will get me good results. But I guess it depends on what you're photography. I intend to blow stuff up soon, 1/320 wouldn't cope with that :P (actually that's a lie, I'm going slow and using flash :P)