Rookie Mistake ?

[andrecb]

Hi, Last Sunday I went to a Roller skating event!

I took my all the material i got (1000D +18-55mm IS) hehehe , not that those photos matter to me but it was a grate way for me to learn and try action and sport photography.

I had "obstacles" in my way, it was Indoors and very very dark, @ the ISO 800 I could only shoot 1/6 shutter speed some times 1/10. @ ISO 1600 I could get 1/30 and with flash (built in) 1/60 tops, all the photos are noise many are blurred. there are few that I can use but some are good.

yesterday I was reading the description of a canon 70-200 is usm and it said " The included Mode-2 IS is designed for panning. Use it for a subject moving in one direction - pan the camera with the subject "

And it come to me that I left the 18-55 IS always on and in this event I did many panning so I could fallow the athlete. Was this a Rookie Mistake?

what else should I've done in these condition for better quality photos?

Edit: P.S. I just realize this is ShareYourShots area sorry if its in the wrong section.


EDIT : Here are some photos:

[karen_s]

Oh I've done this too. It's not a huge deal not to turn IS off (or flip the switch) but you may get some weird effects in the image as a result. Panning takes lots of experimentation and practice anyway so even if the images weren't what you were looking for, it sounds like you still learned a lot from the experience.

In bad light, I sometimes do switch to panning and motion blur. That way, I can set a lower ISO and avoid some of that noise. In this situation you might even get away with ISO 400 with even slower shutter speeds. Then again, maybe you can find a way to make the noise work for you. I think it sometimes adds a nice gritty feel to black and white shots.

If you can, do post a picture to the critique section. I think you might get more useful feedback there.

Cheers!

[andrecb]

Thank you so much for your comment

Yes, I learn from the experience, that was my main objective.

I'll try B&W some and see the results (although my concept for B&W is dramatic scenes and not sports), I also think that in some b&w noise works well specially in live concerts.

I'll post some photos later

thnks

[BCampbell]

Put simply, you're asking your gear to do more than it can.

You're in one of the most difficult shooting situations possible: indoor, low light, fast action. A good friend of mine shoots roller derby regularly, and gets great results. The difference is, he shoots with a 5DMkII and the 70-200 f2.8L. About $5000 worth of gear, and even that is being pushed -- you want at least 1/250th shutter speed (even that is too slow) and to do that he shoots wide open at ISO 1250.

You can't get to f/2.8, and your camera over ISO 800 is going to be pretty noisy (though I will take noise over blurriness any day).

If you really want to shoot this without blwoing a few grand, get a fast prime -- the 50mm f/1.8 or preferably f/1.4 are ideal, if you have room to back away for wide shots. You will have to crank your ISO. If you are getting 1/30th at ISO 1600 and f/4, you can get 1/240th at f/1.4. That's about the minimum you'll need to freeze the action. You'll have some focusing issues with a narrow depth of field but you'll work that out with practice.

You could also try using flash, but 1) that's annoying and 2) you want to bounce it, and you're in a huge room where that doesn't work too well. The canon 220 speedlight might work if you add a bounce card. It's a pretty cheap flash at $150, but lacks a lot of features (the only thing it really has going for it is the tilt head).

Ideally, you'd have a camera with better high ISO performance -- the T2i at least but preferably a 7D or 5DMkII -- and an f/2.8L zoom. But again, a few grand. Sorry, we always say that it's not the gear that makes good photos, but there are just some things that those of us on a budget can't shoot.

[andrecb]

that gear is way out of my league hehehe with the average of the salary here in Portugal rounding 500€ to 700€ (683.7 US$ to 957.18 US$) a month

I'm still paying this gear and saving to extend my zoom the best I could get is 70-200 F4 IS usm and I still costs 2 months of work

I have to get the best of the images with the gear I have, as I read in this forum " the best equipment is the one that you have"


thanks for you comment

[BCampbell]

I understand, we all have budgets.

You relaly simply will not be able to do much better. Even panning will not help too much, you are simply shooting too slow.

Probably the most cost-effective choice would be the Canon 50mm f/1.8, for you. A little over US$100. It will not be perfect but it will help a lot. The 50mm f/1.4 would be better. A 430exII speedlite could be a nice option. These are all reasonably priced.

The 70-200 f/4L is a great lens but won't help you. You simply need to capture more light, and it's no faster than your current lens.

If you combined an f/1.8 or f.14 lens with shooting in RAW and good processing, I think you could get something.

[andrecb]

Although I have some situations I shoot in dark my main type is nature and landscape and urban photography as you can see in my flickr(signature)

[andrecb]

See fotos above