Help for indoor action shots. (Basketball)

[Drkranger]

You don't "need" a new lens necessarily. What you do need to do is understand what you're shooting. Action is typically best represented by freezing it, thus, you need a fast shutter speed. To get the fastest shutter, you need to open up your aperture, smaller f-stop, and raise your ISO. Yes, in doing so, there are trade-offs: lower depth of field and grainy shots.

I typically shoot for a shutter at 1/500 for basketball, with about a 1/320 being the lowest. With little kids (9ish), the 1/320 is typically fine. They don't move very fast.

I'd recommend setting your shutter speed to 1/500 and then adjusting your aperture and ISO until the meter tells you you have proper exposure. If you can't get a proper exposure at 1/500 with the lowest f-stop and highest ISO, drop to the next slowest shutter.

And again, remember there are some trade-offs given what your equipment can do. You may not have the equipment right now to capture low-light action in action, but you can get other "action" shots. In basketball, at least, the players aren't always running or moving around. Look for shots that don't require that fast of a shutter, like when they stop and pivot to pass or shoot.

Good luck.

[Michelleltn]

Oh great, thanks much for those tips. I will try those things tonight at practice. They only play upward b-ball, and only 7 games, so it is hard to justify a new lens. (And this is probably their last year in it.)