Help w/ Settings for pictures inside a gym

[rwfarnell]

I have been tying to take pictures at my daughter's high school basketball games and can't seem to get my setting right. Does anyone have any suggestions. I'm using a Pentax K10D.

Thanks

[RichardTaylor]

I don't own a Pentax however I would shoot at;
(1) ISO 800 or 1600 at least
(2) Aperture wide open. If you are using an F2 or faster lens that would be very helpful.
(4) Shutter speed as high as possible that will still allow you to get the correct exposure and stop action and reduce the possibility of blurr caused by camera motion..
(5) Focus set to tracking and if you can centre focus point only active
(6) Shoot RAW so you have more leeway in PPing.,

Can you use flash?
What lens are you using?

[Jim Bryant]

Here's a tutorial I wrote on the subject. Increasing your ISO to shoot sports

[sk66]

Put the camera on auto ISO and aperture mode. Use as wide an aperture as you can tolerate for the shot.....and shoot in burst mode. Fast lenses are pretty much a must. (but wider lenses can be slower w/ same "results")

[Jim Bryant]

Auto.....for inside not good! I use that mode outside when the lighting conditions change. But when in a gym where the light is constant go to manual f-stop and manual shutter speed.

[sk66]

Originally Posted by Jim Bryant

Auto.....for inside not good! I use that mode outside when the lighting conditions change. But when in a gym where the light is constant go to manual f-stop and manual shutter speed.

I meant auto iso. And manual f-stop (aperture mode). Sacrifice aperture when you need more speed.
I think full manual is a bit slow for indoor sports (i.e. basketball) unless you are pre-selecting you settings. But maybe being in S mode and adjusting that as necessary to get the desired aperture (when possible) would be better. (I use this mode for wildlife and long lenses sometimes when avoiding camera shake blur is critical)