Swimming

[mpc92]

I've been shooting a lot at my son's swim meets and have been working on freezing the motion to get nice sharp shots.



EXIF:

Camera: Nikon D300
Exposure: 0.002 sec (1/500)
Aperture: f/5.0
Focal Length: 185 mm
ISO Speed: 1600
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: No Flash

Lens is 70-300 f/4.5-5.6G AF-S VR

PP: Adjust overall exposure and brighten face.

Lighting is pretty poor, so I've been trying shooting in manual mode, keeping the aperature as open as possible, setting shutter speed within a stop or two of 1/500, with ISO set to 1600; all with the expectation of having to boost exposure during PP.

What more can I be doing to get a sharp picture? I've had trouble getting consistent color and exposure given the variable lighting from one end and lane of the pool to another, and some of my shots have quite a bit of noise. I've used my smaller zoom when I can get right up to the side of the pool, but most of the time I want the higher zoom. Flash is out of the question during a meet, and I not in a position to get a faster lens.

Matt

[GadgetRick]

Very well-done given your settings. Honestly, I think the only other thing you can do is get faster glass. It's the same limitation I'm running into shooting my son's wrestling matches. Lighting is poor.

[mpc92]

Originally Posted by GadgetRick

Very well-done given your settings. Honestly, I think the only other thing you can do is get faster glass. It's the same limitation I'm running into shooting my son's wrestling matches. Lighting is poor.

Unfortunately that fix will have to wait for now.

[Chip]

Good job with the exposure and color on the photo posted.

The only things I can think of that you might want to try are:

1) shoot in aperture mode and set the ISO for 3200 (or higher). I have a D90 and can often get good results at 3200, as long as the photo isn't underexposed. Maybe letting the camera set the shutter speed (with a high ISO) will still let you stop the action and will also let in enough light to not underexpose the photo?

2) sounds strange, but don't zoom in as much and crop? That way, the aperture won't close down as much and you get an extra stop or so to play with.

Indoor sports are tough, and will quickly show the limits of your gear. Good luck, and have fun.