Soccer focusing is killing me!

[photog1107]

Ok... Any tips from more experienced sports shooters than me are all welcome here. Here is an example shot:



Exposure: 0.003 sec (1/400)
Aperture: f/2.8
Focal Length: 200 mm
Exposure: +0.60
ISO Speed: 400
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Off, Did not fire


Two things are a huge challenge for me now: First good old fashion focus. Soccer is fast and moves both front to back and side to side very quickly... I have my setting on Al Servo but am still missing clear shots even tho I am trying to position, focus, shoot... position, focus, shoot. Is Al Servo still my best choice, or would the one-point or hybrid setting work better?

Second... on many of my evening shots from this week, I got a misty/soft focus feel, which is also represented here. I am assuming that is just a function of the grain plus lack of sharpness in that area. Not all my shots had this... mostly the ones that were farther away and I lost DOF due to using my 2.8.

Here is EXIF. Also this is cropped about 50%. Thanks for any helpful input!

[briandee]

A 50% crop is pretty big. I have found that in sports you need to fill the frame without a crop. I would suggest getting closer to the kids or getting more zoom on your lens. A big crop can degrade the image a lot.

[oldwolf]

I think on the XTi there's a focus mode called AI Servo or something like that. Use it. What it does is it gets one thing in focus then follows it with the focus.

[photog1107]

I agree briandee... , but I am maxed out with my 70-200 and I need that 2.8 in the evening or I'd swap for my 75-300 (but only 4-5.6)... so until i can shell out for the 100-400 I guess this is my best effort. I am moving up to a 7D in a week or so.. so maybe the higher resolution will help somewhat with crops like these.

However, I am a little confused about the Al Servo...and would appreciate any advice from sports shooters, because I have read it's great for side to side motion (like a fast car, horse, etc...) but I am not sure about soccer, which moves in every direction. I do seem to miss a lot of focuses. Could the Al Servo be hindering me in some way, or do you think it's still my best setting? Or maybe it's just practice, practice, practice...

[briandee]

The 70-200 is fine, i would stay with that for some time. AI servo is your best option yes. I used the XTI for a while and while its a great camera and works well, it has its limitations on AI servo. The challenge with any sport you shoot is filling the frame with your subject. Among other things, a good shot usually means you have to crop little or none. When I am done with a football game my legs are usually soar from running up and down the field to be in the right place for the photos I want.

Also, don't get discouraged. What your trying to do is not easy. At the end of a football game i may have taken 2,000 shots and only have 100 'good' shots.


so, yes AI servo, continuous shooting and move your legs to get as close tho the action as you can. zoom or more focal length isn't always the solution :>

hope that helps

[cphoniball]

One of the guys at my college shoots sports with an XTi and has the same problem with getting sports shots in focus as you do. Unfortunately that's a limitation of the camera's focusing system.

AI servo, as everyone else has said, is what you want. Make sure you're only using one focus point too (I'm assuming you're already doing this, but just to make sure...).

You should have a much better time focusing with the 7d when you get it. I'm jealous, btw.

[photog1107]

Many thanks for your thoughtful responses. I will keep on pushin'!

[wamplers]

Perhaps it's motion blur instead of focus (hard to tell from the small image), but 1/400 is pretty slow for soccer...marginal at best. I would have upped the ISO to at least 800 to get 1/800 minimum shuter speed.

[Jim Fox]

Like everyone has mentioned, AI Servo is great. I've switched to using the * button on the back of the camera for focusing, but I don't know if the Xti has the back focus button or not.

For several years now I've shot my 70-200/2.8, AI Servo, Av Mode at 2.8. I try to stay at or above 1/1000sec. But now the 70-200 is becoming to short now, since we are essentially playin on High School Football sized fields now.

I probably would of bumped that ISO a little bit to get a quicker exposure too.

[photog1107]

Thanks Jim. I checked out your site and saw the image I hope I can capture someday soon myself. Very nice! I take your point on shutter speed... today I pushed it up to 1/1000 so I hope I see some better captures from this bunch.