boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

You want pro results you gotta go with pro glass. There is no other way. An f2.8 80-200 Tammy is Mucho less $ than the Canon. The fast glass will enable lower ISO. It ain't so much as the body. The new 7dmk2 and the lens will go for about 31/2 grand. It looks as if the 7d2 is the best sports camera unless you go full frame, but you will go at least 1000 more. I know it's painful so just go for the lens. As above a monopod is a must. Take a look at the pros at any football game. they all use some kind of support.

lighthouse Loc: No Fixed Abode

Because you are not as knowledgeable about manual as you think you are.
It sounds to me like you don't actually have it in manual when you think you do.

jgreco Loc: Orlando, FL

Just to be clear, when I set it on manual to the exact setting on preset sports, the picture is underexposed and that's what I don't understand. I have to compensate by 2+

(Download)

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

"Preset sports" is an automatic mode.

Erv Loc: Medina Ohio

You set everything the same? And you look at the EDF and it say it is different? I think you have something going on inside the camera.
Erv

Nightski

Not sure, but I think the Canon 7D Mk II might be better for sports than the 6D. It has 65 AF points and goes to ISO 16,000. The 6D has 11 points and only one cross hair point. Plus the crop sensor on the 7D is going to have more reach, so you can go with a shorter lens. They are pretty comparible in price, so I guess it depends on what you want to use it for.

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

You want to know what works? This is it. $1000 is cheap. A NEW Canon or Nikon 70-200 is $2400 or so.

I am having a tough time understanding your issue - you are in manual and what to know what Presets will do???

If you are in Manual, set it where it works. If you are shooting indoors, a variable aperture (f/4 - f/5.6) usually won't cut it.

No, you don't need a prime - in fact, for sports I think a prime may not be a good choice (except at the 400 f/2.8 and longer) since a zoom allows you to re-frame without moving.

We always hear how it is not the equipment, it is the photographer. Well...in sport photography, that is a lie. ESPECIALLY with indoor sports. To do respectable sports stuff, you really do need the right gear.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

jgreco - as identified by others, your description of your experiences and the photos posted are inconsistent with the technical details within photos. Your T5i should outperform your 50D at higher ISOs when shooting events indoors. Regarding the T5i, see page 115 and consider removing auto ISO if you're using this setting (the EXIF data for the woman near the Coors barrel is only partial when viewed in DPP). Also as identified, an EF-S 55-250 is a variable aperture lens with a smaller aperture at the longer zoom (I'm assuming a typo in your post). The custom presets do not appear to be a feature of the T5i model. But, manual will let you set everything. And this is a indisputable fact.

Regarding expensive lenses, you might consider renting a higher grade lens for specific events rather than making a purchase investment. There are several outfits although I prefer LensRentals.com. You might also look at purchasing used from KEH.com, look for ratings EX or EX+, these are as good as new. Finally, there are some hidden gems in the Canon lineup that might fit your needs. I have the EF 70-200 f/4L (the non IS version) You have to shoot this lens in manual in low light with a manually set ISO, but the results are excellent. Outside of manual the camera will try for a lower ISO and a slower shutter which are no good for action in low light. You'll lose the zoom flexibility, but gain a wider aperture if you go with the EF 200mm f/2.8 L II. If you're shooting at the max zoom, the prime might be a better choice. You can rent these, others models and brands and longer focal lengths, to test and / or simply when needed.

jgreco Loc: Orlando, FL

Thank you for the good advise. I was thinking of renting for a day shoot and I don't know how that's works with shipping time and all. But I will check it out. I am surprised that so many professionals had different answers to my question. I only wanted to know why when I looked at settings for say sports in pre_sets, when I tried to duplicate the settings in manual, I obtained different results which were 2 stops darker. I know that a kit lens can only do so much and now understand why a prime or L lens is better, thanks to all the info given to me. Someday I may get one of those fancy lenses but for now I am pushing the kit lenses to see how far they can go. Thanks for being kind in your opinion and informing me to try it before I buy it.

SharpShooter Loc: NorCal

jg, If those were not heavily cropped and all were shot at about 150mm, they could also be easily shot at 135mm or even 100mm.
The 135mm f2 L lens is $1000 and the 100mm f2 non-L lens is only $500. That is WAY less than a 2.8 zoom and a FULL stop faster than the 2.8's. That would raise your speed to good levels and drop your ISO a few stops.
Shoot on Tv at the lowest acceptable speed on Auto ISO. the camera will shoot wide open at the lowest ISO possible. That might be exactly what Sports mode is, I'm not familiar with it.
Maybe you can borrow a lens from somebody to try to see if it works out.
Zooms are convenient but VERY expensive. And f2.8 is NOT very fast either! good luck. ;-)
SS

SteveR Loc: Michigan

I would suggest two things. First, set your ISO at 1600. Second, shoot in shutter priority since you're shooting a sporting event, and set it as fast as you can, hopefully at least 1/500th in order to stop the action. Also, as far as exotic lenses go, f2.8 lenses are very expensive, but f4 lenses are just as sharp. They just won't focus quite as fast.

Outdoor, daytime rodeos will be much easier to shoot.

birdpix Loc: South East Pennsylvania

With the T5i, if you are in manual mode but have it set to Auto ISO and set the ISO limit to 400 that is as high as the ISO will go. However, if you switch to one of the program modes, i.e. for sports, the ISO limit is disabled and then the ISO will go as high as necessary to achieve a correct exposure. This could be the reason that the sports setting was working properly but your Manual settings were not.

Manual is not truly manual if you are using Auto ISO.

mcveed Loc: Kelowna, British Columbia (between trips)

To get the crisp shots you want you will need more light and a faster lens. But the most important tool is a thorough understanding of the relationship between aperture, shutter speed and ISO, and the compromises that you must make to get the exposure right. All of your shots are reasonably well exposed however they are noisy. I don't think your camera can handle ISO 6400. You complained about the blurry feet in one image, but when the ISO is at the maximum and the lens is as wide open as it can get the only room you have is to lengthen the length of the exposure. At shutter speeds of 1/250 sec a moving horse's hoof is bound to show motion blur.

PeterM Loc: Scio, NY

I think this is the best advice so far for shooting action shots.

My rule of thumb for certain light conditions is - set a constant ISO that will allow you to select a fairly fast shutter speed in shutter priority/TV and let the camera choose the aperture.

For the night rodeo light I'd start with setting ISO 800, 1/250 sec in TV and your lens should give a medium aperture with good depth of field (so autofocus isn't so critical).

Once you have the exposure down, you can shoot away. The shots you posted were quite good. If you follow this recipe, they all will be in the range.

amehta Loc: Boston

I think birdpix gave you a possible answer on your settings not being "fully in manual".

Getting the best indoor action pictures requires a combination of
1. the best equipment possible
2. knowing the equipment very well, especially AF
3. the best technique possible
4. a sense of the action
5. accepting the results that you get when you did all you could

Part of #5 is not going to 100% magnification and expecting the image quality of a ISO 100 picture taken with a full frame pro camera/lens. Instead look at your pictures full frame on you monitor, or perhaps smaller, and appreciate that you did well with #4.

If you do rent a 70-200mm f/2.8 lens, practice using it at f/2.8 before the event, because the AF needs to be a little more precise than at f/5.6. It will let you use ISO 1600 or increase the shutter speed a little.