LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

Bingo.

For a mobile baseball a top end of 200 is all you really need.

Gear is like an anchor if you are mobile.

For years I used a 70-210 f4 for day games and a 80-20 f2.8 for night games and kept a 28-105 with me for wider angle day shots.

When limited to one spot I use a 300 f4.

I haven’t used the 18-200 for day games, but I intend to and it may be a great single lens option.

People get so hung up on gear they forget that 20 MP gives plenty of resolution for cropping images and still making 8 X 10 ... or larger ... prints.

For web photos 200 can be very severely cropped and still maintain sufficient image quality.

If you want real pop for photos a 2.8 aperture and 200mm focal length is still far and away the best choice for a mobile pro/serious amateur shooter.

bdub8

Agree. This site is great and everyone has been so helpful. I’m looking forward to having some shots that are worthy of posting

LWW Loc: Banana Republic of America

http://imagizer.imageshack.us/a/img923/4189/JzPWBr.jpg

This is a recent shot from a University of Dayton scrimmage.

Shot with a 400 f5.6.

I was using a lens I hadn’t tried out in a decade.

A 200 would have allowed me to include batter/umpire in the shot.

WJW

I do a lot of sports photography and have used the Canon 7d with a 70-200 lens and now use the Sony A9 with a 70-200 Gmaster lens. I like both because of the burst mode (Canon 10 frames per sec and Sony 20 frames per sec). I have shot from all over, first base in the stands and along the foul lines, etc. I will post some of the photos that I was able to capture.

WJW

/Users/walterwinkowski1/Desktop/IMG_4637.jpg

WJW

Shot from first base side

drklrd Loc: Cincinnati Ohio

Too bad they do not let you shoot from where I shoot. Very near 1st base sometimes in the dug out. I have had the umpire chase me back away but since I shoot for the yearbook professionally I get the choice positions. I got hit by a grounder last as it bounced off the ground and hit my ankle. Which is why they do not let parents that close. My ankle was sore for a week or so but not broken. The best I can tell you is get up to the fence and shoot through the chain link fence with a long lens and I mean right up to the fence shooting through one of the fence holes. I use that to shoot the pitchers as they throw the ball. As far as what I set my Nikon to well that is shutter priority at a 1/350 sec, ISO at 400 to 800. I am looking for a speed and ISO to freeze action but yet keep an f8 so as to keep my shots in sharp focus.

WJW

My primary lens is 2.8 - 70-200 mm. Secondary lens is 24-105mm. Have a facebook page - High School Sports Photography where you can see results of some of the games I shot.

SusanFromVermont Loc: Southwest corner of Vermont

A friend of mine is shooting high school sports and doing a great job. He bought a 70-200 f/2.8 for that, needing a fast lens for when the sports are indoors. But as the official photographer for the school, he gets to shoot from wherever.

I go to a local college to watch baseball and football games. Both are in daylight. I take pictures for something to do while my husband watches the game! Football I have to shoot from the stands, Baseball is more casual, but still limited to where I can shoot from. First and second base has the home team dugout along there, with a high fence that goes behind the dugout and extends to the far end of the outfield. In the other direction it goes behind the visitors dugout, as far as third base. I don't want to go into the outfield - probably be evicted anyway - so third base is where I usually shoot from. My camera was a D7000 DX and a 70-300mm FX lens. I did use my D810 last year, but that was for football. I used longer focal lengths for baseball [over 200mm] because I was going for close shots of players. I used shorter focal lengths for football [under 200mm] because I was farther away and because I was capturing groups of players instead of one or two.

All have been cropped, but I shoot a bit more than I am planning to put into the final image. The only one with a lot of cropping is the dugout shot - I went too wide on it, and cropped out most of the background.

I'm not a pro, but I would say that something longer than 200mm would be good. But it is always nice to have a second camera/lens in case you want to go closer. Changing lenses is an option too, if you are comfortable doing that.

FL 300mm

(Download)

FL 220mm

(Download)

FL 70mm

(Download)

FL 220mm

SteveR Loc: Michigan

Talk to the h.s. coach and perhaps the athletic director (my Dad was both, though not in baseball). Ask if you could become the team's official photographer, other than the the local and school newspaper. Hopefully this would gain you entre to the dugout area for shooting purposes (note...be quiet!!). Be willing to submit photographs for publication to both the school newspaper and yearbook...and even the local paper. Beyond that, post your photos from each game on flickr and allow parents to purchase prints at a reduced rate.

AND....Offer to sign a waiver of liability and personal proof of insurance.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

Steve,

Sounds like some excellent suggestions for the future. Perhaps premature. He has not even purchased the camera & lenses. Unless he is very experienced he’s a long way from implementing them.

Mark

SteveR Loc: Michigan

Mark....Perhaps a bit late for this year, then. Hopefully his son is not a senior. That would give him a year to get ready. Perhaps summer ball would be a little easier to get into the dugout. In fact, thinking back to my high school days, I can't imagine that an approval from the coach wouldn't have been enough. That was fifty years ago, though. Heck, I didn't even have to wear a helmet as a catcher. Thank goodness. It would've gotten in the way.

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

markngolf Loc: Bridgewater, NJ

We played football, baseball in the streets, not tackle and occasionally had a baseball without black tape. We played on empty lots, no refs or umpires, no coaching, ... and had a blast. Parents were no where in sight. Days gone by, Steve.

Tinkwmobile

I have shot a lot of college baseball and football. A fast lens is a requirement. Sequential shooting on camera is a requirement, IMO. When someone is sliding into a base, for example, must be able to do bursts. I have some great shots of pitchers using bursts.

I like to shoot athletics from a slightly elevated position, especially football. Ground level football shots give you limited visibility. Baseball is not as critical, however where you are on the field will be as important, that's why I shoot from an elevated position. For example if you are shooting from near first base, your visibility toward the shortstop and 3rd base may be compromised.

Most important in sports photography is anticipation of the play. If you wait until the play happens the chances of setting up, focusing and composing a good shot is slim. Even with auto focus, it's a tough proposition. For example, if there is a runner at 1st, I would setup and focus on 2nd base because the probability is that the next play would be at 2nd, as either start of a double play or a steal.

Have fun.