Pat F 4119 Loc: Branford, CT

I’ll be shooting one of my nephew’s basketball games for the first time soon, and I’m wondering if anyone has any pointers. I’m planning on using a Sony A7RIII and a 70-200 f2.8, but I’m open to any other lens recommendations. I know AF-C is the best option, but am not sure what the best focus mode will be for tracking a subject. Also, any other setting recommendations would be greatly appreciated. I have never been to this gym, so I don’t have any idea yet of lighting unfortunately. Thanks in advance for your help!

Vlemasters

Very interested also, will be shooting my first indoor soccer match tonight.

ELNikkor

I always set my shutter speed to 1/500 mandatory, and let the ISO fall where it will

skornfeld

Shooting my grandson for the first time Saturday with nikon 850. Not sure whether to use group focus as they're only 4th graders.

Tomfl101 Loc: Mount Airy, MD

This is good advice. With most gyms you will need to shoot at 2.8 between 3200-8000 ISO. With my Canon 5D4 I keep focus on AI Servo and the focus point adjusted to meet the body of the player I’m tagging. Trying to hold a point on the face is too inconsistent for me. Multi point focus will work sometimes but too often it will lock on the closest player or the background. I assume that would happen to some effect if you used the face-finding feature on your Sony as well.
1/500 will freeze most action but will blur somewhat if you are panning in reverse of subject movement. You will need 1000-2000 for completely frozen sports in general.

Chadp Loc: Virginia Beach

If your shoot auto ISO then be sure to really check some test shots for exposure. I just shot my son’s basketball game with an a6500 using auto ISO and was disappointed when I got home and almost every shot was over exposed. I think it was due to the harsh combination of lights in the gym. I try to use a shutter speed of 400. But my son is 5 and doesn’t move very fast. I could see 500 as the minimum for older kids and more action shots.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

The inconsistent exposure problem you were having was most likely caused by the flicker of the lights.
Though usually undetectable to the human eye, a lot of artificial lighting pulses, or flickers.
Using a higher shutter setting needed to stop action makes this worse.
Exposure and color balance inconsistencies are what I’ve experienced
Some cameras have a feature called “flicker detection” or something similar that detects the pulses and times the shot so it lessens the effect. It’s pretty amazing!
Not to be confused with anti flicker in video.

More here: https://www.the-digital-picture.com/Photography-Tips/flickering-lights.aspx

I doubt you’ll be allowed to shoot with flash.
I used to do it back in the ‘70’s at high school basketball and football games when I worked at a newspaper and no one complained, not even the coaches, but these days, people seem more sensitive.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

👍 Yep, enable the flicker reduction feature on your camera if it’s available. The flickering often shows up as two consecutive frames in a burst with different exposures. I also concur with the 70-200 f2.8, 1/500 and auto ISO. I try to anticipate the action rather than shooting long, high speed bursts.

Tomfl101 Loc: Mount Airy, MD

Flicker is a problem I’ve forgotten about since I have it enabled all the time. To clarify my earlier post I don’t use auto ISO. I adjust as needed and find light under the basket to often be a stop darker than the middle of the court. If I forget to adjust I just fix in post. Because basketball lighting and action is so predictable I now shoot jpeg instead of RAW after setting a custom white balance at the beginning of the game.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

I just shot a BB game at the local community college last night, and will be shooting 2 more this weekend. Your 70-200 f/2.8 should work fine. I shoot with an 85mm f/1.2 on my Canon R. That length works fine for me as I move around the court, although, at times, 70mm would be handy to have. I generally shoot at apertures from 1.2 to 2.8 with auto ISO and shutter speed set at 1/1000. If your camera offers a high ISO noise reduction feature I suggest you use it. The gym I shoot at has high intensity lighting that does not flicker so those settings work quite well for me and may be a good place for you to start.
Here is a shot at f/2.8, 1/1000, and Auto ISO at 6400.

Edit: I am not familiar with your camera so I don't know if it is full frame or a crop sensor. Mine is full frame. If you are using a crop sensor your lens may be rather long for courtside shooting. At times anyway. Shooting from the stands it should be fine.

(Download)

Acufine3200 Loc: Texarkana USA

My suggestion...since most high school gyms don't feature Madison Square Garden quality lighting...
For starters, acknowledge the first quarter is to help you shoot effectively over the remaining three.

Initially set your ISO at 4800, and SS at 640/700 on shutter preferred. Point the camera at your nephew's face, and see what f-stop your camera determines. If you get a underexposure warning, then up your ISO until you're at least at f2.8. At this point I throw my camera into manual at these readings. This is your baseline.

Shoot several shots, and then determine if you need to adjust. SS 640 will generally stop most action at the high school level. If you think you need more speed just remember for every addition in speed you will need to have a subtraction in f-stop. I have no idea how "noisy" your camera is, so I'm giving you what I'd do if you pulled my Nikon from my hands, and replaced it with yours.

The 70-200 is a great lens, but can get a little unwieldy in a cramped gyms. I usually have one on a body, but I'll also have a 50mm on another. As a pup sports shooter I was continually admonished by my editor with the following words of wisdom: "IF you think you are too close, get a little closer."

So, I tend to camp out underneath, or around the basket. The 50 is used when action is next to me, and the 70-200 when it's at the the other end.

For autofocus I use AF-continuous and the 9 setting. Again, you will need to experiment. I'm so old I still sometimes turn off the autofocus and go manual. It's fun, but not for everyone. And, honestly my kill rate isn't as good as when using autofocus.

One more hint...for the first game, instead of "spray and pray," concentrate on your nephew (maybe not too obviously) and develop a knack for tracking his movement. If he gets subbed, zero in on one of the bigs around the basket and follow them.

Although the best action shots almost always have a big orange ball somewhere in the frame, consider shooting reactions, and scenes around the bench. If I'm shooting an unfamiliar team I'll angle across the court from the bench and focus on the coach. Some are extremely animated. Also, your nehpew's coach might appreciate a print of him "in action."

Since I brought up the 50mm, below are some shots with one from last night. The publication requested B&W. Nikon D7200/D750--Nikkor 50 f1.4--SS 640--ISO 6400.

Most importantly, have fun!

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

Go ahead of time and meter a friend at mid court, use manual exposure, do the same at both ends of the court to make sure the light is consistent. Look at your shots of your friend and make sure to make adjustments in manual until you are happy with the results. Nice thing about basketball is that the lights reflect off the gym floor right back up into the faces of the players.
Pay attention to color, most camera's will make adjustments properly in AUTO WHITE BALANCE. Your Sony should handle this.
Check ahead with the athletic director to see if you can get prime seating for your shooting, can you shoot from the floor? can you shoot from behind the basket? etc. etc.
Good luck and keep on shooting until the end.

Kennymac712

The 70-200 f2.8 is good for shooting action, but take along another lens for close shots(team shots, closeups). I learned this the hard way when I got good long shots, but missed out on close shots afterward.

RWR Loc: La Mesa, CA

AF-C IS a focus mode! Also, if you’ve had your camera more than a day or so, you ought to know your safe hand-holding shutter speed.

gmango85

Will you be court side or in the stands?