Pilot, We see it here many times over when the question comes up after someone posts about some pro using a cell-phone to create spectacular pics or shooting in manual!!

Does the equipment matter?!?!

You just fell victim to that answer. Maybe not for doing landscape and chasing bugs!! :lol:
But most of those answering, no, have never shot a lick of action!

Sharpie, I used a 200mm f2 on a Canon workshop. It was so bright and clear through my viewfinder it gave me PERMANENT GAS!

But, even a 50 mm 1.8 would got you ONE good Basketball shot if a grandpa positions himself correctly. And that's ALL you need. A Jr. High Gym is usually not that well lit, at all. So it is important to set your expectations.

And, yes, if it's available to you, next time rent a good sports outfit and blast away!

F4 is very borderline in a poorly lit gym. You were already at 3200. Not much more you were gonna squeeze out of your gear.

My best advice several times has been that if an event is VERY important to you and you can't borrow the correct gear, rent it for the weekend. Hindsight is a bitter pill to swallow.
If you could have borrowed an 85 1.8 it may not have been ideal but it would have tripled your sped, OR cut your ISO in half AND doubled your speed. Sorry to hear of your disappointing outcome!

It would be nice if we could all use a 200 1.8, just once!! :thumbup:
SS

My grandson was in the state championship BB tournament. I wanted to get some action shots. The gym was a middle school
gym of typical size and height. The lighting was overhead fluorescent.

I am using a Canon D60 with a Canon 70 to 200 mm , F4, L series lens. I set the white balance to fluorescent and was using a tripod as a monopod.

I could not get any shot that was clearly focused when shot with the lens set to it max. I tried TV, AV, and action modes. ASA was set at 3200.

Was I overextending the ability of the gear? Or crisp shots are not possible under the circumstances?

Any thoughts??

My grandson was in the state championship BB tournament. I wanted to get some action shots. The gym was a middle school
gym of typical size and height. The lighting was overhead fluorescent.

I am using a Canon D60 with a Canon 70 to 200 mm , F4, L series lens. I set the white balance to fluorescent and was using a tripod as a monopod.

I could not get any shot that was clearly focused when shot with the lens set to it max. I tried TV, AV, and action modes. ASA was set at 3200.

Was I overextending the ability of the gear? Or crisp shots are not possible under the circumstances?

Any thoughts??

I shoot a lot of action/sporting events as the "official" photographer...

There are often other photographers shooting near me with their own DSLRs (rather than buy photos from me)... Moms, Dads, Grandparents, etc. I can't tell you the number of times I've heard the "beep" of their cameras, which tells me they are using the wrong focus mode and most, if not all of their photos are going to be out of focus. This happens a lot. I would also bet that most of them are disappointed and blame the camera for the missed focus... not themselves for setting and using the camera incorrectly, which is actually what's happening.

If you had your 60D set to the "Running Man" or Sports Scene Mode, it should have overridden any focus setting you made and used the correct AF mode (though probably also still forcing you to use "all points/auto selecteion", which leaves an awful lot up to chance that the camera will focus right where you want it).

However, I think if you were able to set the White Balance to Fluorescent, it's unlikely you used the Running Man mode. I don't think you can select a white balance setting when using the highly automated modes (but I don't know for certain... I avoid using those highly automated Scene Modes like the plague... they override too many other things I want to use.) So I suspect you weren't in Running Man mode.

This is part of the danger of being overly dependent upon the camera's high degree of automation. To photograph action, you should have been using AI Servo focus mode... not One Shot (which is the only mode where the camera can be set to give a Focus Confirmation "beep".

I never use AI Focus, which isn't really a focus mode at all. It's just more automation, where the camera is supposed to decide for you whether or not the subject is moving, then use whichever is appropriate: AI Servo or One Shot. I've found AI Focus doesn't always choose right, or change modes when the subject begins to move, or just causes a bit of delay that causes more missed focus shots. So I avoid AI Focus entirely (Note: it might be a clue that the more pro-oriented Canon models don't even have AI Focus mode.... they only have AI Servo and One Shot.)

On 60D, any of the AF points can be used since all 9 of them are more sensitive and responsive "cross type". But for best accuracy I'd more likely have used the center point only. I'd definitely have restricted the camera to center point only if it were D60... that camera's 7-point AF system only has one cross-type point, at the center. All the rest are slower, less responsive single axis.



Sorry, but that's utter bull.

I suspect pilotboat meant "60D" (which is from 2010 and a newer model than the two 7D or 5D Mark II that I shoot with), not "D60" from 2002 (which, if I recall correctly, had a top ISO of 1000... while original poster says he was using 3200).

But, really, no matter either way.

I've used the 70-200/4L IS USM, 70-200/2.8L IS USM and other, similar or far more expensive L-series lenses on EOS-3 (1998), Elan 7E (aka EOS 33, 2000), 10D (2003), 30D (2006), 50D (2008) and other "old" cameras. EOS cameras... EF lenses, especially L-series, are guaranteed fully compatible.

I used 10D, with the same AF system as D60 (and more primitive than 60D's) with EF 300/2.8L IS USM to shoot this (and many thousands other action shots)...



I usually use M or Av exposure modes, but keep an eye on my shutter speeds. However, it's possible to use Tv, too... and that's what many people prefer to use for action shots. I usually try to keep to a minimum of about 1/250 or 1/320 shutter speed for action shots... but sometimes that's not just possible and more images may suffer from some "subject blur".

With IS lenses, with reasonable care you don't need to worry about handholding shots at these or even slightly lower shutter speeds (above was done with a tripod, but only because that large lens gets pretty heavy during a 12 hour shooting day). However, IS can't do anything about subject motion... and any blur from that is often misinterpreted as focus problems. Only faster shutter speeds can freeze subject movement.

pilotboat, you probably should be disappointed in yourself, not in your camera gear. In poor indoor lighting conditions, and fluorescent light in particular, autofocus and auto exposure both can struggle. But there are nearly always ways to "get the shot".

Sports photography is difficult, particularly in lower light conditions. Without seeing the actual scene for myself, it's hard to say, but maybe it was just too dark. An f2.8 or faster lens might have helped, in that case. On all Canon EOS cameras, at least one AF point (typically the center one) will act as more sensitive when used with larger aperture lenses. I like using my 70-200/4 and 300/4 lenses, for their reasonable size and weight during a long shooting day. But if needed I have f2.8, f2, f1.8 and f1.4 lenses that can give me up to three more stops light. (However, I have to watch out for too-shallow depth of field issues with these bigger apertures).

Often there are brighter and darker areas within an arena or gym, too. It often pays to explore a bit and find out if there are some better places to shoot and other places to avoid.

When lighting is just too dim, I'll use flash when I can. For action shooting, this forces you to slow down, to wait for the flash to recycle. Using a rather powerful external flash and an accessory battery pack can help speed this up.

Back Button Focusing is a popular technique among sports photogs in particular. If not already using it, that may be something you would want to learn to do before "the next time". (http://www.learn.usa.canon.com/resources/articles/2011/backbutton_af_article.shtml) BBF makes it possible to leave the camera in AI Servo mode in more situations, to make it your default mode to be ready for almost anything. It also sort of puts the photographer back in charge of where the camera focuses, rather than leaving it up to chance with more automated settings.