Thanks for sharing. We have too much light pollution around here. Between the towns and hamlets every 10 miles and every farmer leaving their barn yard lights on, it is impossible to get a good night exposure.

Our rug rat graduated and is now in college. I did many of her basketball and softball photos. Trust me, you will always miss that best shot because you're watching a great game.

For BB I would alternate where I would sit. Being on good terms with the coach and team, I would often sit on the floor beside the bench. I would also sit in the ends and high in the stands usually on the stairs. Where ever you sit will give a different perspective. There is no wrong place so don't be afraid to try different spots. One suggestion though is be careful not to block other's view.

One trick I used was to slightly lower my camera but keep it against my face. My eye would be just above and in line, following the action. That way I had a good view of the court and could quickly bring the camera to my eye without needing to search for the target through the view finder. Also, I would take a wider angle shot of my target and crop in post. It is pretty difficult to center on your subject in fast action.

While a 640 shutter should be fast enough, I would set the ISO at 6400 or 12000 and aperture at around 4.0. Hopefully that would allow a shutter of 1000. It may be just me, but I find a grainy photo better than a photo with blurred action. Even just one blurred arm or ball can disappoint me. That though is me and if that doesn't bother you then go with what turns your crank. Sitting far enough away, an aperture of 4.0 should give a large enough DOF to keep the action in focus.

Take lots of shots. Don't be afraid to use burst in order to get action shots.

Just remember, there is no one best way. If something works for you then go with it. Enjoy what you do and share with the team and parents.

BTW, you got some nice shots already.

Contrary, it is politics that want to turn our national treasures into money machines for certain favorites. Others want to keep our national treasures for all Americans.

Unless your letter includes a hefty campaign contribution, many Congresscritters won't give a poop.

Thank you for sharing.

A lens projects, a sensor captures. One does not change the other.

A 24mm lens will have the same angle regardless of what size sensor is in the camera. The size of the lens is a standardized reference* which doesn't change the angle, amount of light, or the depth of field because of the sensor. It only refers to the lens.

All lenses project an image larger than the sensor (or film). Because the edges of the projection will have distortion, they are not captured by the sensor. The sensor will capture a portion of that image and crop the rest. Even FF are cropping the projection. The projection remains the same though regardless of the sensor size.

A 24mm DX (or Canon EF-S) is not 24mm. However, because they project and capture the same size image that a regular 24mm would on a crop sensor, the rating is standardized as 24mm. The captured image on a crop camera will be the same as if a standard 24mm lens was used, approximating what a 36mm would capture on a FF.

*Originally, the size of the lens was from the front element to the focal plane (film). That was when lenses were much simpler and usually only had one or two elements. Today, most lenses bear little physical comparison between their actual length and their rated size. A "24mm lens" is a standardized reference for a size of projection, not the length of the lens

So why not use angle of projection as the standard reference? My opinion is most people suck at geometry. They prefer straight numbers over angles. It would be easier to change America over to metric than change lenses to their angle of projection. Lens length are relative anyway. Most photographers would not buy a 100mm lens if they owned a 135mm lens.

To add to my above post

Shoot in RAW and JPG. Use the Canon Digital Photo Professional (DPP) program for editing. The RAW files come out with a CR2 attachment. Editing a RAW file will allow more control, especially for things such as bringing up your brightness without losing sharpness or clarity or toning down very bright areas. And it's free.

Bill, it is difficult to suggest what your setting should be as it depends. What is the light, how much focus do you need, do you need to stop time, etc.

For the photo you submitted I'm making an educated guess that your shutter was at 160 and the aperture was wide open ~ f4.0.

To catch a bird in flight I would boost the shutter (Tv) to 500 minimum, and preferable to 1000. Your aperture (Av) is acceptable, but I would prefer something smaller, such as f6 to f8.0. So how can you do that? Use a flash (not recommended for wildlife), wait for more sunshine, or boost your ISO. The T7i sensor should be good for an ISO here of 3000 and possibly even 6000 before the quality degrades too much.

One caveat with your shutter is it should be equal or greater than the length of your lens. A 400 mm lens should be using a shutter speed (Tv) of 500 or so. (While you may be using the 18mm part, the lens is still 400 mm long.)

So set your ISO to 800 and put the camera in Tv mode at 1000. Do a test shot in that area and see what your aperture is. If necessary boost the ISO to 3000. If your aperture is still at the minimum then drop the shutter (Tv) to 500.

Good luck. Just remember, these are rough guides.

I don't believe the hint of color adds anything.

In my experience, using selective color is most useful in simple compositions. Their intent is to highlight specific attributes or areas. An example would be a B&W flower with a colorized bee. Landscapes tend to harmonize everything, although I can imagine a seascape with a colorized lighthouse (emphasizing the man made vs nature).

I like your shot but in my opinion, I would stick with the B&W.

Thanks for sharing.

You might want to try KEH, a well known on-line lens reseller. Adorama, B&H, and Roberts also carry used lenses. All come with high standards but they might also bust your budget.

https://www.keh.com/shop/lenses/nikon-autofocus.html?dir=asc&order=name
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?ci=10209&fct=fct_camera-mount-type_321%7cnikon-autofocus&N=4036297804
https://robertscamera.com/products/cameras-lenses/lenses/lenses?mount_types=6424

I would use the 24-70 and try to get a spot on the floor near to the action.

The first is pretty good but I don't really care on the second. You have the right idea with the first shot.

A suggestion is to make the shot B&W in your photo editor. If the lighting looks good in B&W then it should be good in color.

Another suggestion for #1 is to use a black card. Use the same set up you used, but hang a black 2'x3' card on the shadow side. Try it a foot away from your model, and then another shot two or three feet away. This reduces reflected light on the shadow side without having to move your lights or background.

Suggesting different set ups is very difficult. There are usually too many variables to be fair.

Good luck.

Then stick to a full frame camera. There is nothing wrong with a Nikon 810, it's a great camera.

My personal preference is to stick with DSLR, mostly due to the optical viewfinder. If the electronic viewfinder doesn't bother you then your decision becomes a lot harder.

The weight difference is minimal but might be noticeable using smaller lenses. Carrying extra batteries might also mitigate that weight difference. Having to also add a converter to adapt the lenses would also add weight.

If it was me, I would keep the camera and invest in a new lens or two and maybe a camera bag or tripod. A new camera won't take better photos, but a new lens can.

Good luck.

An old saying is "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Upgrade if you need more camera. Don't if what you have works.

I'm not sure if I want to see noise, but defects seldom appear at low resolution shots. Noise will become more noticeable when you are straining the parameters. As this shot is in bright light with a wide open aperture, there should be sufficient light to reduce any noise.

How does it look at full size?

So using "facebookSUCKSbigtime" isn't a good password anymore? But, but, I memorized it.