Burt

I bought a Cannon Rebel XSi to take pictures of my daughter in Volleyball and can't get it set right to stop the action. All my shots are bad on Full Auto and can't seem to find the right settings on Manual ....I need help

EricLPT Loc: Jonesborough TN

Make the ISO as high as you can tolerate the noise. Use a lens that goes to f2.8 or lower to let as much light in as possible. Get as close physically as possible. Use a flash if you can. Set your shutter speed as low as you can tolerate motion blur (a little motion blur shows action). A monopod will be a good compromise between stability and mobility, if allowed. Your problem is not enough light. This is a very common problem. The pros use high ISO cameras and those huge telescope looking lenses to get as much light as possible to the sensor.

Good luck,

Eric

les_stockton Loc: Eastern Oklahoma

My suggestion, since I have several friends on flickr that photograph girls volleyball, is to go on flickr.com and do a search for volleyball.
You will see a lot of shots taken in similar environments to the gym you're photographing in.
Next, there's an option "Action" link above each photo. Click there and there's an option called "View EXIF" or something like that.
This will give you all the shooting information within the jpg (if the phtographer preserved it).
You'll be able to see shutter speed, aperture, focal length used, ISO, etc.
And plus, if you still have questions, you can message the owner of that photo on flickr and ask them directly.

369Kae Loc: Peru,IN

I shoot my niece in volleyball and basketball. Because the lighting is different in each gynasium I usully have to change the white balance and ISO to suit the situation. The photos I've included were taken at 1/250, ISO 400 and white blance set in fluorescent. At 400 they are alittle dark but that can be easily corrected. I shoot with a Sony A350 and a Tamron F2.8 70-200 lens. Hope this helps.

WildBill Loc: South West Florida

If you are using the kit lens that came with the camera, you are going to struggle considerably to get good stop action photos under that lighting.
My first purchase of a lens for my camera was the 85mm f1.8 prime lens for my daughters basketball games. It is under 400 dollars and will solve your problems.

With the kit lens... ISO 1600, Shutter 1/40 aperture f3.5 ... start there and see if you get anything. Make sure lighting is set correctly for the gym you are in. You will not get stopped action with that lens but you can pull off a few good shots during a game.

WildBill Loc: South West Florida

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-9527-1.html

I posted some pictures with the lens mentioned. 369Kae lens suggestion works too and with that lens you have variable zoom but the f2.6 means you need more light than the f1.8 I mentioned. You lose the ability to zoom but you can snap your photos at a much higher shutter speed to stop the action.

robert-photos Loc: Chicago

Heres a couple of galleries of grade school volleyball I shot in a middle school gym:

http://robert-photos.smugmug.com/St-John-the-Evangelist-School/2009/2009-09-23-5-6thGrlsVolleyball

http://robert-photos.smugmug.com/St-John-the-Evangelist-School/2009/2009-10-28-7-8thGrlsVolleyball/

They were shot with a 5D & 5D MII mostly at f/2.8, ISO 1600 to 3200 at 1/250 sec. to 1/400 sec. on manual mode.

If you must use an auto mode use Tv, 1/320 or 1/250 sec, ISO 3200. Better to get the pic with noise than with blur. You can take care of the noise with Topaz DeNoise or the like in post process.

If you are down on the court you'll need a wide angle and a zoom lens. I carry two cameras, one with a 24-70mm f/2.8 and one with a 70-200 f/2.8.

A nifty fifty f/1.4 would work also.

Hope that helps.

gessman Loc: Colorado

Everything you're hearing is good information but there's one thing that hasn't been mentioned - there is a timing issue with taking action shots. In each sport there are times when the action stops just for a split second. You want to time your shots so you're snapping a picture as that moment arrives. That moment is referred to in action photography as "the peak of the action moment." In volleyball, it's when a person jumps and is about to either spike or block the ball, right at the top of a jump or whatever the action is, there's hesitation where that person is almost completely still. In basketball, it's when a person is at the top of their jump in shooting a jump shot or a layup. Put your camera on burst mode and as a person is going up, time your shooting for just before that "peak" is reached and continue to shoot on through the jump, and down the other side, holding the camera as still as possible. You may not get as many good shots as you'd like but you'll get plenty. There is also a couple of features built into your camera that aids you in taking action shots. Read in your manual about ai focus and ai servo, particularly with subjects that are running, as in track, or football, or running down a basketball court.

WildBill Loc: South West Florida

Gessman, you changed your profile pic. :)

Gessman is absolutely correct. I intended on mentioning that but was concentrating on settings. I am very happy to see he has my back.

Robert utilizes 1400 dollar lenses. Not sure that is an option. If it is, they are very nice lenses. He has good advice as well.

369Kae Tamron lens is 800 dollars. I am trying to keep this as inexpensive as possible for you and why I suggested the prime lens but looks like the general consensus is you need a faster lens than the kit lens that came with the camera

Lastly, I would warn against a flash. A flash might help but it does not make players happy. Many courts (even Jr high and high school) ban flash photography. I have seen proper religious teens verbally attack flash users.

WildBill Loc: South West Florida

These have been cropped so you can see edited version. You will notice my balls are round and not so much with the f2.8 lenses. I would wager the light here is half that of the other pics you have seen as well. I used a Canon Rebel as well for these shots. The first photo shows the light peeking through from the main gym. P.S. #13 is my daughter

Burt

lots of good info.....thank-you very much. I saw this web site for the first time yesterday and am very impressed with the quick responce and the amount of help from people. Thanks again everyone

Elkman Loc: Northern New Mexico

At our high school gym I can take a decent picture, it has good light, at the middle school gym, I may as well not get the camera out of the bag, it's dark.
Yes, timing is everything. Thats the good thing about shooting digital, make adjustments, anticipate the next play.
A 1.8, 2.8 lens is the lens for dark gyms. Saving up right now.

dundeelad Loc: Originally UK. Current West Dundee, Illinois

All the above info is great for you but I would add one little extra. My son-in-law has a canon Xsi and the kit lens is pretty good. Probably the best kit lens around.He has also shot at ISO 800 with very acceptable results. ISO 800 should give you a fair amount of shutter speed even in low light gym's. Also would suggest you come off Auto and use the "Sports" setting. That is biased towards higher shutter speed and will let you catch the action.

PNagy Loc: Missouri City, Texas

Do not use auto for action shots, because the shutter speed will be too slow. Set it on TV, which stands for time value. The action in a basketball game should be frozen just about perfectly with 1/320 shutter speed. If camera sets ISO automatically, you should be fine. If ISO is not automatic, start with 800. If the picture is only slightly dark, increase the exposure value. I use a Canon, too, albeit a 7D. Your indoor action shots will be as good as mine.

CAM1017 Loc: Chiloquin, Oregon

As suggested, use the Tv setting to go to a fast shutter speed around 1/1000 if possible. Run your ISO up to 800 to 1600 and don't forget to set your White balance for the lighting conditions you are shooting under. If you don't and use the auto White balance you may get washed out colors. These suggestions are for shooting without flash. When I was doing sports photography we used high output electronic flash's. A flash unit should give good light output and really freeze the action. The light might bother the players however. Today I would prefere the first approach. Even with the higher ISO's you should get some pretty nice photo's.