low light shoot in a gym
Dec 31, 2015 10:45:44 #
Shooting wrestling in a low light gym, no flash allowed? What lens or camera body would you suggest. I tried my 17-55mm L F2.8 lens and still dark and grainy. Then switched to my 70-200mm F4, (to get closer) & finally my 24-105mm L F4. Settings on my Canon 7D; shutter priority, F2.8, 1200 ISO, shutter 1/200th~ 1/80, and still dark and grainy, as well as smeary! I am adding a year book to my picture day shoots. Up to now I have been doing weddings (with flash) and studio (with lighting), action shots are a whole new thing for me.
Dec 31, 2015 10:57:00 #
Jbat
Loc: Charleston, SC
I shoot baptisms in my church and have somewhat the same problem except the action is not as fast. I have found that my only option is to set the shutter to the minimum I can use without getting movement in the photos. I then set the ISO to auto with a maximum of 3200 which is the highest ISO I can use without the noise getting completely unacceptable. According to how much light there is on any given day, the close up photos almost always need to have some exposure added. Of course, that causes noise to show up and I then take the noise out in one of my programs, either Lightroom, which does pretty well, or DXO which is excellent.
Dec 31, 2015 11:06:07 #
If shooting in a dark gym, an f/2.8 lens or faster is required. For wrestling, a shutter speed of 1/500-1/800 is usually sufficient to stop action. You will have to bring up your iso to achieve these speeds. I am going to guess you will be in the 4000-6400 iso range. The more you fill your frame with your subject, the noise becomes less of an issue. Hope this helps.
Dec 31, 2015 11:57:00 #
canon Lee wrote:
Shooting wrestling in a low light gym, no flash al... (show quote)
You really will need to push your ISO above your cameras acceptable limits to get a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action (1/250 sec minimum, 1/500 sec preferred). I often shoot wrestling shots in poorly lit gyms with a Nikon D800E and a Sigma 120-300mm F2.8 lens and need an ISO of 6400 to get clean images, luckily the D800E handles that quite nicely.
Dec 31, 2015 12:13:01 #
canon Lee wrote:
Shooting wrestling in a low light gym, no flash al... (show quote)
I suggest you use a prime of the proper length for how close you can get, what ever that is. When I shoot dance backstage, I can get pretty close and use a 50 1.4.
I don't shoot wrestling, but wrestling does gave a lot of lul where there is virtually no movement, but it's also very isometric at those points so you will still have the appearance of action. That would be a good time to shoot if you can't get fast enough. A shot that is all noise is pretty useless.
Don't know what you shoot but the Canon 7ll does have the flickering light capability which could help a lot with indoor sports!! Good luck. ;-)
SS
Dec 31, 2015 13:01:25 #
Jan 1, 2016 06:53:50 #
Consider the Canon 85mm f1.8 for indoor sports. A nice fast prime for the money. Sharp and fast to focus.
Sit down as close to the action as you can. First few rows is great if you can do it. I shot a lot of indoor volleyball with this lens.
Best,
Todd Ferguson
Harrisburg, NC
Sit down as close to the action as you can. First few rows is great if you can do it. I shot a lot of indoor volleyball with this lens.
Best,
Todd Ferguson
Harrisburg, NC
Jan 1, 2016 07:01:43 #
canon Lee wrote:
Seems like I will need to up my ISO.
A grainy shot is better than no shot....
Jan 1, 2016 08:57:26 #
I would not expect a 7D to be grainy at 1200 iso. I shoot indoor vollyball and Gymnastics, and have no problems with my 70d 70-200 2.8 shutter priority of 1/200 to 1/400
Jan 1, 2016 09:03:12 #
Judging by the number of similar questions we get, there should be a section for shooting sports in a gym.
Jan 1, 2016 09:19:27 #
I bought a 24-70 f2.8 just for small gyms action. I can usually get by with a shutter speed of around 1/250-1/500 and still stay around 3200, 4000 ISO. There is grain, but I don't know how it can be avoided. If anyone knows, let me know. Outside with the 70-200 2.8 I have the same problem. I often have to go to 6400 to get usable exposure. Lots of grain, but still usable.
Bill
Bill
Jan 1, 2016 09:28:19 #
canon Lee wrote:
Shooting wrestling in a low light gym, no flash al... (show quote)
85 mm prime comes at cost but it's great at F 1.8 iOS 1000 1/500 on fx system on a cropped sensor it will be ok but not as clean
Jan 1, 2016 09:51:06 #
canon Lee wrote:
Seems like I will need to up my ISO.
Yes and be sure to use aperture priority or manual to be sure your lens stays open to 2.8
Jan 1, 2016 09:56:01 #
canon Lee wrote:
Shooting wrestling in a low light gym, no flash al... (show quote)
I often shoot sports in a gym without flash with some success. My lens of choice is the Nikon 24-70 2.8 because the action can go from close to far quickly and although I have used my 70-200 f2.8, I have often found I am too close, if I am at ring side. For me, shooting at f2.8 can narrow the DOF such that I can miss good opportunities so I set aperture to at least f4 or f5, shutter to minimum of 1/250 but prefer 1/320 depending on the speed of the competition and ISO at least 3200 and at times 6400. If the sport is a bit slower I would choose a lower ISO to eliminate some of the grain.
I found if you want to get the actions shots, you need to push to the limits. Some grain can be taken out in Lightroom.
Fast Action
Taekwon-Do
Jan 1, 2016 10:00:34 #
Tomcat5133
Loc: Gladwyne PA
Let me suggest the Sony a7s. The low light champ. And a fast lens. Their is a new "s" and the $2500 price on this camera will probably sink. Even though it is 12 mgpxl the stills for me are great. If you wan't to blow the shots up big this might not be the right rig. Another interesting way to do this is shoot video with this camera in 60p and pull stills off the Quicktime. I do this all the time. Good luck.
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