GENorkus wrote:
Games are often under the lights. Anything less than pro and some collage don't have enough funds to get good light.
To cover the lack of light, it's your choice to either raise the ISO value or get a faster lens, or both.
Additional thought here.
I use a Sigma 70-200mm f 2.8. It works well for my style at high school games.
On manual, most aputure settings are f 3.5 or a touch higher. The only reason I don't prefer 2.8 very much is because of focusing and softness. Silky smooth features just don't make it with sporting men.
I'd love to get a but more DOF but the lack of light would mean I need a much higher iso or suffer from soft long range photos being I'm too far away from the lens sweetspot.
For those who care, it's a juggle between motion blur, sharp focus, and available light. *(strobes are out of the question and don't have the range needed anyway.)
Early in the game I'm around iso 800. As the sun quickly sets, iso gets slowly raised to around 3200, sometimes higher. Using 5,000 a couple times I really wasn't pleased. *(Should you get into HS basketball, the same applies to lighting just remember you need a wider angle lens unless you're in the bleechers.)
Talking with other photographers at those dark games, I found some using iso 6,200 to 10,000! No way for me!
cjc2
Loc: Hellertown PA
I as sports shooter, I will add my 2 cents! During the day, a slower lens may be ok, but under the lights a faster lens is pretty much a necessity. It doesn't hurt to have a camera with good performance at a higher ISO either. The gear I use is way to expensive unless you have lots of money or are doing this work for pay. When I shoot sports action, I am, most likely, shooting wide open at a shutter speed sufficient to freeze the action and with an ISO to handle the light, or lack thereof. Sports is tough folks and is demanding equipment-wise as well. The best action you can take at this point, without buying more gear, is to practice, practice and practice. Then, practice some more. Being familiar with the sport and having experience shooting it will go a long way. In the days of film, no motor drives, manual focus and manual metering, it still got done! As a relative, just have fun and don't forget to watch the game!
Welcome to the Hog Charles.
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