golf tournament photos: i am going to be taking photos at a golf tournament and would like some advice re camera settings. I will be using nikon 5100 w 55-300 zoom lens. Would...

rready

i am going to be taking photos at a golf tournament and would like some advice re camera settings. I will be using nikon 5100 w 55-300 zoom lens. Would appreciate tips re settings: m a s or auto and iso. Thanks

CaptainC Loc: Colorado, south of Denver

rready wrote:

i am going to be taking photos at a golf tournament and would like some advice re camera settings. I will be using nikon 5100 w 55-300 zoom lens. Would appreciate tips re settings: m a s or auto and iso. Thanks

Don't click during the backswing! Every other sport has people that can concentrate with a crowd screaming - golfers cannot handle the sound of a click.

As to the rest of it - always use the lowest ISO you can and as far as MASP - nothing happens very fast in golf, so it does not really matter. Use A if you want to control DOF, S if you want to stop the ball in flight.
M if you want to balance the two.

ProAmpics Loc: Penna

Do not get too close, in their line of sight when they are putting, no flash, always kneel, do not walk onto the greens
I always use 200 or 400 ISO, and Av setting.
Sand shots are great. Wear sneakers.

Have fun....

Al McPhee Loc: Boston, Massachusetts

If you hope to get all the foursomes , work your way BACK to the first tee, you should run into all of them sometimes getting several at one tee.

pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

You'll probably find yourself using the 300mm range the most. Just be sure to focus accuratly because of shallow DOF. And don't make Tiger mad. Sand bunker shots are great if you time it right. If you want to practice just go with me for 18. I can always find the sand. Or water.

Doodlebug Loc: San Diego, CA

You might want to check with the tournament director to see if cameras are even allowed! I marshaled at the San Diego US Open a few years ago and cameras are not allowed unless you are the media. If you have one upon entry they will deny entrance until you have left it somewhere. You are SOL if you took a shuttle!!! They also now have screening devices (at least for the big tournaments). Usually there is a web site you can go to for the specific tournament and you will usually find the dos and don'ts there. Trust me...professional golfers do NOT want to hear the click of a camera in the middle of their swing!!! We had Tiger Woods (before he blew up) and he would have a hissy fit if you did it to him!

PNagy Loc: Missouri City, Texas

rready wrote:

i am going to be taking photos at a golf tournament and would like some advice re camera settings. I will be using nikon 5100 w 55-300 zoom lens. Would appreciate tips re settings: m a s or auto and iso. Thanks

You will be outside, so the light will be good to great, even if it is overcast that day. Set your camera to shutter speed priority in order to avoid blurring the fast swing of the competitors.

1/320 may leave a slight amount of blur during some range of the motion.

1/500 will leave no blur at all. Choose one according to what you want.

Set ISO to auto. It may bail you out if a cloud obscures the Sun at the moment you are snapping.

Depth of field should not be a problem. In shutter speed priority the camera will give you the right aperture. If you are not satisfied with this, full manual will allow you to set both the shutter speed as above, as well as the aperture. I cannot see going lower than F4.0, and would prefer to see what happens at F5.6.

I have never shot golf, but I have shot baseball. The bat speed and the speed of the clubs should be similar, therefore it will take similar settings to capture them properly.

pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

I think a little "blur" adds to some sports photos. Cloudy days also have better (more even) lighting.

Tom DePuy Loc: Waxhaw, N.C.

Must be a local tournament??? never have been to or heard of a professional tournament that allows camera's...maybe on pro-am day's

Stef C Loc: Conshohocken (near philly) PA

CaptainC wrote:

quote=rready i am going to be taking photos at a ... (show quote)

Every other sport is reactionary in nature as well. Every other sport has noise that is static and constant, which is normal. In golf you're staring at a little ball, trying to hit it with something maybe twice as big as the ball.

pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

Stef C wrote:

quote=CaptainC quote=rready i am going to be tak... (show quote)

To parapharse Yogi Berra, golf is 90% mental and 20% physical. :roll: :lol:

PNagy Loc: Missouri City, Texas

pounder35 wrote:

quote=Stef C quote=CaptainC quote=rready i am g... (show quote)

Wasn't the actual quote "90% of the game is half mental and the other half physical"?

Dun1 Loc: Atlanta, GA

Repeating what has been said NO BACK SWING shots. Set you camera on the AV setting, so you can control the lens opening and at the same time achieve a shutter speed of at least 1/500 second. Use the spot focus setting to be able to get the golfer in focus for the most part. Your lens, and where you are able to shoot from will govern the back ground focus. No matter how fast or frames per second you camera will allow you to shoot concentrate on getting good clean shots, and not using the spray and pray mentality (focus on the golfer and take multiple frames per second hoping for a great shot) Set you white balance to auto in most cases.
Good luck.

TchrBill Loc: Houston, TX

Stef C wrote:

CaptainC wrote:

Don't click during the backswing! Every other sport has people that can concentrate with a crowd screaming - golfers cannot handle the sound of a click.

Every other sport is reactionary in nature as well. Every other sport has noise that is static and constant, which is normal. In golf you're staring at a little ball, trying to hit it with something maybe twice as big as the ball.

Not to say that a lot of golfers arent a bit too touchy about this (one in particular whose wife at the time teed off on his SUV with him in it) but, here is Sam Sneads take on why golfers might be a bit more particular than other sports figures. He was discussing the issue of what was harder to hit, a baseball or a golf ball with Ted Williams. Williams made the case that while Snead got to hit a stationary ball in silence; he had to hit a ball thrown at 95 mph while 40K fans screamed at him. Snead replied, "Yeah, but you don't have to go up in the stands and play your foul balls where they lie, I do."

pounder35 Loc: "Southeast of Disorder"

TchrBill wrote:

quote=Stef C br quote=CaptainC br Don't click ... (show quote)

Good one! :thumbup: Taking up golf is like buying a boat or a new camera. The spending has just started. :roll: :lol: