HS Football photos: I'm a newbie. Just bought a Nikon D5600 bundle which came with AF-P DX NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G ED. Still learning so I'm shooting automatic with sports mode at 5...

pnittoly Loc: Mountainside, New Jersey

I'm a newbie. Just bought a Nikon D5600 bundle which came with AF-P DX NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G ED. Still learning so I'm shooting automatic with sports mode at 5 fps at my grandson's football games. Getting great results zooming at 300mm on sunny afternoons without tripod. However not good results at Friday Night Lights games. Some blurry images. Any suggestions to improve the night game images ? I have yet to try aperture or shutter priority modes or program mode let alone manual. Thanks.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

At night, that lens probably isn't going to be fast enough for the lighting available.
f/6.3 at 300mm is pretty slow.
You're gong to need to use a high ISO.
Are you shooting from the sidelines or the stands?
Welcome to the 'Hog!

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

Try shutter priority, auto ISO and speeds of 1/500 down to 1/200. You'll have to adjust the speed to balance the speed of the action to the available light.

GoofyNewfie Loc: Kansas City

CHG_CANON wrote:

Try shutter priority, auto ISO and speeds of 1/500 down to 1/200. You'll have to adjust the speed to balance the speed of the action to the available light.

Good case for using auto ISO.
Cheaper than a faster lens.

dirtpusher Loc: tulsa oklahoma

Utube University is good place to start. Lors of tutorials for about anything on how tos .
https://youtu.be/QTMIvTgqAfw

You will have to set up the with balance for type of light bulbs it sounds like you will. Have to play with the iso to get faster shutter. An may have to go to faster shutter speed.

Here some more for your situation

Shutter speed for low light be your biggest concern

Do a Google for low light football photography

Your biggest problem is your lens is to slow. Anything above a 3 is going create problems

This will explain it better

https://youtu.be/drW3TwtItwA

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

The D5600 is a very good DX camera. You have a proper camera, but your lenses are not first rate for sports. The 70-300mm you have is most likely the one without VR, because you got it as a bundle kit. Night football games can be sometimes difficult, because they require fast lenses, f2.8. Your photos could be blurry due to not having VR. You need hands of stone for steadiness. High School Stadiums don't have the best of lighting either. Some stadiums are good, some are not. Too bad you can't get a pass from the coach, to be on the sidelines, like I do for kids daylight soccer games during the summertime. I use a DX camera with a Nikon 50mm f1.8. My FOV is 75mm. And your camera, like mine, does not have flicker reduction for still photography. The D500 has it. You just keep practicing, steady hands, and experiment with various higher ISO's. And save money for a used, any brand, 70-200mm f2.8 lens. Good luck.

pnittoly Loc: Mountainside, New Jersey

Thanks for the prompt reply guys.
I'm shooting from the stands but might be able to get on the field.
I really appreciate the advice and will experiment with various ISO's etc. Hopefully I can find a used 70-200 f2.8

dirtpusher Loc: tulsa oklahoma

pnittoly wrote:

Thanks for the prompt reply guys.
I'm shooting from the stands but might be able to get on the field.
I really appreciate the advice and will experiment with various ISO's etc. Hopefully I can find a used 70-200 f2.8

Besure watch that last utube link I sent you will explain a lot.

mas24 Loc: Southern CA

pnittoly wrote:

Thanks for the prompt reply guys.
I'm shooting from the stands but might be able to get on the field.
I really appreciate the advice and will experiment with various ISO's etc. Hopefully I can find a used 70-200 f2.8

I recommend looking for a used lens from eBay or KEH Photo Shop. Good luck.

pnittoly Loc: Mountainside, New Jersey

Will do. Thanks again. Hope to report back soon.

toxdoc42

Join the club of those who thought Nikon was offering a good buy and included a good pair of lenses. I bet that the shorter zoom you received is VR but not the longer one, the reverse of what is really necessary. If I read the replies to my questions about this correctly, the VR version of the longer zoom lens lists for only $50 more! Too bad that neither you nor I were told about this little thing.

I have shot high school wrestling and football with available light and gotten reasonable shots, the parents want to "hire me" as their official photographer. I use a tripod for stability. I bought a monopod with a tripod foot so that I can carry the monopod in my gear bag. For an investment of about $60, you can equip yourself with that.

Good luck. I wish I had discovered UH before I purchased the camera!!

pnittoly Loc: Mountainside, New Jersey

Thanks. You are correct about the shorter zoom. I certainly would have paid the extra $50 for the VR version of the longer zoom. I'd be interested in the monopod you suggested. What is the brand/model ?

crazydaddio Loc: Toronto Ontario Canada

I shoot HS Football periodically.
Mostly good advice so far in this thread.
You CAN shoot at F6.3 but expect ISOs past 5000....they will be increadibly noisy .
A cheap monopod will help with the camera shake but you need 400-600 ss to stop the action and remove the blur. The issue of blur is only indirectly due to aperature. The shutter speed is the issue. The aperature just make the image incredibly noisy at the shutter speed needed to eliminate blur...hence why a 2.8 will do a better job. You will have much less noise at the same shutter speed.

btbg

pnittoly wrote:

Thanks for the prompt reply guys.
I'm shooting from the stands but might be able to get on the field.
I really appreciate the advice and will experiment with various ISO's etc. Hopefully I can find a used 70-200 f2.8

You should be able to get an 80-200 for a lot less than a 70-200, and it will do just as well for sports.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

pnittoly wrote:

I'm a newbie. Just bought a Nikon D5600 bundle which came with AF-P DX NIKKOR 70-300mm f/4.5-6.3G ED. Still learning so I'm shooting automatic with sports mode at 5 fps at my grandson's football games. Getting great results zooming at 300mm on sunny afternoons without tripod. However not good results at Friday Night Lights games. Some blurry images. Any suggestions to improve the night game images ? I have yet to try aperture or shutter priority modes or program mode let alone manual. Thanks.

Action and night are a tough combination. A tripod, a fast lens, VR, high ISO, and good denoising software will all help to produce better images. Start with the least expensive and work your way up. If you take one hundred shots and get ten good one, you're doing okay. Of course, if someone is paying you lots of money for good shots, that's a different story.