tomcat

Next time you shoot a basketball game, if you can get close to the court, on the sidelines, but use an 85mm f/1.8 lens. I use this as well as the Sigma Art 135mm f/1.8 lens. Both of these will give you 1 ⅓ stops more light than the f/2.8 lens. I don't even take the 2.8 lenses now---they are useless in the basketball and gymnastic venues that I shoot in because of the very dim lighting. A 2.8 lens will hike the ISO up to 18,000 to 20,000; whereas the f/1.8 lenses will get me back down to more reasonable 4,800 to 6,400 range.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

Perhaps you didn't notice, but this thread is about Baseball. Best of luck.

tomcat

I was replying to mas24 and not the OP, you turkey🤪
I already left some comments to the OP about baseball in an earlier post.

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

I noticed, but that's called stealing the thread and can lead to others not hearing your glowing advice. Fixed FL lenses, especially fast ones, are very useful with indoor sports, but I have yet to meet a gym where I couldn't use my 70-200 if I wanted to. If I can get behind the basket I also like 50 and 35 lenses. Best of luck.

tomcat

I wish you lived closer, then you could come shoot with me one day in the gym and the gymnastics venues that I shoot in. They use banks of fluorescent lights to light the gymnasium and the light level is right at the light level required for public occupancy in a building in the state of NC. There are no LED or halogen lights available. It is similar to shooting inside a church or the movie theatre before the lights dim for the show. Your 70-200mm is only going to get you 18-20K ISO and noisy images. I have been doing this for 2 years and the first year, I struggled with the 70-200mm and every option of shutter speed available and you simply cannot make a decent image. There is just no light available. So the 2nd year, I bought the faster lenses and a Nikon D3s and it was a miracle what I could now get. Now I can get an ISO of 6-8k and it is like shooting in sunshine. You gotta remember that these high school gyms and amateur gymnastics are not set up for ESPN broadcasts so the money is not allocated in the budget for bright lighting---only the minimum designed to meet the Safety Code for the state. High school staff does not consider the possibility of anyone ever wanting to take Sports Illustrated covers there. I am so thankful that I was able to get this combo of equipment to get a decent image to work with. And then a few months ago, AI Clear came out and it was another leap forward with noise removal and sharpening on those images. So I am fairly well satisfied right now with what I can do on a retiree's budget. If I had paying customers and a profitable business, I would have the D5 and that new 500mm FP lens.

CO

Nikon has a good diagram that shows what can happen if menu option a1: AF-C priority selection is set to Release. That could be why your having focusing problems - some clear, some soft/fuzzy.

https://nps.nikonimaging.com/technical_solutions/d4_tips/autofocus/

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If AF-C priority selection is set to Focus, it will only take the photo if the image is in focus

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Taz1

How does back button focus work?

CO

Take a look at this Nikon technical solutions. The first thing is about back button focus. The next thing is about the focusing.

https://nps.nikonimaging.com/technical_solutions/d4_tips/autofocus/

Jules Karney Loc: Las Vegas, Nevada

Hi Taz1:
Hope this helps.
I shoot with a D500 and for all my outside sports I use a Nikon 80-400 4.5-5.6. I set my camera this way:
Shutter priority usually at 1/2000 at wide open, auto white balance, auto iso. Back button focus, release mode and a/c with group focus (4 little boxes) I can't use single anymore, to old to follow these fast athletes. Besides group works great. With your permission I have included two shots here. The first one 1/2000 at 5.6 iso 1250 and the second one 1/3200 at 5.6 iso 560. Remember the iso is just doing what it has to.
Good luck,
Jules

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Taz1

Thank you, very helpful.

Taz1

I will study this tonight when I have my camera handy, but appears to be great options to try.

Jules Karney Loc: Las Vegas, Nevada

All the comments you have received here from the club members are right on. Some you will use others maybe not. Practice before the game during warmups and look at everything at 100% in the viewfinder when chipping. At 100% enlargement you will have less surprises when you get home and upload the shots on your computer.

tomcat

Wow. Jules, these are great and are spot-on for sharpness. They must have been fun to process.

pnittoly Loc: Mountainside, New Jersey

I second contacting Jules Karney. He’s the best. You’ll find him in the UHH sports section.

CO

Group-Area AF is great. There's a fifth hidden focus point in the center. The five autofocus points act as one.