Jaackil Loc: Massachusetts

I absolutely love my 85 1.8 for indoor sports and my 50 1.8 to believe it or not. I regularly shoot NCAA College hockey with them. I will shoot anywhere from 1.8 to 2.8 in a rink depending on the lighting. Don’t worry about the shallow depth of field. That is what will make your images stand out. You don’t want everything in focus. You want to separate your subject from everything else using depth of field Take a look at Sports Illustrated images. You have to remember that you are going to be at a distance away from your subjects that will increase your depth of field. If you are 30 feet away at 1.8 that is going to give you about 2 to 3 feet of depth of field which is plenty to keep your subject sharp. Good luck

tshift Loc: Overland Park, KS.

No our school districts won't allow you in the buildings without you wearing a mask also at stadiums and all other fields. I guess this is a good thing. At our sporting events thank GOD we have not had a big problem with Covid. We have had some cases show up here and there but no thing major. Some schools that have had some kids get it athletes and others they have cancelled some of their sporting events as a precaution. It is a good thing I guess but I am so happy to be shooting again. Thanks

Tom

tshift Loc: Overland Park, KS.

No I haven't, I did with the other lighting that they had before when the lights were on. Baseball, Soccer, and Baseball. Thanks

Tom

tshift Loc: Overland Park, KS.

That sounds good Will feel better using my 85mm f/1.8. I hadn't really thought about the further away they are the more DOF you will have. Thanks

Tom

cjc2 Loc: Hellertown PA

Shooting Sports Action wide open will improve your images by making the subject 'POP' on a blurred background. I may also allow you to lower your ISO a bit. I STRONGLY suggest you try it. I've been shooting sports since I was in high school - over 50 years. The ExpoDisk is simple and fast to use. I like mine so much I have both the 77mm and 82mm models. Experience will be your best teacher. Best of luck.

67skylark27 Loc: Fort Atkinson, WI

I put these up awhile back, hope they will help. I am hoping to shoot
some volleyball again here soon - club volleyball has to start again
someday!!

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-555333-1.html

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-611847-1.html

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-615155-1.html

Good Luck!

joecichjr Loc: Chicago S. Suburbs, Illinois, USA

Tough, but your results are great💕

Thomas902 Loc: Washington DC

"...critique these for me please..." Tom as a major fan of dance I'm very partial to Numbers 2, 6, 7, and 10 breathtaking pose dynamic and stellar capture of these pivotal moments! What could be done to improve? Tom I actually have the same kit i.e. D810 w/ the 80-200mm f/2.8 (in both one touch as well as the the two touch which I sold long ago) Unless you have the AF-S variant (doubtful) of the 80-200mm the AF f/2.8 and f/2.8D versions seriously need to stop down to f/4 to gain excellent acuity... the first variant of the one-touch is way too slow for sports however the second variant of the one-touch is identical to the two touch in AF speed. Keep in mind that going from f/3.2 to f/4 is only 2/3 a stop and at ISO 2000 your D810 isn't even breathing hard... you can easily go up to ISO 3200 without major lose of dynamic range. And the gain in acuity is HUGE!

Please note that those images I loved were all of a static subject serving thus you could lock focus just BEFORE the server went airborne... a.k.a. the low hanging fruit. The challenge comes when tracking the lightening fast action back and forth across the net... Tom only with time/experience will this evolve...

Ok, now the obvious... any image without the ball in the frame is a throwaway... Get on IG and search for #volleyball to get your head around the images that get the most traction... One of the hardest things emerging photographers fail to grasp is "You are only as good the weakest image in your book" i.e. don't post an image that isn't at the zenith of your current attainment level... experience is a brutal teacher... As for shooting location? stay low, always have your lens' horizontal axis at or below your subject's waist if possible... this imparts a noble aura to the player(s) that is virtually impossible to achieve from the stands. Get knee pads, it's not cheating, it's SOP!

Bottom Line? It's not your kit Tom, the D810 & AF 80-200mm f/2.8 is certain capable...
Just consider stopping down the 80-200mm to f/4 (at least) k? Want to blur the BG, fine just shoot at 200mm.
Hope this helps Tom... You did epic on your second outing... far better than I would have done if I attempted volleyball... I'm keenly aware of my limitations and would not even consider venturing into that arena...

Please stay safe Tom, at your age Covid19 is sadly lethal far too often... Please be at the head of the line for your vaccine dose when it becomes available in your locale and be certain to follow up for the second dose in a timely manner. Or if you get lucky and the Johnson & Johnson variant is approved then only a single dose pays the bills! :)