49erfan21

I'm new here so this may have been covered before. I have a Canon EF 85mm 1:18 lens. What mode do I shoot in and what settings in that mode for best results.

Wabbit Loc: Arizona Desert

Hey Doc ..... I think this has been covered but I may be wrong .....

..... flash is normally not allowed so you can turn it off .....

..... I suggest you use shutter Priority (on Canon that's Tv mode) and dial in 1/500th of a second, pretty much stops all movement ..... a slower shutter will begin to show some activity blur which you may want, this is subjective .....

..... using shutter priority your camera will choose the aperture and with the 85mm f1.8 (good choice for indoor w/o flash) you're using a low light capable lens .....

..... You're probably better off using Auto ISO .....

Db7423 Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

Agreed. Wabbit gave you a good starting point. The only other thing I would suggest is to set your white balance for the lighting in the gym. Can't tell you how to do this (I'm Nikon) but your manual will tell you how.

Fran Loc: Northeast, United States

I shot a my son's basketball game for the first time on Saturday. I used shutter priority set at 500 and auto ISO. I switched between my 2.8 and 1.8 lenses. Personally I prefer the 1.8. The 2.8 came out a little dark. I'll play with the ISO settings next week and maybe change the exposure setting. I also liked the shutter priority at 500; it really froze the shot. I used a custom white balance which worked fairly well. Here's the link to a few of the pictures if you're interested.

Good luck and post the pictures as well as your findings.

http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-83775-1.html

ole sarg Loc: south florida

Wabbit you nailed it.

ole sarg Loc: south florida

Also, would probably use manual focus

49erfan21

Okay, I used the AV Mode, F1.8 and 800 ISO. I'll try to add a picture here. Also used autofocus. Thanks for your help.

Wabbit Loc: Arizona Desert

Hey Doc ..... you did good .....

49erfan21

Thanks.

Wabbit Loc: Arizona Desert

Hey Doc ..... if you drop the shutter speed to 1/300 or 1/250 you'll get some blur which can show speed .....

49erfan21

Okay, now I need help with my zoom lens. Have a Canon EFS 55-250 mm 1:4-5.6 with image stabilizer. Also to be used for basketball.

dasloaf

that lens is way to slow for indoor sports. 70-200mmF2.8 is awesome for basketball. Check out the sport section of the board for examples!

Wabbit Loc: Arizona Desert

Hey Doc ..... that's a slow lens ..... f4 is as fast as it can get and that's at 55mm ..... to do it right you need a 2.8 or faster lens if ya can't use flash .....

Dun1 Loc: Atlanta, GA

Most sports shots are shot on AV, spot focus (to focus on a player of group of players, you want to shoot at a high enough ISO, so that you are able to get a shutter speed of at least 1/500th of a second. The majority of amateur gyms,are not well lighted. In some cases the color on one end of the gym is totally 180 degrees from the other end of the gym. If you are shooting from under the basket behind the baseline you might want to consider a wider angle lens with an f stop of 2.8 at least. If you are not permitted to shoot from the floor, try to find a position high enough in the stand to permit you to capture shots from above the basket. If you intend to shoot from one baseline to the other basket keep in mind that you are limited by your lens length. I use a 70-200 2.8 lens and the middle are under basket will usually be sharp enough to edit, the edge of the floor on the far end of the gym will be difficult.
Depending on where you are and the restrictions you may be able to use a flash, in some cases it is forbidden, in the case of Mac Preps and come of the higher end sports sites, flash is a must.
In most gyms, I use a 24.mm 2.8 lens, a 50 mm 1.4 lens, and a 70-200 2.8 lens.
The images I uploaded are examples the final tweaks and full edits have not been applied

Taken with 70-200 mm 2.8 lens


Taken with 70-200 2.8 lens this shot was taken at the far end of the floor from under the oposite basket

49erfan21

One more question, do you shoot Raw or JPeg?