tomcat

Ok. This sounds better. You need to shoot in manual at f/2.8 and 1/1,000 shutter speed. Set the ISO for Auto ISO and let it float to whatever the lighting demands. Get yourself a 135mm Sigma Art lens or the 85mm Art lens so you won't have to do much cropping. I never was satisified with the 70-200 zoom lens indoors because as soon as you zoom out, you have lost your f/2.8 setting.

It's a few bucks, but hey, these are grandkids so spend the money. You got the rest of your life to pay back the loan, but the kids are growing and they won't wait. I'm one of those irresponsible papas that does not care what it costs to get the shot. :))

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Please do not be so dogmatic. I was in the gym of a small elementary / junior high last week. The purpose was not athletic, but if it had been, I am quite certain that I could have taken photos there with my KP camera plus my 55-300mm f/4.5-6.3 lens. Yes, this would push me to my usual limit of ISO=12800, perhaps even to 25600, but I have demonstrated that is entirely doable, and the combination cost me around $1200 last year. I am sure that a Nikon user could get similar results with a D500, D7500 or Z50.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

G

Go actually try it with the equipment you describe and let us know how that works out... Been there, tried that, but hey, maybe your gyms are better lighted than the ones I shoot in. The KP is an exceptionally capable camera at high ISO/low light work, and if you’re comfortable with the noise at ISO 25,600, so be it, but cameras such as the D500 or D7500 are over a stop worse, and I don’t think they’re going to look good at 25,600. My point is that you can’t generalize that to all crop cameras, and personally, I don’t like the noise much beyond 12,800, even on a FF. You CAN do it with slow lenses and high ISO, but instead, choose a fast lens and shoot at lower ISOs, and your results will be better

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

We have to remember that we are talking about photographic memories by a relative, which don't exactly require NBA-standard shots. I took this photo fifteen years ago, when our younger daughter was in the 8th grade, and we lived in a town of population 2700 in the middle of Kansas. No, it is not a perfect shot, but it is a perfectly fine remembrance of those times. Unfortunately we are entering tournament time around here; you might have heard about Indiana tournaments, so I think I'll pass on actually taking one now, but I am certain I could do better than this with my modern equipment if I tried.

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skornfeld

The 79-200 is a constant 2.8 so I don't lose it. I have a 85 prim but it didn't work in this instanc because I couldn't be under the basket due to th size of the gym and couldn't run the sideline due to other spectators. I'd have the same problem with 135, no way to zoom with my feet. I probably should have tried a faster ss with the higher iso and lived with the additional noise

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

Here's a cropping of a shot that I took yesterday. I cropped it for an 8.5x11 print that came out beautifully.
EOS R, RF 85mm f/1.2 L.
1/640, f/4, ISO 8000.
Shot in Manual Mode with auto ISO.

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tomcat

I assume you posted images to get a review and suggestions for improvements. Next time, please include a statement that you do not want any critique.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

I posted because the OP posted as an Uncle, and my point was that family has different standards than Sports Illustrated does; “wow” opportunities occur very seldom, but there are plenty of “lesser” ones. If you could do better with a $1000 worth of equipment, that is great, but expecting someone to spend several thousand dollars for a season of limited “wow” moments is totally unreasonable.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

I take your points, but I am going to have to respectfully disagree in some respects. There are many “wow” moments in every game/match - I have never been to one where I couldn’t find at least half a dozen. And if you want to capture those moments at their best, there is nothing unreasonable about several thousand dollars on equipment. The same is true for any specialized field of photography to get first rate results - sports, BIF, astrophotography, (I could go on). And it’s not like that equipment isn’t useful for other genres’ for many years, maybe decades. High quality fast glass will allow you to do more than just shoot in low light, it also allows you to isolate the subject in portraiture, etc. If you’re trying to capture family snapshots, that is fine, and you can certainly do that for less, but if you want to capture first rate shots in indoor sports, then fast lenses and cameras that perform well at high ISOs are a must. For example, your KP with an inexpensive, but fast nifty 50 can accomplish just that if you’re in the right place at the right time, but if you want to shoot with slow zooms, then your trade offs of SS vs ISO vs aperture are going to be limited - it’s going to force you into high ISOs and the attendant noise.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

Unless making what should be a routine basket counts, you never sat through some of the games I did. But even getting the ball to the centerline counts when your relative is playing point guard for the moment.

TriX Loc: Raleigh, NC

I understand. I shoot a lot of HS wrestling, and there are usually half a dozen dramatic “keepers” per match out of maybe 100-200 shots. There wouldn’t be so many rejects, but odds are, you’re going to get a lot more pictures of backs and sides than faces. I definitely get it about relatives - spent maybe a hundred Saturdays and nights sitting on bleachers just for that one moment when your child (or niece/nephew or grandchild) does something to record. I was lucky in that I had some great moments as a dad when my son wrestled and would win a match or a tournament or a championship. Nothing better in life than being the one to hang a medal around your boy’s neck.

Cheers.

tomcat

It is not unreasonable for me to spend whatever I need to get the shots. My 4 year-old grandson scored his first soccer goal this past Fall and I got a "wow" moment for him to treasure forever. The 8x10s are posted on the side of the refrigerator and he looks at them and shows them to strangers every opportunity. I was using my new Nikon Z6 (replacing my D3s) and a Sigma f/1.8 135mm Art lens that I bought for my granddaughter's gymnastic competitions. I had about $3500 worth of equipment in my hands and it was worth every penny because when he scored the goal, he looked directly at me with the biggest grin and look of wonder on his face. So yes, capturing that "wow" moment was priceless. So I am suggesting to you and the OP to buy what you need to buy to get a great image worthy of your efforts. I would suggest further that you don't continue to subscribe to the "participation" mentality of just getting a "something" snapshot but rather think about a quality image that will be timeless. As Tri-X alluded to earlier, the lenses will be available forever and so will be camera bodies. My Nikon D3s is a 10-year old camera and still is one of the best for low-light photography and will be around much longer for those occasions when I need a portrait quality image in low light where the ISO will be around 8-10,000. Spread out over 10 years, that $3500 of new equipment I have comes to about $30/month. So my final comment is to buy what you need and use it forever while the kids or grandkids are growing up.

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

My daughter is wearing what she called "dorky knee pads" in the 2005 photo I posted earlier {to protect her knees the many times} when she ended up on the bottom of a scramble after a loose ball . Since then, she has graduated from eight grade, high school, college, and grad school. Now she works in Cincinnati. I took a natural light photo to show her and her older sister how long a kitten we recently adopted has become. I haven't attended any indoor sports recently, but I think the noise in that photo is very much controlled, and I would be very happy if that is all the noise I got in photo taken of people playing sports.

https://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-631428-1.html#10930951

rehess Loc: South Bend, Indiana, USA

I will not spend money for refrigerator art that could otherwise be spent directly on the children, or even on someone else - like a homeless person. I guess that is a difference between us.

dsmeltz Loc: Philadelphia

Burst in this situation works when your camera allows you to limit the length of bursts to a few (say 3-5) and allows you to set the shutter priority to focus acquisition for not only the first shot but for all shots in the burst. Otherwise you are only going to get one good shot anyway. Basketball has too much change in direction of the subject so the odds are always going to be better with single shot combined with a solid knowledge of the game. But without the knowledge, I could see where a burst might help a struggling shooter. There would be a lot of culling going on in post, but some shots would be usable.