Attaining sharp focus in sports

I've been trying to attain sharp focus, I mean super sharp, in sports

photography. I've been using a Nikon D70s with 18-200mm VR, 70 - 210mm, and 70-

200mm 2.8 VR... all of them auto focus. I had RK surgery on my eyes about 10

years ago and noticed this past year that I needed to utilize autofocus because

I just wasn't cutting it manually with my vision anymore. I've tried all the

various AF modes and tweaked the various sharpness levels in camera, but still

I have not been able to obtain super sharpness. The level I'm trying to reach

is like the recent Hockey photos Carl Auer posted a couple of days ago.

 

I haven't had problems with camera shake (VR is really nice) and have a monopod

at my disposal. I had better success with football (afternoon games), than I

have with ice hockey. The local facility does not have good lighting forcing

me to use 1600 ISO @ 2.8 and shutter speeds of 1/200 - 1/400. But even though

football was easier to shoot, and my pictures were in good focus for the most

part, I didn't seem to be able to ever capture that razor sharpness.

 

Of course I can enhance the photos in photoshop, but I would rather perfect

them in camera... any suggestions?

 

Thanks

There are two sides to sharp images besides having a good sharp lens: getting focus precisely on the subject, and motion freezing shutter speeds. Both are helped by good lighting.

 

Focus accuracy is usually greater with fast lenses than with slow ones - however, the much narrower depth of field will show up any errors more readily. The capabilities of the camera body to detect focus in low light (especially if there is also low contrast in the focus target) can vary, as can the speed at which a lens is capable of follow focus, and the speed at which the body can keep up with the repeated focus assessments that lie behind follow focus. I can't tell you whether your problems would be solved by using a body with a more capable focus system (such as the D80 or higher), but it might help. Then again, you may not see any real improvement if your main problem is insufficient shutter speed.

 

There is very little you can do about faster shutter speeds in poor light when you are already using a fast lens wide open at a high ISO setting other than trying to push underexposed shots in post processing - and that may prove unsatisfactory. However, 1/200th is not going to be fast enough to freeze motion and give you sharp shots unless the subject is static. Even 1/400th is probably only just good enough provided you aren't making big enlargements. Still, it is probably worthwhile testing by shooting stationary players just to ensure that your lens really is as sharp as it is supposed to be (or use it wide open but in good light on other subjects). Of course, you would benefit from some rather expensive primes, such as the 200mm f/2 VR or 85mm f/1.4, since these would allow a faster shutter speed.

 

Overall, I suspect Carl's main advantage over you is that he is shooting at better lit venues (and probably has ceiling mounted strobes triggered wirelessly for hockey shots), and is thus getting faster (effective, in the case of flash) shutter speeds.

Kevin

 

Some things I have learned recently with the D70 - To stop action in sports you need 1/250 or 1/500 preferable. That said everything is a compromise depending on conditions, such as venue - ice hockey, basketball.

 

I went to shutter priority and set 1/125, 1/250, and so forth. I used ISO set to automatic so depending on light it would automatically match to best exposure. Obviously I used the the f stop on max open. If light permits you can set your f stop. I set: autofocus to continuous; AF area to dynamic; continuous frame shutter release; AE-L/AF-L option to AF-on.

 

The last lets you focus without using the shutter release. This gives you the option to focus, then move, and still fire as the action unfolds. I never considered that little button of much use until it came to action shots I took in September. It's a little awkward to hold the camera, but the custom focusing really made a difference in getting a higher percentage of focused shots.

 

This information was gained over a few hectic days of shooting the US Open. I was given advice by a very gracious pro whom I was assisting. He uses the high end Canon with fast glass. His shutter speed advice and focusing method was then modified to the D70. After that I realized how much more the Canon is suited to action. Still, I have been able to come back with action shots focused and well composed. The main difference is that as an amateur my day job doesn't depend on the shot I take.

 

Given the present state of my equipment, I would definitely upgrade the camera body and add fast glass if I had to absolutely get the shot. In the meantime, the above has been my work around given circumstance and available equipment.

Hi Kevin. I've shot a fair bit of tennis, and have used both a D70 and D200. The D200 has a better focusing system but I also had some great results with the D70. Forget using Shutter priority and use Aperture. Set as wide as possible and the shutter speed will take care of itself. Difficult if the lighting isn't there though I know. I've used a 150mm 2.8 with X2 convertor, and a 200mm. I tend to keep the ISO between 100 and 400 and shutter speeds are in the 1/800th at a minimum, up to 1/2000th. Try also focusing on the eyes, or if there's lots of movement, the body. If I use tennis as an example, it also pays to get to the know the particular player's style so you can predict when you hot the shutter.