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APERTURE/SHUTTER SPEED SETTINGS FOR BASKETBALL


michelle_gifford

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<p>I am a small step above an amateur at taking sports photos. I have a canon rebel, 28-70mm f/2.8, 70-200mm f/2.8, and 50mm 1.8. I use 1600 ISO (as this is as high as my rebel will go), and usually use full 2.8 with about 1/160 or 1/200 shutter speed, depending on lighting situations. I also shoot in Manual with constant AF and center spot focusing.<br>

My problem is that while my telephoto 2.8 works great in this gym, when I attached my shorter 2.8, my shots began to be blurry and soft. Same problem with the 1.8. I'm not very educated on shutter speeds and aperture when it comes to cleaning up my shots and lighting. I realize that some of the problem is because my larger lens has USM, which helps with faster focus. Can someone please offer suggestions as to why the shorter lenses do not work as well as my 2.8; and how can I adjust my settings to get the best possible outcome? NO FLASH ALLOWED. <br>

Also, I adjusted my aperture up to 3.2, and the pictures got better and sharper. Any correlation, or is this luck?? Sorry, I just do not know.<br>

Thanks for any input.</p>

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<p>If you are leaving your camera on same settings & just switching lenses then I thinking the lenses are not focusing as fast as the 70-200 2.8, or you are just a bit steadier with the bulk of the 70-200 than the smaller lenses. Usually just the opposite.<br>

Better shots with f3.2 suggest that using spot metering you maybe miising intended focus point/subject. I use center focus area which - I think - gives me a somewhat largerfocus area.<br>

Also, 160th shutter spd is on slow side for HS basketball but if that is best you can get at ISO 1600, then that's it. I've been shooting at ISO 2000 mostly now with Nikon D300 and D300S. If I can get to an afternoon game with some light coming into the gym from high windows and get down to 1200 or 1600.<br>

I'm not sure if it's better to use 1600 and boost underexposed shots in Lightroom or shoot at 2000 giving a good exposure. Which scenariio produces more noise???<br>

Are you using a monopod with the 70-200? Are you shooting RAW?</p>

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<p>I definitely believe SOME of the problem could be camera shake, but even some of my shots where neither I or the subject are moving becomes blurry or soft with the shorter lenses, especially when I zoom to preview them. No monopod with the 70-200, and I am not shooting RAW. Also, there are no windows to rely on natural light. My shots are frequently noisy with the higher ISO, but if I got down any in ISO speed I get too much blur, and noise is easier to fix than blur. Also, when I changed to 3.2, they were less noisy?? I will attempt to upload a sample, but I have never uploaded before, so it may take a while to do that.</p>

<p>I am planning to upgrade within a year to a 50D, which has higher ISO, but will that help? Will a faster ISO help me get the most out of my faster lenses?? I just don't understand shutter and aperture enough to be able to correct my problem. Also, I do shoot with center focus area all the time, but sometimes I change to all spot focusing and the images are still inconsistently focused, so it doesn't help or hurt it seems. </p>

<p>How does the aperture effect DOF anyway? Can someone just explain the aperture/shutter speed relationship to me? I'm so frustrated to have $2000 worth of equipment and not know how to get the best shots out of it. I sell my prints on sports posters, and I need to correct these problems I am having. THANKS!</p><div>00VR62-207445784.thumb.jpg.7a029518cece842ec83779c67673b212.jpg</div>

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<p>Michelle,<br>

Lighting varies from gym to gym, but it looks like you have good lighting. (Our gym is the oldest in the state and has a lot of broken windows with lamp lighting (some of which are out) that runs from orange at one end to blue at the other). Anyway, since your lighting is so good, you might be able to increase you shutter a bit more, which will darken your picture a bit more, but also sharpen your image. I shot my first game of the season on Tuesday, but couldn't use the 70-200 2.8, so I settled on my trusty 85mm 1.8. I had to set it at 3200 ISO 1/500. I really needed more light, but when I bumped the shutter down to 1/400, there was more blur. Good luck.<br>

Laura</p>

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<p>Am shooting high school basketball with my XTI and the 50 1.8 lens. I have it set a 2.8, 1600iso, 160 to 400 shutter and get about 40/60 of my shots coming out the way I want. The lens just isn't able to focus as fast as the more expensive ones are. Am buying a 7D in the summer which will help. The 7D have 19 AF spots, as our rebels only have 9 (if memory serves me correct.)</p>

<p>Brian Minson</p>

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<p>Here's a great resource that you can use to learn about the exposure triangle quickly.<br /><a href="http://digital-photography-school.com/learning-exposure-in-digital-photography">http://digital-photography-school.com/learning-exposure-in-digital-photography</a><br /><br />This will break down aperture, shutter-speed, and ISO's relation to proper exposure. The aperture section will be very beneficial considering you're interested in depth of field.<br /><br />I think with the shot that you posted, you were a victim of mis-composition. I do believe you were using the center focus point, but because of your wide open aperture (2.8), only the player in blue's elbow/arm was perfectly in focus, since that's what your AF point focused on. Anything in front of or behind that focal plane will be out of focus. In order to get what you expect, you're going to have to increase your depth of field (increase the number of your aperture).<br /><br />Normally, the "sweetspot" for most lenses is around F4-F5.6 (based on reviews I've read) and especially sport photography, it's just as important to have focused faces of the alternative players in the frame just as much as the main subject. So increasing your aperture to that "sweet spot" area is going to be important.<br /><br />Shooting at the "beginning" of your aperture range is going to always produce a softer-edged image. You want to get those razor-edged so shooting RAW is going to help as well. You can underexpose the image in the camera so that you can shoot at F4, and then change the exposure 2-3 stops in post production (which you have to do for noise reduction anyway). That way, you can have sharp images, but still have perfect exposure. I think with what you'll gain in the crispness, the payoff will surpass the little extra time necessary to process from RAW to JPG.<br /><br />Personally, I think 160 is too slow to get the ball frozen as well. In most sports photography, that's just as important as getting the face frozen. I normally start at 250, and work my way backwards until I get motion blur on the ball. That tells me where my shutter speed HAS to be. The ball is going to move faster than the person, so I normally try to get that frozen as a rule. Once again, don't be afraid to underexpose your shots a bit in the camera if you're shooting RAW it's all part of the process, what's important is capturing the image. You can change the exposure in PP. You can also do this with JPG don't get me wrong, but it is damaging to the image.<br /><br />Hope this helps and provides the info you were looking for.<br /><br />PS.. Brian, you'll LOVE your 7D.. I just got mine a couple months ago (upgraded from the 20D) It's simply AMAZING. And yes, it's 19 pts, but still I only use 1 (center)</p>
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<p>1/160 is not a very fast shutter for basketball. Set f-stop to 2.8 (or maximum aperture) and shutter to 1/400. Shoot in RAW and adjust exposure in post. I would think ISO 1600 with a f/2.8 that 1/160 would be overexposed, you should have plenty of room to increase shutter speed.</p>
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<blockquote>

<p>The 7D have 19 AF spots, as our rebels only have 9 (if memory serves me correct.)</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>This is true, and although the 7D AF is newer and more advanced, the number of points shouldn't matter with sports b/c you should have AF locked on the center point.</p>

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  • 2 weeks later...
<p>Try to put the shutter speed to at least 1/250th in TV mode. This is generally enough to stop motion for basketball. I am fortunate enough to have strobes in the ceiling of our gym so my pictures are exposed correctly, but if yours are underexposed, Photoshop or Lightroom should be able to get the exposure up if you shoot in RAW.</p>
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