indoor, no-flash, action photography

Hey all. I would appreciate some suggestions to improve results for indoor,no-flash, action photography. My 13 yr old

daughter is on a gymnastics team, and all the meets prohibit the use of a flash. The two lenses I have for my D80

are a AF 28-105mm Nikkor and a AF VR 80-400mm Nikkor. Needless to say, the bigger lens doesn't stand a

chance, but the 28-105 has produced mediocre results with the camera in M mode, the ISO on high, and the f-stop

at 4.5. Distance to subject can sometimes be challenging as well. Do I need to purchase a different lens, or can I

further optimize what I already have? Thanks.

 

Ken R.

For the type of indoor action photography you've described you'll need a faster lens. The most affordable fast lenses suitable for this purpose would be the 50mm f/1.8 and 85/1.8 AF Nikkors, altho' I can't recall whether they will retain autofocus with the D80. If they do, grab 'em.

 

For most indoor action photography of amateur sporting events even an f/2.8 zoom won't be fast enough. School and other gyms at this level are rarely well lighted, so only the fastest lenses you can afford will do the trick. Fortunately, the f/1.8 primes offer excellent value at a fraction of the cost of the f/1.4 equivalents.

I would think the 50mm 1.4/1.8 and/or the 85mm 1.8 could be relatively affordable options and gain you a few stops.

The <a href="http://www.laurphoto.com/prdr/nikon_50_1-8" target="_blank"><b>50/1.8</b></a> will indeed AF on the D80. It's the best just-over-a-hundred-bucks way to approach this. 50mm will feel like a short telephoto on your camera, so if you can get anything even close to a nice position on the floor, it will be a good start. You'll also find yourself discovering all sorts of other pleasantries once you start to use it. It's razor sharp, small and light to carry and use, and you can use its wide-open shallow depth of field to nicely isolate your subject from cluttered backgrounds if you like that sort of thing. Many sports shots, if you look carefully, really take on that S.I. look when your eye has some relief from the institutional visual noise that plague many such venues.

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Alas, the longer fast lenses are hideously expensive, but the 85/1.8 that Lex mentions is a gem, and also happens to be a fabulous portrait lens. Hate to say it, but you're working on some of the more difficult and spendy-equipment-centric shooting one can do. Good luck!

What kind of budget do you have? What ISO are you shooting at?

 

The 70-200mm f2.8 would likely do the job for you, or at least do a better job, but it doesn't come cheap.

... or can I further optimize what I already have?

 

Another option. DXO or equivalent software. The results for ISO 1600 and 3200 with current RAW converters and

noise reduction programs are amazing compared to just a year or two ago. There are other programs available that

probably give equivalent. Perhaps someone who has experience with other programs can list them for you.

 

The link below is to a series of test shots I took recently. I processed the images with DXO 5.2's new RAW

converter using standard NR settings, then processed those images through dfine 2.0 software in CS3. The results

for the D200 are representative of what the D80 will give.

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/7560336&size=lg

Elliot, the 70-200/2.8 VR is an excellent lens but won't be fast enough for typical school or gym lighting other than at the higher levels of competition. Even at ISO 1600 shooting wide open you'll be lucky to get a 1/60th second shutter speed. While it's fast enough for pro venues and well lighted indoor gyms at some colleges and higher levels of amateur competition, it's not fast enough for the typical gyms where most parents, photojournalists and others have to work. And VR is useful only for minimizing camera shake, not subject motion blur.

Sorry, the full frame is not show in the above link - you can see it here along with the complete D200 test results:

 

http://www.photo.net/photo/7560297&size=lg

If you live in a large metropolitan area, you could rent a 70-200 f/2.8 AF-S VR lens for the meet. Meets are usually on weekends; weekend rental rates are usually more reasonable than rates during the week.

With a D80 in a typically dim middle/high school gyms, you'll need to shoot at around f1.8 even at ISO-1600 to get decent shutter speed (1/500 sec. is ideal, 1/250 sec. or slower if you can anticipate peak action) assuming you want to capture the athlete sharp and in focus (unless you shoot ISO-6400 on a D3, then you can get away with f2.8.) The closer you can get to action, the shorter focal length you can get away with and consequently increase your chance of getting keepers with slower shutter speed.

 

An alternative route to go is to use what you have (D80 & either the normal zoom or tele zoom) and pan at slow shutter speed for a blurred background and a relatively in-focus gymnist (which would convey action even better.) Which ever route you go, make sure to set custom white balance for proper color rendition.

A couple of months ago, I shot a friend's kid's gym meet. I used the D300 at ISO 1600, 70-200mm/f2.8 wide open at f2.8, and I was getting something like 1/250 sec. Overall it was quite reasonable, but of course I don't know whether your gym is as brightly lit or not.

Ken, Check the properties on the pictures you shot with your 28-105 to determine the zoom you need 50mm or 85mm. I have the 50/1.8 and have shot girls Volleyball and Basketball with it for two years. I try to sit or stand close to the action so I don't have to crop too much. Your D80 has more megapixels than my D50 so this will be to your advantage. Lex is correct about 2.8 being to slow. I just purchased the Tamron 17-50/2.8 and shot some pictures of a volleyball camp my daughter was playing in and I was having problems getting above 1/125 of a second. For the money you can not beat the 50/1.8 or 85/1.8. Sounds like you might be doing this for awhile so get what you need right away and have fun. Better yet tell your family you need the D300 and Sigma 70-200/2.8 at ISO 3200 to take those athletic shots.

Wow, I have to say I'm impressed with the immediate response from so many people! It sounds like the 50/1.8 and the 85/1.8 are worth looking into, so I'll do that. Thanks for all the input.

It depends on the gymnastics location. Some gyms I have been to for meets have been exceptional (1/400s at 1600). But

honestly, on a D300 now I'm boosting to 3200 with a 70-200/2.8. If you don't have floor privs then you need a zoom. If you

have floor privs (i.e., covering for press) you can shoot at 1600 and use an 85/1.8 or 50/1.4 and park your a** in one spot

close. Or if you cannot get close, I've rented a 200/2 which is a beast but amazing. Even at 3200, if you shoot in raw and

clean up later, this will gain you a stop or more and very acceptable 11x14 prints. I find the noise looks better in B&W

though, so that's what I usually print. I'm on the fence about the D700, but right now I can do what I need to with a D300.

D80 is equivalent to D200 in noise, which means I would top off at 1600. However, I must say B&W on a D80/200 at 3200

is very acceptable at 8x10 print size (shooting in RAW, noise reduce PP, etc.). That's my experience. YMMV.

From your description above, I'll add my voice as a D80 user for the 85/1.8 as your option - plus it gives you a damn good portrait lens to boot for about $450.

 

Lots of ISO will also help. On my D80 at least I find that noise is good up to and including 800 but then starts deteriorating. That said, 1600 is still quite acceptable and though I have never used noise reduction post software I'm sure 1600 and some tweaking in that respect would help.

 

Another simple and cost-free option of course is to check, and beg, that the best amount of light is being used in the venue. For example my indoor soccer venue prefers to use just natural sky-light in the main and is therefore relatively dim. But for an important final I asked them to turn on their halogens and as a result, in A mode and without changing anything else, the camera's selected shutter speed went from a near unworkable 1/30 to 1/100 (still not perfect but far, far better) in the one flick of a switch by the friendly attendant.

I shot an indoor gymnastic competition last winter. I used a D300 at ISO 2500 to 3200 depending. Here's what worked for me.

 

You need to shoot at 1/500 sec if possible. Never go below 1/250.

 

Unless the gym is really well lit, I don not believe a lens slower than f1.8 is practical.

 

If you can get close, the 50/1.8 AF will get the job done. I shot the balance beam with a 50/1.8. I had floor access and could stand pretty much wherever I wanted to.

 

If you can't get close, the 85/1.4 or 1.8 is required. I used an 85/1.4 for a while, but the preferred the 50/1.8 for the beam. If you are too far away for the 85/1.8, you have a problem.

 

Gymnasts like photos where that show them with a lot of air. You have to shoot at the highest possible fps to get the best results. Use fresh batteries. Brings lots of CF cards. We jury rigged an extra battery into the D300 grip and could get 7 fps routinely. This rate is really helpful at increasing your keeper rate as gymnasts are quick. If you replace the battery often, you will get the maximum fps for your camera. You will put a lot of shutter wear on your camera, but you also can get some spectacular shots.

 

Tape your flash in place. If your fingers accidentally pops the flash open, and it fires, someone could get injured.

 

Learn how to use AF-C . The D300 auto focus worked really well with the 50/1.8 AF. The D200, which I used for a bit, did not work as well.

 

Set the color balance manually. This gives you the optimal gain for each channel and the least noise. I used a white coffee filter over my lens to set the balance.

 

If possible practice on the youngest gymnasts first. They are the slowest and you will be able to get your technique down for the faster athletes.

 

I think this type of sports photography is very difficult, which makes it a fun if you like a challenge.

 

Good luck and enjoy the event.

<p>Great imput...I'm using a D50 with a 16-85 auto nikon, shooting indoor kids dance teams and have trouble as well. Any Ideas? Thanks.</p>