Paintball shutter speeds

<p>Haven't shot much paintball action before and I know there are several good photogs on here that do it...<br>

What shutter speed will freeze the paint as it leaves the barrel, but let it blur just enough to imply speed and action? Both horizontally across the frame as well as diagonally, facing the player.</p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

<p>A typical paintball gun/marker produces a muzzle velocity of around 300 feet per second. So if you want show the paintball within one foot of the muzzle as it leaves, but show that entire one foot of travel as a blurred image of the ball... then you're looking to capture 1/300th of the ball's travel over the period of one second. Or, 1/300th of a second. The faster you go (say, 1/1000th) the shorter the blur will be. If you use a very short duration flash burst, then the shutter dragging effect at a sync speed of 1/250th will get you a bit more than a foot of blurred travel, but with the ball much more distinctly visible.<br /><br />There are a lot of variables, here. To get those high shutter speeds, you need a fair amount of light, and may need the lens wide open. And that means less depth of field. which means you also need to be thinking about what you want in focus when doing those 3/4 angle shots.<br /><br />Good luck. Wear eye protection, and consider a protective filter on your lens, especially if you're a bit on the down-range side of things.</p>

<p>>>Wear eye protection, and consider a protective filter on your lens, especially if you're a bit on the down-range side of things.</p>

<p>If it was my camera I would be buying one of those complete waterproof covers from somebody like Kata.</p>

<p>If this is on a speedball field, you usually hold to the sidelines and the risk is a bit lower. If we are talking a big scenario game, well, wear a bright vest and most people should avoid shooting you.</p>

<p>Matt's advice should be pretty much right.</p>

<p>Excellent. Thank you. Matt, I appreciate the "why" behind the "how!"<br>

I'm a beginning player as well so I bring my camera and shoot that instead of my gun whenever I get worn out or low on paint... I haven't had a direct hit on my camera or lens yet but it's in a plastic bag more or less. Would rather not spend time getting paint out of cracks and body lines!</p>

<p>I've done several paintballs events recently. To get a decent pellet trail or 'freeze' a pellet I shoot at a minimum speed of 1/300 and it goes all the way to 1/1000. ISO is normally pushed up to around 500 (I'm a regular shooter at a local woodsball arena in Malaysia) .<br>

A fast zoom lens i.e. f2.8 would really help. Also try to keep yr composition as tight as possible. You will need to experiment to get the shots you want. It's definitely a 'hits and misses' affair, at least for me.<br>

<br />I'm yet to shoot a speedball game but i'm sure the light conditions are much better and increasing your chances of freezing those pellet trails. Below is a link to view some of the shots I did. Do have a look see. Good luck with your shots and most importantly have loads of fun. It shows in your shots.<br /><a href="http://ritszz.fotopages.com/">http://ritszz.fotopages.com/</a></p>