Using the D3000 to take sports pictures

<p>I have several nephews in baseball and basketball and take a lot of sports pictures. My camera has worked great for baseball action shots, as they are taken outside; however, I have not had as much luck with indoor basketball shots. Using the built-in flash results in too low of light, while using the sports action setting results in plenty of light, but frequent blurring. I'm not sure if I need to get a better flash, or if there are setting changes which would improve the pictures. Budget is a bit of an issue since this isn't for a business, just a hobby. Any suggestions would be appreciated, thank you!</p>

<p>jessica, what lenses are you using?</p>

<p>Usually the Nikkor 55-200mm, sometimes 70-300mm (both f/4-5.6 AF-S DX VR)</p>

<p>You need a better flash than the built-in pop-up flash on the camera. An SB-600 would work well. OR you need to buy a faster lens, which will be relatively very expensive OR both flash and lens. The biggest problem with the lens is that you will have to buy the AF-S type lenses and they are more expensive than the AF-D types.</p>

<p>Could you give me an example of a faster lens? (Sorry, like I said, it's just a hobby, I'm definitely an amateur!) Thanks for the help!</p>

<p>If you want automatic focus, which you probably do, the least expensive fast lens I can think of would be the 50mm f/1.4 AF-S at about $435. That should work quite well since you can usually get pretty close at a basketball game. Anything fast and longer than 50mm starts to get expensive. I would try the SB-600 flash first.</p>

<p>Also, don't be afraid to crank up the ISO. A noisy picture (which can be de-noised with software) is better than a dark and/or blurry one.</p>

<p>As an example of AF-S versus AF-D prices; the AF-D 85mm 1.8 lens is 499.95 (CAD), the AF-D 85mm 1.4 is 1249.95 (CAD), the AF-S 85mm 1.4G is 1899.95 (CAD) the AF-S lens will work on your D3000, buying a D7000 camera that will work with the AF-D lenses is 1279.95 (CAD). It only takes the price difference of 2 or 3 AF-S lenses compared to the price of the AF-D lenses to give you a free (relatively speaking) D7000 camera.<br /> The AF-D version of the 50mm 1.4 lens is 389.95 (CAD) and the AF-D 50mm 1.8 is 159.95 (CAD), the AF-S 50mm 1.4G is 579.95 (CAD)<br /> The 1.8 lenses are 2 stops faster than the ones you are using, that is equivalent to going from a 1/125 exposure (blurry) to a 1/500 exposure (not blurry).<br /> The SB-600 flash is about 279.95 (CAD) and will provide enough light to give you a bright and probably not blurry picture.<br /> CAD is Canadian Dollars.</p>

<p>I would suggest a Sigma 50-150 f/2.8, around $750 US, but they might be hard to find since it looks like Sigma discontinued them. I'm hoping they're going to replace it with an optical stabilized (OS) version, which is like Nikons vibration reduction (VR) or Tamron's vibration control (VC).</p>

<p>Flash is usually not permitted or advisable for indoor sports. If it is, an any SB flash (best if you choose from the 600 up) will help. Check with the venue to see if they permit flash.<br>

<br />A lens with a fast aperture is the obvious choice but also an expensive option for your camera in order to maintain AF as your camera does not have a built in AF motor to enable AF with Nikon's very affordable 50mm f1.8 lens. </p>

<p>As far as settings, I would suggest you turn your Auto ISO on, shoot in S mode and set your shutter speed to the slowest acceptable shutter speed that will stop the action. I would start at 1/125 and see if you get good results. If not, try 1 setting higher and test again. A tripod or monopod will help if you don't have steady hands. I often shoot hockey at an indoor arena that has very poor lightings. I have been able to get great results at shutter speeds as low as 1/125 and 1/160.</p>

<p>If you can get close enough to the action, Nikon's 35mm f1.8 AF-S lens might be your best choice for picture quality and is easy on the wallet compared to the 50mm AF-S lens.</p>

<p>The least expensive fast NIKKOR lens you can use on your D3000 is the 35mm f/1.8 DX, which rolls in at around USD $250</p>

<p>Since you asked for an example of a fast lens, I will explain the term.</p>

<p>Lens speed refers to the maximum aperture diameter, (the size of the hole in the lens that allows light through), of a lens. This is represented by a fraction or f stop, (ex: f/5.6, f/4, f/1.8, f/1.4). The smaller the number, the larger the opening, the more light is allowed into the camera, and the <em><strong>faster</strong></em> you can set your shutter speed.</p>

<p>Standard f-stops are as follows:<br /> f/1.4, f/2, f/2.8, f/4, f/5.6, f/8, f/11, f/16</p>

<p>Every stop refers to half of the amount light allowed to enter the camera. i.e. f/8 allows half the amount of light to enter as f/5.6. In practical terms, this means that if I properly expose a shot at 1/100 sec @ f/8, I can shoot and get the same proper exposure at 1/200 sec @ f/5.6, 1/400 @ f/4, etc.</p>

<p>What you need to stop motion is somewhere between 1/250 sec and 1/500 sec depending on the sport and level of play.</p>

<p>Hope this helps.<br /> RS</p>

<p>The Sports scene mode on these cameras will give you as optimal settings as you could do yourself manually. This is not the problem. You don't have enough light in there for the camera (any camera, not just the D3000) to set a shutter speed fast enough to freeze action with the lenses you have. Zoom lenses with a large enough aperture for this kind of photography are obscenely-expensive and out of the question for most people, including me. That leaves 3 possible solutions:</p>

<p>1) Flash. Unfortunately, pop-up flashes on cameras are simply not powerful enough for this kind of thing. They are meant for close-up fill flash. It might work some of the time if you are very close to the subject, but other than that, if you want a flash solution, you would need to get one of Nikon's Speedlights. This is actually a relatively affordable way to go, because an SB-600 or better will give you the light you need (within a reasonable distance, of course), and it's much cheaper than a sports-grade zoom lens.</p>

<p>2) A faster lens. The most practical one for a camera like yours is Nikon's 38mm f/1.8G DX. For around 200 bucks, you get a larger aperture than even the most expensive zooms. The fly in the ointment is that while it will make a dramatic improvement in your ability to take these lower light shots, it's a standard lens... so you have to be fairly close to the subject if you want to fill the viewfinder with it.</p>

<p>3) Workarounds. Set the camera on A mode (aperture priority), and make sure it's at the widest aperture of your zoom lens with the lens itself at its widest angle. Then, as you zoom in, the aperture number will increase while staying as open as it can be at any zoom setting. The camera will set the highest shutter speed it can to correspond with the exposure you need at that aperture. Don't zoom in any closer than you have to, because the aperture gets smaller and smaller, and so your shutter speed also gets lower and lower. Now what you want to do is to anticipate shots, pressing the shutter at that very moment when action seems to momentarily stop, like for example, at the peak of a jump shot. Or, you can also pan the camera with the action. This will keep your subject as sharp as possible, while letting the rest of the picture blur as it may. You might want to use continuous shooting and focusing modes as you do this. Not all the shots will be good, but you can end up with some pretty dramatic pictures like this.</p>

<p>Either way, I would highly recommend that 35 1.8G DX lens. A fast lens is like a revelation, opening up a whole new world of photography. As long as you don't mind doing it at the standard 35mm focal length, it will blow the pants off even the most expensive zooms.</p>

 

<p>Thank you all for the advice and suggestions, I really appreciate the help!</p>

<p>Get a better flash. As stated previously the SB-600 is a great little work horse. I've had one for years. ($230.00)<br>

Get a faster lens. Your choices are a bit limited here because your camera only supports AF-S lenses. To keep your auto focus you would need the newer 70-200 VR lens which is $2500.00 The 50mm f1.4 AF-S is $500.00 and the 35mm f1.8 AF-S is affordable but doesn't give you any magnification. There are many advantages to better glass. Better image quality, faster auto-focus, and better light gathering ability. You have to decide what is in your budget. $2500.00 sounds like a lot of money but if you compare it to what other people spend on their hobbies it isn't. If you had a sail boat you would spend more on a set of new sails. If you were building a hot rod you would easily spend more on a performance engine or transmission. Precision carpentry tools can easily cost more.<br>

Boost your ISO. While shooting in auto modes the camera limits the top end of the ISO. Setting the ISO up to 1600 will allow you a faster shutter speed but you will sacrifice some image quality. You would only need to do this in poor lighting.<br>

As you get better you could start to sell your images to the other parents. I have several friends who have become the school sports photographer. It's a great way to support your addiction, I mean hobby. Giving the school high quality images often leads to better access for you. I have one friend who son plays high school basketball. The school has allowed him to install strobes with radio triggers above the court. </p>

<p>i personally never use the scene modes, they just get in the way. it's much better IMO to figure out what you want the camera to do and how to get it to do that. for example, freezing motion with sports you need a fast shutter. low light you need high ISO (or flash). narrow DoF = wide aperture, etc.</p>

<p>for indoor no-flash pics, a 70-300 is just too slow. no way around that. a 50-150 as michael suggests would be about right for basketball, even better than a 70-200 on DX since you get 20mm more on the wide end. being able to shoot at 2.8 or f/4 at longer focal ranges gives you more latitude as far as shutter speed when combined with high ISO. a d3000's upper limit is really around 1000-1250, maybe 1600 if you can live with the grain. you need a 1/125 to 1/250 shutter minimum to freeze action and reduce blurry, out of focus shots.</p>

<p>personally,i would forget a prime since the 35 wont be long enough except right under the basket, the 85/1.8 wont AF, and the 85/1.4 G is too expensive.</p>