Wrestling pictures came out blurry

I took some wrestling photos last night in a middle school and many of them

came out blurry. Here is what is was using :

 

Canon Rebel XTi, 24-70mm 2.8 zoom lens, ISO 1600, white balance was flourecent

and set at shutter priority.

 

When I got there I moved around and took a couple test shots. I started off

hoping I could keep the shutter speed around 500 but the read out in my view

finder keep flashing until I reduced the setting all the way to 1/50.

 

Any of the shots I took where there was only a little movement going on came

out good. The shots I took where there was much movement going on came out

blurry. I understand that this was a result of the 1/50 shutter speed setting

but what were my alternatives?

 

If I increased the shutter speed setting which would then reduce the light

entering the camera and increased the exposure setting would this give me a

good result?

 

What do you recommend under these situations?

 

Thanks

"but what were my alternatives" 1) a faster lens 2.0, 1.8, 1.4, 2) flash.

Richard,

 

You don't post any of the shots so it's hard to be sure, but even without seeing the shots, I can suggest two or three things.

 

A shutter speed of 1/50th sec is too slow to capture anything that's not standing still. I assume the wrestlers were moving, struggling, etc. I know that they get into a lock sometimes and don't move much for a second or so, and if you could take your shots at that split second, you MIGHT have better luck. But basically, 1/50th sec is just too slow.

 

The other problem is that you may also be moving the camera. The slower the shutter speed, the more susceptible the camera will be to the effect of camera shake, that is, the fact that human beings simply can't hold a camera perfectly still the way a tripod can. For shooting action sports, the solution to camera shake isn't a tripod (usually), it's faster shutters speeds and possibly image stabilization (a.k.a. shake reduction, vibration reduction).

 

Unless the light in your gym was truly awful, I don't quite agree with Sheldon H.'s suggestions. I shoot a lot of indoor sports in elementary school gyms where the light is quite bad, and I'm able to shoot acceptable, non-blurry shots with a max f/2.8 aperture. I would suggest that you try putting the camera into manual mode. Set the aperture to f/2.8, set the shutter speed to 1/200th sec, and the ISO to 1600 and take some shots and see if they work. A sharp photo that's slightly underexposed is better than a properly exposed blurry photo; and you might be able to brighten the photo some in post-processing.

 

Will

Yup. Raise the shutter speed. You will underexpose a bit, and at iso 1600 you'll see more noise as well. But these aren't fashion photos, so a bit of a grainy look shouldn't be a problem.

 

Give it another try. Good luck.

You need flash, if it is allowed. Even an f/1.4 lens will only get you 1/200 sec at ISO 1600

(assuming that your 1/50 reading at ISO 1600 was accurate).

I usually use 2 speedlights on light stands for wrestling at 1/4 or 1/8 power. Most of the

matches I shoot use one light right over the mat. I shoot some using that light but most of

the stuff is lit with the speedlights.<div></div>

One more<div></div>

Thank You for the input fellows. I'm going to try some of these recommendations this week at two matches.

 

I dont' have any light setups yet but I will try shooting in manuel mode with a higher shutter speed tonight.

 

Rich

I think that at 1600, f2.8 and 1/250 you should be getting decent shots. You might even be able to reduce ISO to 1000 or 800. Just brighten them up with an editing program. You can't expect good shots, without extra lighting, in a typical gym and not have to do some post editing.

Steve, you indicated to lower the iso if possible. What do you consider as a priority assuming #1) shutter speed what is # 2) if you have the light, lower the iso down from 1600 or close the apperature a stop or two?