Hockey success achieved

[designonline]

After trial and tribulation, I have finally gotten a combination

that works with hockey! I used a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 with the New

1D Mark II N., 1/320 sec. shutter speed and used an Expodisk for

good white balance. Take a look!<div></div>

[andrew_carlson]

Nice shot! You could also just use the ice for white balance too. Good placement around the rink helps to catch the action.

[michael_balb_us]

I have been frustrated with (youth) hockey for a long while. I am using a D60 with the same 70-200 f/2.8 IS. I generally shoot with the ISO @ 1000, and I have been frustrated with marginal focus, blur due to motion (shutter speeds generally come in at 1/90 - 1/180 on aperture priority), and way too much noise. What did you step up to the 1D Mk IIN from? Did the change help. I am contemplating purchasing the Mk II N for it's higher ISO range and much faster response time/fps/autofocus. Any suggestions for settings on the D60? Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated.

[designonline]

I upgraded from a Canon 20D, mainly because of noise issues. The Mark IIN does an amazing job in low light. I shoot at ISO 800 at 1/320 but could also go down to ISO 640 on the Mark IIN which helped in the areas with a little more light. I blew some of these pictures up to 13 x 19 and saw little to no noise in them. It did a real good job on flesh tones of the players as well.

[michael_balb_us]

With the D60 I frequently have trouble with the focus. The area of interest in not always where the focus seems to be its sharpest. I am limited in choices for focus, as there are only three autofocus points. Does the increased range of autofocus points help, or does having 45 spots to choose from overwhelm? Obviously much of my difficulty lies with the photographer, but I would like to optimize my equipment if it is going to help.

[designonline]

Focus is always a problem with these kids moving so fast and so unpredictably. I always use the AI servo focus when shooting action because it tracks and focuses as you move. I haven't had a problem with the multiple focus points and it really helps when I just want to offset the subject from the center (can't use servo for these shots.) You really don't have to go through all 45 points for focusing on the Mark II N. It clusters the points based on where your subject is. It takes about 10 minutes to get used to, but once you do, it works great. Sometimes I get the focus off as well but that is usually my fault when my subject moves faster than I can adjust. That's where I get a great in focus shot of the wall behind them. I love the fact that the camera can shoot up to 8.5 frames per second, but it also has a slower mode, so you actually have a choice. But you have to have a fast memory card as well or you'll be there all day waiting for for you shots to write to it. The camera also has the ability to carry 2 memory cards, 1 compact flash and one SD card. You can even split RAW and JPEG onto their own card. I think the Mark II N will really help. It focuses super fast, battery lasts forever, and is great in low light. If you want to see some of the pictures I have taken with it, I have them all posted at http://printroom.com/pro/designonline

Go to the galleries "Katy Copperheads Tryouts" (these were tryouts for our new pro NIFL arena football team) and "Memorial City Hockey"

[michael_balb_us]

Thanks for the advice. You've got some great shots on your website! The white balance is definitely an area where I need to be more compulsive, because the skin tones in your photos are much more natural than mine - even when the focus is on, the faces behind the face-guards in my photos always have an unnatural cast to them.

 

I'm going to rent the Mark II N next weekend, and give it a shot at the rink. My daughter rides, and the stable and arena are even more challenging that the rink from a "low-lighting" standpoint. Focus has been a challenge there, as well, so it will be interesting to see if the Mark II N helps.

 

I appreciate your time and advice. I'll let you know how the camera works for me! Good or bad, I'll try to post some of the images - the value of feedback from people who do this better than me can't be underestimated.

[wilsontsoi]

Nice job, Diana. However, I think that there is some big EV difference between the two rinks you and Michael shot in, judging from ISO-800 @1/180 (probably f2.8?,) vs. ISO-1000 @1/90-1/180 (assuming f2.8 as well.) Other than the better noise and AF performance of 1D MarkIIn, I feel that, exposure-wise, Michael could've achieve decent result if shot in a rink with similar EV as that Diana shot in. Having said that, the noise and AF differences between the 1D MarkIIn vs. D60 is more than 3 years and that's a long time in the Digital Kingdom, IMO. Thanks for sharing.

[mark newcombe www.mcnphoto]

Wish i could get 320 best I can do with the horrible light at my local rink is 180 @ 800 and 2.8 limited to 800 d2h and d2x.

 

Nice shoot i messed around for a few weeks and ended up custom setting the white balance now we have the secret setting we atre in business.

 

Nice shot btw

 

Regards

Mark

[wilsontsoi]

Oops, I meant:

 

ISO-800 @1/320 (probably f2.8?,) vs. ISO-1000 @1/90-1/180 (assuming f2.8 as well.)

[ron_laxton]

Nice job Diana. I have been shooting hockey action for 15 years or so, still using film. I started with the Kodak 1000, then went to Fuji 1600. I have used Fuji 800 now for the last five years. I have to use a flash at any of the rinks I shoot at. The only exception was The NJ Devils vs. Buffalo Sabres game we went two several years ago. I have used different combinations of shoe mounted flash, Metz CT-60 on stand, and a White Lightning strobe on a stand. The best results I have seen were in Buffalo, were the company doing the tourney had 2 strobes in each end, aimed back at the opposite corner. That way the entire ice surface was covered. I lived in Houston from 1978 until 1991, when we moved back to central NY. I coached hockey in Houston for the last two years we were there. I also did the leagues team and individual photos. At the time, the Metro Houston Hockey Association only had a little over 100 kids, and we only had the Sharpstown Ice Center to skate at.