Need Advice - Football

[bob geisler]

<p>I have been reading the forum for a year and have found the information

very helpful. I love to photograph football and now that my son is starting to

play at night I took the big step and purchased the Canon 70-200mm f2.8 IS USM

lens. I am using a Canon 20D camera. My problem is I am not sure on the

settings I should be using. The lighting in our stadium is extremely good for

a high school. According to the Canon EOS Viewer Utility I am focused on the

subject but the pictures come out blurry more times then not or focused

somewhere else in the picture. The two examples were taking one right after

another with the subject blurry and the background in focus and the other has

the subject in focus and the background blurry. The following were the

settings used:<p>

 

<p>Shooting Mode Manual Exposure Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/250 Av( Aperture

Value ) 2.8 Metering Mode Center-Weighted Average Metering ISO Speed 3200 Lens

70.0 - 200.0 mm Focal Length 170.0 mm White Balance Mode Auto AF Mode AI Servo

AF<p>

 

<p>What can I do to correct this problem? How can I do a better job of

freezing the action?<p>

 

<img src=http://geislerfamily.com/fowlkes%20passing.jpg>

<img src=http://geislerfamily.com/fowlkes%20passing%202.jpg>

[Jerry_]

The background 'blurry' is going to be the better choice.

 

 

 

 

You might 'meter' the grass (a medium green/brown) and then set the camera to the fastest shutter speed you can (if using ISO 1600?) and the f-stop to match the meter reading.

 

 

 

 

It takes some practice to follow the action from the sidelines.

[conrad_stoll1]

Try to use a single AF point to spot focus on the subject. I have always found that the

selective AF picks the wrong spot too often, and if it ever decides to focus on the fans,

thats one time too many.

 

To do this, press the button thatt has the crossing white dots, and rotate through the

points with the wheel, I think.

 

Another trick that I personally use for football/soccer is custom function 4, where I switch

the AF control button to be the AE button, and not the shutter release. That way I can tell

the camera where I want to focus with one finger, pan around, and take the picture

somewhere else. If nothing else, at least switch the AE button to AF lock so that you can

keep the focus from changing while you pan (sometimes it will decide to focus on the

crowd if you pan past a running player).

 

And by the way the exposure on those looks fine. You won't get much more stopping of

the action from a high school game in that light without making your pictures darker. Just

work on your technique with focusing and following the action.

[mark u]

Learn to use AI Servo more effectively by following these tips:

 

http://www.shutterfreaks.com/Tips/CanonAIServo.html

 

It's very important to give the camera time to acquire focus with the centre point, and it can help greatly if you pre-focus prior to the snap when the players set for the play. Once acquired, focus tracking can do its work - but it makes sense to shoot small bursts, since the first shot of a sequence can be out of focus because the camera is making other calculations, whereas later shots are focus priority. Read the links at the bottom of the article cited above.

 

You may find that it is better to use "all points" rather than "centre point only" if you are finding it difficult to keep the centre point on the player of interest - although the centre point is ALWAYS used to acquire focus in AI Servo. You may also find that you get more reliable focus with "all points" in portrait orientation, depending on the orientation of high contrast features in the background that the camera might otherwise lock on to. Portrait orientation will typically allow you to zoom in tighter, filling more of the frame and putting you at less risk of incorrect focus being acquired, particularly if you are using centre point only.

[mharris]

Old-Timey cameras can have some fun at the game also. WSU Whupping up the Ducks:<div></div>

[mharris]

Also Don't forget the fans, they photograph pretty well:<div></div>

[designonline]

I agree.. use the center focus point only. Unfortunately the 20D doesn't perform well in low light situations. If you are going to shoot just one person, turn the camera vertically. Might try running the files thru Noise Ninja to cut down on the noise.

[wilsontsoi]

Lots of good info above on shooting with center AF-point on continuous/AiServo and you should be good to go there. I'm not sure about shooting from the stand though, but sure love to see Cougs beating up on the Ducks!

[bob geisler]

I appreciate all the information and taking time to help out a rookie. I have a few questions to see if I am understanding what it is you have suggested. I have selected the AF point so that only the center light comes on and when I press the * button it focuses and the only the center light blinks. Is that correct? Once I have focused with the * button will need to hold it down while following the player or will it track automatically? Should I press the AF selection button before each picture? Also I set the C.Fn. 4-3. What should the C.Fn. 17 be set to (0,1,2)?

[mharris]

LOL Wilson, they don't make one of those big ole long lenses for my Leica and I just hate taking my D70s.

[Jerry_]

Can't say for sure how the Canon AF system handles your camera-lens, but you may need to test your lens a bit more with a moving target....<div></div>

[conrad_stoll1]

"when I press the * button it focuses and the only the center light blinks. Is that correct?"

 

yes

 

"Once I have focused with the * button will need to hold it down while following the player

or will it track automatically?"

 

No, you need to hold down the button. Tracking just means the AF leans towards focusing

on moving subjects rather than stationary ones.

 

"Should I press the AF selection button before each picture?"

 

Prefocusing is always a good idea since if nothing else, the lens doesn't have to move as

far to get to the right point.

 

"Also I set the C.Fn. 4-3. What should the C.Fn. 17 be set to (0,1,2)?"

 

Its up to you, but mine is usually set to 3. The only difference is that 1 does the same

thing but has the shutter button set to AE lock. I always have 17 set to 0.

[mark u]

CF 17 to expand the focus points around a selected point is only available on cameras with the 45 point focus point system - unfortunately, the 20D is not one of them. On the 20D, CF 17 is used with lenses that have an AF stop button to alter its functionality - the options are shown here:

 

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos20d/page11.asp

 

Despite the difference between the 45 point an 9 point AF systems, there are other useful tips to be found in this document:

 

http://www.photoworkshop.com/canon/EOS_Digital.pdf