Shooting action with a D1H

[imageworkz]

I just got into shooting digital. I've started shooting cheerleading

competitions inside a gym. I'm shooting with a Nikon D1H and using

either a Nikon 80mm-200mm f/2.8 or my 300mm f/2.8 AFS. With the 80-

200 I hand hold and the 300 I use a monopod.

 

The problem I'm having is shooting the action. There actions can be

fast during the dance sections or during the stunting. I'm shooting

at ISO 1600 right now and still get some motion bluring. Should I be

pushing it to ISO 3200? How will the quality be for sizes up to 8x10?

Also, what is a good F/stop to shoot at? I shot in matrix now, should

I move to center weight metering?

[ellis_vener_photography]

You are in a low light situation: up the ISO and get a faaster lens. yes ISO 3200 will produce a little more noise than the ISO 800, or ISO 1600 setting. if youare really worried about this shoot in JPG Fine/Large, TIFF, or NEF(RAW) capture mode. <P>Re metering pattern selection: Are your exposures under or over exposed? If not then Matrix metering is working just fine.

[flatlander]

Your depth of field required will dictate the fstop. I would suggest that you shoot in aperture preferred mode.

 

Are you finding pretty bad color casts with the lights in the gym?

 

Can you shoot with flash? You can either remote a flash (or two) with radio slaves or use a projected flash (fresnel lens) in front of your camera-mounted flash when using a long lens. Shooting with a flash will help balance the color as well. If flash is allowed, I try a camera mounted flash first.

 

I would try a SB-80DX alone first as a test. If that isn't doing it then try projecting it.

 

You'll also find that the flash will be close to dumping the full charge each time and you'll probably want to get a Quantum battery and the right adapter for the flash so it recharges faster and lasts longer.

 

I shoot in gyms all the time for highschool basketball and use a camera mounted SB-80DX (on D1 and D100). It shoots across court just fine. I typically shoot at f4 to f5.6 for some depth of field. You may need a smaller aperture to get the depth you need in a group shot when shooting a long line or multiple rows of cheerleaders.

 

Can you get permission to get up closer and use a wider lens?

 

My $.02

 

Charlie

[imageworkz]

Thanks guys. I'll push it to ISO 3200. I've been shooting in the 5.6 range just to give me some cushion for error because they move in different directions and fast. I have a SB80DX I'll use but I'll have to get a battery pack. Will the battery pack keep up? Because the action is fast, I shoot "continuious". The mat is large and I've found the 80-200 to work best to get both wide and close shots. I took 300 photos last weekend and about a third has motion blur. See my frustration. Glad it wasn't film.

Thanks for the feed back.......

[mskovacs]

You might want to look into a fresnel flash extender like the better beamer http://www.naturephotographers.net/gs/gsbb.html It'll give you another 2-2.5 stops of flash power with your 300.

 

Use it wit a flash bracket http://www.naturephotographers.net/gs/gsflashbracket.html and higher ISO speeds your recycle times should be pretty decent.