geo_langlois

<p>I've been noticing that is many of the pictures I have been taking, that the camera has been focusing on the wrong subject in the photo scene. For example, if I'm trying to take a picture of my son in front of the net, for some reason he is blurry but the net/ goalie is sharp. I have it on center spot on AF Point selection and AI Servo Mode. I must have the focus set wrong, but is there a certain setting I should be using to help this?</p><div></div>

<p>Richard- what do you mean by "take the camera off of automatic and set the aperture and shutter manually at those settings"? I only ask because I had it in Tv mode and thought that was a manual mode. And I'm definitely lost when you say I can manually shift the speed up and down, but it seems like something I would LOVE to try.<br>

Phillip- I think you are correct about the lack of sharpness. Although they came out good overall, I think they were lacking that crisp, sharp "pop" that I really want. One thing I believe helps me in that area is that I have an illustration background, so I'm a little familiar with PhotoShop and the like, so I may be able to tweak the sharpness a bit there. You are also correct about the simpleness of the images. Being an illustrator, I love working with layout and composition, where creative viewpoint, cropping, lighting, etc is key. However, for this batch, I was primarily looking for better and clearer pictures and hoping to grow from there.<br>

Also, my camera has 3 settings for Auto Focus...AI Servo, AI Focu and One Shot...which of the 3 did you say was better for shooting action sports such as hockey to prevent focusing on the wrong thing?<br>

All things considered (like being my first time out after all of your help, as well as still using the f5.6 lens), I'm relatively happy with the results. I can't thank all of you enough for pushing me in the right direction. I can't wait to post more pics soon when I try a faster lens!</p>

<p>last one</p><div></div>

<p>another</p><div></div>

<p>I tried taking everyone's advice as best as I could and with all of it in mind, I went out to take some photos of one of my son's hockey games today, but for now, still using the same F5.6 lens. I started out shooting at ISO 1600 and shutter speed of 400, but the shots weren't coming out good. So I starting shooting with a shutter speed between 200-250 with an ISO of 1600 and was getting much better results. Below are some of the samples. I'd like to get some critique, if possible. Thanks again for all of your awesome help. I already think my shots are better than the first round and couldn't have gotten this far without each and everyone one of you, so thank you!</p><div></div>

<p>Rob-<br>

I did check out the lensrentals.com site and spoke with a person who mentioned that an f2.8 zoom, like the 70-200 f2.8 may give you enough aperture to counteract the blurring and fuzziness I have been getting, but many people find they need to use a <strong>prime lens</strong> , like the 85 f1.8 or 100 f2 in order to get decent pictures. Is that true? What is a prime lens? Obviously with the 85 or 100 I would be sacrificing distance, but I just bought a 2X Digital Telephoto Lens....will that help?</p>

<p>Elliot, what will shooting RAW mode do?</p>

<p>So if I was to buy a "faster" lens, are either of these ones ok/ any good for my Canon EOS XSi and what I want to do?<br>

<strong>The Sigma 70-200 mm F2.8 II APO EX DG Canon 40D 30D</strong> or<br>

<strong>The Sigma 70-200 F2.8 II APO EX DG Marco HSM Lens-Canon Mount</strong> ?<br>

Would both work on my Canon EOS XSi? Is either one better than the other or are they pretty much the same thing?</p>

<p>Here is another blurry one. Hopefully people can get an idea of what I'm doing wrong from these pictures, but if not I can post more. Thanks for all your help</p><div></div>

<p>Here is one of the pictures, which actually came out better than most of the others, for an action shot, but it's still terrible</p><div></div>

<p>I recently purchased a Canon EOS Rebel XSi for the main purpose of taking photos of my young kids in their various sports. I also bought the camera kit, so the lenses that came with the camera are the 18-55mm and the 55-250 (f/4-5.6). All the sports pics I take have been pretty good, except for the ones of my kids playing hockey. For some reason, they pretty much ALL come out fuzzy or blurry. For most of the games, I stand behind the glass and the end of the rink near the goalie, since most of the rinks have netting that's tough to shoot through and get good shots. I have tried changing the settings (ISO high, +1 white balance, etc), but any action shot still comes out blurry. If they player is stationary, the pic looks fine, but the arms and legs blur when they are moving, not to mention the faces aren't crisp. I'm relatively new to photography, but is this a lens issue or user issue?</p>

<p>I was looking at a Sigma 28-70 mm f/2.8 EX DG Autofocus Lens for my Canon on EBay...would this be a good lens for me if it is a lens issue? I have posted a couple of samples of my hockey pictures to show what the main problem is and hopefully someone can help. Ideally, I'd like to have a "set it and forget it" setting for the hockey games, where I have all settings adjusted and don't have to worry about it again while shooting that day, if possible. Please help...thanks!</p>

<h1 ><br /></h1>

<p>Thanks for all the great comments. After looking at the images I took over the weekend, I find that the main problem I am having is blurring. No matter how I try and adjust the settings, every image I took is blurry, but particularly the action part of the games. If the kids were stationary, there wasn't as big of a problem. For example, I was taking "practice" shots of the goalie when he was away from the action and those pics came out great. But every time I tried to take a picture of my kids skating, they were very blurry. I am guessing from all the comments here that my 200 mm lens is too slow at f/4-5.6, because even with the exposure at +1, the ISO set between 800-1600, shutter around 1/250, it's still blurry. I also need to get better at melding shutter, aperture, ISO, etc where the image works better. I think my camera is a good one for what I want to do, I just need to get better at doing it...</p><div></div>

<p>I recently purchased a Canon EOS Rebel XSi for the main purpose of taking photos of my kids in their various sports. I bought the kit, so the lenses that came with the camera are the 18-55mm and the 55-250 (f/4-5.6). The action shots I take at lacrosse, soccer, baseball, etc come out great, but I can't get the photos inside hockey rinks to come out to save my life. I keep adjusting the shutter speed, ISO, White Balance, etc- I;ve tried many different things- but they come out too blurry, too dark or just not the right color. Basically, they stink. Any hints that someone out there can give me? Do I need a different lens? I am a relatively new photographer, and am only interested in it is a hobby to take pics of my kids, so would prefer not to spend 1000s of dollars, if I can help it. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Thanks!</p>

I recently purchased a Nikon D40 camera that came with 2 lenses- a 3x 18-55mm

f/3 and a 3.6X 55-200mm f/4 lense. I am a beginner photographer whose primary

photography interests are to take photos of my young kids in their sports,

particularly hockey, which are usually in dark hockey rinks. Based on this info

and what I have for a camera and lenses, is there a sort of "default" setting

where I can almost "set it and forget it" for things like ISO, shutter speed,

aperture, white balance, that would help me take good action photos in the

rink? I have no real idea what settings I should be using, so many of my photos

have been coming out blurry or grainy and in some cases, yellow-ish. I know

there is an auto setting on this camera, but is this any good in a hockey rink?

I think my camera is good, it's just that I am not! Help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!

I am a beginning photographer who is currently looking to buy a new camera so

I can take pictures of my young children in sports. I have been told by posts

on this site that no matter what camera I buy, a good lens to buy for sports

is a 70-200 mm lens, which I know can get expensive. I just found on older

camera that has an 80-200 mm Kalimar lens. I have never heard of this company

but was wondering if this lens could be used (at least in the beginning to

keep my initial costs down) with any other cameras which are good for

beginners such as the Canon Rebel XTi or the Nikon D80 or 200 or is it only

made for a Kalimar camera?

Thanks, guys...Matt, I'm relatively new to photography, but what would be an example of a "fast' lens?

I am in the market for a new camera and did some product research and would

like to know if someone could please tell me which camera would be better for

me, a relative beginner to photography- the Canon Rebel XTi or the Nikon D80?

Most of the pictures I will be taking are of my children's action sports, such

as hockey (which is indoors) and outdoor soccer and lacrosse. I am looking for

a good over-all camera that will give a beginner like me no trouble shooting

highspeed action sports- indoor or outdoor, and want to make sure that when I

take photos at a hockey game, I have the capabilities with the camera I select

be able to adjust to take some great, clear action shots. Thanks for your help!

Is there any way to take photos in a hockey rink with an Olympus C-740 without

the pictures looking fuzzy or cloudy? I am trying to take pictures of my 2

boys and they never seem to come out right, no matter where in the rink I sit.

Thanks

I have an Olympus Camedia c-740 Ultra zoom camera and I have been trying to

shoot pictures of my 2 sons in their hockey games and I can never get any good

ones, no matter where I sit. The pictures always seem to come out cloudy. Is

there anything I can do about this?