2019-20 Basketball.

[ac12]

Hey @ac12, Here's a few opening tips from this last week. (I shot 8 games a day for 3 days in a row, yes, 24 total games).

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I like #1.

EIGHT games a day
I'm worn out after a quad (4 games).
OK being flat footed and old does not help.

Thanks. Yeah I was at the gym about 8:30 am each morning and left at about 10:00 pm each night. Edited and uploaded images until after 12:00 am and then slept a few hours.

I am a little tired and sore today, so I sat and rested all day. Back to my day job tomorrow.

You get MORE than an "atta boy" for that gig.

 

[smoke665]

Dang Ron, that kind of schedule will make an old man of you in a hurry.

 

[Derrel]

Back in the bad old days of the mid-1980s when I shot a few University of Oregon Basketball games at the Old Mac Court, which had absolutely atrocious lighting, the Oregonian's Steven Neil was seated right to my right on the Baseline and he had amazing and rare Nikon 200 mm F / 2... this was the old manual focus model with the internal focusing ring located mid Barrel, and it was super easy to focus. This lens did not use helical focusing, but instead used a small mid-formula Optical group to focus the lens with amazing rapidity and ease.

It was fairly common for the advanced professional shooters to use manual focus 300 mm f / 2.8 lenses to shoot action at the far end of the court, and to put that lens face down on the floor when the action came closer, and then to pick up another camera which had a much shorter lens on it, ranging from 24 mm to 135 mm, depending on what type of shot they were interested in. This was before the 70 to 200 F / 2.8 Zoom was even invented. At that time about the fastest zoom lens available ,at any price, was the f/ 3.5 70 to 150 mm Series E from Nikon. The very first Nikon 80- 200 millimeter F / 2.8 zoom lens was a (manual focusing lens) huge monster, about the size of a 2-liter bottle. Seriously. In those days the 300 F / 2.8 Prime was the shizz. The 300 F / 2.8 has a certain look that just screams out to viewers. I think it is an indispensable tool for anyone who wishes to shoot Sports inside modern arenas or on football fields, Etc

 

[ronlane]

Hey @ac12, Here's a few opening tips from this last week. (I shot 8 games a day for 3 days in a row, yes, 24 total games).

View attachment 184399 View attachment 184400

View attachment 184401 View attachment 184402

I like #1.

EIGHT games a day
I'm worn out after a quad (4 games).
OK being flat footed and old does not help.

Thanks. Yeah I was at the gym about 8:30 am each morning and left at about 10:00 pm each night. Edited and uploaded images until after 12:00 am and then slept a few hours.

I am a little tired and sore today, so I sat and rested all day. Back to my day job tomorrow.

You get MORE than an "atta boy" for that gig.

Thanks, it was worth it.

Dang Ron, that kind of schedule will make an old man of you in a hurry.

IKR @smoke665. I was already old, luckily it ended Saturday night and I have all day Sunday to recover before going back to my day job.

I actually feel really good the last couple of days after doing that. Now, I haven't touched a camera or barely looked at any images since, but I'll bounce back to that in 2020.

 

[ac12]

Took the 300mm with me to use during the tournament. Glad that I had it and was able to switch to it on this series.

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I tried the LONG shots today, full length of the court with a 4x zoom (12-100 on a m4/3 camera).
I liked it, even though I had to be up at ISO 6400 to use the f/4 lens.
Thanks for the tip.

 

[ronlane]

Well after the tournament, I haven't had any home games. Which is probably good but in the off time, I made a new acquisition. Used it last night for wrestling and just HAD to find some basketball to shoot. Luckily, a friend invited me up to shoot a couple of games in a tournament this evening.

So now I have to learn how to use this BEAST. All images shot with a Canon 1Dx and 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM version II.

1) 123mm, f/2.8, 1/800, ISO6400



2) 123mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO8000



3) 200mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO6400



4) 150mm f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO6400

 

[mnmcote]

Hey @ac12, Here's a few opening tips from this last week. (I shot 8 games a day for 3 days in a row, yes, 24 total games).

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I'm still trying to perfect my timing for these shots... :")

 

[ronlane]

Hey @ac12, Here's a few opening tips from this last week. (I shot 8 games a day for 3 days in a row, yes, 24 total games).

View attachment 184399 View attachment 184400

View attachment 184401 View attachment 184402

I'm still trying to perfect my timing for these shots... :")

It's anticipation, reaction and frames per second. I am taking a lot more images now than I was even a year ago. Those first three images had at least 3-5 shots in the group to get those images.

 

[ronlane]

Friday night the basketball teams were back home. Here are some images of them. All taken with a Canon 1Dx and a 70-200mm f/2.8L USM II.

1) 1/1000, f/2.8, 200mm, ISO 5000



2) 1/800, f/2.8, 123mm, ISO 5000



3) 1/800, f/2.8, 145mm, ISO 5000



4) 1/800, f/2.8, 102mm, ISO 5000



5) 1/800, f/2.8, 85mm, ISO 5000

 

[Derrel]

1DX... moving up in the world. What an amazing machine.

 

[ronlane]

1DX... moving up in the world. What an amazing machine.

Yes Sir. It has been a year of upgrades and stepping up the game. I almost took my 1D mk IV and 5D mk III and some stuff I don't use to the local store to trade for another 1Dx, so I would have two tanks. But I really like the 5d3 and can take the grip off of it and lighten the load.

 

[ac12]

Ron,
I gotta ask, HOW do you use a 70-200 at a basketball game?
For me, your shot #5 would be with a normal or slightly wide lens, not a short tele, a couple feet back of the end line, just to the right of the key.
Or, is there a LOT of space behind the end line? It looks like a nice arena.

 

[ac12]

Well after the tournament, I haven't had any home games. Which is probably good but in the off time, I made a new acquisition. Used it last night for wrestling and just HAD to find some basketball to shoot. Luckily, a friend invited me up to shoot a couple of games in a tournament this evening.

So now I have to learn how to use this BEAST. All images shot with a Canon 1Dx and 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM version II.

1) 123mm, f/2.8, 1/800, ISO6400

View attachment 184976

2) 123mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO8000

View attachment 184977

3) 200mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO6400

View attachment 184978

4) 150mm f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO6400

View attachment 184979

I LIKE #3, with both of her feet off the floor.

 

[ronlane]

Ron,
I gotta ask, HOW do you use a 70-200 at a basketball game?
For me, your shot #5 would be with a normal or slightly wide lens, not a short tele, a couple feet back of the end line, just to the right of the key.
Or, is there a LOT of space behind the end line? It looks like a nice arena.

I am on the baseline about 3-4 feet from the end line but I typically am out by the 3-point line to shoot. I have been shooting for MaxPreps this year and they want tight shots, and they suggest the 70-200mm, so that is what I am shooting with. I do on occasions use my 300mm with the 5D3 for shots on the other end of the floor, but again, I am looking to fill the frame with the player.

Well after the tournament, I haven't had any home games. Which is probably good but in the off time, I made a new acquisition. Used it last night for wrestling and just HAD to find some basketball to shoot. Luckily, a friend invited me up to shoot a couple of games in a tournament this evening.

So now I have to learn how to use this BEAST. All images shot with a Canon 1Dx and 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM version II.

1) 123mm, f/2.8, 1/800, ISO6400

View attachment 184976

2) 123mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO8000

View attachment 184977

3) 200mm, f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO6400

View attachment 184978

4) 150mm f/2.8, 1/1000, ISO6400

View attachment 184979

I LIKE #3, with both of her feet off the floor.

Thank you.

 

[ac12]

Ron,
I gotta ask, HOW do you use a 70-200 at a basketball game?
For me, your shot #5 would be with a normal or slightly wide lens, not a short tele, a couple feet back of the end line, just to the right of the key.
Or, is there a LOT of space behind the end line? It looks like a nice arena.

I am on the baseline about 3-4 feet from the end line but I typically am out by the 3-point line to shoot. I have been shooting for MaxPreps this year and they want tight shots, and they suggest the 70-200mm, so that is what I am shooting with. I do on occasions use my 300mm with the 5D3 for shots on the other end of the floor, but again, I am looking to fill the frame with the player.

I should try that.
I usually shoot wide, then crop as needed for individual players.
My logic was I can always crop in post, but I can't get something that is not in the frame. But I do loose IQ when I crop.

I find it easier to follow fast sometimes unpredictable action when I shoot a bit wide.

I need to up my skill to shoot tight.​

And probably too many years of shooting the play, rather than individuals. So my brain has been conditioned to shoot the play.

As you said MaxPreps (and parents), wants the individual, rather than the play.
There was a year when I was wondering WHY a parent was shooting a 70-200 on the volleyball court floor. He was right next to the side line. I finally figured out that, he was shooting HIS daughter, and did not care about the play or any of the rest of the team.​

And the final problem, I have to leave room for the editors to crop the pic, as I rarely know the format of the layout where then will put the pic.

One year I shot basketball primarily in vertical format, which seemed natural to me. Then the yearbook editor asked me to shoot in horizontal format. huh Turned out that the layout was all horizontal, and my vertical shots would not crop well into the horizontal layout.
However, when I shoot for the AD, I have freedom in the format, and I can shoot as tight as I want to.​