Best Settings for Sports Action Video on Canon Rebel T Series

[JMASTERJ]

Hi all!

So I am starting a tennis instructional Youtube channel where I will have many action videos on swings and hits, mostly at 60fps, hopefully in decent daylight.

I want to know the best settings for the 2 cameras I am using, I assume they will be the same for this, the T3i and T7i.

I guess the main ones are:

• Shutter speed (I heard double the FPS, so 1/125?)
• Aperture (I think I want the highest, like 22 because I want to have a lot in focus since we are moving around, but then its real dark so...)
• ISO (I guess this depends on the aperture... so I would need the "ideal" balance relative to the aperture)
• White balance (I usually leave as daylight but can I switch to cloudy if I really need "more light"?)
• Zoom (I usually zoom all the way out for more panoramic view to see more as we move around, but I heard this also affects the results of the above settings relatively?)

I understand this will also depend on the how much daylight there is, but I need at least a starting point.

Also one more thing... it seems I have the T7i figured out on all the setting changes... but on the T3i, I cant get to some of these settings in video mode, so do I just change them all in Manual mode and then will it "stay" when I switch to video and shoot? When I try to change ISO in video mode, it tells me I cant in this Auto mode but I dont know what else to do there.

ANY other suggestions welcome!

Thanks!

 

[photo1x1.com]

Hi there,
Shutter speed is correct.
In regard to aperture - you won´t be able to have the complete court in focus, so I suggest you do a lot of video editing. Try to not move from-to camera, but rather sideways and take only short sequences and edit them together.
ISO - well, you have to take what will give you a nice exposed image.
White Balance: daylight should be fine if there is sun. Cloudy doesn´t give you more light, but a different color of light. I hardly ever use cloudy, because I find it too yellowish. You can do a custom white balance with a piece of paper, or a grey card.
Zoom: for video, that won´t have much of an effect on the above-mentioned values - especially if you choose higher aperture numbers (smaller aperture).

What you´d definitely need is a (well actually two) tripod(s).

I´m afraid I can´t tell you much in regard to the cameras because I don´t shoot the same brand/model. On my camera, I have to go into the menu to change the video exposure mode to manual.

Another suggestion: don´t make the mistake many people do on youtube and talk, talk, talk. On many videos, you have to wait minutes before the people start with the actual content. And in between, they talk so much blah blah, that it is frustrating at times.
I too have a youtube channel, and I try to make the videos as short and informative as possible. Time is money .
I hope that helps - let me know if you have questions.

 

[CherylL]

I had the T4i a few years ago and shot in Manual mode. F8 should give you enough DOF. Check out the DOF calculator and do some test shots. Do not use Auto ISO because there will be changes if a cloud moves overhead. Normally I use the AF to focus and then switch the lens to manual. The one thing I didn't like on the T4i was the continuous focus & hunt during a shot is why I switched the lens to manual. On the T4i I was able to adjust everything in Manual mode and then turn on the video. I don't know about the T3i.