College Basketball! We Almost Beat Baylor. =O

[rexbobcat]

So our Lady Raiders here at Texas Tech are just pretty awesome. They've only lost three games, and they were sooooo close to beating the Baylor....Bears? I'm not really sure what they're called. They're currently the #1 team in the nation I believe. We only lost by 8. I wish we would have won so the fans would storm the court.

The men's basketball is faster paced, and they're pretty good as well, but the women's basketball kind of steals the show, because, well, the guys already have football. Ya know.

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[CMfromIL]

Nice pictures. What were your settings etc? Do you use a flash? I'm interested in sports pictures, but I'm not having nearly the results that you have posted!

 

[rexbobcat]

I don't use flash, at least not for college photos. The university takes media regulations and guidelines very seriously, so we can only shoot in certain spots and flash is prohibited, at least with my credentials. The gym is also too large to strobe, so we have to use the available light. The light is actually quite decent for a gym though.

The equipment I used was a Canon 1D Mark II (which can be had for 700-900 USD), and a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L non-IS version.

I didn't really have to push my camera too far towards its limit with my settings.

My settings were (give or take a little bit) ISO 1250, and I kept my aperture at f/2.8. My shutter speed was pretty constant at about 800, but depending on where they were on the court and whatnot, I would change it between about 500-800.

My white balance was about 3800, but that really varies depending on the gym.

 

[CMfromIL]

Must be very good lighting if the ISO is 1250, and a shutter speed of 800! That's a great lens, and after looking at your shots I'm going to have to save my pennies even faster than I already am.

 

[rexbobcat]

Tamron and Sigma offer similar lenses for much less money than the Canon if you would prefer to look for a cheaper alternative.

I do have to warn you, though, that the Tamron has, as far as I can tell, fairly slow AF and its noisy. The Sigma is nice, though.

Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8

Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8

 

[FMPS]

Nice pictures, very few gyms have good lighting like that, keep up the good work

 

[AceCo55]

Really impressive set. Very clean and sharp. The standout for me is #4 - so much energy and passion. (Would have been nice with a looser crop but I can understand that it may not have been possible). Your timing is very good - lot of "peak action" captures.
#5 is a classic!
You have got great seperation of the players from the background.
Excellent work.