Nikon D300-Camera Settings for Indoor Sports Photography

[Guido44]

Oh yeah, one more question.

I just purchased the Tokina 11-16 / 2.8

Since that has a large aperture, could I just use that for a temporary substitute?

I'm sure it's not the best choice, but could use it for "under the basket shots"?

dan

 

[dhilberg]

Oh yeah, one more question.

I just purchased the Tokina 11-16 / 2.8

Since that has a large aperture, could I just use that for a temporary substitute?

I'm sure it's not the best choice, but could use it for "under the basket shots"?

dan

You should certainly be able to freeze action with it wide open and ISO 1600 - 3200. You'd probably have to be right under the basket though, since it's so wide.

 

[maronevans]

Check this link out. I have recently been experiencing soft images due to camera shake at weddings, a problem new to me with this camera.
Re: New D300 Soft Images due to... camera shake from shutter??: News Discussion Forum: Digital Photography Review

 

[JerryPH]

Oh yeah, one more question.

I just purchased the Tokina 11-16 / 2.8

Since that has a large aperture, could I just use that for a temporary substitute?

Sure you could... but think about it for 2 seconds... it is a WIDE angle... to get a 1/2 body shot, you would have to be within 3-4 feet of the subject. Anything more and you are looking at a wide view of tiny people playing in a big area. Logical after 2 seconds of thought.

 

[inTempus]

VR does not work above 1/250 i think and you need about 1/500 to get a nice crisp shot you may get some keepers but you will have to crank the ISO upto ISO3200 and above, use only one focus point if you can set your camera to back button focus i find this works great for sports

I have IS (same as VR on Nikon) lenses for my Canons and my IS works fine at any shutter speed. Does Nikon disable VR at slower shutter speeds or are you saying it destroys the quality of the image at slower shutter speeds?

As I'm unfamiliar with Nikkor glass, do the lenses have "mode 1" and "mode 2" capability? On my lens I can switch it to "mode 2" and it disables horizontal IS leaving only vertical IS so I can shoot panning shots for sports without causing IS blur.

For me IS is invaluable for shooting sports with my 70-200mm.

All of my shots from this day were shot with IS enabled. Here's a couple samples where I had mode 2 enabled so I could pan. It was a late afternoon game and very over cast (sun completely blocked).

 

[tsaraleksi]

Pretty sure he's just saying that it makes no difference once you get past the reciprocal of the lens length. With a 70-200, if you are above 1/200 then IS becomes fairly irrelevant.

What were the shutter speeds for those baseball images? And what do you mean "IS helps you keep your shutter speeds up?"

 

[inTempus]

What were the shutter speeds for those baseball images? And what do you mean "IS helps you keep your shutter speeds up?"

It means I have no idea what I was thinking when I was typing that (while on a conference call at work). LOL

The shutter speeds were high, it was a non-issue. I was talking more about the mode 1 and mode 2 settings where I can easily pan with IS enabled and not have an adverse effect on the IQ.

 

[gsgary]

I have IS (same as VR on Nikon) lenses for my Canons and my IS works fine at any shutter speed. Does Nikon disable VR at slower shutter speeds or are you saying it destroys the quality of the image at slower shutter speeds?

As I'm unfamiliar with Nikkor glass, do the lenses have "mode 1" and "mode 2" capability? On my lens I can switch it to "mode 2" and it disables horizontal IS leaving only vertical IS so I can shoot panning shots for sports without causing IS blur.

For me IS is invaluable for shooting sports with my 70-200mm.

All of my shots from this day were shot with IS enabled. Here's a couple samples where I had mode 2 enabled so I could pan. It was a late afternoon game and very over cast (sun completely blocked).

Turn it off and it will focus faster

 

[farmerj]

VR has two modes. One mode compensates for motion both vertical and horizontal. The other mode pretty much looks at Vertical motion. More for "panning" shots. That way the VR isn't trying to compensate if you are taking pictures of something as you pan.

I find if I am on the tripod, turn off the VR. I get too much blurring from it. Hand-held shots from speeds of 1/20 and above seem to benefit the most from VR turned on. Even at higher speeds above 1/250. long shots with the telephoto set at 200mm or more, just need to have a tripod on them. Either that, or some sort of mechanical rest for the camera.

A lot of the same skills I have developed for long range rifle shooting are transferring into taking pictures.

My experience this weekend is showing that you really need fast f/2.8 glass to shoot in-door sports. Even well lit. I shot some heavy fighting for the SCA Crown tourney this weekend. the 50mm f/1.8 lens was the only thing I have that allowed me to take the needed pictures. No flash allowed. I had the aperture set at f/2.8 most of the weekend to learn if that would be fast enough. Tamron has a 17-50mm f/2.8 that is now getting a special interest from me.