Settings Help Needed

Hjjacobs · Mar 5, 2013

Just purchased a Nikon D7000 came with a 18-105mm lens and I also purchased a 70-200 F2.8 lens.
I will be shooting mostly figure skating and intend to use the 70-200 lens.
What settings will I need for competitions which is in a rink lit similar to hockey? (For Dummies terminology would be great, this is my first DSLR)

What setting will I need for shows, which are in a dark, theater type setting with LED lights.

Thanks in advance any other D7000 advice is great.

texkam · Mar 5, 2013

Impossible to say. Just learn how to operate your camera in manual mode. Keep the shutter speed fast enough to freeze the action, meter and adjust accordingly. Be aware, the white ice will want to fool your light meter. You need to meter for the objects, not the ice.

Nikanon · Mar 6, 2013

Nice lens for your first DSLR

cgw · Mar 6, 2013

Have a look here:

D7000's AF - Photo.net Nikon Forum

TheLost · Mar 6, 2013

This should get you started...

Camera Setup -
AF-C
Dynamic 9 point
Release Priority
A(perture) Priority (big A on the top dial)
Set your Aperture to f/2.8
Turn Auto ISO off (up to you.. but i would turn it off)
Turn Active D-Lighting OFF!!

When you get to your spot at the rink, focus on a skater and check your shutter speed. You'll need to bump your ISO up until your shutter speed is above 1/500 (i'd target 1/800... but I've never shot figure skating)

So.. now you've got f/2.8 and a shutter that should freeze the action.. Your camera will continually focus and use the center 9 focus points to help follow the action. You camera will also take the picture even if it doesn't think everything is in focus (sometimes slightly off focus is better then no picture!).

Here is a great document on the D7000's focus system... http://www.pixelfinesse.com/_docs/D7000_AF_Explained.pdf

Have fun!

Vautrin · Mar 6, 2013

Not to discourage you. But it's more helpful to learn CONCEPTS instead of "what settings do I need"

If I tell you what the "average" settings I would use for concert photography are (which sounds close), you might get some good shots.

But you might also get some crap shots because I don't actually know what you're trying to shoot, I"m just guessing...

You should do some research on exposure, and how shutter speed, ISO, and aperture combine. And what the benefits / drawbacks of each are. And then shoot with your camera a bit to get a feel for how it works.

Basically you need a certain amount of light to hit the camera. And all three increase (or decrease) the light coming in.

Let's say you double your shutter speed. You were shooting at 1/125 a second, now you shoot at 1/60.

If the figure skaters just got on stage and are standing still, the picture will be sharp, If they're moving REALLY fast you'll get blur. If you're zoomed out to 200mm you might see significant blur (you shake the camera without realizing it and if you zoom in more it gets more blurring from just your normal body movement -- like breathing -- although you can use a tripod and mirror up mode to get rid of that)

If it's really dark, 1/60 second might not be enough. So you might decide to crank up your ISO to HI 2. Suddenly even in a dark room you'll see bright as day, but the picture will have a lot of ugly noise.

So maybe you crank the ISO back down to 1600. And you open that puppy WIIIIDE open to let in as much light as possible, and you set the shutter speed to 1/500 second, so you know there won't be any blur, right?

Well, you'll still get lots of blur (now called bokeh) if you shoot the right way.

Taking pictures can be a lot of fun, but there can also be a lot of settings to fiddle with.

The art of it is to recognize "wow she's moving fast, better use a fast shutter speed"... Or knowing which ISO you can't go over in order to avoid an acceptable level of noise.

All this requires some shooting with your camera, and getting a feel for how it works...

IconicPhotosUK · Mar 7, 2013

I have the D3000, does the camera come with pre set categories? I know on the D3000 there is a sport/motion option, if yours comes with that it may be worth testing the water with that setting first.