Tell me how you would do it! Please?

[weepete]

Shooting in these kind of situations can be problematic. If you have reasonably even lighting I'd shoot in manual mode with auto ISO, and a shutter speed as high as I can get, with the apeture wide open, an continuos af. Keep in mind you'll want a shutter speed of at least 1/250th minimum, but closer you can get to 1/500th the better. Even these won't stop motion blur of a punch or kick though. If you want useable jpegs set a custom white balance before you start as well.

Get in early and take some test shots too, as you may find the auto settings on the camera over or underexpose, so you might have to set the ISO manually too.

 

[Mully]

Test out what you want to do before the day of the event so you know the camera. Good luck.

 

[gsgary]

You'll probably want to keep the ISO at or under 1600.

No chance of that

 

[gsgary]

Have you got fast lenses ? if not forget it

 

[christop]

Hope OP doesn't mind me piggybacking a little, but it may be a sort-of solution for him:

There are light meter apps for phones out there that use the phone camera to measure light. Anyone played with them? Are they that accurate? I've only looked at the free version a little.

Just curious.

I played with one on an Android phone (Samsung Stratosphere, to be exact), and it didn't seem to be very precise. It couldn't differentiate between light levels less than maybe a couple stops apart. It seemed to be accurate within its low level of precision, though. AFAIK, the light meter is designed to be used only for automatically changing the screen brightness when the ambient light changes, and it doesn't have to be very precise for that.

 

[Matina]

I’m fairly new to photography as well and have been shooting sports (ice hockey) in dimly lit arena’s where the action can be a fair distance away. I’ve recently been shooting only in manual because I find the images whether good or bad were at least consistent.

Things I do....HTH, and maybe I'll get some tips too:

I try to get to the arena early before the event to take a few shots to determine what settings I would use. Each venue is different so what works one day may not work the next.

I start off trying to keep the ISO as low as possible. If my widest aperture and slowest shutter speed is still to dark I start bumping is up. I’ve been shooting at 6400 with my 7D in most arenas. I have been able to get it lower with better lighting. Noise is sometimes a factor, and more evident when cropping is done.

My aperture is wide open at 2.8 for my lens due to the low light, letting in as much as possible. I’ve been bumping this to 3.2 lately in order to get more of the shot in focus....and will probably experiment some more with this setting. However, the higher this setting the darker the image, all other things being equal.

I’ve found in order to get a shot without motion blur I would need to be shooting at around 1/800 shutter speed. There are times when this is still not fast enough but the majority are okay. However, again increasing the speed results in a darker image.

White balance has been an issue in some arenas to the extent where I can get two different temperatures in the same shot. I’ve been cleaning this up using camera raw (i shoot raw), along with some of the noise (which tends to take away from the sharpness). I’m awaiting an expo type disc in the mail which I hope will help set the correct white balance in camera.

As for the fence....I’d keep it out of the shot unless it’s contributes to the effect you’re looking for. I have enough headaches if I need to correct settings.....I couldn’t imagine having to remove an obstruction as well.

May take some time to get settings dialed in.....Did I mention to get there early.

Funny how every time I go to game, since taking up the hobby, I find the first thing I notice is the lighting.

 

[MitchStrp]

Very Helpful guys, will set my Aperture wide open and adjust shutter speeds accordingly and play with the ISO until comfortable with a outcome. Ill shoot in raw and I dont believe I'm forgetting anything. Oh, Get there early and dont forget the camera... again

 

[weepete]

Oh and keep in mind you may have focus issues shooting through the cage, your camera will probably want to focus on the nearest high contrast area which will be the cage so you might have to manually focus as well. With it being MMA the ground work done by the fighters will be your friend, so I'd really try and shoot the expessions on the fighters faces while in the struggleto win. Don't forget to take shots of the slow times too, shots of fighters when they are not in the action can be just as powerfull as an action shot.

What you really want to show is the atmosphere and the feeling of the event. If that comes across in your shots then its a winner

 

[andrewkurcan]

Do you know how to use a light meter?

You made me spit my coffee. Thank you.

 

[Tony S]

Shoot in manual mode with a wide open aperture (should not take but two or three test shots to figure the exposure out), RAW format, find a manual white balance that is close to what the lighting is.

Get as close to the cage or right up against it to shoot through the openings. This will almost make that cage disappear like magic, especially right up against it.

You are most likely going to be lower than the participants, so you will be dealing with faces in shadows when they are in the clench or wrestling, so off camera flash set for second curtain sync for fill would really help even at an arms length away.

Keep your ISO high enough that you get shutter speeds to stop action but have plenty of light in the exposure so you don't have to lighten it in post processing (which would bring more noise into the image).

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Do you know how to use a light meter?

You made me spit my coffee. Thank you.

Well, you gotta start qualifying your response somewhere, right?

 

[ceejtank]

I shoot MMA events professionally(next event is actually next weekend). Boost your ISO to a point that you can keep your shutter speed around 1/160-200 to freeze the action.

 

[Groupcaptainbonzo]

When you walk into he venue take a picture. If it is too dark open up the apperture. If that doesn't help open up the ISO. You will need to keep an eye on the exposure time to prevent camera shake and to minimise motion blur ( but that is where very expensive lenses come into their own). For the best results keep the settings as fast as you can bearing in mind picture quality. You will have to compromise but in which way will be determined by what you are willing to accept.