Would be 50mm 1.4 be better ?

[lacogada]

Volleyball in low light conditions.

Lens was 70mm 2.8, iso 3200 , shutter was 500 or 640.

Though I would have to get closer, would a 50mm 1.4 make a significant difference (in light) to where I could drop the iso ?

What is the difference, "stop wise", from 2.8 to 1.4 ?

Low resolution shown ... what size image can be uploaded to the forum ?

 

[sm4him]

I think volleyball, and swimming, are two of the absolute toughest sports to shoot.

I can't really imagine trying to shoot volleyball effectively with a 50mm lens. I'm sure it could be done, but after the necessary cropping in post I doubt you'd gain much IQ, if at all.

I'd keep using that f/2.8, and I'd try getting my shutter speed even faster, at least 1/800 or 1/1000. Yeah, you'll have a lot of noise, but personally I'd rather have to try to reduce the noise in a sharp photo than deal with the soft, motion blur of a high-speed volleyball game shot at 1/500.

 

[astroNikon]

I think you would be at 1600 ISO at 1.4 instead of 2.8 (I'm not so sure of that equation thing though)

I haven't had to shoot indoors yet but I'm glad my cameras can shoot high ISO without much worries.

 

[tirediron]

Two full stops between 1.4 and 2.8, so you'd actually be able to get down to ISO 800 and maintain that shutter-speed, OR got to ISO 1600 and shoot at 1/1000-1240, BUT... as Sharon mentions shooting any sort of sport (except maybe darts and/or beer-drinking) with a 50mm lens is going to be a challenge.

 

[Derrel]

The plusses of a 50mm are 1) it is fast! f/1.4 is as Tirediron mentioned, two full f/stops faster than f/2.8 2) it is small and light and easy to hold, swing, and handle 3)it is a short telephoto on an APS-C body, meaning it has about the same angle of view as a 75mm lens would on a 35mm film camera or full-frame d-slr 4)it is easy for most cameras to focus a 50mm fairly fast in ONE-shot focus acquisition, which is mostly what volleyball is ofen about: acquire subject, focus and shoot simultaneously.

You can shoot volleyball from floor level, or from above, in some venues. For the inexperienced shooter, the 50mm lens is easy to FIND the subject with. You can crop later. 1/640 will mostly stop volleyballs, with sometimes a little bit of blurring as the ball is leaving the hand on kill shots. On digs and sets, 1/500 will stop the ball.

I think a 50 is actually usable for volleyball on APS-C. If you do not shoot action all the time, or have a really finely honed sense of camera handling, you might find that a 50 works okay. In Nikon, the older AF-D screw-driver lenses actually focus faster on one-shot acquisition. The 50/1.4 AF-S is a slower focuser than the older, cheaper AF or AF-D Nikkors.

 

[lacogada]

@sm4him
I'm quicky seeing how tough it is.
Thanks for the reply.

@astroNikon
I'm still not sure about the "stop" steps either.
Thanks

@tiredon

sport (except maybe darts and/or beer-drinking) with a 50mm lens

Thanks for clearing up the stop question. Those two full stops might make a difference,
if I can get close enough to the court. (ya think)

@Derrel
Thanks for all the info, especially the tips on shutter speeds to try.
Also the tip on the AF-D vs AF-S, may try a used if I can find a descent price.

PS: Too bad I cannot edit my title.

 

[Overread]

One thing that I've not seen mention is depth of field. At f2.8 things are thin - at f1.4 things are going to be really tight. You will have to nail your focus, even then you might find that many shots the subject has parts out of focus that you want in-focus because the 3D nature of their bodies.

It might be that whilst the 50mm lets in more light (focusing and composition might be easier) you will still find yourself at f2 or f2.8 to get the depth of field you want on the subject.

 

[astroNikon]

The stops thing basically has to be memorized .. I haven't bothered memorizing it yet
==> http://www.nphotomag.com/files/2012/03/Understanding_aperture_f_stop_chart.jpg

 

[imagemaker46]

I'd still go with the 70-200 2.8. If they allow you floor access and you have enough room at the back of the court you can shoot under the net for digs. If there is height at the end of the court you can shoot overtop of the net. If you have a wide angle and can sit next the post at centre court you can get some nice shots. From the position you are at the longer lens is still the way to go.

Volleyball is one of those fast move sports but if you watch where the setter is putting the ball you can follow the play and watch for blocks at the net.

Trying to shoot with a 50mm would be a challenge, but anything is possible. I added a lot of "if's" to this post.

 

[shadowlands]

f1.4 nailing focus, with moving subject, depth of field... tough....

 

[lacogada]

@imagemaker46

Thanks for the tips, sounds like you've shot your share of volleyball.

@Overread ... @shadowlands

Depth of field, my "newbie photo mind" did not think of that.
All I could think of was a faster lens for more light.

For me, the purchase of the Tamron 70-200mm 2.8 lens was really a stretch.
Sort of dissapointing to need iso 3200 in the two gyms I went to.

Though this gym was a little worse than the first ... and one of the lights burned out during the game.

I do not have the pictures of the first game I shot on this computer, but you can see one that was chosen by the paper here :

Lady Trojans cruise to easy win over Destrehan | HoumaToday.com

 

[lacogada]

@astroNikon

Thanks for the link to the stop diagram.

Hard to understand because the differences or not equal.

 

[imagemaker46]

I've shot Olympic and professional volleyball many times over the years and it is one of the tougher sports to shoot, especially if the shooting access is limited to a couple of spots. The majority of what I have shot has been in the high school or university gyms that are as dark as shooting sports outside at night, or darker and usually flat, pulse light. When you throw poor light into the mix it doesn't really matter how fast the lens is as the iso will still have to be up in the 1600-4000 range just to get the shutter speed to stop the action.

Just keep at it.

 

[JoeW]

Imagemaker has a couple of really good posts in this thread.

Look, I just LOVE shooting with my 50mm f1.4, it is probably on my primary body more than any other lens I own and it's my default lens in most instances. I think I do some of my best work with it, especially at wide open apertures. But from a sports perspective, I think f1.4 or f1.6 or even f1.8 is going to be useless for you. When I shoot at f1.4 and focus on eyelashes, only the eyelashes are in focus (and not even all of the eyelash if they're long or fake ones). If you were shooting volleyball and using f1.4 while focusing on the ball (with appropriate ISO and shutter speed), the initial part of the ball would be in focus and about 2-3 inches of the ball beyond the surface closest to you would start to blur. And the players would be flesh-toned light-forms. You'll find that even at f2.8, shooting volleyball is tough to keep in focus...that's still a very limited depth-of-field.

 

[CameraClicker]

The stops thing basically has to be memorized .. I haven't bothered memorizing it yet
==> http://www.nphotomag.com/files/2012/03/Understanding_aperture_f_stop_chart.jpg

Don't bother memorizing it. Here's the trick: Use f/1.4 and f/2 as the base. Alternately double them to get the rest of the stops, so -- 1.4, 2, 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, ... etc.

Also, you can use plan B: Check your camera to see if it is incrementing in half or third stops, then spin the aperture dial while watching the numbers.