Some HS basketball shots

[jhawkor]

Hey guys here are some shots I took a couple nights ago of my high school's basketball team. They were shot with a Canon 40d and a Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 lens wide open. Tell me what you think. NOTE: I don't shoot much basketball, usually just football and baseball so be gentle

Pre game

At the line

Surveying the court

Setting up

Making a move

Putting up the trey

Going up strong

Hope you guys like them. I'm very new to photography but I hope to get better. :bounce2:

 

[wfournier]

A good start, generally when shooting basketball 1/500 is about the minimum shutter speed I can get sharp pictures, but I find 1/800+ to be better. I think many of the issues with sharpness are the result of motion blur. There are a some white balance issues as well, but that can be hard to avoid in these places. Other than that though I think you did a good job of capturing the action, now you just have to stop it.

 

[jhawkor]

A good start, generally when shooting basketball 1/500 is about the minimum shutter speed I can get sharp pictures, but I find 1/800+ to be better. I think many of the issues with sharpness are the result of motion blur. There are a some white balance issues as well, but that can be hard to avoid in these places. Other than that though I think you did a good job of capturing the action, now you just have to stop it.

Thank you. My settings were iso 1600, shutter speed 1/320, and aperture wide open at 2.8. If I made my shutter speed much higher than 1/320 my shots would come out VERY dark...Any advice? I plan to get the 7d sometime soon so hopefully that will help.

 

[Jacob D]

Quite a few of those were shot in the ballpark of 135mm... have you considered picking up a 135L? You would gain a full stop over the 70-200. You could pick up a second 40D used, plus a 135L for about the price of a 7D and use it as a second body, keep the 70-200 on the other. Just a thought.

By the way, the 40D is still considered a very good body, in some circles it's favored over the 50D.

 

[jhawkor]

Quite a few of those were shot in the ballpark of 135mm... have you considered picking up a 135L? You would gain a full stop over the 70-200. You could pick up a second 40D used, plus a 135L for about the price of a 7D and use it as a second body, keep the 70-200 on the other. Just a thought.

By the way, the 40D is still considered a very good body, in some circles it's favored over the 50D.

Thanks for the advice, I'll look into that 135L. The 40d actually isn't mine, it's the schools. I would be picking up the 7d for myself.

 

[wfournier]

Thank you. My settings were iso 1600, shutter speed 1/320, and aperture wide open at 2.8. If I made my shutter speed much higher than 1/320 my shots would come out VERY dark...Any advice? I plan to get the 7d sometime soon so hopefully that will help.

I'm guessing that the light you are shooting in is about the same as I generally have to deal with.

This was shot at 1/640 f2.8 (70-200L) at ISO 6400 as you can see there is still some motion blur, but it's not too bad.

Unfortunately the only option in this situation is turn up the ISO (if you can) or add extra light. I have seen some nice stuff done with even small off camera flashes.

 

[Jacob D]

But you will still be able to use their 40D? If you want to have a fast prime it would be idea to have two bodies. Actually... I dunno because I don't shoot sports but I can only imagine you'd make good use of a f/2 lens on a second body.

You mentioned the 85/1.8 in the other thread. That's a nice lens too, with very snappy AF. I use mine quite a bit.

The 135L lives up to it's reputation and among the L primes it's reasonably priced. I only recommended the 40D due to the cost with the 135L. If you can swing the 7D + 135L then by all means

 

[Jacob D]

wfournier - great shot.

 

[jhawkor]

Jacob-I would like to get something that has better iso than the 40d but yes I could still use my publications class 40d. I think I just might just save some benjamins and go with a 7d with the 135mm f2 L. Actually I think I might start with the 7d and the 85mm 1.8 then in a few months when I have some more cash pick up the 135L.

wfournier-great shot indeed. I wish I could shoot at 1/640 with the 40d but as I said they come out extremely dark and I have the iso cranked on it so I'll just have to wait for the 7d. Do you use flash or strobes?

 

[Jacob D]

I would think 7D should give you at least a stop in sensitivity, add a f2 lens and you'll be shooting lots faster

 

[jhawkor]

Sounds good. Now there's just the countless hours of work before I can afford it...I think I have two of the most expensive hobby's in the world, photography and reefkeeping.