Indoor Basketball Settings?

[PoohJen]

Hi Y'all,
you've been a great help to me before. Can anyone suggest proper manual settings for catching the action on a Canon 40D for an indoor basketball game?

Thank you!

 

[PoohJen]

Looking thru some old posts, it looks like Tv mode is recommended, along with nifty 50 lens. Which is interesting, b/c although I understand the suggestion (f/1.8), I wouldn't have put that on my camera first, since the distance is so limited. sigh. amateur.

 

[jewood1234]

Well if your basketball gyms are as dark as ours then make sure you've got a nice bright lens!

For the rigors and fast-pace of freshman b-ball my favorite is a 135/2.8. The 50 will work nicely if you can get a front row seat, the 135 (or something slightly less) gives that extra but of reach though.

Good luck!

 

[bob100]

Hi Y'all,
you've been a great help to me before. Can anyone suggest proper manual settings for catching the action on a Canon 40D for an indoor basketball game?

Thank you!

with an 85mm 1.8 - start out in manual or AV mode, 1/640, f2.0 ISO 1600 or 3200
ai servo, and single point focus. but look at the meter to make exposure adjustments
Shoot in RAW to correct WB problems

 

[Gianna'sPapa]

I am assuming this is a school gym and not a professional arena. While I don't shoot Canon, I do shoot a lot of sports. If this is a school gym, you will find the lighting varies greatly from school to school along with distance from the court from where you will be shooting. I normally shoot from courtside and depending on what I'm trying to shoot, I will use my 28-70 f2.8 or the 70-200 f2.8. I use shutter priority, burst mode, and I use the ISO to adjust the aperture that I desire. As you can probably see, its a constant adjustment. Sometimes I try to get an individual with a blurred background so I will use a large aperture and other times I may try for the entire action and use a smaller aperture. The main thing is to keep the shutter speed up. I really don't like to drop below 1/320 sec. Anything below that and I tend to get motion blur with the hands, unless that is what you are going for. Sometimes I will setup at mid-court and other times I will choose a basket. I wish there was a magic setting, but there are just too many variables depending on what part of the action you are shooting.

 

[photo_chick]

Looking thru some old posts, it looks like Tv mode is recommended, along with nifty 50 lens. Which is interesting, b/c although I understand the suggestion (f/1.8), I wouldn't have put that on my camera first, since the distance is so limited. sigh. amateur.

Well if the 50mm f/1.8 (or another prime) is the only fast lens someone has I can see using that over a much slower kit lens or all in one if it's needed to get the exposure. Sometimes you have to work what you've got.

As far as settings, no one can tell you exactly what settings. And there are absolutely no "proper" settings. It's about what gets the shot for you and your shooting style. Tv would be my approach since sports are pretty shutter speed dependent. I'd pick what i needed to stop motion then bump up the ISO as necessary to get the exposure. I'd probably use my 70-210 f/4 or my 85mm f/1.4, depending on where I was sitting and the light. If those were too long I might indeed pull out my 50mm f/1.8 or a wider prime if my 28-105 f/3.5-4.5 wasn't fast enough for the situation.

 

[Frantasmic]

_MG_3199 by msf61, on Flickr


This was ISO 400, 1/200, f2.5 on a 50 f1.4 in a middle school gym.

Shot on a Canon 60D.

It really will depend on the lens somewhat.

This one was with the 85mm f1.8.

Better lighting in a college gym. 1/320 f4.0 ISO 640


_MG_3020 by msf61, on Flickr

Finally, here is one that I thought was truly "stop motion." He is dribbling and I caught the ball on the downward trajectory.


_MG_2659 by msf61, on Flickr

this was 1/160 f2.8 ISO 500 with the 200mm f2.8 L lens.

Some where shot with automatic white balance, some with fluorescent.