Photos at indoor sporting events

[princesspwrhr]

I need a little advice, in as much plain English as possible. I completely enjoy photography, but am not very technical about it. \

My daughter is a level 4 competitive gymnast - the first meet of the year is coming up and I'd like to get some decent pictures. We are hosting the meet at our gym - basically, like all gyms it's a big warehouse that's been converted with equipment and mats. It's flouresant lighting that's at least 30 feet up. We haven't hosted a meet since my dd joined this gym so I don't know if they change the seating or not, but on a normal day we sit in bleachers on the 2nd story loft area and the girls work out on the flor below. Flash Photography is NOT allowed for the safety of the athletes. All previous attempts to take pictures on either of my cameras have been awful. Lots of graininess and 'noise' no matter what I try. I have a tripod I use.

The two cameras I have are

• a Canon APS SLR, model escapes me at the moment, but with the exception of situations like I decribed it takes amazing pictures, so I expect a user end problem..lol

• and a Kodak Easy Share LS743 - I love this little point and shoot I take it everywhere with me and have gotten some great shots- but again -crappy lowlight/bad light photos. This I suspect as an equipment issue since it's a point & shoot with minimal zoom.

Does anyone have any suggestions/advice on how to get some decent pictures with the equipment I have in the setting I have to work with?

 

[mabas9395]

What lenses do you have for your Canon SLR? For indoor gymnastics, you will need a long and fast lens. I assume that is a film model, so you will need the highest ISO speed film you can get, 800 or higher.

My DD5 just started gymnastics and the lighting in her gymn is horrible! I use my Canon Reble XT with my 85mm f/1.8 set wide open with 1600 ISO. The pictures are barely acceptable but then again she isn't moving that fast either.

 

[handicap18]

With the film SLR you going to need a lens that has a long reach (at least 85mm or higher) and a wide shutter (small number). Unfortunately lenses like this are on the expensive side. Probably the best is the 70-200mm f/2.8, but that runs upwards of $2000 (at least for the IS version). Canon does have a 70-200 f/4 that is a lot less, but still quite a few hundred dollars. Sigma makes a very nice 70-200mm f/2.8 that is less than 1/2 the price of the Canon. Maybe look into a used lens. Try keh.com. They have a great reputation and are very fair in the evaluation of the condition of the lenses they sell. Maybe a Sigma 90mm or 105mm f/2.8, but still I don't know how close its really going to get you. Try your longest zoom lens and see how that works for distance then go from there in trying to find a lens that has a wide aperture (small number) around that length.

As mabas mentioned, you'll also need at least ISO800 film, ISO1600 would be better, though will produce more grain. The higher the ISO the better the chance of getting high shutter speeds.

 

[MarkBarbieri]

Does anyone have any suggestions/advice on how to get some decent pictures with the equipment I have in the setting I have to work with?

It might not be possible. Get the fastest film that you can buy. Set your camera to use the widest possible aperture (lowest f-stop number). Check your shutter speed. If it isn't at least 1/60 or faster, you're probably not going to be happy with the pictures. In an absolute pinch, you could tell your camera to underexpose the pictures and hope that the photo processor can lighten them up. That might give you a bit more shutter speed.

Another option would be to borrow or rent a DSLR with a fast lens.

 

[NJDad18]

My daughter being in gymnastics really got me into photography. My suggestion would be to rent a digital slr and a fast lens. I have a rebel xt which is fine for taking pictures of my daughter. There are other cameras that take more frames per second or have a higher iso, but my xt does the job. You will need a lens that is no slower than 2.8. The lenses that I use are 85mm 1.8, 135mm 2.0, 70-200 2.8. As the OP said these fast lenses are expensive, but renting them for the weekend would be around $50. My daughter is a level 6 and I can say that some of the gyms that we have competed in are like dungeons and that 2.8 iso 1600 does not cut it. I think that you should also possibly rent a digital slr too. That was you can know instantly if the settings that you're using are correct.

Here are 2 pictures that I took at her level 5 states last year:

 

[princesspwrhr]

I got the camera out of the closet. It's a Canon EOS IX Lite. I love that camera- it just feels good - but yes, it's film (APS) and I adore my Digital, I don't have the $$ to feed this habit on film. We have an extra zoom lens - 300mm. I have to admit though that's it's been several years (3) since I've had a chance to learn & play with it and I was just learning manual settings when life flipped upside down and I needed a dig pns to send pics to iraq. So correct me if I'm wrong

I should use the 300mm lens
Should I use the extra peice for the lens?
tripod is a no brainer
does APS film come any faster than 800?
how do I adjust the shutter speed?
I should just pray that anything comes out.

yes - I'm going to get the manual right now.....


hopefully if finances work out and we get our house this year I get a Canon DSLR for birthday/christmas/anniversary/don't ask for another present for 2 years.

 

[NJDad18]

The 300mm zoom will only be good if it's a 2.8 lens, my guess is that it is not. The f stop on the lens will make all of the difference in the world. I would go to your local camera store and bring in your camera and tell them what you are going to be shooting and see what lenses are available to rent.

 

[princesspwrhr]

The 300mm zoom will only be good if it's a 2.8 lens, my guess is that it is not.

Where on the lens would I find that info?

For everyone who suggested renting - thanks Inever thought of that. I don't know if it's in the budget. And even if I got good equipment we'd still have the user issue. I think fo rnow I'll do the best I can with what I have, and start practicing and reading up so when I get my DSLR I'll be prepared. I can compose a shot, and think out of the box and play with all my settings, I just couldn't tell anyone what I did when, or what they did by looking at the numbers and figures.

 

[NJDad18]

It should be written on the lens. The lens should have the range and the f stop on it. I have a Sigma lens that has it right on the barrell.

Renting is not that much money, the lens should be $50 for the weekend. I'm not sure how much the camera would be b/c I've never rented a camera.

 

[princesspwrhr]

NJDad - for some reason the pics you posted of yoru daughter, and that whole post - JUST showed up on my end. weird. Love the pics and the concetration on her face is great! Yes, most gyms are dungeons- ugh. What was your distance to get the great bar shot?

Back to the camera - I'm going to go ahead and call around to price renting equipment. But, I'm a dork and feeling quite thick in the head today. So I took a picture of my lens' with my digital. Which would be better if I can't rent?

back of the camera

original lens

zoom lens

attachment for zoom lens

 

[mabas9395]

You would need to take a picture of the FRONT of the lens. The part you see when someone is taking a picture of you with it.

But chances are, if your lens isn't white, its not the long/fast type. It may be long or it may be fast, but usually the long/fast ones are the white ones. Look at the sidelines of any professional sports game on TV. Most of the photographers have white lenses because they do what you are trying to do: zoom in and freeze the action in low light.

 

[NJDad18]

I don't remember the distance, but I was using a 70-200 2.8 lens. This was one of the better gyms in terms of light.

Look at the front of the lens and the info should be there. If you can't find it you can always put the lens on the camera and put the camera in AV mode which should allow you to pick the aperture(f-stop). If the lowest value that you can get is above 2.8, the lens will not work.

 

[handicap18]

I came across this site for renting. Up front I'll say I've never used them so I don't know anything about them, but I'm thinking about possibly using them one day for renting a lens or 2. There is a place near me that does rent lenses, they range $15-25 for a weekend, but they're kinda far away. Not all camera stores rent so you might have to look around. But at least this will give you an idea.

http://www.rentglass.com/

 

[NJDad18]

I have used www.rentglass.com and it could not be easier. I generally rent the 135mm 2.0 for gymnastics. My local camera store never has that lens available for rent. They only rent the used lenses and whenever they get a 135 in, it's sold within 2 days.

Rentglass sends the lens back vis usps and gives you a return label to mail it back. The only thing is that somebody needs to be home when it's delivered because somebody needs to sign for it. I normally have it sent to work.