Suggested settings for an arena shoot

[canonmaninga]

My son is graduating high school on Sunday and the graduation ceremony is being held in a local arena. We, the parents, will not be allowed on the main floor where the stage is located and where the graduates will be seated. I suspect we'll be in the risers approx 100 - 200 ft from the stage. Stage lighting will be used, lights down in the audience area. I have a canon 20D body with Lexar 1GB CF cards, a wide assortment of lenses and filters to choose from, and a canon speedlite 580ex flash available. This is a very important shoot for me and I don't want to screw it up so I'm looking for suggestions on camera settings, lens choices, with/without flash, etc. from all you experts. I'll take any and all constructive feedback with much appreciation.

[Woolburr]

The first thing you won't want is any filters. If you are going to be that far from the stage, a 70-200 is almost going to be a must. Hard to tell what the lighting scheme is going to be, but you can expect it to be terrible. Plan on ISO 800 or 1600...if extreme, you might have to go to 3200. From where you are going to be, don't expect much benefit from the flash. You will want to keep your shutter speeds up to avoid motion blur if you plan on shooting people walking the stage. Tv mode...at 1/250 or faster.

[canonmaninga]

Thanks for the info Dan. On the lens, I have a Sigma AF 70-200mm f/1:2.8 APO HSM and if needed a Sigma 2x APO teleconverter. I also have a Canon EF 400mm f/5.6 L lens available. I like the Sigma for the lower f-stop range, especially shoot in a dark area. But the Canon takes such a great pic with the florite glass, just not sure if 5.6 is going to get me where I need to be. Any thoughts?

[mjordan]

If you have one, take a monopod. I'm pretty sure you won't have room to set up a tripod. This will help you steady the camera. If you don't have a monopod but have a tripod, you can use that, just extend the legs but leave them all together like a monopod. Or only extendout one leg. Although the Canon lens would be the better choice for quality, the speed of your Sigma is probably going to be a much better choice considering the lighting.

I've shot in dark horse arenas and fairgrounds a lot of times when I shot with a 10D using a 70-200 2.8L. I shot at ISO 800 (about the max for the 10D without getting into excessive noise) at about 1/30th. If the subjects were standing still or moving at a slow walk, I had very little problems with blur. If they were moving faster, I got blur, which wasn't too bad at screen sizes but showed up more at print sizes. I'm sure the lighting on the stage will probably be more than what I've shot in and the 20D has better noise at higher ISO's, so if you have a steady hand (or use a monopod) and your son doesn't run across the stage, you should be able to get some decent shots. And even if all of them don't come out crisp for 8x10 or bigger prints, they should still be pretty good for looking at on the screen and e-mailing family and friends.

Mike

[canonmaninga]

Great feedback Mike, I agree on the lens choice. I've used the Sigma on other projects and it takes a nice pic. I've already told my son to take a nice easy stroll across the stage and savor the moment. Thanks for responding.

[Woolburr]

The 70-200 f/2.8 is your best bet...you are going to want all the light gathering ability you can get. Forget the converter, it will slow you down too much indoors. If you can get there a bit early and take a couple of test shots, that would probably give you the best idea of where you need to be with your settings. Given that your lens hasn't got IS...I think a shutter speed up around 1/320 would be an even better idea to get a crisp shot. If you can get a pod of some sorts in with you, that would be most beneficial. The 20D does amazingly well at high ISO...Don't be afraid to turn it up to give you a decent shutter speed.

[canonmaninga]

Dan, nice input. Got a good Manfretto monopod which should do nicely for stabilizing the camera. Top ISO on the 20D is 1600, should be plenty. I'll start at the 320 and test from there. Thanks for the help.

[Woolburr]

Actually you can turn on ISO expansion in Custom Functions on your 20D and get ISO 3200 if the lighting really sucks. The performance is pretty impressive. Shooting NASCAR at night, in the rain, on new pavement is a nightmare, but with 3200...entirely possible. Throw in some movement, shoot thru a fence...Serious test of the equipment, but the 20D does a more than admirable job. The guy sitting a couple rows down with a Nik*n D200 got a grand total of zero usable images.
http://www.pbase.com/woolburr/image/60555538.jpg

I hope your lighting is better, but don't count on it. Like I said before, try to get a couple of test shots in to see where you need to be. This is where the ability to chimp a shot really pays off. Good luck and happy shooting!