12-year-olds playing baseball

[bhuckabee]

Here are a couple of shots from a baseball tournament my son's teamn played in this weekend. It was nice to have a chance to shoot sports of any kind in daylight for a change. All comments and suggestions welcome.

[CrazyStang]

I really like #1.

[bhuckabee]

One more that's not a great shot, but it's my son and I like how I got the ball stopped in the frame as it was coming off his bat.

[eigga]

Are you taking pictures from the dugout? My business partner lost a lens that way last weekend. Nice Pictures!

[david888lee]

are you using the 70-300 f/4-5.6 is to shoot these?!? i was going to get this lens but people said it focuses too slow for sports. what are your thoughts. thanks!

[PhotosByJP]

I did a few softball games a few weeks ago. Was a lot of fun!

These were taken with the XTi/400d and the 70-200 F/2.8L @ 2.8 ISO 100. Shutter speeds were around 1/1500. And attached is one of my favorite. "Strike 3" ... hard on 12 year olds :(

Picture 1 (http://www.photographybyjpg.com/Softball501.jpg)
Picture 2 (http://www.photographybyjpg.com/Softball502.jpg)
Picture 3 (http://www.photographybyjpg.com/Softball503.jpg)

[superdiver]

Any lens will do, as long as you have light...Heck, I use my Sigma 170-500mm for alot of outdoor sports (its a birding type len BTW) when there is enough light....

the light is the secret...typically sports are played in darker areas and these lenses will not work, you need to get down to something more like an f2.8 or faster....

The reason these lenses are NOT recommended for sports is because in MOST situations they wont work, and they CERTAINLY are not as crisp and clear as you TYPICAL sports lens...

And with the faster lenses you can get a much thinner DOF which lends to a nice blurred BG that makes the subject pop out of the picture and isolates them...

BUT, what you will learn is that it MOSTLY comes down to the OPERATOR, NOT the equipment.....LOL

These pictures are pretty good, the biggest thing that jumps out at me is that they horizons are off(looks like they ae playing a a STEEP hill), except the 4th one that is....and then there the part of the bits and pieces of toes and such that got chopped off...

BUT not bad too at all....

[bhuckabee]

Are you taking pictures from the dugout? My business partner lost a lens that way last weekend. Nice Pictures!

Thanks. Actually, I was shooting from outiside the fence near homeplate on the first base side.

[bhuckabee]

are you using the 70-300 f/4-5.6 is to shoot these?!? i was going to get this lens but people said it focuses too slow for sports. what are your thoughts. thanks!

Yes, I used the 70-300 f/4-5.6 to shoot those. Fortunately, it was a cloudless day, so I could shoot at a higher shutter speed. As far as the focus speed, I rarely use the auto focus because it never seems to be able to focus sharply enough. I just focus manually.