Basketball with my new 85 1,8

[dodorouthier]

Boy, I though this lens would be a miracle worker...its a challenge. I am oof 4 out of 5 time. This is the best one I got today. Humbeling experience
221633

[AdamLewis]

Nice shot. I wish I could see more of her face.

And is this like 4 bit color?...Looks a little funny...

[Anke]

I am oof 4 out of 5 time.


What camera?

[madplower4]

I am having the same problem with that lens and my first basketball game of the season. I was in AV mode 1.8, iso at about 1600 which gave me 400-640 speed, and using cf4.3 on a 30D body, and got a ton of oof shots. I went outside yesterday and took a bunch a test shots to make sure the aim was good, which it was, so I guess the 'ol operator error is to blame. The shots that came out good were great, but way way too many losers. Thank God I wasn't shooting film!

[liza]

I am having the same problem with that lens and my first basketball game of the season. I was in AV mode 1.8, iso at about 1600 which gave me 400-640 speed, and using cf4.3 on a 30D body, and got a ton of oof shots. I went outside yesterday and took a bunch a test shots to make sure the aim was good, which it was, so I guess the 'ol operator error is to blame. The shots that came out good were great, but way way too many losers. Thank God I wasn't shooting film!

Don't shoot in AV. Suck it up and use manual. ;)

In all seriousness, I use ISO 1600, f/2.2 to f/2.5, and 1/400 to 1/500, depending on the amount of ambient light in the venue. I also wouldn't shoot that lens wide open until you're accustomed to the razor-sharp depth of field. It's a great tool for basketball, but it takes some practice.

[montanafan]

Yeah, I agree with liza about the aperture. If you have good lighting and your target is isolated you'll get more sharp keepers at f/1.8, but if you're fighting the lighting conditions try f/2.0-2.2 at ISO 1600, 1/400-1/500, even 1/320 for the right shot - like at the top of a jump or just as the guard is starting his/her drive around someone. And don't forget to do custom white balance. I've tried a little bit of everything in basketball and found that I prefer manual as well, though I'll use shutter priority under the right conditions.

And are you shooting in AI Servo and using the center focus point? If I have them full frame, I'll put the center point right between their eyes, but a little farther out with a lot of distractions I try to keep it on their upper chest, otherwise with all the movement and background stuff it's too easy for it to grab onto something else. Everybody ends up with shots they thought were going to be great and then find that they're OOF. That's the way it is with auto focus, it has its limitations, you just have to do everything you can to give it the best chance to work for you.

[troutbreath]

Most of your shot will be OOF at 1.8. I have a hard time focusing at that aperture because I move too much. I cannot imagine getting too many keepers if the subjects were moving.

Good advice on here. Shoot M mode. Keep trying! (it's more fun than most alternatives, anyway)

[cking2]

As the others have said...Manual Mode. You just can't shoot fast moving targets with this Lens wide open. The DOF is small at that aperture and its possible to have part of a subject in focus and part out of focus. If you have the light in the venue....I find this lens is great a f2.8.

[dodorouthier]

thanks everyone...ill keep practicing!

[dodorouthier]

I have a 30d,
how does shooting manual help for the focus? My other question would be, at f2.8 is the 85 1.8 better than the 70-200 l is 2,8? Is it supposed to be sharper? I find that my 70-200 focuses way better. I just dont like the noise I am getting at iso 1600, at f 1.8 I can use iso 800.

[Heatseeker99]

I have a 30d,
how does shooting manual help for the focus? The more tasks you relieve the 30D's processor from having to continously figure out the more resources it can put into autofocusing in AlServo. Take grey card, shoot it. adjust your exposure so your center spike (in the histogram) is dead center. Then go to "custom white balance" and select that picture. Now your camera doesn't have to figure out white balance or shutter speed and can focus on focusing! :D

[dmwierz]

Let me add to AJ's suggestion about shooting a grey/white card that you should shoot a burst of shots at 1/60s or longer, and select the one that looks the "whitest" as your CWB baseline. This will minimize but not eliminate color shifts from the lights cycling.

[ust82gopher]

Don't shoot in AV. Suck it up and use manual. ;)
In all seriousness, I use ISO 1600, f/2.2 to f/2.5, and 1/400 to 1/500, depending on the amount of ambient light in the venue. I also wouldn't shoot that lens wide open until you're accustomed to the razor-sharp depth of field. It's a great tool for basketball, but it takes some practice.

This is my exact basketball settings too. Lot's of success using it last year - probably 3 of 5 were keepers. Here is an example:

http://i104.photobucket.com/albums/m184/ust82gopher/Paul_5116.jpg

Tim

[stickx]

If you think the 85 1.8 is tough to focus, try the 135 2.0L. I started shooting volleyball this year and found that getting good focus is really hard. Same bad lighting in the high school gyms, but try to stop the action when a girl is hitting the ball as hard as she can. I am happy with a 20% keeper rate on the action shots. I agree with everyone else - use manual and custom white balance.

[kenwood33]

Do you have all focusing points enabled and let the camera decide which to use? I often focus on the subject's face when shooting wide open and they seems to help a bit because the viewer's attention is often draw to the face of the player.

[stickx]

I always use the center focus point only, AI-Servo, and with Fn-04 set to 1 (auto focus by pressing the "*" button). There are often players closer than my subject so using all the focus points would choose the wrong person. I try to aim at the players chest which is the biggest target and also gets the entire person and ball in the frame. With the girls moving so fast I need a big target, and even with that I will ocassionaly miss and get the referee in perfect focus.:mad: My 20% keeper rate is more often due to not getting the ball in the photo, not so often by missed focus. I also find that I get better action shots by anticipating when to press the shutter button rather than shooting in burst mode.