Football help

[Cameraman1957]

I will be returning to the sidelines of college football again after a 25 year absence. The last time I shot football I was using a Canon A-1 with a motor drive and a 500 mirror lens. Now I am going to be using my Canon 40D and the 70-200 f2.8 L lens. All games will start at 1:00 PM, no games at night.

I'm looking for advice on ISO settings. Shoot in Tv or Av modes? AE Servo mode? What focus points should I use, center, all ? Any help would be appreciated. I'm looking forward to dusting off the old skills, to see if they are still there. :lol:

[L.Morey]

Shoot as fast as you can with the lowest ISO possible

[AdamLewis]

Haha if its daytime, you should find that old mirror lens! Bubbly bokeh always adds a different touch.

Your ISO should be as low as possible to allow you to get the picture you want.
Tv or Av is debatable. I prefer to shoot in manual. Pick which mode suits you better. Do you want to control the aperture and depth of field? Or do you want to control the shutter speed and freezing/blurring of action?
AI servo works well for tracking moving subjects. Thats what it was designed for.
I use only the center point when Im shooting.

[Cameraman1957]

Thanks for the replies. I did a double take when I looked at your name. My son's name is Adam Lewis. Good name!

[crazyskillz07]

Thanks for the replies. I did a double take when I looked at your name. My son's name is Adam Lewis. Good name!
Is he your son?:lol:

[Zivnuska]

Try to keep SS at 1/640 or faster. You may want to use a 1.4 TC if you have one and the light is good. I use Av or Manual, center focus point.

[Cameraman1957]

Is he your son?:lol:



Nope, mine is in Tennessee.

[AdamLewis]

Nope, mine is in Tennessee.

And my father passed away :eek: That would be quite the internet meeting!

[danaitch]

Shoot in Av and stay at f2.8. Use your ISO to keep your shutter speed at 1/640th at the absolute minimum. I usually feel happier at 1/1000th, but that's just me.

You can shoot in manual if you'd prefer, but stick to f2.8.

Sports photography is mostly about a shallow depth of field and if you don't stick at f2.8, you'll be kicking yourself if some of your images aren't as 'jump off the page' as they might have been at maximum aperture. Have fun! Don't forget your knee pads. :)

Edit - Yeah, centre point only, AE servo mode, try shooting in portrait mode more than landscape, and resist the urge to zoom out too much. Keep tight and the image will be right.

[Eagle]

Do it the same as you did 25 years ago.