Sport Mode??

[Matt30D]

What is the best mode to shoot in when photographing FOOTBALL GAMES?? My yearbook class is shooting a 1D Mark II, and we have not really shot the camera that much! We have a 70-200IS 2.8 lens. We are shooting at night Games and we usually shoot in TV mode..is this right...should we bump the ISO to 800-1600?? We need help and the camera and the lens should support nice shots! we also have a 580EX Flash...AHHHHH!

[canonnoob]

shoot in manual... and set the exposure etc.... then measure for light... put it on af servio and then autofocus... that should be what you need.

[Matt30D]

How about indoor sporting events???? Volleyball or basketball?

[Matt30D]

I am a little confused about set exposure..you mean the exposure meter? Then what does measure for light mean? AF focus is a good setting for sports??? We had it on ONE SHOT?

[canonnoob]

I am a little confused about set exposure..you mean the exposure meter? Then what does measure for light mean? AF focus is a good setting for sports??? We had it on ONE SHOT?

your subjects are moving correct? AF Servio is the autofocus best for moving objects... you dont want to continue to keep focusing manually in a game because you will most likely miss something.... Read the manual... It will help alot... Honestly Im surprised that your school got you guys a camera like that and you dont know how to use it :lol: no offense..

[canonnoob]

give me about 3 minutes to get some pp done to a tennis shot I did yesterday and ill give you an idea for this...

[Matt30D]

I know..that camera is awesome@ We use it just fine for all other shots, but sports are just hard to shoot! We should have bought 7-9 40 D's

[canonnoob]

Heres what you need to do...

1)move to m
2)Set shutter speed
3)set aperture value
4)focus on subject and shoot...

2&3 are the metering for light... you want to set it to the standard exposure mark...

[canonnoob]

I know..that camera is awesome@ We use it just fine for all other shots, but sports are just hard to shoot! We should have bought 7-9 40 D's

how about you just give me a camera and ill come show you how...?

[Matt30D]

How do you set it? Will the light change from place to place though???

[eror11]

I'd go with aperture priority, set to widest possible, set autofocus to SERVO and probably forget about the flash unless you're really close to the sidelines... oh, and also, yes, I'd go with at least ISO 800

[Matt30D]

Set it to 2.8, 1600 ISO...I have noticed our shutters only go to about 1/125...is that fast enough?

[convergent]

I'd also recommend Av mode (aperture priority) rather than Manual. Football fields at night have light varying all over the place and unless you are fluent with keeping an eye on your exposure and adjusting it, you'll end up getting hosed up.

To get started, I'd go with Av, set your aperture to f/2.8, and your ISO at 1600 at least. If you can't get decent shutter speeds (shutter speed varies automatically in Av based on the amount of light available), then you might even go to ISO 3200 (Hi). You probably have to enable going to ISO Hi in the custom functions somewhere if its not already enabled. You'll get a bit more noise, but you don't have any choice... noise is better than blur.

The other thing you need to worry about is White Balance. Start by setting it to Auto, but you will get better results if you do a Custom White balance. You will need to read the manual to know how to do it as I don't think I can explain it to you here. Basically you take a picture of something neutral (like a white piece of paper or a "grey card" if you have one), and then you tell the camera that this is its target for White Balance. It will then set all the other pictures base on that reference image which you've told it is white.

For autofocus, you need to make sure to set it to AI-Servo.

For indoor sports, you'd do everything the same, except that your f/2.8 lens may not be good enough for the lower levels of light. Do you have any other lenses... like an 85 f/1.8 or 135 f/2..... or even a 50 f/1.4 or f/1.8. For indoors, if you have one of those, I'd try that and set it to f/2.

[Matt30D]

Thanks...we wil try that!!!!!

[convergent]

It would be helpful next time if you had an image to post to have a discussion about. IT would help people assess the conditions better.

[canonnoob]

^trooof

[Kennymc]

Another vote for AV wide open...

[badchess]

I'd tend to shoot on manual mode, even with changing amounts of light, as the camera might be wildly off depending on what metering mode he is using.

At night with that lens I'd guess you'd have to kick it up to iso 1600.

[tedBalog]

I'd use Av, wide open.

[jbgeach]

If I were you, I would use the P mode. Since I am me, I use M. It really depends on your experience. Don't try out the M mode during your game. You won't get as good of pics

[Roy Webber]

I'd also recommend Av mode (aperture priority) rather than Manual. Football fields at night have light varying all over the place and unless you are fluent with keeping an eye on your exposure and adjusting it, you'll end up getting hosed up.

To get started, I'd go with Av, set your aperture to f/2.8, and your ISO at 1600 at least. If you can't get decent shutter speeds (shutter speed varies automatically in Av based on the amount of light available), then you might even go to ISO 3200 (Hi). You probably have to enable going to ISO Hi in the custom functions somewhere if its not already enabled. You'll get a bit more noise, but you don't have any choice... noise is better than blur.

The other thing you need to worry about is White Balance. Start by setting it to Auto, but you will get better results if you do a Custom White balance. You will need to read the manual to know how to do it as I don't think I can explain it to you here. Basically you take a picture of something neutral (like a white piece of paper or a "grey card" if you have one), and then you tell the camera that this is its target for White Balance. It will then set all the other pictures base on that reference image which you've told it is white.

For autofocus, you need to make sure to set it to AI-Servo.

For indoor sports, you'd do everything the same, except that your f/2.8 lens may not be good enough for the lower levels of light. Do you have any other lenses... like an 85 f/1.8 or 135 f/2..... or even a 50 f/1.4 or f/1.8. For indoors, if you have one of those, I'd try that and set it to f/2.

Very good points

[Mike R]

When I shoot a night game, I use M, with the following settings: f/2.8 ,1/400 and an ISO between 800-1600. The only thing I change during a game is the ISO. I also use a 580EX flash and set the camera for HHS to allow for the high shutter speed. Some people her suggest that you shoot at 1/250 and that the flash will still freeze the motion.
It will also allow for faster recycle times. I have not tried it yet but plan to. The recycle times have led to many missed shots. I have picked up a battery pack which should help.
Neither way is perfect and there are pro's and con's to both methods. Try to get to a game, even another team, so that you can practice before you have to shoot an important game.