'sport' mode or manual

[colblaha]

Is there any advantages for a beginner like me to use the manual settings instead of the 'sport' mode?
A buddy of mine borrowed my drebel and ef100-300 to take shots of my lacrosse game today. The lighting was good, and he used sport mode the entire time and got tons of really sweet shots.
He actually got to use the 100-300 before me, and i've never shot outdoor sports before, so i don't know yet how it goes yet.

Any input on manual vs auto for sports?

[rebel61021]

I have the DRebel and I tried the sport setting and it worked good for some things but others it was bad at so I have learned (still learning) how to use the maual mode just so that I can control the shutter speed and the ISO setting I have found out that I like to shoot at ISO 800 with a 1/250 shutter speed and usally with the lens wide open becasue right now I am shooting indoor wrestling and need all the light that I can get. I had my kids sledding couple months ago and sport mode worked great for that. I guess the best thing I can tell you is to experiment and learn the manual mode just in case you need to change for higher ISO and or shutter speed.

[gmen]

I'm sure there will be plenty of discussion on this topic.

My preference is manual exposure at all times - I will only allow the camera to take over when the lighting becomes extremely tricky, for example on very windy days when the sun is in and out of the clouds every few minutes/seconds - and even then I am reluctant to do so! If the sun is high enough, I generally try to stay in manual mode and shoot into it as this 'evens out' the differences in exposure as the sun goes in and out... also this can help to isolate the subject matter from the background more successfully. If you need convincing read Brad Mangin's post in this thread: http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=11467

Take a hand-held meter reading, use a grey card or use the playing surface as a basis - grass is a reasonable start point - then read the histogram and tweak your settings appropriately. Be aware of any areas where the lighting changes and simply adjust your exposure when you are shooting in those areas. It's easy to rely on the camera's meter - but, with sports, you can't go back when your shot is 2-3 stops underexposed because of a bright white advertising hoarding in the background!!

I've just posted some football shots here:

http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=58691

These are all shot on manual at 1/1000, f/2.8 - I simply increased the ISO step by step as the light faded during the game.

[blinking8s]

use Av rather than sports mode and just open your lens up and get some fast shutter speeds, and manual when you are confortable with lighting and exposure...

[phadams]

On the drebel, use sport mode if you have plenty of light (i.e. bright outdoors) and you will get the increased advantage of the predictive autofocus. Unfortunately, for low light situations, it doesn't work as well. Sport mode tops out at ISO 400 -- if you need more than that, you have to go manual.

[colblaha]

Thanks for the info.
I do tend to stay in Av for most everything, but i just wanted to see what other people do for sports.
I'll just have to get out there and practice :]