pro photog, sports newb, volleyball..HELP!!

[vpnd]

I am a wedding, portrait and Landscape pro who has about a half hour of experience with sports. I am shooting a Varsity Volleyball match tomorrow night for the school website and want the tricks and tips if anyone has em.
my gear is as follows. Bodies..1dsmk2, 40d. Lenses 70-200, 24-70 and the 85L(which I won't be bringing) I'll bring both bodies and lenses. Help please.

[clarence]

Why won't you bring the 85L?

Is your 70-200 a f/4 or f/2.8?

[MMD]

Volleyball search, i'm sure your questions can be answered with all the threads. I would think the 85L would be the first lens in the bag!

[BaumannPhotography]

To be honest volleyball is tough to shoot, and experience shooting it will get you the keepers. The action is fast and unpredictable and the lighting is usually sub par, which requires fast glass and fast cameras. You have the equipment you just need to get out and shoot, maybe stopping by a practice sometime would give you an idea of how it will be.

Tips: Anticipate action - look for good players on each team and keep an eye on them and how/where they play.

Presetting focus helps me out along with anticipation. But most of all practicing - going to games and getting used to the speed.

As far as camera setting - al servo, high iso, fast shutter, max f stop, center focus point(or any other that work)

I don't mean to sound like I doubt your ability, as I dont', but volleyball is a tough one to shoot. Just a heads up for ya. :)

[PhotosGuy]

85L(which I won't be bringing) IMO, a very bad decision.

My first v-ball shoot:
Some Volly Ball Tournament Tests (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=394723)

The second, using only the 85mm f/1.8
SLHS V-ball tournament (http://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthread.php?t=594045)

Get there early & talk to the refs about where you can shoot & where you can't. Wear court shoes & (Pro Tip:) Hang your biggest lens off your shoulder when you talk to them. ;)

[Mike R]

I have to shoot in a cave, The lighting is so poor that it doesn't deserve to be called a gym. I also cannot use any type of flash so I'm forced to se my 85 1.8 (I shoot at 1/400,f/2.2 and ISO I switch between 800-1600 on a 40D body. The lens performs well. I would love to use my 70-200 but it's just too dark. If you're considering using any type of lighting, be sure to ask the coaches from both teams if it's allowed

The other posters are right, Volleyball is probably the most difficult sport to shoot. Another thing to watch out for is arms blocking faces.

[cevad]

I LOVE shooting volleyball! It is my favorite sport to shoot. Almost non-stop action. No time for chimping except between games but then you miss a lot of the great team shots if you don't keep shooting. Chimp all you want at home... shoot at the game.

IMHO, leave the 85mm 1.8 on the camera and forget the other lenses. You have enough to concentrate on already. Shoot in manual and RAW if you can. Test a few exposures at f/2 and f /2.2 and see if u can get away with an acceptable shot at at least 1/320 minimum, (pref 1/400 or 1/500), at an ISO that your camera and you can tolerate. I try to stay away from f/1.8 unless it's totally necessary because I get better focus and more keepers but sometimes it's necessary in the caves. Find your happy compromise between shutter, aperture and ISO and you're ready to go.

Get to the game early to do all that test crap I just mentioned. Then, scope out the refs. Don't ask them where you can shoot from.... it's too easy for them to just point you to the bleachers. Introduce yourself as a professional photographer, (with business card in hand preferably), and ASK if you may shoot from behind the benches and from the corners of the court. If you approach them respectfully and show that you are only asking for access to generally approved areas, they will most likely just nod and give you the go. Then when shooting, prove that you are a pro by not stepping on to the court or getting in front of any time keeper or other spectator. If you do things right, they will barely notice that you're there. Keep in mind though that the stripes have the final say. If they ask you to move, then do so politely. You don't want to cost your team any penalty.

Get some easy, safe shots first, like serving and blockers at the net before the ball is served. After that, try for the action. Setters are always pretty easy to get shots of. Try focusing on one player for a while and see what you can get. The 85 is kinda short for shooting thru the net from the wall, so try to move up behind the benches if you're allowed. I have also gotten some pretty good shots from up in the bleachers, just off center from the net and about 5 or 6 rows up.

The more you shoot it the easier it get's and the more fun it gets. I hope some of this helped. :)

Cheers!

[vpnd]

thanks. The reason I didn't think of bringing the 85 1.2 is how slow it focuses. And yes the 70-200 is 2.8. I will bring the 85 and try it. Thanks again...

[clarence]

thanks. The reason I didn't think of bringing the 85 1.2 is how slow it focuses. And yes the 70-200 is 2.8. I will bring the 85 and try it. Thanks again...

Ah, I've never used the 85/1.2L, but I've got a 85/1.8 non-L which works great for vball if you want to trade ;)

Set your WB for the gym lights and bump up the ISO more than you're probably used to... try to get shutter speeds ~1/500".

[zerovision]

I have a 85 f/1.2 and I shoot an indoor dog sport called flyball. These dogs travel at 18-20mph for 50 ft, turn and race back. The lighting is as bad or worse than a gym. The 85 works better than any lens made. The action is fast the lens is fast enough and I have a friend that also shoots that dog events and he only uses his 40D and his 85 f/1.2.

You may find that this is the only lens you want to use.

Good luck and please let us know how it turned out.

[PhotosGuy]

The 85 is kinda short for shooting thru the net from the wall, so try to move up behind the benches if you're allowed. A little wider shot gives me some latitude for cropping & you'll probably appreciate that after you've blown the first 40-50 tight shots. ;)
Some of the shots I've liked the best were from the back of the court through the net.

[vpnd]

since it's for web I'll just crank it to 3200 on both bodies. Now the only thing is the fine tuning and tweaks. Thanks again...
P.S. Clarence, I'd be happy to trade you 85's... If you throw in a 400 2.8 IS

[clarence]

P.S. Clarence, I'd be happy to trade you 85's... If you throw in a 400 2.8 IS

Ooh... too bad you didn't just say "if you throw in a 400mm"... I have a Sigma 400mm/5.6 that I don't use any more since I got the Bigma... it's a prime but it's certainly not a 2.8 IS. 400/2.8 is my dream lens for football.

Have fun at the vb game. Please post a few of your best. Do you plan on shooting RAW? If so, you can underexpose a little to get faster shutter speeds, plus avoid clipping the whites.

[tomd]

like everyone else has said: bring the 85.
I'd shoot (Av) wide open, iso 1600 (depending on lite) and hope the shutter speed is 1/500th or faster.
TIP: be sure to use the correct white balance for the type of lights in the gym.

[primoz]

I actually agree to leave 85/1.2 at home. It's cool lens, just not for sport. I actually had "pleasure" to work with it, and it was 3 times... first, last and never again. My manual focus (which is bad, slow, and inaccurate) is much faster then this what 85/1.2 can produce on 1dmk2 or 1dmk3. Not to mention balance of 85/1.2 on 1d body is not exactly perfect for holding it in your hand for 2 hours.
On top of that, 85mm is way too short or way too long. If you shoot from middle next to the net, it's too long (24-70 will do ok there), if you shoot from end of the field, 300mm is just about right, but 70-200 will do too with some aggressive cropping.
Some other suggestions? As I mentioned there are two good positions, from middle of field, next to net (http://www.photo.si/photo_show1.php?imn=s_volleyball_20071212nw_0225.j pg), is quite easy one to work. From back of field (http://www.photo.si/photo_show1.php?imn=s_volleyball_20071017nwm_0174. jpg), catching players when they spike, is not all that easy. You never know where ball will go, so keeping left eye open trying to follow ball and predict which player will spike helps a lot. On top of that, it's extremely fast. It doesn't look fast on tv or when just watching, but when you try to shoot and hit right moment, it's much faster then you think :)
Then there's always option to go up to tribune (http://www.photo.si/photo_show1.php?imn=s_volleyball_20071212nw_0129.j pg), from where you can cover pretty much whole field, and it's quite easy to follow it this way, but personally I think photos from first two positions I mentioned, are much more powerful.

[PhotosGuy]

I actually agree to leave 85/1.2 at home. It's cool lens, just not for sport. I wasn't aware that it was the f/1.2, but I'd still try it out. If the team is wearing a light colored shirt, & the lighting is on the high side of crappy, it might focus OK with the center focus point?
Might try some from the back with a MF on the net, too.

So... where are your results? ;)

[tomd]

OK, after all this "advice" you just have to post up a few results!

Tom