College basketball

[Back288]

Third try at basketball, first try at men's basketball. Taken Wednesday night. C & C always welcome and appreciated, thanks for looking!

1
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n233/Back288/IMG_8833esc.jpg

2
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n233/Back288/IMG_8843esc.jpg

3
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n233/Back288/IMG_8897esc.jpg

4
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n233/Back288/IMG_8947esc.jpg

5
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n233/Back288/IMG_8989esc.jpg

[40Dude6aedyk]

Thanks for sharing!

I see that you have used ISO 3200, shutter 1/640th, f/3.2 and no flash. What went into your decision not to use flash? Not allowed? Venue was well-lit enough? Don't have flash? Tried flash and didn't like results? I'm just curious. You seem to have done better than I can use with ISO 3200.

Also I imagine then that you did noise reduction at some point, may I ask how?

[Back288]

Thank you for your comment. I try to go without flash unless absolutely necessary at sporting events. I know a couple high school and college coaches (basketball and football), and they all agree that they prefer not to have flashes going off to possibly distract their players. So, while it may be allowed (I really don't know, I never asked), I'd rather not risk affecting the action. Besides, I've seen some of the members of the forum do great things at high ISO, and since I'm usually just shooting for practice/fun, the lighting challenge adds to the whole experience for me.

I usually shoot basketball wide open with the 70-200 but the night these were taken I went with 3.2 to see if the deeper depth-of-field makes a difference. Next time, I'm going to try the 85 1.8 instead and see how that compares. With the lighting in this gym, I usually can only manage to get 1/500 to 1/640 sec at ISO 3200 without underexposing too much.

The only noise reduction I used was in CS3 on the raw image.

[chris270]

I agree with your flash stand. I like to shoot without any flash. Maybe when I can afford it and convince the AD to allow me to use strobes, I may. Anyways, nice shots and maybe try some noise ninja..I like the way it works on my stuff.

[thekid5]

You say you are going to try using your 85mm. What do you plan on setting the aperature at? I used to use my 85mm at 2.0 to get a faster shutter speed in dark gyms, but I found the depth of field made getting keepers difficult. I now use the 70-200 at 2.8 or higher and get more in focus and work with the underexposure in post process.

[Back288]

I agree with your flash stand. I like to shoot without any flash. Maybe when I can afford it and convince the AD to allow me to use strobes, I may. Anyways, nice shots and maybe try some noise ninja..I like the way it works on my stuff.

Thank you, glad to hear I'm not alone in "flash avoidance":D. I'll have to look into the noise ninja, I've heard many here speak of it, but haven't tried it yet.

You say you are going to try using your 85mm. What do you plan on setting the aperature at? I used to use my 85mm at 2.0 to get a faster shutter speed in dark gyms, but I found the depth of field made getting keepers difficult. I now use the 70-200 at 2.8 or higher and get more in focus and work with the underexposure in post process.

Thank you for the comment and pointers, I'm not sure what settings I'll use until I get there, just thought I'd give the 85 a try. Experimenting is half the fun (when it's not a paying gig;)). I'll still have the 70-200 along too just in case.

[superdiver]

I dont use flash for BB either. I would say that #2 and 4 are the worst of the batch the other two are not bad. They all look a little over exposed to me. Was that done in postprocessing or were they shot everexposed?

I shoot at 1.8 with my 85 1.8 (unless its getting me times of 1/1000+ then I will stop it down). that lens is a beast, dont be affraid to put it through its paces, it will perform for you! I shoot at ISo 1600 and 3200 regularly and with good IQ selection in post processing and learning what you can and cant squeez out of a picture and with good noise reducer software they can turn out great!