Lacrosse is soon!

[ScottLax]

I'm still messing around with my settings. I'm shooting with a Canon Rebel XTI, with a Sigma 70-200 F2.8. I shoot in RAW, but mess with the settings. Anyone know the best settings for lacrosse?

[ChrisRabior]

Lacrosse is a fast sport. If you want to freeze motion, you're looking at a fast shutter speed (1/500 is a good starting point). I typically shoot manual, set aperture based on the depth of field you're looking for (I'm usually wide open on my 70-200mm f/4L), and adjust ISO to make it happen.

[Simon Turkin]

A mono pod is prob a good investment if you dont have one already it depends on the day for lax

[rdompor]

I seriously doubt he'll need a monopod for a 70-200. I'd rather see him put the money toward a TC since Lax fields are so huge. I bet he'll find that 200mm just isn't enough most of the time.

Shooting Lax is very similar to shooting soccer. As always with sports, you need fast shutter speeds (as suggested above, 1/500 should be fine). For the most part, the players will be far away enough from you that you can pretty much shoot wide open or close to it and still have enough DoF.

[Simon Turkin]

I seriously doubt he'll need a monopod for a 70-200. I'd rather see him put the money toward a TC since Lax fields are so huge. I bet he'll find that 200mm just isn't enough most of the time.

Shooting Lax is very similar to shooting soccer. As always with sports, you need fast shutter speeds (as suggested above, 1/500 should be fine). For the most part, the players will be far away enough from you that you can pretty much shoot wide open or close to it and still have enough DoF.

The tc would just slow the process down and the mono pod prevents camera shake

[rdompor]

slow the process down? TC's are effective enough to be widely used in outdoor sports. the loss of a stop or two isn't that big of a deal. and at 1/500s, there shouldn't be any camera shake with a light weight 70-200. I'm actually quite certain he'd be laughed at for needing a monopod with such a small lens.

[chris270]

The tc would just slow the process down and the mono pod prevents camera shake
Monopod on a 70-200 is too restictive for movement..I would not use a monopod until 300mm or bigger. At the speeds you should be shooting outdoor sports, shake is not an issue.

[ScottLax]

Thank you all, and I just upgraded to a 50d. Any thoughts on that camera? The game is friday.

[ScottLax]

BTW, this is a night game, and they really don't want me to use a flash.

[The Moose]

You might want to shoot JPEG. Think about your settings, prepare it properly and then change it to JPEG. You'll get more fps, a larger buffer and faster write speed.

If you get your exposure right, sports in JPEG is fine. Pretty much everyone uses it for sports.

[rdompor]

If it is a night game then I suggest using the 70-200 without a TC. The 2.8 combined with a high ISO should be able to manage depending on exactly how much light there is. If the 200mm isn't long enough, then take advantage of your 15MP to crop.

[Rick Denham]

You might want to shoot JPEG. Think about your settings, prepare it properly and then change it to JPEG. You'll get more fps, a larger buffer and faster write speed.

If you get your exposure right, sports in JPEG is fine. Pretty much everyone uses it for sports.

If he is shooting at night he may want to shoot raw in order to recover shadows better.

[ScottLax]

Sorry, but what's a TC?

[MT Stringer]

The fields are so big, I think you will learn quickly to wait until the action comes your way. A 300 or 400mm would work a lot better.(if you had one).

Here's an example shot at 300mm, f/5. The pic was cropped a little.
http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/dd265/mt_stringer/Lacrosse/FaceOff01.jpg

[rdompor]

TC is short for Teleconverter - depending on which one you get, it will multiply the focus length of your lens by 1.4x, 1.5x, 2x, etc... The downside is that you lose a stop or two of light. The reason I first suggested to use one is because you may soon find that 200mm is not long enough to cover a LAX field. But since you're shooting a night game, the loss of valuable light is not really an option. So take Stringer's advice and wait for the action to come your way.

[ScottLax]

OK, yeah, i've got a 2x one. I'll wait to use that until the 2pm game. Can anyone tell me if I'll notice a big difference between the Rebel XTi and the 50d?

[rdompor]

You'll probably notice a difference in the way the two handle high ISO noise. the 50D will be noticeably better than the xti. The 50D will also AF faster and more accurately as well as have a higher burst rate and MP.

[Simon Turkin]

BTW, this is a night game, and they really don't want me to use a flash.

The lighting will be fine if they bring in or have up a sufficent amount of lighting its not like football that can be played in decent lighting lax they light up better at least at my school

[rdompor]

The lighting will be fine if they bring in or have up a sufficent amount of lighting its not like football that can be played in decent lighting lax they light up better at least at my school

Don't be so sure. I've shot Big East games that weren't lit well enough...

[izatt82]

i would think if the field is close to soccer field size 300 to 400 is where its at. soccer i use my 100-400L and almost all the time it is on the long side

[Lerxst101]

i would think if the field is close to soccer field size 300 to 400 is where its at. soccer i use my 100-400L and almost all the time it is on the long side

I use the same glass for soccer and lacrosse, and it's almost always between 300-400. I previously had a Tamron 28-300. When I made the switch to the 100-400L, even my wife couldn't believe the quality difference.

[northpointphoto]

For a night lacrosse game I would start by setting the camera to 1/250, f2.8. Then adjust the ISO to get a good exposure. Lacrosse is a very fast moving sport so I would pick a spot on the field and let the action come to you. Also, make sure you compose your shots good because if you shoot at a higher ISO you wont want to crop as much.

[bobbyz]

I wouldn't use 2x TC for field sports, period and that includes even on something like canon 300/400mm f2.8 lens. I fyou don' thave focal length for the sports that you shooting, shoot when action is closer.

TCs slow down focussing, 2x TC lot more than 1.4xTC and it happens even on 1 series bodies. Much more on xxD series and probablt lot more on rebels.

In additon, you get lower picture quality unless you using 1.4xTC on something like canon superteles. And finally you need to contend with backgrounds as your aperture is lower.

[jxg]

.... Lacrosse is a very fast moving sport so I would pick a spot on the field and let the action come to you.......

you obviously have never been to any of my daughter's games when she played in under 13 league :D sorry, i couldn't resist.

she is in high school now, the pace is much more bearable...