Less then Crisp Sport Photo - Help....

[Croasdail]

From what I can see - her number 8 and the area of her face above it are in focus - but the rest is subtly blurry. My question to you all is how much do I attribute to slow shutter speed and motion blur and mutch to poor focus by the camera. Trust me, I plenty of wonderfull pictures of the stands in back with out of focus action in front. The exif info on this one is...

ISO 400
F-5.6
S-250
Lense 220mm
Lens 70-300 USM IS - with I believe IS shut off so I have even a remote chance of having the focus keep up.

If is shutter speed I can deal with that by going to ISO 800 - but would prefer not to if possible. If it is the lense - will spending the money on an L or equivilant take care of this?

Thanks all...

[gmen]

Hi Crosdail. Shutter speed is certainly your issue here - the camera has pretty much nailed the focus on the player in the centre of the frame - but 1/250s just isn't fast enough to freeze the motion.

The only route is to crank up the ISO so that you achieve a shutter speed of 1/500s or faster. You don't mention what camera you're using - but don't be afraid to use a higher ISO.What would you rather have - a (motion) blurred image or a little bit of noise? I'd plump for the noise anytime.

Obviously the route to sharper pics at a lower ISO is to invest in some faster glass - there's plenty of reading matter on that subject to be found elsewhere in the forums so I won't bore you with that here.

Good luck with your next shoot.

[Croasdail]

thanks.... I know this is crazy talk around these parts but I have been debating between the Canon 70-200 2.8 or the Sigma 120-300 2.8. I know the canon would be spot on - but the addition 100 mm could really come in handy as I shoot mostly field and motor sports. Half the shots from this trip out were wasted on in focus background shots....and I am getting a bit tired of it.

By the way this was with a 10d so I have some headroom with the ISO.

Cheers.

[Cadwell]

The Sigma 120-300m f/2.8 is my favourite lens. Highly recomended. If anyone wanted it off me they'd have to prise it out of my cold, lifeless fingers :lol: