Shooting in a Gym

[sageone]

I taking flicks of any sports. But what I hate is taking them in a gym because of the poor lighting. I try to avoid flash whenever possible because I am never happy with the results. What are some suggestions for shooting action in a gym and shooting stationary targets in a gym? Thanks!

[pirinst]

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y85/pirinst/Canon%20D300/IMG_0853.jpgI find the best lens for my son's indoor basketball flashless is Canon ef 50 f/1.8 for directly in
front and the Canon ef 85 f/1.8 for half court away.

Tried the Tokina zoom 70-200 f/2.8 for full court distance but it didn't work that well for me so
I sold it and just stay with my primes. At full court, I usually have my team players' backs to the
cam so they don't present very good composition anyway.

I used the 85mm for indoor church photos and they turned out excellent IMO.

[pirinst]

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y85/pirinst/Canon%20D300/IMG_0445.jpgaaa

[sageone]

Yea...it's tough to shoot in a gym. The gym that I am in is a D1 College Prep school's gym. The place is huge...lighting is ok, but not ideal. I'm just not all that training or knowledgeable in terms of which shutter speed, ISO, f-stop, combo I should use that would provide the best results for both still and action shots. Advice would be great.

[pirinst]

That's a pretty big subject. It's definitely best to be as close as you possily can.
You need a fast enough shutter speed to freeze the action. The largest aperture lenses
let in the most light (f/1.8 lets in more light than f/4) one step is approximately twice the
light I think....could be wrong on that. More light means faster shutter speeds can be used.
Higher ISO settings turn up the light sensitivity which allows faster shutter speeds but at the
cost of possible noise the higher up you go. When you clean out the noise, some of the sharpness
goes out with the noise. Need a monopod or tripod- handheld can cause blurriness. Lens with
anti shake is great also. Once you get all the stuff and settings, you still need to learn how to
be where the action is and catch the scenes you want-faces are always good. Knowing when the
people are moving the slowest also helps-top of a layup or jump shot, a standing pass, players
turning around to look at a ref's whistle, etc.... Best to just go out and try a bunch of pics with
different settings and see how your camera responds.

[grego]

50mm F/1.4 or F/1.8 is a valuable lens at a ISO 800 or below.

THe 50mm f/1.8 is like 70-80 dollars so it's a pretty fair price.

[KartGirlsMom]

There's a thread below about shooting gymnastics that has some suggestions.

[pirinst]

ISO 800 prefocused on the hoop and took turns waiting for the players to approach. dRebel Canon 85mm f1.8 lens 1/160 and f3.3 I think.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y85/pirinst/Canon%20D300/IMG_1849.jpg

[Jetmech1]

I shoot a lot of pics in the GYM setting taking pictures of my kids playing basketball. My best results come from using my Canon 85mm 1.8 prime set at F/1.8 in Av mode at ISO 1600.

[grego]

In basketball you want to be at the baseline(almost directly under the hoop). Anything under 100 mm would do the job.