First ever sport photo

[Geoff Lees]

I finally settled on buying a Canon EF 70-200MM f/4L USM lens after studying numerous replies to my post requesting advice/guidance on a suitable lens for sport shooting. Since taking this picture I have purchased a Canon 1.4x converter to go with this lens and hopefully I will get to use it shortly. I have attached a copy of my first ever sports shot and, I know that its not much to look at but I am really pleased with it. I have been looking at many shots on this forum and I do know that given time and a lot more knowledge of my gear I will be able to produce some quality pictures. The worrying part about all of this is that I think that I have left it rather late in life to take up photography and it takes longer for the information to sink into this old brain of mine and, additionally, I now discover that I have also got to become more skilled in the use of my computer, whereas previously I would send a few emails and write a few letters I now have to get to grips with a programme that I have just purchased (Adobe Photoshop 7.0) for working with my pictures. Heaven knows how I will get on with this. For your information the photo was taken on my 40D camera in AV mode and with the aforementioned lens and at 1/4000 f/4 -1/3 (so the camera tells me) I don't doubt that it will get pulled apart or torn to shreds but hey! I'm keen to learn. I was looking at the sticky earlier and it was talking about embedding and linking etc., I hope that I can get the hang of all this because I do want to post pictures quite often in order to get the appropriate crticism, it's the only way to improve. Thank you for looking.

[Big K]

Nice first shot. What ISO were you at and why did you go with - 1/3?

[namasste]

First off, this is a fine photo. There's certainly some things I'd do in post to dress it up but its a solid shot. Start with a tighter crop. You can eliminate a ton of that dead space bringing more attention to your subject. Second, create a new layer in PSE7 and then go to lighting and levels and slide your midtones to the left a bit until you bring those up. You can use the opacity slider in your layers palette on the right to further tweak how much of the effect you want. In the lighting menu, you can also use the shadow recovery slider but use it sparingly as its easy to overdo it. Again, do it in a layer so you can adjust the strength of the effect. Add a tiny bit of saturation, a little contrast and final sharpen and you should be money.

[Geoff Lees]

Nice first shot. What ISO were you at and why did you go with - 1/3?Hello Kevin, Thank you for your comment, as I say it is my first use of a DSLR and I am quite pleased with the outcome. I seem to recall that the ISO was set on AUTO but as for the -1/3, I really don't know, I can only assume that I must have unknowingly pressed a button or turned a knob at some point, it certainly wasn't an intended action on my part. Any ideas on how I may have done this? Thanks for your help.

[Geoff Lees]

First off, this is a fine photo. There's certainly some things I'd do in post to dress it up but its a solid shot. Start with a tighter crop. You can eliminate a ton of that dead space bringing more attention to your subject. Second, create a new layer in PSE7 and then go to lighting and levels and slide your midtones to the left a bit until you bring those up. You can use the opacity slider in your layers palette on the right to further tweak how much of the effect you want. In the lighting menu, you can also use the shadow recovery slider but use it sparingly as its easy to overdo it. Again, do it in a layer so you can adjust the strength of the effect. Add a tiny bit of saturation, a little contrast and final sharpen and you should be money.Hello namasste, thank you so much for your very detailed input, I really appreciate your help. I have no idea on how to use Photoshop but I am going to give your suggestions a real go. As I said in my original post, it does get harder to digest information as you get older but I will have a go this morning. I will re-post as soon as I have got something for you to look at, hopefully you will spot it. Thanks again for being so helpful. regards, Geoff

[asysin2leads]

Geoff,
If you go under User CP and enable "Photo Editing OK," we can take a crack at showing what changes can be made to an image. However, if you prefer people not repost your images, please don't enable the photo editing option. I'm a visual learner. If I can see what others are talking about how to improve an image of mine, it makes much more sense. Also, most will post what type of edits they did for your reference.

Also, I try to use +1/3-+2/3 EC (exposure compensation) when I use AV mode. I would also not use Auto iso. One of the things that tripped me up when I started was iso settings. Remember the lower iso (100) settings are for bright light and higher iso (1600+) are used for low light situations. Then there are the settings in between. It looks like you had enough sunlight to use iso 100-200 and still keep your shutter speed (Tv) high enough to freeze the action. You're right, this is a lot to digest and it will come together the more you shoot. All in all, this is not a bad image at all (even if I don't really understand the sport;). Make the adjustments that Scott recommended and re-post the image.

[Geoff Lees]

Geoff,
If you go under User CP and enable "Photo Editing OK," we can take a crack at showing what changes can be made to an image. However, if you prefer people not repost your images, please don't enable the photo editing option. I'm a visual learner. If I can see what others are talking about how to improve an image of mine, it makes much more sense. Also, most will post what type of edits they did for your reference.

Also, I try to use +1/3-+2/3 EC (exposure compensation) when I use AV mode. I would also not use Auto iso. One of the things that tripped me up when I started was iso settings. Remember the lower iso (100) settings are for bright light and higher iso (1600+) are used for low light situations. Then there are the settings in between. It looks like you had enough sunlight to use iso 100-200 and still keep your shutter speed (Tv) high enough to freeze the action. You're right, this is a lot to digest and it will come together the more you shoot. All in all, this is not a bad image at all (even if I don't really understand the sport;). Make the adjustments that Scott recommended and re-post the image. I have now enabled 'Photo Editing' but am also trying to do some myself in Photoshop at the moment but, I am lost already but will keep trying. Thanks again for your input, it is really helpful. Yes you're right, the sun was shining at the time of the shoot so I will remember your point about the ISO next time. I think that the 'exposure compensation' will take a little more getting used to though. How do you determine when you need to compensate, or does that come with experience. Thanks again, Geoff

[asysin2leads]

I have now enabled 'Photo Editing' but am also trying to do some myself in Photoshop at the moment but, I am lost already but will keep trying. Thanks again for your input, it is really helpful. Yes you're right, the sun was shining at the time of the shoot so I will remember your point about the ISO next time. I think that the 'exposure compensation' will take a little more getting used to though. How do you determine when you need to compensate, or does that come with experience. Thanks again, Geoff

I know this sounds like a canned answer, but everything will start to fall into place with time. You should see my first sports pics. Talk about crap. If this is your first ever sports photo, you've got me beat hands down. Keep shooting. It's the best way to learn. Also, POTN is full of it, er, I mean, uh, full of people who know what they're doing and will help. Keep an eye on the sports photo sharing section for samples. It's chocked full of good stuff.

[Geoff Lees]

I know this sounds like a canned answer, but everything will start to fall into place with time. You should see my first sports pics. Talk about crap. If this is your first ever sports photo, you've got me beat hands down. Keep shooting. It's the best way to learn. Also, POTN is full of it, er, I mean, uh, full of people who know what they're doing and will help. Keep an eye on the sports photo sharing section for samples. It's chocked full of good stuff. If you want to have a go at editing the pic, please feel free, the option is now enabled.

[Big K]

Hello Kevin, Thank you for your comment, as I say it is my first use of a DSLR and I am quite pleased with the outcome. I seem to recall that the ISO was set on AUTO but as for the -1/3, I really don't know, I can only assume that I must have unknowingly pressed a button or turned a knob at some point, it certainly wasn't an intended action on my part. Any ideas on how I may have done this? Thanks for your help.

Hi Geoff,

I thought the -1/3 was probably accidental. It has happened to me in the past as well. You are correct, it is controlled by one of the wheels on your camera. What it does is tell the camera to either increase or decrease the exposure it chooses based on the cameras metering. -1/3 means for the camera to determine an exposure then adjust that setting down by 1/3 of a stop. It is referred to as exposure compensation.

I am not that familiar with your specific camera so would suggest checking your manual for how to make these changes and how to tell by looking at the displays that it has happened. I learned it the hard way when I was first starting. At least you only went to -1/3. My learning experience came from getting mine set to like -2 1/3 and everything looked like I shot it in the dark.

I would suggest not worrying about using exposure compensation at this point but would say focus on getting a better understanding of the relationship between shutter speed, aperture and ISO. Your best long term plan is to get to the point you are comfortable shooting in Manual mode so the only time you need Av mode is for special situations but getting experience using Av mode is a pretty good way to start the learning process.

Some general suggestions for sports shooting.

Shutter speed is key. You want to do all you can to keep it as fast as possible. Different people have different levels they like to set as a minimum. For me, I rarely shoot sports at less than 1/640 and try to be 1/1000 or faster whenever possible.

For your aperture shoot at the fastest (Lowest number) your lens will allow. Unless you are using really fast glass with apertures of f/2 of faster, if you are using Av mode, go with the lowest number possible and make adjustments to the other settings as needed.

For ISO, I agree with the other Kevin, don't use the auto setting. Because your aperture will be set at its fastest setting and you are trying to keep your shutter speed as fast as possible, ISO is going to be your primary setting adjustment you will need to make at a given event.

The lower the ISO number, as a general rule, the better your overall image quality will be. However, don't be afraid to push this up as needed to allow you to get a faster shutter speed. The drawback with high ISO is noise and a decreased color rendering. In my opinion it is much better to lose a bit in these areas as apposed to dealing with motion blur from not having a fast enough shutter speed. You can fix a lot in post production but you can't fix motion blur.

Assuming you can shoot with an aperture of f/4 - f/5.6, on a sunny day I would suggest starting out with your ISO at 400 and see what you get for a shutter speed. If your shutter speed is less than 1/640, increase the ISO. If it is greater than 1/4000, decrease the ISO. Again, those are very general guidelines and you will have to work out your ranges of acceptable settings given the event you are covering and what types of shots you are trying to capture. On a cloudy day, you will probably have to go to 800 or higher to even start. This is why you see many of the top sports shooters using f/2.8 or faster lenses because it it what you need to work with lower light that makes things tough at f/4 or greater.

From there, it is really a matter of practice and experience. It will not take you long to get a feel for what you need to change, by how much, and what type of results to expect. Once you get some experience, you will start to notice little things that you don't like and this is when things like using exposure compensation will become more helpful. No sense trying to learn everything all at once. It can get very frustrating and always recommend that people take things in steps.

The other important setting if you are using Av mode is the metering mode your camera uses. I like to use center weighted average for sports but like minimum shutter speed different people have different preferences. There really isn't a right or wrong it is just something you need to understand and apply given your specific needs.

This would be another section to read and digest from your manual so you better understand the types of metering that it will do and how they work. Again, experience, overall lighting conditions and the event you are covering will need to be factored in to making the optimum selection.

Note I did not mention using Tv mode. Unless you are trying to do panning shots I do not recommend ever using it for sports. It has its applications, but in my opinion, sports are usually not one of them.

I would suggest at your next event try a variety of settings and then study the results you get. Do things like shot a similar shot at ISO 200, 400, 800 and 1600 and compare the results when you get them on your computer. Note how the shutter speed changes and how it effects overall image sharpness of a moving subject as well as look for signs of noise and color loss. This should quickly help illustrate the gives and takes you will experience from the changes.

I hope that helps and makes sense. If you have any questions let me know and hopefully some of the others will add things that I have forgot to mention. There are a lot of really good shooters on here with lots of good advice. Just remember there is rarely only one way to do anything and that practice is the key.

Good luck.

[Geoff Lees]

Hi Geoff,

I thought the -1/3 was probably accidental. It has happened to me in the past as well. You are correct, it is controlled by one of the wheels on your camera. What it does is tell the camera to either increase or decrease the exposure it chooses based on the cameras metering. -1/3 means for the camera to determine an exposure then adjust that setting down by 1/3 of a stop. It is referred to as exposure compensation.

I am not that familiar with your specific camera so would suggest checking your manual for how to make these changes and how to tell by looking at the displays that it has happened. I learned it the hard way when I was first starting. At least you only went to -1/3. My learning experience came from getting mine set to like -2 1/3 and everything looked like I shot it in the dark.

I would suggest not worrying about using exposure compensation at this point but would say focus on getting a better understanding of the relationship between shutter speed, aperture and ISO. Your best long term plan is to get to the point you are comfortable shooting in Manual mode so the only time you need Av mode is for special situations but getting experience using Av mode is a pretty good way to start the learning process.

Some general suggestions for sports shooting.

Shutter speed is key. You want to do all you can to keep it as fast as possible. Different people have different levels they like to set as a minimum. For me, I rarely shoot sports at less than 1/640 and try to be 1/1000 or faster whenever possible.

For your aperture shoot at the fastest (Lowest number) your lens will allow. Unless you are using really fast glass with apertures of f/2 of faster, if you are using Av mode, go with the lowest number possible and make adjustments to the other settings as needed.

For ISO, I agree with the other Kevin, don't use the auto setting. Because your aperture will be set at its fastest setting and you are trying to keep your shutter speed as fast as possible, ISO is going to be your primary setting adjustment you will need to make at a given event.

The lower the ISO number, as a general rule, the better your overall image quality will be. However, don't be afraid to push this up as needed to allow you to get a faster shutter speed. The drawback with high ISO is noise and a decreased color rendering. In my opinion it is much better to lose a bit in these areas as apposed to dealing with motion blur from not having a fast enough shutter speed. You can fix a lot in post production but you can't fix motion blur.

Assuming you can shoot with an aperture of f/4 - f/5.6, on a sunny day I would suggest starting out with your ISO at 400 and see what you get for a shutter speed. If your shutter speed is less than 1/640, increase the ISO. If it is greater than 1/4000, decrease the ISO. Again, those are very general guidelines and you will have to work out your ranges of acceptable settings given the event you are covering and what types of shots you are trying to capture. On a cloudy day, you will probably have to go to 800 or higher to even start. This is why you see many of the top sports shooters using f/2.8 or faster lenses because it it what you need to work with lower light that makes things tough at f/4 or greater.

From there, it is really a matter of practice and experience. It will not take you long to get a feel for what you need to change, by how much, and what type of results to expect. Once you get some experience, you will start to notice little things that you don't like and this is when things like using exposure compensation will become more helpful. No sense trying to learn everything all at once. It can get very frustrating and always recommend that people take things in steps.

The other important setting if you are using Av mode is the metering mode your camera uses. I like to use center weighted average for sports but like minimum shutter speed different people have different preferences. There really isn't a right or wrong it is just something you need to understand and apply given your specific needs.

This would be another section to read and digest from your manual so you better understand the types of metering that it will do and how they work. Again, experience, overall lighting conditions and the event you are covering will need to be factored in to making the optimum selection.

Note I did not mention using Tv mode. Unless you are trying to do panning shots I do not recommend ever using it for sports. It has its applications, but in my opinion, sports are usually not one of them.

I would suggest at your next event try a variety of settings and then study the results you get. Do things like shot a similar shot at ISO 200, 400, 800 and 1600 and compare the results when you get them on your computer. Note how the shutter speed changes and how it effects overall image sharpness of a moving subject as well as look for signs of noise and color loss. This should quickly help illustrate the gives and takes you will experience from the changes.

I hope that helps and makes sense. If you have any questions let me know and hopefully some of the others will add things that I have forgot to mention. There are a lot of really good shooters on here with lots of good advice. Just remember there is rarely only one way to do anything and that practice is the key.

Good luck.Hello again Kevin, what an absolutely fantastic response, I am really grateful for this and would like to thank you most sincerely for the time that you have taken over this reply. I shall print this off and will keep it handy for reference purposes. One thing that I did recently was to purchase a book called 'Understanding Exposure' by Bryan Peterson, this is a very useful book indeed. I had a very interesting response from namasste who pointed me in the direct of photo editing in Photoshop, I am trying to get to grips with this but right now I am struggling somewhat, whilst it is no doubt a very efficient and comprehensive programme, it is also very complicated. I am now going to have another go at it. Thanks again for all your help. As you mentioned, there are some really splendid people that use this forum and I can tell you that people like me are eternally grateful for the help received. kind regards, Geoff

[Geoff Lees]

First off, this is a fine photo. There's certainly some things I'd do in post to dress it up but its a solid shot. Start with a tighter crop. You can eliminate a ton of that dead space bringing more attention to your subject. Second, create a new layer in PSE7 and then go to lighting and levels and slide your midtones to the left a bit until you bring those up. You can use the opacity slider in your layers palette on the right to further tweak how much of the effect you want. In the lighting menu, you can also use the shadow recovery slider but use it sparingly as its easy to overdo it. Again, do it in a layer so you can adjust the strength of the effect. Add a tiny bit of saturation, a little contrast and final sharpen and you should be money.
Hello namasste, I have tried to do as you have suggested but I'm sorry to say that I have got totally lost when using Adobe Photoshop, it is such a complicated programme. Is the one provided by Canon any easier, I think that it is called Digital Photo Professional. I have created a new layer but then I get a message telling me that I can't alter a 'background layer' so I think that I clicked on it agaian and then it became 'layer 1' I then clicked on 'image' 'adjustments' 'levels' when the levels box opened I clicked on 'options' and it brought up another box called 'Auto Color Correction Options and this shows 'Sahdows clip 50%' and 'Highlights clip 50%@ but nothing against Mid tones' and it is here that I get lost. I haven't yet found a 'lighting' menu or a 'Shadow Recovery slider' then we come to 'Saturation' 'Contrast' and 'Sharpen' I would like to ask if you could offer any more guidance but if it would mean taking up too much of your time the please don't worry about it. I will have to make do with my photo's as they turn out from the camera. I will also look out for a possible course on Photoshop at the local nightschool, this may help. I have opened up the 'Enable Photo Editing' option under user CP if that is any help. Thanks for all you help thus far. Regards, Geoff

[namasste]

Geoff, first of all, don't sweat it about Photoshop. Its is a complicated program (and admittedly, I'm average at best in PS). DPP, the Canon software, is a nice little tool and I actually use it as a final tweak after I'm done in PS. In DPP, you'll see a graph in the editing palette, this is functional similar to highlight and shadow in PS. By grabbing different parts of the line you can alter the shadows/highlights/mids. Imagine dividing the graph into thirds vertically. The middle are your mids (pull the line up or down to adjust). The right side, highlights, left, shadows. Ideally, you'll create a nice "S" shaped curve by moving it around. Play with that in addition to your other tweaks there and see what you think.

In PS, its a lot more complicated if you start using layers and masks. I do like to work in a duplicate layer since it makes it easier to go back to scratch if you mess it up (you can also do that by using the edit history but a layer is easier imo). You can also use the opacity slider in the layers palette to adjust how much of an impact you want your edits to have. Hit Ctrl-J (pc) to duplicate the layer and when you're done with that layer, hit Ctril-E to merge them together. As for shadows and highlights, use the enhance toolbar dropdown and select lighting, you'll see a shadow/highlight option there as well as levels. I use levels a lot there. It's similar to the curves in DPP in terms of adjusting, just slider based rather than dragging a curve. I could go on forever about different things you can do in PS but for now, I'd focus on the basics you see in the enhance menu (saturation, levels, unsharp mask, contrast). The other stuff can come later. I also won't bog you down with this now but something to be thinking about is how you apply the changes. This is where layer masks come into play for local adjustments. If you want, I'll edit the image you posted here and post it back so you can see how I'd tweak it. Frankly, its a good shot so it won't need a ton of work but it'll give you an idea of how someone else might edit. Hope that is helpful Geoff. Most of all, experiment. I think PS has endless possibilities and no matter how much time you spend with it, you'll always be learning new tricks. That's part of the fun!

[Geoff Lees]

Geoff, first of all, don't sweat it about Photoshop. Its is a complicated program (and admittedly, I'm average at best in PS). DPP, the Canon software, is a nice little tool and I actually use it as a final tweak after I'm done in PS. In DPP, you'll see a graph in the editing palette, this is functional similar to highlight and shadow in PS. By grabbing different parts of the line you can alter the shadows/highlights/mids. Imagine dividing the graph into thirds vertically. The middle are your mids (pull the line up or down to adjust). The right side, highlights, left, shadows. Ideally, you'll create a nice "S" shaped curve by moving it around. Play with that in addition to your other tweaks there and see what you think.

In PS, its a lot more complicated if you start using layers and masks. I do like to work in a duplicate layer since it makes it easier to go back to scratch if you mess it up (you can also do that by using the edit history but a layer is easier imo). You can also use the opacity slider in the layers palette to adjust how much of an impact you want your edits to have. Hit Ctrl-J (pc) to duplicate the layer and when you're done with that layer, hit Ctril-E to merge them together. As for shadows and highlights, use the enhance toolbar dropdown and select lighting, you'll see a shadow/highlight option there as well as levels. I use levels a lot there. It's similar to the curves in DPP in terms of adjusting, just slider based rather than dragging a curve. I could go on forever about different things you can do in PS but for now, I'd focus on the basics you see in the enhance menu (saturation, levels, unsharp mask, contrast). The other stuff can come later. I also won't bog you down with this now but something to be thinking about is how you apply the changes. This is where layer masks come into play for local adjustments. If you want, I'll edit the image you posted here and post it back so you can see how I'd tweak it. Frankly, its a good shot so it won't need a ton of work but it'll give you an idea of how someone else might edit. Hope that is helpful Geoff. Most of all, experiment. I think PS has endless possibilities and no matter how much time you spend with it, you'll always be learning new tricks. That's part of the fun!
Yes please I would appreciate it if you can do some editing and then post it back, I think that this might be helpful, Many thanks again, Geoff

[namasste]

Yes please I would appreciate it if you can do some editing and then post it back, I think that this might be helpful, Many thanks again, Geoff
Geoff, here's a really quick go of it. I'm at work so I wasn't able to put a ton of time in and since I was working with an image that was sharpened already, I wasn't able to add any sharpening to it which can really make a tremendous difference. In this case, I would have liked to sharpen a lot more locally than it looks like you may have. There are some strong signs of oversharpening when cropped down like I did. Regardless, it'll give a basic idea of what I might do (sharpening aside, of course)

http://www.sephotos.net/img/v1/p805085111.jpg

[Geoff Lees]

Geoff, here's a really quick go of it. I'm at work so I wasn't able to put a ton of time in and since I was working with an image that was sharpened already, I wasn't able to add any sharpening to it which can really make a tremendous difference. In this case, I would have liked to sharpen a lot more locally than it looks like you may have. There are some strong signs of oversharpening when cropped down like I did. Regardless, it'll give a basic idea of what I might do (sharpening aside, of course)

http://www.sephotos.net/img/v1/p805085111.jpg
Wow this is fantastic. I apologise for catching you at a bad time. If you have not been able to do some things that you would have like to have done perhaps I can send you the original and you can have a go at that. Would it be better for you to let me know when it is more convenient for me to let you have it. I am really impressed with this and it has made me more determined to get to grips with PS.

[Big Hands]

OK, I was led here from your other post.

Scott (namasste), as is usual for him, and Kevin have you going in a great direction.

It looks as if you were fortunate to have a bit of cloud present for this shot, but as was noted, you did quite well with it technically 'in-camera' (the accidental "-1/3"slip up aside).

I can add that I have had a 20D since they came out and had the 70-200 f/4L and a Canon 1.4x TC. First of all, my experience with the TC it was better to shoot without unless I had a situation similar to yours in this pic where I could actually prefocus on a spot or subject well before I shot.

I set up my 20D and a 70-200 f/4L with 1.4x TC on a tripod aimed at the batters box (softball) and I would pre-focus on the batter as they stepped into the box and then turn the AF off (on the lens). I then could sit back in a lawn chair with a remote shutter release and just work on timing the pitch right to get "BOB" (ball on bat) shots and it worked out really well.

Conversely, using the TC in a fast moving environment like HS school age soccer, it just could not focus fast enough and my keeper rate suffered with the TC compared to without it. I found I was merely trading the ability to shoot one part of the pitch for being able to shoot another part of that was merely further away and not appreciably larger. And since the TC hindered AF speed, it only resulted in less keepers.

The other negative with the TC is that when you have the aperture set to shoot as wide open as possible, you're losing a full stop with the 1.4x and two full stops with the 2x so you'll need decent light or you'll be into ISO's above 400 which may start to degrade image quality (introduce 'noise').

So, the TC may have a place in some sports shooting situations, but the advantages may have a negative associated with them. You just have to decide if it's better for you.

I ended up selling my 70-200 f/4L to get the f/2.8L. I had to sell the 70-200 f/4L, my Tamron 28-75 f/2.8 and add another $200 to get the 70-200 f/2.8L. I wanted better low-light capability and I wanted to get more "OOF" (out of focus) backgrounds. The first issue was significantly remedied and the latter issue was made better, though the difference wasn't huge, it was enough to make it worth it (better separation of subject from background). If these are not a concern to you, the 70-200 f/4L is an excellent lens as you've so aptly demonstrated with thew pic you've posted here.

The suggestion I have that I have not seen mentioned is that while the technical qualities of the shot are quite acceptable to say the least, I would suggest that you make an effort to time your shots to include a ball, preferably as it strikes a bat of just before someone catches it.

So long as you maintain the attitude you have about accepting help, your learning curve will be much shorter.

Regards,
Jeff

[namasste]

Great points Jeff and an interesting take on the TC. I too have been toying with the TC/ no TC debate and still am undecided. You point about trading areas on the pitch is right on though. To go further, the farther images obtained by using the TC are ones where its tougher to isolate the athletes as the focal plane/distance math comes into play. I find that with the 300 and the 1DM2, I can crop significantly if necessary so the TC isn't as necessary. It does have its place for sure (love it for baseball where I prefocus a large % of my shots) but really don't care for it with soccer where I am all over the place and can't really prefocus.

Just thought I'd add that to your points above since I think you are spot on.