Awful lightning, need help

[kotam]

I am trying to take pics of my son's indoor soccer games but am having a terrible time with the lighting. At best, there are 3 large spot lamps above the indoor arena. Since soccer is such a fast moving sport, is there anything that can be done to improve the quality of the pics (without flash)?

I am using a 10D with a Sigma 70-200 2.8. This shot was taken a 1/60, f/2.8, ISO-1600. As seen in the pic, the shadows are pointing towards me which means that the light source is on the opposite side of the field. The only problem is that on that side, there is a glass barrier about 12 ft high. I am going to attempt to shoot through the glass next time to see if I get better lighting. 1/60 is way too slow. Also at ISO-1600, the pics are too noisy for my taste.

one thing to note here, as seen in the pics, there is more light coming from the soda machines in the background than there is on the field of play!

any help or suggestions greatly appreciated.

[Croasdail]

Consider underexposing by a stop. With CS it is easy to repair the images - much easier then overexposed or excess motion blur. To get ride of the noise, use Neat Image (available at neatimage.com). It is free to download. Just don't over do it as it can make the people look like plastic. But with some practice you can really clean up the images.

[aggarcia]

Tp improve the pictures you might try borrowing a lense with a 1.8 and/or moving up to ISO 3200. As mentioned you can clean up the image with prgrams like Neat Image or noise Ninja.

[Croasdail]

Oh, and by the way Neat Image is free for use for non-commercial use... not sure if Ninja has the same thing but both are good products when used properly.

[kotam]

excellent suggestions.

thanks

[gmen]

Seems like a job for the world famous 85mm f/1.8 to me.... wide open at ISO3200. The 85mm was the best investment I ever made - and I'm sure there are a few here that share that opinion!