what is the best ISO for daytime football??

[themadcow]

I have a 40D and I shoot in RAW.. What is the best ISO setting?? It seems to me that some of the best images I get are at the lower ISO settings.. I like the look of the polarizer.. but I must increase ISO to have a Shutter speed that can stop the action.. Am I beeter off not using the Filter and go with a lowers ISO? What about if a low ISO is still giving me a SS of over 1/2500..
What about camera settings?? Should I use the default settings? Like the sharp and such?? ..
I am intersted in everyones thoughts.. Thank you in advance..

[yogestee]

What lens/lenses do you plan using??

[Sam|McGuire]

I would recommend using the lowest ISO possible to maintain an adequate shutter speed. When I shoot landscapes/architecture I shoot at ISO 160 on the 40D because this has the least amount of noise, even more so than ISO 100.

[themadcow]

I am using canon 70-200 2.8 IS L

[onlypars]

If I remember correctly, each camera has an optimal ISO setting that may be different from ISO100.

[beanster]

I have no idea what your trying to say in the middle of your sentence but..the question is dependant on what type of result you want. It's like asking what is the proper exposure, it's unique to the individual.

If you just want to freeze the action then it's whatever ISO will give you the speed to do this (I have no experience with this but i would guess about 1/200 at least), i'm sure others with more experience will chime in with settings for different effects but it would help to say what you want to achieve.

[canonnoob]

it all depends on what your light is like... daytime can be many things. cloudy, harsh light anything. so personally, I like the lowest I can go that allow me to get the settings I want and that is all I can tell you because that should be what you want. experiment and do some searching on the forum. this has been discussed many times.

[yogestee]

I am using canon 70-200 2.8 IS L

Always choose the lowest ISO possible to gain a shutter speed to arrest any subject and camera movement..

When the light levels fall,,bump up your ISO..

I'd start at 400 ISO even for daytime sport..

[themadcow]

I'd start at 400 ISO even for daytime sport..

I would not shoot lower than 1/1000 to freeze action on a football game.. However shooting at ISO 400 Can give me SS speeds over that.. Of course depending on the light.. So I guesse my question is .. should I adjust my ISO as the lighting changes through the game to keep the lowest ISO setting to maintain a SS of 1/1000 for a better image?

[canonnoob]

I would not shoot lower than 1/1000 to freeze action on a football game.. However shooting at ISO 400 Can give me SS speeds over that.. Of course depending on the light.. So I guesse my question is .. should I adjust my ISO as the lighting changes through the game to keep the lowest ISO setting to maintain a SS of 1/1000 for a better image?

Daytime football- Im assuming high school?

you can get away with 1/640th if need be, heck I shot college at 1/400th.

Not ideal but well i had to do what i had to do.

shoot at 2.8 and try and maintain whatever minimum shutter speed you want and then shoot the lowest ISO possible in order to maintain that shutter speed.

[yogestee]

I would not shoot lower than 1/1000 to freeze action on a football game.. However shooting at ISO 400 Can give me SS speeds over that.. Of course depending on the light.. So I guesse my question is .. should I adjust my ISO as the lighting changes through the game to keep the lowest ISO setting to maintain a SS of 1/1000 for a better image?

Always adjust your ISO to the lighting conditions especially when DOF and shutter speed are important..

[Rocketdun]

If you are shooting with 70-200 2.8 you should be able to get a great shutter speed at ISO if its sunny, overcast you may have to dial up to 200 or 400, assuming you are shooting oudside. Set you camera on spot metering, aim at the chest area, use AV & 2.8, A1 servo. I do not adjust any image settings inside of the camera, most of it is done post processing. The shutter speed will of course depends on the age group of the games you shoot. Younger participants and games are not as fast moving as the older age groups, as you move up in age groups you will have to increase the ISO to achieve the shutter speed to stop the action that you want. Unless the lighting is severe I generally use AWB. All of this applies to day and night shots too. If your games are shot late in the day you might find that AF will be difficult as it gets darker. If you are shooting a night game depending on the starting time you might try working your way up, and checking to see which ISO will give you the results you want. It the game runs past sun set most amateur fields are as dank and unlit as two feet up a bulls rectum, so you will have to shoot at 3200 ISO and probably manual focus, and pray that you can waive the "Noisewear or Noise Ninja magic wand over your photos to reduce as much noise as you can without losing detail

[clarence]

Set you camera on spot metering, aim at the chest area

Doesn't this drive your exposure crazy when you're shooting light jerseys vs dark jerseys?!

[Dan-o]

Using spot, AV and aiming at jerseys is going to be inconsistent at best. Manual, spot, adjust to expose skin tones and let the rest fall where it does.

[Big K]

Using spot, AV and aiming at jerseys is going to be inconsistent at best. Manual, spot, adjust to expose skin tones and let the rest fall where it does.

+1

Use spot and Av to set an exposure on their face then switch to manual and dial in the results from that test. I am a light meter user but do this if I leave the meter somewhere else like an airhead.

For me, I adjust ISO to keep shutter speed above 1/1000 and ideally like to shoot around 1/2000 for football. If I get above 1/4000 I will dial down the ISO but that rarely happens. If the sun is that bright, I am most likely shooting backlit anyway.

[yogestee]

Doesn't this drive your exposure crazy when you're shooting light jerseys vs dark jerseys?!

It sure does.. I rarely use spot metering but prefer evaluative or partial..

[unchman14]

as many have said, the best ISO will be dependent on the lighting, your gear and your camera.

On a bright day, I like to shoot wide open (f4) with a SS of about 1/1000-1/1250. I adjust my ISO to meet my needs. Sometimes, especially in overcast or at night, you're going to have to bump your ISO a good bit, and your shutter speeds won't even be close to what you want. I shot football under the lights at f4, ISO 1600, 1/320. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do with what ya got!

[slimenta]

If you are shooting with 70-200 2.8 you should be able to get a great shutter speed at ISO if its sunny, overcast you may have to dial up to 200 or 400, assuming you are shooting oudside. Set you camera on spot metering, aim at the chest area, use AV & 2.8, A1 servo. I do not adjust any image settings inside of the camera, most of it is done post processing. The shutter speed will of course depends on the age group of the games you shoot. Younger participants and games are not as fast moving as the older age groups, as you move up in age groups you will have to increase the ISO to achieve the shutter speed to stop the action that you want. Unless the lighting is severe I generally use AWB. All of this applies to day and night shots too. If your games are shot late in the day you might find that AF will be difficult as it gets darker. If you are shooting a night game depending on the starting time you might try working your way up, and checking to see which ISO will give you the results you want. It the game runs past sun set most amateur fields are as dank and unlit as two feet up a bulls rectum, so you will have to shoot at 3200 ISO and probably manual focus, and pray that you can waive the "Noisewear or Noise Ninja magic wand over your photos to reduce as much noise as you can without losing detail

Please explain spot metering, I understand the concept, but from a practical perspective, when you are on the field, how do you do it?

[vreeke]

iso 400/1000 for sports