New to the Scene

[Diemonkey]

Aloha,

I am an beginner who is in need of help. I just purchased a Canon 20D with a EF 75-300 1:4-5.6 III lens and an EFs 18-55 1:3.5-5.6 lens. I have stated to take pictures for our soccer club and I am looking for help with camera settings for outdoor sporting events. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Mahalo!

[lostdoggy]

What is your experience with SLR? and your knowledge in exposure theories?

[Diemonkey]

This is my first digital SLR. My knowledge is minimal.

[mdude85]

outdoor sporting events is easy. shoot wide (low aperture value) to bring out the subject against the background, with a fast shutter speed (1/640 is good for many sports), and low ISO (you want to try to avoid noise). Also, a polarizing filter *sometimes* helps, and I always use a UV/clear protective filter to help shield the front element of the lens from a lot of dirt and dust commonly on fields and courts.

That strictly technical posting of aperture values (as if you typed them right off the lens) lends me to believe you either don't have faith in this board, or you're not exactly sure what these numbers mean. This introduction to f-stop is very tedious but it's one of the very first photography-related site I went to and it's very informative. good luck!

http://www.uscoles.com/fstop.htm

[Diemonkey]

Thanks mdude. I have total confidence in what the experienced photographers here are saying, and I will experiment with what ever tips are thrown my way. I thought I should ask those who are knowledgeable, as to limit my frustrations. Thanks you to all who reply!