Baseball

[NGC2141]

Took this picture while shooting a game today. Some PP work done but nothing spectacular. I am still learning so please be kind.

Shot with Canon XSi and Sigma 70-300mm APO DG Macro lens at 1/500s, f5.6, 300mm, ISO 100. Shutter speed was high because I was shooting the game and when the ball rolled over to my feet I switched to macro and shot it.

http://img249.imageshack.us/img249/4276/img0373g.jpg

[snyderman]

Pretty decent shot of a baseball, I guess. WB seems off a bit, unless that is truly red clay-based infield dirt. Looks a good bit yellow on my monitor.

Any shots of the game to share?

dave

[Sledhed]

Shutter speed was high because I was shooting the game

Actually 1/500th is very slow for shooting a game.

[NGC2141]

Actually 1/500th is very slow for shooting a game. Really? What should I be shooting them at? I just set the camera to the sports mode and shot one or two to see what it would use then switched to Shutter Priority and used the same settings.

Is 1/500th of a second too slow for a kids baseball game? All my pictures came out great, although I was going for any action shots......it was all just candid pictures of the kids in position or at bat.

[Rey.dos]

i would like to see some action shots...

[Sledhed]

Really? What should I be shooting them at? I just set the camera to the sports mode and shot one or two to see what it would use then switched to Shutter Priority and used the same settings.

Is 1/500th of a second too slow for a kids baseball game? All my pictures came out great, although I was going for any action shots......it was all just candid pictures of the kids in position or at bat.

You said you were shooting a game which implies action, I usually try to be above 1/1500th even for youth.

[eigga]

1/500s, f5.6, 300mm, ISO 100

What should I be shooting them at

If the above setting gave you a good exposure I would have been around 1/2000 and ISO 400 (maybe a little less depending). The overall answer to your question is as fast as possible with your lens wide open and without running your ISO beyond acceptable for your camera. That is unless you are panning

[MJPhotos24]

It kinda looks forced, the natural scene shots like this are not as easy as they seem. Seen very few that stick out in all honesty.

Sports minimum is usually 1/1000 and that's pretty slow at times depending on the level of sports you're shooting and what sport in general. Today with black clouds with heavy rain to bright sun and everything in between my shutter ranged from 1/1000 - 1/8000. F/stop as well, it ranged from 2.8 (including in the bright sun) to f/11 or so based off what I wanted the DOF to be at, don't always have to be at the lowest possible *(see below). So will always get the shutter or f/stop I want and adjust the ISO to get them in the end, rather have a noisy image than a blurry one for sure.

For stock type shots of athletes, especially ones selling to parents, it is a good idea to shoot at 2.8-4 range to get a shallow DOF and make them stick out (i.e. blur the background out). Parents want the kid to stick out and not usually what's going on around them - unless of course it's something significant like their kid playing in an NFL stadium or something and you want to show the scene. Situations differ so have to judge them as you go.

[coztabuk]

Looks like you shot this under the lights or with a flash. Do you have any action pictures you can post? The area the ball landed just doesn't look like it's next to a ball field.

[NGC2141]

Here is one of the kids bunting. This picture us taken from the same place I was standing when the ball rolled to my feet. It is right along the 1st base line, about 8 ft from 1st base itself. Same lens as before, just with an ISO/800 and 1/3200 shutter speed. Not sure why my ISO was so high, I was using Shutter Priority and think my ISO was set to auto. No PP done other then a quick crop.

http://img696.imageshack.us/img696/8969/gp2010bluejays159.jpg

[MJPhotos24]

The ISO is high because your shutter is set high and your f/stop is relatively high so it has to adjust if you have it set to auto. I'd go manual, get the shutter you want, the f/stop you want and adjust the ISO as needed. Leaving it up to the camera to make decisions doesn't always work, sometimes yes but not always.

Not sure how the ISO capabilities are on that but I've gone up to 800 at times in brighter light to get max shutter and get a different DOF, usually when shooting from above and not worrying about backgrounds or into the sun where you lose a bit and have to. If it's not showing any noise nobody cares what ISO it was at and no settings are perfect for all situations (though some seem to want to think they are).

Picture itself, crop a bit tighter, adjust the levels a bit as it seems a little hot (might be my monitor though), but the capture is pretty darn good with BOB on the bunt. Be nice to get to 2.8 but know your lens can't do that, just to get rid of the distracting background a bit more.

Where on the gulf are you located BTW?

[NGC2141]

I am just outside of Pensacola, Florida.

I have gone to my max ISO at 1600 and everything looked good with no noise at all, well shooting under the lights on the field at night anyhow. Have never played with ISO during sunny shoots. I will have to mess with it.

I am still learning and it is a lot to grasp right now but if I can absorb it all I should be able to begin putting together some nice shots.

[MJPhotos24]

Ah up there, down in Clearwater for another week or two.

Best way to learn is make mistakes, just like most things in life. When shooting manually you will screw up, there's days you leave your ISO too high, shutter too low, etc. Have to pay attention all game and not doze off settings wise. That's one great thing about the III and IV bodies, you have the switch on the back that has registered settings to switch to if you can't adjust the settings quick enough - it helps but not on your body.