Tips for Indoor Basketball (low light conditions)

[Zigrivers]

Hi guys -

I was wondering if those that have experience taking indoor basketball pics could give advice on settings you've used with good success. Light conditions are poor at this particular gym.

I'll be using a 1D MII n w/ the 70 - 200MM f/2.8 IS lens and will be anywhere from 10 to 50 feet from the action.

I'd be interested in any advice particularly as it relates to metering modes, aperture, shutter speed and ISO settings.

Thanks for your help!

[liza]

I use fast primes to shoot basketball, specifically the 50mm, 85mm f/1.8, and the 100mm f/2. As for settings, I typically use ISO 1600, 1/500, and stop the aperture down a couple of stops from wide open for better sharpness while still maintaining decent depth of field. Most of the time I shoot from the baseline where the 3 point line intersects, although I'll move under the basket and to the sides from time to time to vary perspective. You can see samples with exif data on my Smugmug website.

[liza]

Oh, and I always shoot RAW.

[Croasdail]

Well, I shoot a littel deeper under the basket then does Liza, and I usually shoot with a small zoom or a wide. I really don't like the larger zoom for basketball at all. I will usually take with me an 85 f1.8, a 16-35 f2.8 and a 28-70 f2.8. Shooting location will vary with lens... obviously the longer the lens the steeper the angle from the net I will be. I also always shoot completely wide open, and almost never shoot raw because I don't have the time nor patience to deal with the extra conversion. As you can see.... there is no one right answer here for ya. Each photagrapher has their own look and feel they are tyring to achieve.

Here are two links to my high school stuff from last year - for what it is worth. I was just about to take this stuff down.....

http://www.buzzershot.com/riv_at_Jordon_bbal.html

http://www.buzzershot.com/bullcity.html

[gmen]

Exactly how dark is it Zigrivers?

---- Gavin

[Zigrivers]

Originally Posted by gmen

Exactly how dark is it Zigrivers?

---- Gavin

Thanks for the advice everyone! These boards are really amazing - lots of great people.

As to how dark is/was the gym? I was shooting the following shots with my Rebel XT and my 70 - 200MM f/2.8L IS lens wide open at 1/500. I had to crank ISO up to 800 (max for the Rebel XT), but the pictures were still underexposed and the noise was really awful.

Take a look at a couple of shots here:

Picture 099 (Small).jpg

Picture 235 (Small).jpg

These were shot at the baseline as well.

I used one of the noise programs recommended on the forums to remove the noise and PS to sharpen and correct the exposures (these are the JPGs straight from the camera without any PP), but it was still wasn't as nice as I had hoped to see.

I'll be shooting tonight's game with my 1D (the Rebel XT's AF speed was frutstrating so I upgraded to the 1D and I'm really looking forward to upgrade in AF speed).

I hadn't even considered going with a wide-angle lens. Would you guys consider the 70 - 200MM f/2.8L IS lens a poor choice for indoor basketball then?

Thanks again for all the advice!

[liza]

A lot of people successfully use f/2.8 lenses for gymnasium sports in venues where the lighting is good. Your lighting is typical of most public school gyms, however, so you might consider a fast prime rather than a zoom to aid in capturing images with proper exposure. The 85mm f/1.8 lens is really a good one for basketball.

[ACDCROCKS]

i would reccomend shooting JPEG LARGE and not RAW. The fps will be affected as well as the time loading to the computer. Shoot ISO 1600 @f 3.2, with a shutter speed lower 1/250 but higher than 1/100...Use a flash, it will freeze the motion, dont be afraid to use 1600 ISO or Higher.

[Croasdail]

looks like your just about a stop+ off... so going to ISO 1600 would have done it for you. But like Lisa says, using a fast prime like the 85 would also do very well. You will not have that many issues with noise/grain if you properly exposure your shots - even at 1600. But looping back to the 85, you should be able to shoot exactly the same settings but have very well exposed images using the faster lens. Lastly, I would avoid doing what he lady in the background is doing - shooting down at kids. Get as low as possible - as in sitting on the floor. I take one of those little folding camp chairs coushins and set it flat on the floor which keeps me from getting dirty, makes it comfortable, and is swivels on the floor easily. Something like THIS. The lower angle will give you shots you really like, and the lens will really help to. The 50 f1.4 or f1.8 also work, but the 85 f1.8 is just a really quick focusing lens. Cheers.

[Zigrivers]

Originally Posted by Croasdail

looks like your just about a stop+ off... so going to ISO 1600 would have done it for you. But like Lisa says, using a fast prime like the 85 would also do very well. You will not have that many issues with noise/grain if you properly exposure your shots - even at 1600. But looping back to the 85, you should be able to shoot exactly the same settings but have very well exposed images using the faster lens. Lastly, I would avoid doing what he lady in the background is doing - shooting down at kids. Get as low as possible - as in sitting on the floor. I take one of those little folding camp chairs coushins and set it flat on the floor which keeps me from getting dirty, makes it comfortable, and is swivels on the floor easily. Something like THIS. The lower angle will give you shots you really like, and the lens will really help to. The 50 f1.4 or f1.8 also work, but the 85 f1.8 is just a really quick focusing lens. Cheers.

Thanks for this - that's great advice regarding the folding chair. I'm going to have to try that for the next game.

I'm downloading tonight's shots now and will take a look and see how the new camera did along with the advice given here.

[vetkrazy]

Congrats on the MK2N, you are going to love it. I am just going to pile on the same advise. The MK2 handles ISO1600 great, so that gives you one extra stop. Next use a gray card or coffee filter to set a custom white balance. Third shoot RAW, don't bother about jpegs, its a waste of memory. With the custom WB and RAW you gain another stop or two. Shoot manual with your SS above 1/500. Don't mess with flash until you check with officals and coaches. Fast lenses are your friend. The 85 f/1.8 is a must for basketball, back up with the 50 ( either one ) and if the budget allows the 135 f2 if you need a little length. If you haven't converted to "*" for your focus, now is the time. Get down on your butt with those little folks. Post some pics and let us know how it went.

Bruce

[Zigrivers]

I was taking a look at the lenses you recommended and noticed that there is an "L" series lens - 85mm f/1.2L. Would that lens perform better in indoor sports situations than the 85 1.8 given the extra stop and the fact that it is an "L" lens?

Thanks!

[PopcornMachine]

This is my first post. The subject is one I have recent experience with so I thought I'd chime in.

I had the opportunity to once again take pictures of the Summer Pro League in Long Beach, CA in July. This was the first time with an SLR. I got a a Canon Digital Rebel XT, a Tamron 28-75mm f2.8 lens, and a Sigma 70-200mm f2.8 lens.

What I learned was that basketball gyms are very dark. I got the lenses based on recommendations and research. They worked very nicely, but I would like to have had a fast prime like the Canon f1.4 50mm.

Almost all my shots were at ISO 1600 and f2.8 in Aperature Priority mode, hoping for good speed. This ranged from 1/250 to 1/1000...usually at 1/500. Of course a prime would do better. Oh yeah, custom white balance is important. One game I didn't take a good sample, and the images came out kind of gold/orange.

I hope to post my pictures soon. Good luck to you.

[Croasdail]

Originally Posted by Zigrivers

I was taking a look at the lenses you recommended and noticed that there is an "L" series lens - 85mm f/1.2L. Would that lens perform better in indoor sports situations than the 85 1.8 given the extra stop and the fact that it is an "L" lens?

Thanks!

The 85 L is an amazing lens for portraiture, but it is a bit of a slow focusing lens. It has it's use.... shooting basketball isn't one of them unfortunately.

[superdiver]

Originally Posted by Zigrivers

As to how dark is/was the gym? I was shooting the following shots with my Rebel XT and my 70 - 200MM f/2.8L IS lens wide open at 1/500. I had to crank ISO up to 800 (max for the Rebel XT), but the pictures were still underexposed and the noise was really awful.

Actually theISo on the XT goes up to 1600, I am sure as thats what I shot all week and weekend in dark basketball gyms.

I use an 85mm 1.8 (my favorite) and an 70-200 2.8. I think the 70-200 comes out a little grainier at the higher ISO, but they clean up fine...

Check out some of the recent basketball pics on my site if you are interested....