7D football shooter advice?

[stlouissteel]

Shooting High School football this weekend with my new 7D, moving up from my 40D and will be using my 70-200, 2.8. Just got the 7D two days ago and just opened it last night so reading the manual all day today to get familiar.

Any tips on best settings to get the best shots from a technical perspective? I think I am good with composition. I was shooting wide open at ss 1000 last weekend and got some good shots with 40D, didn't know if someone has a great set up for 7D they could share, especially with the focus points, etc...

Thanks, I will hang up and listen...
Happy 7D owner...

[yourdoinitwrong]

I do a lot of sports shooting with my 7D and I use AF Point Expansion with AI Servo. I like Point Expansion because the camera will switch to the surrounding AF points if (and when) my subject tracking is lacking. This is just personal preference but I also usually have it in high-speed continuous mode as well. It leads to deleting a lot of shots later in PP but I have gotten a lot of keepers by just firing off like a machine gun on a long TD run or runner stealing a base.

[stlouissteel]

Originally Posted by yourdoinitwrong

I do a lot of sports shooting with my 7D and I use AF Point Expansion with AI Servo. I like Point Expansion because the camera will switch to the surrounding AF points if (and when) my subject tracking is lacking. This is just personal preference but I also usually have it in high-speed continuous mode as well. It leads to deleting a lot of shots later in PP but I have gotten a lot of keepers by just firing off like a machine gun on a long TD run or runner stealing a base.

Do you recommend the battery grip? I will try the AF Point Expansion with AI Servo this weekend...

[yourdoinitwrong]

Originally Posted by stlouissteel

Do you recommend the battery grip? I will try the AF Point Expansion with AI Servo this weekend...

Yes! Absolutely! Most of my shots are in portrait orientation and it is so much easier with the grip. Two things about the grip, first is the shutter button is much more sensitive than the one on the body for some reason and it's more difficult to reach the joystick to move the focus point manually. Those are not huge issues though, I haven't taken my grip off since I got it. The extra battery life is great too, seems like I can shoot forever. Using the orientation-linked AF points on the 7D is convenient as well if you switch orientation very much.

[scsurfdad]

I don't shoot football but I do many other sports with a 7D and I also use point w/expansion. Moving from a 40D also I have found I need to bump up the speed a little more than the 40D and it will handle high ISO much better than the 40D. I also use different points for portrait vs. landscape and usually set it just above center. This helps keep the focus point where you want it when you switch. For me I wouldn't shoot without the grip but my wife hates it.
It took me a while to get used to my 7D so I would take a lot of test shots if you get the chance. You've probably already done this but make sure your AF tracking sensitivity is set to slow. That's about all I can think of for now...Have fun!

[int2str]

Good advice so far. Since you're coming from the 40D, just some differences to point out:

- Don't be afraid of using the off-center AF-points on the 7D. As others mentioned here, I also use AF-server all the time shooting sports and very often use a non-center AF point without any perceptible tracking issues.

- ISO 3200 is no problem. If it gets dark on you, ISO 3200 is just fine if you need it. Higher than that is also fine, but you'll have to run some form of noise reduction on that depending on your use.

- Don't pixel peep. Compared to the 40D, your 7D shots will look noisier and grainier at 100%. Don't worry about it. Zoom to normal viewing distances and enjoy your awesome pictures!

Here's an example ISO 3200 shot without any special noise reduction software used (just DPP & Paint Shop Pro):

[yourdoinitwrong]

Originally Posted by scsurfdad

I don't shoot football but I do many other sports with a 7D and I also use point w/expansion. Moving from a 40D also I have found I need to bump up the speed a little more than the 40D and it will handle high ISO much better than the 40D. I also use different points for portrait vs. landscape and usually set it just above center. This helps keep the focus point where you want it when you switch. For me I wouldn't shoot without the grip but my wife hates it.
It took me a while to get used to my 7D so I would take a lot of test shots if you get the chance. You've probably already done this but make sure your AF tracking sensitivity is set to slow. That's about all I can think of for now...Have fun!

Good point on the AF tracking sensitivity, I forgot to bring that up. I guess I'm entertained by simple things but it still amazes me every time I see it working. The refs, flagmen, coaches, other players, etc. are alway getting between me and the subject so it has saved a bunch of shots for me.

[AZAlphaDog]

Originally Posted by yourdoinitwrong

This is just personal preference but I also usually have it in high-speed continuous mode as well. It leads to deleting a lot of shots later in PP but I have gotten a lot of keepers by just firing off like a machine gun on a long TD run or runner stealing a base.

I DON'T recommend the "spray N' pray" method of capturing images. I think it would be best to practice with very small bursts if you have to use this method.

Practice following the ball/play and getting your timing right to get the shots you need.

[yourdoinitwrong]

Originally Posted by AZAlphaDog

I DON'T recommend the "spray N' pray" method of capturing images. I think it would be best to practice with very small bursts if you have to use this method.

Practice following the ball/play and getting your timing right to get the shots you need.

You are correct and I understand what you are saying. I wasn't very clear in what I said but what I usually do is use a 4-5 shot burst as the player is crossing the goal line or making the slide into base. During the play I usually only take one shot at a time. I never just hold the shutter during an entire play. That being said, I still need quite a bit of practice on my tracking and timing.

[stlouissteel]

thanks this is exactly what I needed.

Looking forward to checking out the improved images.

What exactly is pixel peeping?

[yourdoinitwrong]

Originally Posted by stlouissteel

thanks this is exactly what I needed.

Looking forward to checking out the improved images.

What exactly is pixel peeping?

Looking at an image at 100% magnification. Usually results in being overly critical of the image.

[AZAlphaDog]

Once again, I'm going to have to disagree.

You SHOULD pixel peep. If your images are not sharp and/or grainy (noise) at 100% well then . . . .

wait for it . . .

here it comes . . .

Your Doing It Wrong! (or at least something is wrong)

There is no reason you can't have sharp images at 100%

There is no reason your images should show excessive grain (noise).

[int2str]

Originally Posted by AZAlphaDog

There is no reason you can't have sharp images at 100%
There is no reason your images should show excessive grain (noise).

Context, Alpha, context...

Compared to the 40D, 7D images WILL look grainier at 100% and they WILL look noisier at 100%. That doesn't mean in the least that the image isn't sharp. Nobody said anything about "excessive grain" - just more than on the 40D.

[AZAlphaDog]

I'm going to have to disagree again.

Context . . .

Both 1.6 or APS-C sensor size.

40D, less pixel density, i.e. 10 or 12 megapixel.

7D, more pixel density, i.e. 18 megapixel.

But, the 7D is much improved technology so at 1600 ISO with the proper exposure (that part is the key) the images at 100% and reducing the 7D images down to the same dimensions as a 40D image you will see LESS noise from the 7D, not MORE as you suggest, but LESS.

The key is exposing to minimize noise on both cameras, having said that the 7D deals with higher ISO's much better than a 40D. The files are bigger and the noise is reduced.

[yourdoinitwrong]

Originally Posted by yourdoinitwrong

Looking at an image at 100% magnification. Usually results in being overly critical of the image.

Originally Posted by AZAlphaDog

Once again, I'm going to have to disagree.

You SHOULD pixel peep. If your images are not sharp and/or grainy (noise) at 100% well then . . . .

wait for it . . .

here it comes . . .

Your Doing It Wrong! (or at least something is wrong)

There is no reason you can't have sharp images at 100%

There is no reason your images should show excessive grain (noise).

I'm not sure what I said that you are disagreeing with but I just explained what it was and the usual result. I didn't say not to do it, I do it all the time! I look at a lot of my images at 100% to see the sharpness, first of all just because I want to see if they are sharp or not and second because I put LR3 at 100% so I can adjust the sharpness slider. I can't recall the number of times on here I have read "quit pixel peeping" and I understand what the point is, as long as the image looks good at the desired viewing or print size then being overly critical at the pixel level doesn't mean much. At any rate, I still do it and probably always will! I'm probably not the best one to be commenting on this though, I do this only as a hobby, not as a job.