Is this a Canon 30D problem?

Help PLEASE!!!

While shooting available-light high school football, I am experiencing different exposures of the same scene.

Please see my 2 examples:

http://mysite.verizon.​net/Hank.ebert/problem​_images.htm

I am shooting with a Canon 30D, 1/250 at f/2.8 ISO 1600 with the high-speed continous shooting. I'm using the white fluorescent setting. Someone suggested it might be the stadium lights recycling?????

This is so very frustrating. THANKS in advance for your replies!

Hank

(I also posted this on the Miranda web site, in case it looks familiar)

The problem is the lights. They're not fluorescent, but they're probably some sort of arc-discharge light, which vary from dark to maximum brightness 120 times a second. (That's at 60 hz. power in the US, it'd be 50 hz. most other places.)

So at 1/250 shutter you're getting half a light cycle and you can't predict where in the brightness cycle your slice will come.

Try it at 1/125 and see if the light is more even. Or, for test purposes, at 1/60 - obviously not good for stopping motion, but it'll tell you about the light issue.

-js

I agree with number six's diagnosis and recommendations.

Some of the shooters over in the sports forum would recommend using a flash and not shooting in high speed burst. Work on your timing to get the shots you want.

https://photography-on-the.net/forum/showthre​ad.php?t=375847

I posted the same question on the Fred Miranda board and got some great replies there too. It IS a stadium lighting issue, and NOT a camera problem, I'm happy to report!

Thanks for your replies!

use flash or not?

No flash. Available light only.

All of the shooters I worked with use flash.. In fact, we had a formula for each stadium...Normally it would be 1/250 f2.8 ISO 800 (newer cameras can now shoot higher ISOs with less noise) and of course flash.. We would adjust the flash +or- depending on the stadium.. Typically we had less that the first half to get a keeper shot because of deadlines. If we were assigned to 2 games as was sometimes the case, we had even less time at each event.. Fresh batteries are a must!!
Yes, flash..Good luck and hope this helps..Bob <><

Bob, thanks for your reply. I am a freelancer and cannot afford a good Canon flash at this time. I still use an old Vivitar 283 when I have to light something in a hurry, but it won't recycle fast enough for football.

One stadium I shoot at allows 1/320 shutter and 3.2 f stop, 1600 ISO and no recycling of the lights and no fall-off in the endzones either. It's a great place to shoot available light football!

BUT, the other stadium, man I hate it. 1/250 at 2.8 and one out of 5 frames will be under exposed and poor color balance because of the stadium lighting. Endzones really fall off. Endzones might be a place where I should try the Vivitar 283 and hope for the one good TD run exposure.