First time shooting beach volleyball

Hello all,

So I am preparing for my first time at the beach shooting some BV games.
I will be using 7D+70-200Lii or 100-300 F4 Sigma, 50D +24-105L, have 580EXii on the side.

I want to shoot mostly individual ball serves, diving, some closeup in faces etc... and maybe 20% of team playing, group of 3-4 people etc.

I would like to have some advices on:

1 - Is there any particular setting on the 7D, af mode that work best for beach vb.
2 - What position to stand to get good shots : baseline at one end to shoot at other people form opposite court a little bit side way off etc.
3 - I will be using manual mode of between 1/500-1/1250 speed + F5.6 - F8 weather permitting.
4 - Should I switch off the IS on the lens as it may slow down the AF speed?

Any other suggestion?

Thank you very much.

Are you shooting beach 2s (actually quite easy) or beach 4s/6s (somewhat tougher)?

I don't have a 7D so I can't help you with the appropriate AF mode.

Where to stand? standing at the corners or behind the end lines (get low and shoot under the net) will give you a good chance of getting ball and face in frame. Experiment a bit; the corners are often a good place to get net action. Pay attention to the arm that the hitters are using and shoot from the side where you can see his/her face (if sunlight permits).

Dont' be stuck on shooting at a given aperture. There tends to be a LOT of junk in the background of a beach, so pay attention to framing or trying to reduce background distractions with appropriate DoF.

I would turn off IS. It won't be needed at the shutter speeds you're going to be shooting at and may slow down AF.

Thanks for the reply.
I will be shooting beach but i think it's like 6 players team.
I also found a very useful thread on shooting vb, talking about position to aim at what player etc..
From reading that thread, the 100-300 F4 may seem a bit long to use ( and heavy too )

I just got done with a couple of evenings shooting of Beach V-Ball.

If you can get the umpires ladder from another court and use it on the side opposite the formal ref, If there is only one. With that position my 70-200 was a bit too long so switched I was shooting around 40-70mm, getting some good shots of the players returning serve, and setters when they would be facing me.
with my 70-200 I was usually in the corners or behind baseline