40D+50f/1.4 versus 5D+85f/1.8 for kids indoor basketball

I've been shooting some kid's indoor basketball games recently with my 5D classic and 85mm f/1.8, but this weekend decided to try my 40D again. Last spring I tried both bodies when shooting indoor soccer and liked the results from the 5D more than the 40D, mostly due to bad noise with the 40D at high ISO. However, I was really surprised this weekend when I tried the 40D again. The first surprise was how mis-focused most of the shots were and the second surprise was how the 40D at ISO1600 wasn't as noisy as I remembered. I think that's because I had to shoot at ISO3200 f/2 and 1/500 for indoor soccer and the 5D was clearly better than the 40D at ISO3200. For indoor basketball, I'm able to shoot at ISO1600 f/2 and 1/500, so the noise is not as bad.

So this leads to a couple questions. Does anyone think the EF 50mm f/1.4 is any good for sports photography in AI Servo mode? In many of my shots it seems the auto focus locked on things in the background instead of the players on the court. It's probably my lack of skill and experience, but I had much better results the previous week with my 5D+85mm. I know the 50mm f/1.4 isn't a true USM design, but that doesn't explain why it seemed to lock onto objects in the background.

Some examples where the focus is on the background (all shot with center AF point):

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Anyone?

I would sit down low and wait till those little dudes fill the frame and shoot away. I do not know if the 40D can focus better then the 5D. But the 85 should focus better then the 50. All of these photos are really loose.

Is it just me or is every 40D photo focused on the wall in the back? Something is going on to make them all focus like that. Does the 85 and 50 do this?

Agree with Cozmocha. The 4 shots with the 40D completely missed focus! Maybe revisit the 40D and see if the focus setup is the best it can be. You said centerpoint which makes sense, but it clearly missed the intended targets and landed on the back wall in all cases.

The 5D nailed the focus, which surprises me. My 5D was slow to focus with any lens on it!

See if you can sort out the 40D. ISO aside, I can't imagine it won't keep up with a 5D with focus speed and accuracy.

dave

From everything I have read, the answer is NO. If your pics are representative samples, I say you need more reach, like the 1.6 sensor of the 40D and maybe a 100 f/2 or 135 f/2. I have seen the dimnasiums you speak of. It would be great if you could shoot with the 70-200 f/2.8 at ISO 6400.

Focus problems? Set your focus point for center point so you don't grab something in the background.

Cozmocha wrote in post #13501163
I would sit down low and wait till those little dudes fill the frame and shoot away. I do not know if the 40D can focus better then the 5D. But the 85 should focus better then the 50. All of these photos are really loose.

Is it just me or is every 40D photo focused on the wall in the back? Something is going on to make them all focus like that. Does the 85 and 50 do this?

When you say all the photos are really loose, I assume you mean the subject doesn't fill the frame. If so, I agree but the only f/2.8 zoom I have is my Tamron 28-75mm, which might be too short and too slow for these conditions.

I think part of my problem is that the AF point might overlap part of the background, but it seems the 5D+85mm would've had the same problem.

MT Stringer wrote in post #13501565
From everything I have read, the answer is NO. If your pics are representative samples, I say you need more reach, like the 1.6 sensor of the 40D and maybe a 100 f/2 or 135 f/2. I have seen the dimnasiums you speak of. It would be great if you could shoot with the 70-200 f/2.8 at ISO 6400.

Focus problems? Set your focus point for center point so you don't grab something in the background.

I chose the 50mm for the 40D because the 85mm seemed too long when the kids were close to me. If I had a 70-200 f2.8 or a body that could shoot at ISO6400 then I'd use them. I do have a 135L, so will try that, maybe shoot with both bodies to make for not having a faster zoom.

Paul the only time they are too close is when the camera won't focus because of the minimum focusing distance!

Get the idea out of your head of shooting the gang and close in on the guy with the ball. Looking at your gear list, I would put the 85 f/1.8 on the 40D, Push the ISO as high as you have to go. Let Lightroom take care of the noise. Your prints should come out better than you think.

Shoot the kids when they come to you - not at half court, but inside the free throw circle. Sit along the baseline over near the sideline and don't trip the ref!

Here is a link to my MaxPreps galleries. There are 22 high school basketball games shot recently during a tournament. I used the 7D/70-200 f/2.8 for almost all of the pics. Admittedly, I did use strobes, so the results are different from yours, but hopefully, you will get a few ideas. Note: I was sitting on a camp stool (bad knees) at the corner of the baseline/sideline.

http://www.maxpreps.co​m …erson&st=photog​raphername

I was shooting with a 40D up until this August when I upgraded to a 7D. Over the past several years I sometimes shot volleyball and basketball with the 50 14 and 85 1.8. But I would try and have the players get a lot closer to be before shooting

I find that my 85 1.8 focuses faster than the 50 1.4.