Hockey with my 5D MkII

Senior Women's Hockey - Delta Jets vs BC Thunder ... 0 0 all the way until 16 seconds left and our # 16 scored ... ... we'll take it!

All settings ISO1600, f2.8, 1/500, with 70-200L (non-IS) RAW

no pp - straight from camera (wow I love the 5D MkII over my old 40D's)

#1

Not seeing anything

They look a bit dark, you might want to bump up the exposure.

About 2 stops brighter. Keep everything else the same and bump the ISO to 6400.

OK - just bumped up the brightness and contrast a bit ... should be a bit better - but next time I try with higher ISO (the 40D conditioned me to nothing above 800 ISO!!) ... thanks for the comments everyone.

Last one looks the best, as the other ones look blown out..

joonrhee wrote in post #13753794
Last one looks the best, as the other ones look blown out..

Ditto. The ice is blown way out. Might want to mess around with the curves, see if you can't get that down a bit.

Yeah agreed the last one is the best!

Pretty much any hockey I shoot needs PP to boost exposure, sharpen, crop, etc. If you use Lightroom, the Gradient filter is useful to pull up slightly from bottom and darken blown out ice as needed. All RAW images need sharpening to some degree too. Many of your images (except last) appear soft and this could be why, although they may just be OOF....how were you shooting? Center point focus, AI Servo?. My sharpening slider in Lightroom is usually at 80 or so and it makes a big difference. Straighten horizons too (eg last pic skating downhill). Last pic is also bang on focus, just needs a PP boost of exposure.

Bumping them up that much after the fact is really a no go. Some, yes, sure if needed, but not that much. Getting it right in the camera is really best. Of course, that is not always an option, but it should be a priority. I shoot way too many shots per game to do anything but batch / bulk processing. Very few get any attention beyond crop and straighten.

Try this. Works well for most situations. Selected AV mode along with the ISO and aperture you intend to shoot the game with. For me default is ISO6400 and f/2.8. Shoot an out of focus, preferable skated on, part of the ice with no lines or anything, just ice. Look at the shutter speed AV gave you. You’re likely to see 1/2000 or more. Don’t get excited, you’re not going to use that!!! Shift to manual mode and bump it two full stops. So, 1/2000 now becomes 1/500. Lock it down and shoot the game. IGNORE YOUR METER... It is lying to you. The setting you locked down will give you white ice and very well exposed players. There is always some variation, per rink and your personal taste. Try it a few times this way and decide how to adjust based on the results.

I take as many as 600 to 800 images for 3 full periods of hockey. Simple does it. A full game takes me two hours max to get them online on a bad day.

My work flow for the 1D3 is this:

1, Shoot RAW with a picture style that will give you the result you’re after. I have good luck with AWB, but use whatever reduces the need for additional post processing in your situation. I tend to avoid CWB because if the lights are cycling, you will likely have more of a problem.

2. I dump them into folders by period (just to break up the work) and open using DPP (hey, it's free and I'm cheap). I then use the DPP "quick-check" function to mark the shots I want, fast and easy.

3. Select the checked marked images and open with the “trim and angle” tool. Quickly crop and straighten. Again, doing your part while taking the shots will greatly reduce the work needed here. There is always some though.

4. Select “batch process” to make them .JPGs. I dump them in to an “edit” folder.

5. Open PS and batch that edit folder with a PS action / NR routine (FlexNR), into a “post” folder.

6. Post them. Done.

Here is a shot or two from Friday's game that I shot and processed exactly as above. Ready for SI, err, no... But I have a life too and this is starting to get too much like work!

Lacks_focus wrote in post #13756563
Bumping them up that much after the fact is really a no go. Some, yes, sure if needed, but not that much. Getting it right in the camera is really best. Of course, that is not always an option, but it should be a priority. I shoot way too many shots per game to do anything but batch / bulk processing. Very few get any attention beyond crop and straighten.

Try this. Works well for most situations. Selected AV mode along with the ISO and aperture you intend to shoot the game with. For me default is ISO6400 and f/2.8. Shoot an out of focus, preferable skated on, part of the ice with no lines or anything, just ice. Look at the shutter speed AV gave you. You’re likely to see 1/2000 or more. Don’t get excited, you’re not going to use that!!! Shift to manual mode and bump it two full stops. So, 1/2000 now becomes 1/500. Lock it down and shoot the game. IGNORE YOUR METER... It is lying to you. The setting you locked down will give you white ice and very well exposed players. There is always some variation, per rink and your personal taste. Try it a few times this way and decide how to adjust based on the results.

I take as many as 600 to 800 images for 3 full periods of hockey. Simple does it. A full game takes me two hours max to get them online on a bad day.

My work flow for the 1D3 is this:

1, Shoot RAW with a picture style that will give you the result you’re after. I have good luck with AWB, but use whatever reduces the need for additional post processing in your situation. I tend to avoid CWB because if the lights are cycling, you will likely have more of a problem.

2. I dump them into folders by period (just to break up the work) and open using DPP (hey, it's free and I'm cheap). I then use the DPP "quick-check" function to mark the shots I want, fast and easy.

3. Select the checked marked images and open with the “trim and angle” tool. Quickly crop and straighten. Again, doing your part while taking the shots will greatly reduce the work needed here. There is always some though.

4. Select “batch process” to make them .JPGs. I dump them in to an “edit” folder.

5. Open PS and batch that edit folder with a PS action / NR routine (FlexNR), into a “post” folder.

6. Post them. Done.

excellent advice - thank you - ISO6400 was a 'no no' when shooting with my 40D - so I have gotten into some bad habits with pp (I guess) - anyway - I sort of rescued these posted ones - just with a bit of sharpening and adjustment - and they they are linked so they update on the posting ... I think these are 'acceptable' - I will be shooting again this week at a rink and I will def. take this advice and try it out - thank you!

I am shooting hockey with the 5D Mark II. Those who have had luck with shooting hockey with this camera, what metering mode do you think works best? Also which AF options do you like?

Rich

#5 looks best to me. you captured the action at exactly the right moment. How do you find the 5D Mk2 for shooting sports? I know a lot of people complain about mediocre auto-focus.