High School Basketball Settings?

I have never tried this before. So, I am hoping somebody can get me started in the right direction in terms of modes, ISO, settings etc. for the 7D and the flash. Location will be typical poorly lit gym. Equipment will be limited to 7D with EF70-200 f/4.0 IS and 430ex II speed lite. I will be shooting from court side. Any help would be greatly appreciated. This will be all new to me as I have never used a flash before.

Plenty of pictures and info here.

https://photography-on-the.net …8880&highlight=​basketball

Most high schools don't allow on-camera flash.

I'd use your 50/1.4

Set the 7D to M, set aperture to about f/1.8 to f/2 (wide open just gives you too shallow depth of field... too easy to miss focus, especially with a non-1D body). Set ISO probably to 6400. Adjust shutter speed until you start to get blinkies on the LCD histogram. Set shutter speed between 1/640" - 1/800". If you are getting slower than 1/640", then bump up ISO another notch. If you're getting faster than 1/1000", then bump ISO down a notch.

AI Servo. Manually select your focus point.

I prefer RAW and back button focus.

awesomeshots wrote in post #15550194
Plenty of pictures and info here.

https://photography-on-the.net …8880&highlight=​basketball

Thanks for the link.

clarence wrote in post #15550237
Most high schools don't allow on-camera flash. I'd use your 50/1.4

Set the 7D to M, set aperture to about f/1.8 to f/2 (wide open just gives you too shallow depth of field... too easy to miss focus, especially with a non-1D body). Set ISO probably to 6400. Adjust shutter speed until you start to get blinkies on the LCD histogram. Set shutter speed between 1/640" - 1/800". If you are getting slower than 1/640", then bump up ISO another notch. If you're getting faster than 1/1000", then bump ISO down a notch.

AI Servo. Manually select your focus point.

I prefer RAW and back button focus.

Flash is allowed where I will be shooting and again I will be limited to the EF 70-200 f/4.0 IS for a lens. So, please if anyone could give me some settings for this equipment it would be most appreciated.

Flash needs to overpower ambient by at least 2 stops to prevent ghosting. A single 430EX won't be enough to overpower ambient, so you'll probably be better off switching to HSS and using it to add to whatever ambient is available.

The basics still apply... in a gym you're best off in M mode. Set aperture to f/4. Set SS to 1/640" - 1/800". Since you're limited to a f/4 lens, set your ISO to 6400 and let your flash provide the extra light you'll need.

Set flash to ETTL. Distance to subject will dynamically vary too much to try to set power level manually. HSS pulsing will lose power compared to normal burst flash, but ETTL will keep you from blowing out the subject.

AI Servo. Manually select your focus point.

I prefer RAW and back button focus.

clarence wrote in post #15550389
Flash needs to overpower ambient by at least 2 stops to prevent ghosting. A single 430EX won't be enough to overpower ambient, so you'll probably be better off switching to HSS and using it to add to whatever ambient is available.

The basics still apply... in a gym you're best off in M mode. Set aperture to f/4. Set SS to 1/640" - 1/800". Since you're limited to a f/4 lens, set your ISO to 6400 and let your flash provide the extra light you'll need.

Set flash to ETTL. Distance to subject will dynamically vary too much to try to set power level manually. HSS pulsing will lose power compared to normal burst flash, but ETTL will keep you from blowing out the subject.

AI Servo. Manually select your focus point.

I prefer RAW and back button focus.

You should have no problem getting keepers with this advice.

clarence wrote in post #15550389
Flash needs to overpower ambient by at least 2 stops to prevent ghosting. A single 430EX won't be enough to overpower ambient, so you'll probably be better off switching to HSS and using it to add to whatever ambient is available.

The basics still apply... in a gym you're best off in M mode. Set aperture to f/4. Set SS to 1/640" - 1/800". Since you're limited to a f/4 lens, set your ISO to 6400 and let your flash provide the extra light you'll need.

Set flash to ETTL. Distance to subject will dynamically vary too much to try to set power level manually. HSS pulsing will lose power compared to normal burst flash, but ETTL will keep you from blowing out the subject.

AI Servo. Manually select your focus point.



I prefer RAW and back button focus.

Thank you very much. A couple more questions. You said, "Set flash to ETTL. Distance to subject will dynamically vary too much to try to set power level manually."

So, does that mean that when you are in ETTL you cannot set power level?

Also, what about zoom setting, what should that be set at?

Also, what metering mode should the 7D be in?

Again, thank you very much this has been very helpful.

Airedale1 wrote in post #15550864
So, does that mean that when you are in ETTL you cannot set power level?

That's what ETTL does... it sets the flash power level for you. And in sports, when the distance between flash and subject is constantly changing, ETTL does it much better and faster than I can do it manually.

You can use FEC if you want, but it won't increase the flash beyond what the speedlite is capable of providing. If ETTL determines to dynamically set the flash level at 1/4 power, then FEC +1 would bump that up to 1/2 power. But if you're trying to shoot across the gym and ETTL sets flash level at 1 (full power), then FEC +1 isn't going to be able to crank the light level up any higher than full-power.

In HSS, the speedlite pulse becomes an additional ambient light source. You still need sufficient shutter speed to stop the action.

Note you'll also want to decrease the FPS that you're shooting at. Don't spray-and-pray at max FPS. Your speedlite can't keep up and you'll either underexpose shots when the speedlite doesn't go off, you'll burn through batteries pretty quick, and/or you'll overheat the flash tube if you try to overwork it.

Looks like the 430EX II has thermal protection...
"If you fire more than 20 continuous flashes and
then fire more flashes in short intervals, the
inner overheating prevention function may be
activated to make the recycling time about 8 to
20 sec. If this occurs, allow a rest time of about
15 min. and the flash will then return to normal."
http://media.the-digital-picture.com …e-Flash-Owners-Manual.pdf

Airedale1 wrote in post #15550864
Also, what about zoom setting, what should that be set at?

For flash zoom setting, the speedlite will set the zoom level to match the zoom that you're using on the 70-200. If you're asking which zoom setting to use on the lens, shoot tight, but avoid amputating limbs.

Airedale1 wrote in post #15550864
Also, what metering mode should the 7D be in?

Metering mode isn't a factor when shooting M. That's one of the main advantages of shooting manual mode in a gym... the exposures won't be thrown off by background lights like the sign at the scorer's table. Or by the opposing light/dark colors of the uniforms. Or the various skin colors of the players. Once you get a good manual exposure, you can stick with it for consistency. Av or Tv mode with metering will be fooled throughout the game and would constantly mess with the exposure level.

Ditto for White Balance. Don't use AWB. If your gym has fluorescent lights, then use the fluorescent WB preset. Or set a constant K value. Before the game, use a gray card or a white sheet of paper if you want. Or just eyeball it and get it close, but stick with a fixed WB. That's why I prefer RAW. AWB will get constantly thrown off by jersey colors and painted walls/floors.

I'd shoot with the 50. 70-200 will be too long on a crop for a lot of shots and f/4 is very slow for indoor sports. Everytime I shot indoor basketball at 2.8 I wished for faster glass because gyms are terrible for light unless it is televised and they have their super bright video lights on. Better shooting at f/2 on the 50 and maintain 1/640 -1/1000th

Airedale1 wrote in post #15550171
I have never tried this before. So, I am hoping somebody can get me started in the right direction in terms of modes, ISO, settings etc. for the 7D and the flash. Location will be typical poorly lit gym. Equipment will be limited to 7D with EF70-200 f/4.0 IS and 430ex II speed lite. I will be shooting from court side. Any help would be greatly appreciated. This will be all new to me as I have never used a flash before.

1st question: Do you understand exposure? Nothing different here. Just meter off the floor when you get there and take a few test shots and adjust when needed.

The 70-200 @ f4 probably isn't going to happen and using on camera flash probably will not look good at all. So your best bet is to use the 50.

clarence wrote in post #15550237
I'd use your 50/1.4

gh patriot wrote in post #15551571
I'd shoot with the 50.

xchangx wrote in post #15551841
your best bet is to use the 50.

Sounds like it's not available for consideration even though it's listed in the OP's profile.

clarence wrote in post #15551559
That's what ETTL does... it sets the flash power level for you. And in sports, when the distance between flash and subject is constantly changing, ETTL does it much better and faster than I can do it manually.

You can use FEC if you want, but it won't increase the flash beyond what the speedlite is capable of providing. If ETTL determines to dynamically set the flash level at 1/4 power, then FEC +1 would bump that up to 1/2 power. But if you're trying to shoot across the gym and ETTL sets flash level at 1 (full power), then FEC +1 isn't going to be able to crank the light level up any higher than full-power.

In HSS, the speedlite pulse becomes an additional ambient light source. You still need sufficient shutter speed to stop the action.

Note you'll also want to decrease the FPS that you're shooting at. Don't spray-and-pray at max FPS. Your speedlite can't keep up and you'll either underexpose shots when the speedlite doesn't go off, you'll burn through batteries pretty quick, and/or you'll overheat the flash tube if you try to overwork it.

Looks like the 430EX II has thermal protection...
"If you fire more than 20 continuous flashes and
then fire more flashes in short intervals, the
inner overheating prevention function may be
activated to make the recycling time about 8 to
20 sec. If this occurs, allow a rest time of about
15 min. and the flash will then return to normal."
http://media.the-digital-picture.com …e-Flash-Owners-Manual.pdf



For flash zoom setting, the speedlite will set the zoom level to match the zoom that you're using on the 70-200. If you're asking which zoom setting to use on the lens, shoot tight, but avoid amputating limbs.


Metering mode isn't a factor when shooting M. That's one of the main advantages of shooting manual mode in a gym... the exposures won't be thrown off by background lights like the sign at the scorer's table. Or by the opposing light/dark colors of the uniforms. Or the various skin colors of the players. Once you get a good manual exposure, you can stick with it for consistency. Av or Tv mode with metering will be fooled throughout the game and would constantly mess with the exposure level.

Ditto for White Balance. Don't use AWB. If your gym has fluorescent lights, then use the fluorescent WB preset. Or set a constant K value. Before the game, use a gray card or a white sheet of paper if you want. Or just eyeball it and get it close, but stick with a fixed WB. That's why I prefer RAW. AWB will get constantly thrown off by jersey colors and painted walls/floors.

Clarence thank you so much for taking the time to help me with this. Although I have been shooting for a very long time, I have never had the need for a flash unit. The 430EX II is my first ever flash. My son plays HS basketball and I want to get some good images of him in an upcoming home game. I won't have my 50 1.4 as I am letting by friend use it for a wedding that day.

Thanks to your information I feel confident that I should be able to get some keepers at the game. It is funny how some of us (me:oops do what we do photographicaly speaking and get into the rut of knowing how to do what we do and don't tend to venture from what we are confident in doing. Anyways, at least that's how it seems to be for me as I am a nature and wildlife photographer who specializes in bird photography and I also like to do landscapes. Hopefully the flash and learning how to use if properly will open up a whole new aspect of my picture taking.

Below are a few images that I've taken doing what I usually do; all were taken with the 7D or 40D and the EF400 f/5.6L with the exception of the sunset which was taken with 7D and EF 17-40 f/4.0L and of course no flash: