upgrading and need help....

[QUOTE=heat00;17915320​]and here is 6400 at 1/640, one before LR and one after, still look terrible... I don't seem to be able to find settings that are acceptable. I guess in a gym like this it's just not worth taking pictures.... however we do play in better lit gyms as Teamspeed's above (girl picture) however I don't know how to achieve results like that, what should the settings be in that scenario?
QUOTE]

There's no reason to be shooting at 1/640s, is there? I shoot at 1/500 for very fast, close-in BIFs!

Charlie wrote in post #17920626
save yourself some trouble, get a 5D3 NOW.

Shoot TV mode with whatever shutter speed you're happy with

+2/3 exposure compensation in the gym

autoiso

Correct you white balance BEFORE you start shooting or bring a reference white card with you.

Different gyms have different lighting, teamspeed shoots NBA stuff, so I suspect the lighting is BETTER than average gym lighting. You'll be much happier with a 5D3, the low light ability is considerably better, and the sigma 70-200 wont be as taxing on the sensor.

Yes, interesting and thank you for the input... I suppose the 5dIII isn't much more than a 7dII anyways and yes, not only will not be as taxing, the 70-200 range would now be true 70-200 not 100-300 or so, so it might eliminate a need for the 2nd lens at least for now....

i truly dont understand the advice to use auto iso and auto modes in a fixed lighting situation. you are just inviting meter bias for no gain.

gonzogolf wrote in post #17920755
i truly dont understand the advice to use auto iso and auto modes in a fixed lighting situation. you are just inviting meter bias for no gain.

it's fine, it'll work.

I just thought that giving ts some very basic settings will help him more than learning full manual settings. He can adjust from a partial auto mode as needed. The lighting in his play area is not harsh, fairly even, that's why I suggest +2/3 exposure compensation, which he can do without clipping.

the settings are uber simple to do, he'll only have to control shutter speed, and that's it. He'll have to shoot that a while before he can get a good idea of what shutter speed to use. For candid scenes, he can slow down the shutter speed and speed it up for action scenes without the complexity of changing full manual settings.

I shoot middle school as well, and sometimes these special training leagues for small kids, as evidenced above. The 7D2 also has flicker control, which is nice, and now the 1DX2 will have it as well. I like shooting indoor stuff in M mode, and having a full working auto-ISO there is great, and the 7D2 has some other tricks up its sleeves for auto-ISO that the 5D3 doesn't have.

I really don't see what the 5D3 brings to the table here for the extra 40-50% you will be spending, and I already have the 7D2, 5D3 and SL1 in my bag right now.

A better suggestion would be a 1D4. You get a bit of reach, the same IQ as the 5D3, more battery life, etc, and for a price tag right between the 7D2 and 5D3.

bsiegler wrote in post #17920047
Would you mind posting a link to "How to Get the Best out of 7D High ISO" thread? I'm unable to find it when I search. Thanks!

Don't think anyone responded to this.

https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1079217

WaltA wrote in post #17920817
Don't think anyone responded to this.

https://photography-on-the.net …/showthread.php​?t=1079217

I did back on reply 102.

Oops, didn't see that.

Great info in this thread.

Yes thank you all again. I just finished researching prices and you are correct, the 5dIII is actually quite a bit more (considering new or open box only, not "used"). I see 7DII for about 1400 while the 5DIII is closer to 2200-2300. I think I will go with the 7dII, please keep in mind this is just for my personal use of my 6th grader's basketball pictures, and his teammates, they are not being sold or used anywhere else and I like what Teamspeed mentioned about some of the unique features. Certainly it should provide enough of a difference from my t3I to the 7dII in that the places that were marginal at best might now be acceptable.

today's lighting was much better and I think my exposure was much better too. here are a few of my son, I used 6400, 2.8, 640 ss.. that seemed to keep the exposure meter a tad to the right as you all suggested. certainly I have still have a ways to go and will post the team pics later as I'd like to hear your feedback...

another one that I liked.... I got lucky as there was also a lot of room to back up and sit on the floor behind the basket, although I am starting to see why a shorter lens is necessary.. the 70-200 also is heavy and wears on the arms after a while lol

Much better! You can be happy with those.

A monopod will help with the fatigue of holding up the lens for hours.

ok here are the shots (the decent ones anyways) that I got from the other day:

https://www.flickr.com​/gp/djnkatt/z6L1LS

the better lighting helped a lot and I tried to focus on better composition and exposure this time.

Very many thanks to all of you for all your tips and help on how to improve my pictures. There is no way I would be at the spot I'm at without all the great help!

so, I still want to upgrade and as of now I'm leaning to the 7dII as many have suggested. It brings a lot of good features that will help in my situations including the advanced auto ISO, better low light performance, better focusing system and double FPS over my Rebel. This seems a very good option although the only lingering question in my mind is the 5DIII. The only reason being, it would seem the larger sensor will provide better low light performance however more importantly it should help a good amount when I don't have the room like I had in this gym above as sometimes space is tight and the 70-200 on the Crop cannot get the whole body/person in the picture because of being too close. so instead of an effective 112-300 or whatever it is, I would have a true 70-200... does this make a big difference? Is it a reason to consider a FF or am I looking at this all wrong. Otherwise, i will need another lens and I don't like the idea of having 2 lenses or having to switch.. on a Crop, it seems necessary to then get a 24-70 or even possibly the new Sigma 50-100 since it's also F1.8. This seems a very difficult decision for some reason. the 5DIII with the 70-200 should be the only lens needed on a FF as compared to a crop with multiple lenses...

thanks as always for any advice or input!

Either the 7D2 or 5D3 would work. They are complementary bodies, the 7D2 is pretty much an APS-C version of the 5D3, just updated a bit more. The 5D3 will have better ISO performance, and the AF is quite good, very similar to the 7D2. If you have the funds, it is worthy of consideration, and it is also very good for portraits, etc.

And what about the focal length/lens issue or am I crazy?