Tips for shooting volleyball

Steve-M wrote in post #3996767
I've shot VB all season long using a flash with zero complaints. The athletes don't even know you're using a flash because they are focused on the game. After you shoot a few VB games it becomes apparent that VB is quite predictable and you can zero in on whose going to be getting the ball just by the way the game is set up to be played. Of course, shooting in low light without a flash requires a fast lens using a flash has worked well for me.

It is not a question of whether the volleyball players will be bothered by it, its a question of whether the officials and coaches will allow you to use it. Volleyball is very conservative and most venues are going to frown on flash. But I agree that it would be unlikely to have any effect on the players.

As for it being predictable, I think it may well depend on what level volleyball you are shooting. I find it pretty hard to predict the really good action, and even when I can predict it, getting the peak shot is still pretty difficult since they don't ever take possession of the ball.

Well, since I've had zero complaints I'm going to go out on a limb and say the coaches and officials don't mind either since they are all there for the game. I shoot HS VB so it is not at the college or pro level which I'm sure is quite different. At the HS level anyway the action is VERY predictable.

You can also shoot with flash if you have a powerful enough flash and you are back far enough. You need more light than what the gym offers, but you don't need a whole lot more if you have a fast enough lens. The lenses the OP has are not sufficient (IMO).

I shot a bunch with my 135 f/2 and a 580 flash. Worked pretty well and none of the girls cared or where bothered by it. In point of fact, I don't know if they even knew I had a flash.

Be advised though, some HS and JHS leagues forbid flash.

J

dd, do we get to see your pics sometime? Would love to see what images you created and offer any advice or help I can...

Steve-M wrote in post #3997750
Well, since I've had zero complaints I'm going to go out on a limb and say the coaches and officials don't mind either since they are all there for the game. I shoot HS VB so it is not at the college or pro level which I'm sure is quite different. At the HS level anyway the action is VERY predictable.

I wasn't saying that your coaches and officials had a problem with it, I was saying that it is not uncommon from what I've seen and heard for them to have a problem with it... obviously in places other than where you are.

An 85 1.8 will cost less then the flash you would need. why not just get one?

on top of less money, a 85 will keep the original light, which should add to the photo. assuming skill based off of the equipment you do have, flash would probably make things worse, since you will not be able to balance ambient light with the flash properly (maybe you can, but either way it's not the best solution)

PLUS, PLUS...sports/action pictures with flash as a rule dont look as good as pictures with natural light!

LOL...have we convinced you yet....LOL

Here is a pic I took earlier tonight with my XTi and 24-70 2.8L,no flash,Manual,SS@320,f2​.8,straight out of the camera..Even though the officials don`t have a problem with flash I`m trying to get away from it if possible.
C&C please.

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I shoot vollyball regularly for the local newspapers. In my opinion, it is one of the hardest sports to shoot. Everyone in this thread is raving about the 85mm f/1.8, but I had a lot of trouble with that lens. The DOF is just too small, and the players are moving all over the place, challenging the servo focus speed. So getting sharp shots at f/1.8 is very tough. And even at f/1.8, sometimes there isn't enough ambient light for the shutter speeds needed. I eventually sold my 85mm. I've had much better luck with my 70-200 f/2.8. Sometimes, I'll even shoot with a 1.4x TC. The easiest shots are from a balcony above the baseline (if a balcony is available). The second easiest are from floor level behind the baseline, prefocussing on the players legs below the net before the serve. I shoot at 1/500, 3200 ISO, RAW, flash, and then run everything through Noise Ninja. I sharpen with USM or Hi-Pass. A sharp, well exposed, but somewhat noisy shot is greatly preferable to a blurred or out-of-focus shot. The later are not acceptable nor publishable. In Southern CA, I've never had anyone ever object to using flash during high-school volleyball. If I shoot from the sidelines at the net, I'll use a 24-70 F/2.8L, again with flash. Good luck, it's really hard.

Ive bin shooting are HS VB sense the beginning of the season and the first game I used one flash in the stands, Made a huge difference. Now I use on in the stands and anether in the corner of the court. Use my 24-70L for this type of shooting.

I would say look into getting a flash setup as to you will be able to use it in all indoor sports (most likely)

A crazy question but before rushing to a comic answer give a tiny cerebral considerations:

Not particular about VB, but does anyone have an experience with indoor sport and one of those tiny devil cameras with ultra range zooms and IS? S3 or S5 are good consideration for this Canon oriented forum but if moderators are not hearing, I am more interested to know about this Olympus's UZ550 that with 16 frame per second (Very close to 1DmkIII (Of course at a low rez and much much lower price tag), with added benefit of double Image immobilization, and then top it of by longest optical zoom range (18x) available in the market, What would the photographers capabilities be? In my local store (Fry’s Electronics) last week it was on sale for $349 (Thanks to newer 560 model that like S5 has nothing much more than that face recognition) which is a quit a temptation for me to buy one but the problem is, it is not Canon.

Not to hijack the thread but anyone with any experience on this one?

These cameras start to have unacceptable noise at ISO400 and get worse from there. If you read through this thread, you see people talking about using ISO1600 and up, and at very wide apertures. Any point and shoot camera made today is going to produce pretty bad results shooting indoor volleyball at the high school level.

samsen wrote in post #4001802
A crazy question but before rushing to a comic answer give a tiny cerebral considerations:

Not particular about VB, but does anyone have an experience with indoor sport and one of those tiny devil cameras with ultra range zooms and IS? S3 or S5 are good consideration for this Canon oriented forum but if moderators are not hearing, I am more interested to know about this Olympus's UZ550 that with 16 frame per second (Very close to 1DmkIII (Of course at a low rez and much much lower price tag), with added benefit of double Image immobilization, and then top it of by longest optical zoom range (18x) available in the market, What would the photographers capabilities be? In my local store (Fry’s Electronics) last week it was on sale for $349 (Thanks to newer 560 model that like S5 has nothing much more than that face recognition) which is a quit a temptation for me to buy one but the problem is, it is not Canon.

Not to hijack the thread but anyone with any experience on this one?

Thanks Mike.
Considering double image mobilizer in these cameras (That you expect to act as 3-4 stop to say the least, ISO 400 with D-IS should act at least equivalent to 1600 if not 3200 in terms of motion blur prevention.
A main purpose of high ISO or wide open F is to freeze the ball in addition to players motion. I personally think a blur ball is quit a pleasing view in sport event shooting, just to add that 3 dimension; Time. Now a player can be frozen in a right phase of extreme motion such as when force of jumping meets the gravitational force. So if enough frame per second images are available, it won't be difficult to find that right frame in 15 fps of a rapid shooting. I will try to get out with my S3 to just get a taste of it but 15fps is something that I am curious about.

Samsen, have you ever seen a profesional photographer shooting sports with one of these cameras? Ever? There is a reason why you haven't. Because the equipment simply won't get the job done. The image stablization does NOTHING to stop subject motion, only eliminates hand shake with a non-moving subject. The lens is not fast enough for the light levels and shutter speeds involved. I doubt the camera has servo focus. The players are moving in and out of focus all the time. The servo focus has to be fast and accurate. The built-in flash will be far too weak (good for maybe 6 feet) and will not recycle fast enough to support the camera's burst mode. Sports shots often require significant cropping. At ~1 MPxl resolution, you won't have anything left after cropping.

The reality is that to shoot indoor or night sports you need very good equipment, and unfortunately, good equipment requires a significant investment. In addition to the equipment, you will need expertise and experience.