I am new, stupid and want your help!

kitacanon wrote in post #4095036
pssss... IS (image stablizer) isn't all that it's cracked up to be...I've tried it and found that I can hold the camera steadier and get sharper pix than with the IS...that is, my IS is better than Canon's...but I've been shooting for 40 years and know how to breathe...and how to squeeeeze the shutter...it does take practice to learn how to correctly breathe and squeeze...

For action shooting perhaps not.
I wouldn't make such a blanket statement about IS. Absolutely not.
There's definitely lots of scenarios where IS can work wonders.

Can you hand hold @200mm with a shutter speed of 1/20 against stationary subject and get CONSISTENTLY good results?

I can't...unless I am using my 70-200 f4 IS.

If you can, more power to you man!!!

nicksan wrote in post #4095088
For action shooting perhaps not.
I wouldn't make such a blanket statement about IS. Absolutely not.
There's definitely lots of scenarios where IS can work wonders.

Can you hand hold @200mm with a shutter speed of 1/20 against stationary subject and get CONSISTENTLY good results?

I can't...unless I am using my 70-200 f4 IS.

If you can, more power to you man!!!

Yes and thanks...actually, I find the lag of the IS very disconcerting...the guy in Best Buy also judged my IS better than Canon's with the 28-135 @ 50/sec on the 40D... maybe not @ 200mm while panning action tho...

If it makes you feel any better, what you are trying to do (football, action, night, poor lighting,) is porbably one of the hardest things to get done well. Takes many people years of experience even with the right equipment. Chin up. Keep working on it.

nicksan wrote in post #4095186

me too...I had to double check to confirm we were looking at the right pix and that the IS was ON...at my worst I was no worse than the Canon...

kitacanon wrote in post #4095218
me too...I had to double check to confirm we were looking at the right pix and that the IS was ON...at my worst I was no worse than the Canon...

I guess I have to cut down on my daily caffeine intake then.

Some one had said it above already. You need a fast lens. You don't have to buy it. Rentals are available all over the place, and some like ours will ship to you. If you are not comfortable renting, you can buy some fast primes. I don't think that 135mm, or 200mm are very expensive. You can sell your 75-300 to offset the cost.

kitacanon wrote in post #4095218
me too...I had to double check to confirm we were looking at the right pix and that the IS was ON...at my worst I was no worse than the Canon...

So even though you have a monopod for a arm, your saying IS makes your pictures worse?
I don't think I've ever heard that before... Especially for static objects.

For the OP: (without buying a new lens) Think he could shoot raw and underexpose a stop or so to try to stop the motion a bit?
I would definitely pick up a monopod... That will at least eliminate hand shake.

To shoot with that lens, you'll have to use iso1600 and probably use exposure compensation of -1 and then push the exposure with DPP or adobe camera raw as you should shoot RAW, as wide open an appeture as you can go, and a shutter speed of 1/250 and hope for the best.

Well, you've received lots of good advice here (and some bad), so I hope you at least come back and take the time to acknowledge it and share more information about your problem. Posting a couple of photos along with the associated exposure data will go a long way toward helping us to help you.

Mark

kitacanon wrote in post #4095160
Yes and thanks...actually, I find the lag of the IS very disconcerting...the guy in Best Buy also judged my IS better than Canon's with the 28-135 @ 50/sec on the 40D... maybe not @ 200mm while panning action tho...

IS lag? Once it spins up, there's no lag to speak of - Best Buy wouldn't be the place I would go to for photographic advice and critique though.

Mark

We should probably ask the OP whether she has any other lenses in her bag. She may have other lenses but thinks she needs this big of a zoom to get in on the action. If this is the only lens you have and you are shooting in pretty poor lighting your lens may constantly be searching for focus lock as well, in which case you may have to switch the lens to MF (manual focus) in order to shoot the action.

Hey --Welcome to the forum!

And don't be so hard on yourself!

As others have said--you are trying to do what may be the hardest thing in photography to accomplish.

Night sports and a budget do not mix.

Find the "pro" on the sidelines and ask him or her for their advice--Gearheads love to talk and usually have good advice.

And may actually let you try their gear--which will open up a whole new world of possibilities.

Best of luck and post some examples

I am reading trust me.
Has anyone rented from some of the lens places on the web?
Here is a decent night shot.

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

HTTP response: 404 | MIME changed to 'image/gif' | Byte size: ZERO | PHOTOBUCKET ERROR IMAGE

Yes, the movement is definitely the players. Your shutter speed is too slow to stop the action. Unfortunately, if you've topped out on ISO and you've set your lens to the largest aperture, there's not much else you can do except get a faster lens. I know you said money is an issue, but even if you under expose by a stop while shooting RAW, I still don't think you'll be able to get enough of a shutter speed increase to stop the action and you'll still have the noise issue.

Mark