Hockey photography - lighting issues

Bump the ISO. Also shoot as close to the glass as you can, focusing far away, to make the glass less of an issue. You probably want to err on the side of slightly overexposing (especially if shooting raw) because you want that ice nice and white.

I agree with bumping up the ISO to 1600. A MKIII should let you shoot at 3200.

Check the sports section of this forum. Lots of info in there, with example pics, of shooting hockey through the glass and otherwise. FWIW, I shoot @ 1600 1/320(ish) and wide open at a youth rink with decent results. You should be able to do at least that at an AHL game. I assume you're working with better lighting than most of us "hockey dads" will ever see at the rinks our kids play in.

Look into Noiseware Community to help with any grain you might get as well, it will change your perception of using high ISOs.

http://noiseware.com/d​ownload.aspx

This is always a problem without strobing. I have shot loads of hockey and it is the same all over. jacking up the ISO is just about the only answer except for strobing the arena from the ceiling. One thing you can and should do is visit during a practice, get on the ice when it is not being used and meter it by hand. Luckily the ice acts as a great big reflector. But the backgrounds will fool yor meter everytime. Shooting through the glass is a waste of time. If you want to go long you can backup the seats and shoot over the glass but that limits you FOV. Holes in the glass are the best answer, but pay attentin to what you put out those holes, you might want it back <vbg>

Les

And be sure you shoot with 4-5 UV filters on the front!

at AHL level you need a shutter speed of 1/400 at the slowest, 1/500 is better. Anything less and you'll have too many blurred body parts (unless you specialize in shooting players who aren't moving). Use M Mode, go up to ISO3200, open your lens to f2.8, dial in 1/500. If you get the subject properly exposed you won't need noise reduction. >>These<<were shot at 3200. If that isn't giving a decent exposure, then get an f2 lens. I keep my 135 f2 in the bag for the worst-lit rinks.

beg your way onto the bench or box.

Good luck,

Sageg wrote in post #4166764
Bump the ISO. Also shoot as close to the glass as you can, focusing far away, to make the glass less of an issue. You probably want to err on the side of slightly overexposing (especially if shooting raw) because you want that ice nice and white.

Ya beat me to it...THAT'S the solution...bump the exposure 2 clicks to compensate for the meter's desire to turn white into gray...it thinks it's doing you a favor...it's counter intuitive, just as when shooting against a black background you have to UNDER expose a bit (to compensate for the meter's desire to turn BLACK into gray...) to keep the black, BLACK.

Thank you for all your wonderful feedback.
Good point adam8080. I will try putting my ISO up next time and deal with the grain. And I do shoot RAW so I can manipulate the pics fairly easily.

sportsshooterinME wrote in post #4170093
Thank you for all your wonderful feedback.
Good point adam8080. I will try putting my ISO up next time and deal with the grain. And I do shoot RAW so I can manipulate the pics fairly easily.

Bumping the exposure to get white ice will reduce the noise a lot...noise being exaggerated by underexposure.

Ann- I shoot two youth hockey games each weekend with the same camera and lens combination that you have, also shooting RAW. Sunday's game was at ISO 1600, f/2.8, 1/640th. Don't hesitate shooting at ISO 1600 and use Noise Ninja to clean up the images.

The only difference I see is that I have not been shooting thru the glass and have shot from above the glass looking down. Is this an option where you shoot?

adam8080 wrote in post #4165835
1. Bump up you iso speed.
2. If you still can't shoot as fast as you need to, you may want to upgrade to a 135L, 100L, or 85L.

Adam- You need to take into account both the speed of the lens's maximum aperture as well as focus speed. The 85L while and f/1.2 is a dog when it comes to focusing. At that focal length one is much better off with the 85 f/1.8 for shooting moving objects.

RichNY wrote in post #4173335
Adam- You need to take into account both the speed of the lens's maximum aperture as well as focus speed. The 85L while and f/1.2 is a dog when it comes to focusing. At that focal length one is much better off with the 85 f/1.8 for shooting moving objects.

I was just gonna say this... the 85L couldn't track a turtle in AI Servo mode, let alone a skater. The 85mm f/1.8 is VERY fast and would do the trick. ISO 1600, 85 f/1.8 at 1.8 would get you some decent shutter times. Focusing far away will be better as the DOF increases, Hockey is HARD to cover without really fast glass. The mkIII and the N**** D3 would be GREAT for Hockey since they've got some really clean ISO 3200 capabilities.

I take it the OP covers the PIrates?