Bay Village JV Soccer w, get this, the 30D!

My MkII was still giving me fits at this game so I stuck it in the bag and put the 300 on the 30D. It was definitely different and took some getting used to since the AF isnt nearly as fast or sensitive (imo). I just had to think a little more ahead of time. All in all, I think the MkII produces nicer images and the next time I shoot the 30D, I'll shoot RAW since I wasn't thrilled about the jpegs out of the camera (live and learn). Anyway, here's a few from the match (none of my son, much to his mom's dismay, doesn't it always work like that?) Feel free to rip em if you want!

1.

Nice Scott, Do you kneel for all those shots or do you just go ahead and sit down? I'm wondering how professional I'd look if I brought one of those low to the ground fold out chairs to the next game I shoot, you know just to get the proper angle of course. Of course with my luck that would be the game my editor would go too..lol

liam5100 wrote in post #8734218
Nice Scott, Do you kneel for all those shots or do you just go ahead and sit down? I'm wondering how professional I'd look if I brought one of those low to the ground fold out chairs to the next game I shoot, you know just to get the proper angle of course. Of course with my luck that would be the game my editor would go too..lol

I do both Bill. I kneel mostly from the sidelines since I feel like I need to swing around a lot more and kneeling allows for that. When I shoot from the goal for head on shots, I sit to give the ankles a rest (which are what hurt most when I kneel) since you don't really need to swing around much to cover the pitch.

Yes, you would look like a total dork in chair if you really must know!!!

Nice shots. They're good for a 30D but of course, they're just a selection and I'm sure you would have felt more comfortable shooting the Mark II.

Bill? Or Liam? I've seen a few guys shooting local footy with a little fold out chair, even some at the top level AFL, but most will just sit with their legs in front, 400 (or whatever they use, some do use 500 and 600's) on a monopod.

The Moose wrote in post #8734319
Nice shots. They're good for a 30D but of course, they're just a selection and I'm sure you would have felt more comfortable shooting the Mark II.

Bill? Or Liam? I've seen a few guys shooting local footy with a little fold out chair, even some at the top level AFL, but most will just sit with their legs in front, 400 (or whatever they use, some do use 500 and 600's) on a monopod.

Glenn, you are absolutely correct, they are a sample. My keeper rate was lower for sure. Some of that was getting used to the different body since I had not used a 30D in years and some was just that I think the MkII is a more capable body. Either way, if I can walk out with 40+ images with IQ similar to these with a 30D, I'm happy.

You didn't mention that the fans and parents were mocking the guys in the chair but I say we keep that between and let Bill find out the hard way!!

They are all good, but 3,4,5 at the top for me. Exceptionally clean for 30D - are the post processed with noise reduction?

Re: chair: possibly dorky as mentioned, but if you are comfortable you will shoot better - so who cares?

Nice snaps for the 30D - I haven't used one of those in a few years. Nice color, contrast and sharpness.

thanks and yeah, all run through noise ninja despite being 640 ISO. I used really weak settings in there (0 strength, -15 smooth) if I recall.

namasste wrote in post #8734358
You didn't mention that the fans and parents were mocking the guys in the chair but I say we keep that between and let Bill find out the hard way!!

Its Bill.. the "liam" is the last half of William... and I'm sure you guys would love to have me "find out the hard way".

If I'm getting the little foldy chair, I'm taking my kids rebel xt and the kit lens and putting it on my monopod as well, might as well go all out.

I honestly think Scott lays on the ground sometimes, he always gets that perfect little strip of grass on the bottom of his shots. That or he's a lepricon.

Anderson-Photography wrote in post #8734375
Nice snaps for the 30D - I haven't used one of those in a few years. Nice color, contrast and sharpness.

Thanks Chris. I hadn't either at that point (used it again that evening at a baseball game). I think it did fairly well but as I mentioned, I do think you need to shoot RAW files with it rather than jpegs to get the most from it. One thing I really noticed is how light it feels relative to the 1 series bodies. Probably not a bad thing if its your second body and hanging off a shoulder a lot.

liam5100 wrote in post #8734431
If I'm getting the little foldy chair, I'm taking my kids rebel xt and the kit lens and putting it on my monopod as well, might as well go all out.

Don't forget the Canon logo vest either bud, represent!!!!

liam5100 wrote in post #8734431
I honestly think Scott lays on the ground sometimes, he always gets that perfect little strip of grass on the bottom of his shots. That or he's a lepricon.

shhhhh, me da be keepin dis a secret all dese yers and now ya be blowin it!!

This is a great thread and very informative in every way. It just goes to show that knowledge of your equipment, knowing your limitations or range as well as how and where to set up all factor into your shots.

That small detail of anticipating the play more, with a 30D or 40D ... really makes the photographer a student of the game. Laying or sitting in a certain spot is very important to a professional perspective.

These concepts are most important for the HS/youth shooter who has to deal with the everyday parent who has photo gear or who buys high quality gear because they can. (not that there is anything wrong with either.) Just as a professional, we need to make sure our product offers a professional prospective/touch. Separate yourself from the pack.

Ironically (not a hijack attempt) at HS football last week I was one of two approved photog's for the home team. The other is a father with no press credentials. By halftime, I was one of seven home photog's. Only one other had press, the rest were school paper (good) and parents (not good).

This being said, I took my 300+1.4 and sat behind the goal post. I wanted make sure I had a different angle that no one could get. These fotos are for sale, used in a highlight reel and used in a local TV show we produce.

With 5 minutes to go in the game, there were THREE other photographers in the endzone laying on their stomach, as I was all second half. Quite annoying, but funny. Of course I made pleasant conversation.

Some great points Vin. No doubt that the more you are connected to what's happening in front of you, the more likely you'll produce winners. My kids are just getting into shooting and I tell them over and over, ALWAYS think before pushing the button. Have to remind myself of that as well from time to time.

I do think what separates the pros from the gwc's (and I'm not qualifying myself as either) is that a pro will produce with whatever they are working with be it gear, lighting, poor weather crowds, you name it. At the end, the pro will walk out with usable images and know that they will before shooting the first frame. Again, its a lesson I remind myself of often and that is not to complain about the situation as much as what to do with it to get results. In this case, I knew my MkII was not doing well in servo so I put the 70-200 on it and put it one shot mode where I knew it could get it done. Doing that forced me to prefocus on spots since I knew I couldn't track with AF (the athletes in front of a goal during a corner kick are a great example). For the longer glass on the 30D, I also knew that I'd have to then rely on a slower AF system for tracking so timing would be far more important. I tried to pay very close attention to how the plays were developing so I could ease the burden on the AF system by simply anticipating more. I don't shoot burst very often, but I also knew that I wouldn't be likely to get more than 2 frames for any given shot if needed so I'd have to factor that in. Lastly (and I learned this after making a mistake in the first few minutes) I had to adjust the LCD brightness since it was different than the MkII. My histograms were showing me that while the image may have looked good in camera, it was actually a touch dark but I was initially fooled by the brighter and larger 30D lcd. I'm only bringing this all up to give some of the newer sports shooters some glimpse into how some of us think out there (right or wrong). Hopefully it helps, if not, disregard.

I also did have to laugh about the lemming mentality on the sidelines. You were right on in your approach though Vin. Get something no one else is and you'll stand out.

Nice shots Scott and a good explanation of what you did and why. I have been getting bored covering volleyball so decided to shoot two of the three games I covered last night with manual focus at f/2 just to work more on setup and anticipation. Obviously my keeper rate was crap but the challenge and mental aspects made for a more enjoyable overall night out.

A couple of additional observations.

While I love low angles I am personally not a fan of it when it is so low that the feet or toes are lost.

Those cloudy days with lots of greenery sure mess with the AWB on Canon cameras. RAW can really be a big plus in PP.

About the only thing I use my LCD for anymore is to look for the blinkies. Those and the histo are what I key on. I am also using the histo that displays the three colors as I find the reds clip so much quicker than the others that if i keep them in line the overall color really improves without as much PP work required.

I don't use a chair but will occasionally use a Walkstool when covering soccer since it is the sport I find that I move around the least.

http://www.walkstool.c​om/uk/product/indexfra​me.html

I get laughed at anyway and it normally has nothing to do with using a stool.

I never sweat it with the lemmings. Most of the time I go places where if you don't set a good exposure you are not going to get good shots and since 99% of the shooters around here think the running man setting is what they need for shooting sports, I just smile and say hello then answer their 20 standard questions about the 400 f/2.8.

Kev, thanks for the compliment and crit (and additional comments). The images missing toes would have been so unless I were on a ladder and I point that out not to defend the shot but as just another thing to think about. Some pitches/fields have a very convex shape to them, and this was one. When shooting the opposite side, it is very likely that you'll get images like you see above and there's almost no way to prevent that. If you have toe amputations, make sure you concentrate on getting the players as they move across the center of the pitch.

Kev, talk to me a little more about how you adjust settings when clipping your reds. Those do tend to be brightest (just do a b/w channel mix and its obvious how the reds behave). Anyway, I'd be curious if you just dial down the ISO a touch until all is well again or what. Never really thought about looking at the color histo, just the lum. Thanks for the tip!