Shutter speeds

What shutter speeds are you guys shooting when shooting outside sports. I usually try to get at least 2 or 3 stops above the focal length (example= @400mm I try to be at least 500 or 640). Is this enough to get tack sharp shots of sports. My photos are never tack sharp, sharp enough for me, but they could be better. Thanks for any input.

T&E Run wrote in post #8770835
...... I usually try to get at least 2 or 3 stops above the focal length (example= @400mm I try to be at least 500 or 640). Is this enough to get tack sharp shots of sports. My photos are never tack sharp, sharp enough for me, but they could be better. Thanks for any input.

If you are talking about your 40D, then @400mm (the lens's nominal value) 500 or 640 shutter speed will be very minimal given that the 40D has a crop factor of 1.6. At 300mm length I try to stay above 1000 shutter speed. As far as your pictures not being tack sharp, you could be dealing with motion blur or the 40D's anti-aliasing filter that makes the shots straight out of the camera somewhat soft; therefore, requiring sharpening in post processing, unless you bump the in-camera sharpness.

As sample or two would help the experts around here give you a better idea on what is going on.

The shutter speed you need has absolutely nothing to do with length of your lens. The calculation that you are talking about and that Sibil talked about is a very rough one to eliminate blur due to camera shake.

If you are shooting sports the shutter speed you need is one fast enough to stop action. I think most are going to say at least 1/1000 and faster if light will allow it. Outdoors I will try and up the ISO to high enough to get 1/1000 to 1/1500.

Your lack of tack sharp may be the slow shutter speed.
It may be missing the focus on a fast moving subject. The 5D is notorious for slow AF. Are you using Servo mode?

As Sibil said, post some samples.

If stopping action is your motive, then it varies by the sport and the level of play. Generally I prefer to stay well above 1/1000, but when fighting light and depending on the game involved I might drop to as low as 1/400, but I really dont like to.

Thanks everyone. I think I get it now. I need more speed. Problem is, baseball season is over (other than playoffs). I don't think I will get seats like I had the other day until next year. Oh-well, thanks for the help. I was looking at St Louis Cardinals' pro photographer's blog (Scott Rovak) and noticed a few of his shots were shutter 4000. He has a sweet photo of Pujols swinging with the ball on the bat. Here is a link for anyone interested http://fototalk.blogsp​ot.com/ Again, thanks for the help.