Camera settings for cheerleading shoot

Hello,my niece is doing a cheerleading competition saturday.It will indoors in a fairly well lighted gym.Considering my lenses which settings generaly speaking would be a good start.I dont think ill need my flashgun because ill be a certain distance away.

AV stop down to f10 or so for sharpness ?AL servo ?

Not sure.My sharpness is fairly good upclose but sometimes its blurry after cropping distance shots.I usually shot at the fastest F # for my lenses.Im sure some shots will be like when they jump around /toss a girl in the air type action.

Thanks for any help.

ReDDoG wrote in post #8836596
Hello,my niece is doing a cheerleading competition saturday.It will indoors in a fairly well lighted gym.Considering my lenses which settings generaly speaking would be a good start.I dont think ill need my flashgun because ill be a certain distance away.

Well lit gym? What is that? A really, really good HS gym is typically EV7. That nets you ISO3200, f/2 and 1/800 for instance.

A Div 1A NCAA gym might be as bright as EV 9. That would allow you to shoot at ISO1600 with an f/2.8 zoom.

I've never shot any action slower than f/2.8 in a gym, and I usually have to use primes because I need f/2 to stay above 1/800 at ISO3200.

IMO f/10 is totally hopeless....it doesn't even work with strobes because you would never have enough strobe power at that aperture.

If you have lenses of f/2.8 and faster at the lengths you need you can shoot the action shots. Otherwise set the camera to ISO1600 - 3200 and try and grab the cheerleaders when they are paused in a set.

My gear is under my post.All my lenses are f4 and up variety.
Besides setting ISO to 1600 which mode should i shoot in?For the faster type shots.Should i use single shot or AL servo?

AV or M ?I realize i dont have a fast setup im just trying to make the best of my current setup.
Thanks

Use the 55-250, Av mode (manual if you're comfortable with it), AI Servo, aperture as wide as it goes ( 4 - 5.6, depending on focus length), iso 1600 or as high as you'll need to freeze motion. Lens IS should be on. This is the best you'll get if you're not using flash. (or shooting raw and pushing in PP)

ReDDoG wrote in post #8836700
My gear is under my post.All my lenses are f4 and up variety.
Besides setting ISO to 1600 which mode should i shoot in?For the faster type shots.Should i use single shot or AL servo?

AV or M ?I realize i dont have a fast setup im just trying to make the best of my current setup.
Thanks

OK, here is my take based on your gear.

You are going to have to use the 55-250 for the reach and you will most likely be into the f/5.6 max range for the shots.

A 'great' gym is EV9 and typical is more like EV7. DIMnasiums are as bad as EV5.

At EV9 you could manage ISO1600, f/5.6 and 1/250 which will be adequate for when the cheerleaders are posed in a static position. Use the IS.

If the gym is more like EV7 (which will appear to be bright to your eyes) then things get very hard very fast. You will have to push the camera to an ISO 3200 equivalent (does the XSi have an 'H' setting?) and then shoot at a miserable f/5.6 and 1/125. Motion blur will be your bane, plus a pretty healthy level of noise. All in all though, this is the best you can likely do.

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I agree with everyone else that you are going to find that even though the gym seems bright enough to your eyes, you are going to find it impossible to get enough light for a fast enough shutter speed to freeze action. Really, you have two choices:

1) Set your XSi to ISO 1600 and follow the good advice you've been getting to do the best you can with your gear. Keep the aperture wide open and see what you end up with. Try some different shutter speeds (even at the expense of underexposing - you can always push it later in Photoshop) to get a feel for what it takes to freeze action.

2) Give up and don't bring your camera.

I recommend choice 2, because choice 1 is guaranteed to make you run out and buy some fast glass. Of course we know you'll ignore me and go with choice 1.

Your current lenses aren't going to cut it for indoor cheer. For a crop body, you should get a 85mm f1.8 (or 100mm f2) lens and shoot at ISO 1600 at f2. Try to achieve a shutter speed of at least 1/400, preferably faster. I usually set white balance ahead of time and always use AI Servo mode. Here is an example of such as shot with 85mm f1.8 on a 40D-

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IMHO you need to use your flash. Typical gym + your equipment = nothing. Not trying to be harsh. It's obviously something you don't photograph often or you would have different lenses. Use that flash and you'll get some decent pics.

No i was doing the best i could with the glass i had.Didnt need the flash today as it turns out.Gym had good lighting.Pics turned out good.Main problem was capturing the still shot of a jumping cheerleader.lol.Im no pro nor have the money to buy the great glass.

Dont agree with this."Typical gym + your equipment = nothing."
As far as a dimly lite gym i think i understand your point.I dont think my gear is by no means the best by a long shot.But from where i had to sit.i was fairly happy.

Thanks