College Basketball

Going to see William & Mary play this weekend and it will be the first I have ever attempted to shoot basketball. I mainly shoot wildlife but I am a very athletic and played sports so I understand the game so that won't be an issue but looking for any other advice that might be of help.

What I have in the bag that I can use:
40D
100-400L
105mm Sigma 2.8
430EX (can and should I use flash?)

You cant use flash for college basketball(people shouldnt use it on camera for high school either, but they do), so the 430ex is out. They will more than likely not let you in with the 100-400L, and it will be too slow even under college gym lights. That leaves you with 1 option. Crank your 40d to ISO 1600-3200 and get the highest shutter speed you can with your Sigma 105. Good luck!

zelseman wrote in post #9437908
You cant use flash for college basketball(people shouldnt use it on camera for high school either, but they do), so the 430ex is out. They will more than likely not let you in with the 100-400L, and it will be too slow even under college gym lights. That leaves you with 1 option. Crank your 40d to ISO 1600-3200 and get the highest shutter speed you can with your Sigma 105. Good luck!

thanks for the info...i called the venue and asked if they had any size restrictions on lenses and they said there were none and you can shoot with what you want in the stands but that you can't use flash....for kicks and giggles I am going to see if I can get anything worthwhile with the 100-400.

any other suggestions on settings to use?

Go just to enjoy the game... end of story.. no need to take your gear.

40D with a 100-400 zoomed from the stands may be too slow to get decent shots even at 3200.

canonnoob wrote in post #9442648
Go just to enjoy the game... end of story.. no need to take your gear.

we live all of 3-4 miles from William & Mary and W&M Hall where they play...have been wanting to get to a game with my gear just to see how things turn out so that is part of enjoying the game for me...but i do get what you were saying

RGVphoto wrote in post #9442722
40D with a 100-400 zoomed from the stands may be too slow to get decent shots even at 3200.

I am sure you are right but I still just have to give it a try.

Hey, you can try. No harm done at all. Last night while shooting I got a little bored so I kept dumping my shutter speed - until I got all the way down to 1/15. There were a lot of shot I was able to get at extremely low shutter speeds - don't underestimate what you can get.

In fact, you might come up with something pretty unusual... something more then the run of the mill shots that clone every other shot we have seen a million times. Go for it. You have absolutely nothing to loose and everything to gain.

Remember, directionality will determine a lot of what you can get at what speed. Coaches, players on the bench cheering their team mates, cheerleaders, fans, most are not moving that very fast.

Eagle i wrote in post #9442561
thanks for the info...i called the venue and asked if they had any size restrictions on lenses and they said there were none and you can shoot with what you want in the stands but that you can't use flash....for kicks and giggles I am going to see if I can get anything worthwhile with the 100-400.

any other suggestions on settings to use?

I'd recommend you rent a 200 2.8 or 70-200 2.8. I use to own a 100-400 and unless there was ample light, you can forget using it inside. All the best.

tmchance wrote in post #9449003
I'd recommend you rent a 200 2.8 or 70-200 2.8. I use to own a 100-400 and unless there was ample light, you can forget using it inside. All the best.

I will TakeMyChances...like I said I live extremely close and can go whenever I like and the tickets end up only cost me $7 each(me and wife buy one $14 get one free).

Croasdail wrote in post #9448715
Hey, you can try. No harm done at all. Last night while shooting I got a little bored so I kept dumping my shutter speed - until I got all the way down to 1/15. There were a lot of shot I was able to get at extremely low shutter speeds - don't underestimate what you can get.

In fact, you might come up with something pretty unusual... something more then the run of the mill shots that clone every other shot we have seen a million times. Go for it. You have absolutely nothing to loose and everything to gain.

Remember, directionality will determine a lot of what you can get at what speed. Coaches, players on the bench cheering their team mates, cheerleaders, fans, most are not moving that very fast.

I agree that there is nothing to lose...now if I had to buy film and develop it that would be a different thing.

Eagle i wrote in post #9437200
Going to see William & Mary play this weekend and it will be the first I have ever attempted to shoot basketball. I mainly shoot wildlife but I am a very athletic and played sports so I understand the game so that won't be an issue but looking for any other advice that might be of help.

What I have in the bag that I can use:
40D
100-400L

Back when I had a 40D, my wife got super-cheap tickets from her school.

This was at George Mason... a few hours north of W&M. Mason actually made it to the Final Four a few years ago.

They were nosebleed seats, but I took my 100-400L...

here are a few shots that I got....not great but at least a learning experience...that and had fun too.
C&C still much appreciated

One thing is your ss is too slow on the 2,3,4 pix. Open your lens as open as they will go and increase your ss. Most of your pictures were shot at f7.1 and needed to be around 4.5 for your lens.