AC016
Senior Member
Alright, totally makes sense now. Thanks
I Feel Like I'm Not Learning.....
- Thread starter Smoke
- Start date
Alright, totally makes sense now. Thanks
I don't know how generous his cam is with noise at high ISO values but in my opinion the only method to get rid of the blur is to increase ISO to 6400 since he can't use flash and is at his max with aperture. And even then any fast action will probably be blurred.
The best solution is another lens but that can be pretty expensive in this case. The cheaper ones (Nikon) only go to 3.5 at best. That's still not much in this specific case.
The best solution is another lens but that can be pretty expensive in this case. The cheaper ones (Nikon) only go to 3.5 at best. That's still not much in this specific case.
Horoscope Fish
Senior Member
I'm going to suggest you spend some time really wrapping your brain around some of fundamentals of photography. A really good place to start would be this tutorial on the Exposure Triangle at the Cambridge in Color website. The importance of completely understanding the relationship between Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO is crucial to good photography and its importance can not be overstated. The Cambridge in Color website has a lot of really well-written tutorials that should help flatten out your learning curve.
More specific to your wanting to shoot those volleyball games in the gym, that's going to be tough with the equipment you have. A faster lens would help immensely but in such situations, I have also used a monopod with great success. I've mounted the camera flat to the monopod, meaning without using a head of any kind, and simply used it to stabilize my shots. You don't have the range of motion you would have shooting hand-held but you can lean and tilt and still have a modicum of stability in your shooting. Beside, most things in photography involve some kind of a trade-off and this suggestion is no different; I'm saying a monopod would HELP, not that it would be a Magic Bullet. And, since a decent monopod could be had for $50 or thereabouts, if it turns out to be a waste of time at least you're not out a ton of cash.
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More specific to your wanting to shoot those volleyball games in the gym, that's going to be tough with the equipment you have. A faster lens would help immensely but in such situations, I have also used a monopod with great success. I've mounted the camera flat to the monopod, meaning without using a head of any kind, and simply used it to stabilize my shots. You don't have the range of motion you would have shooting hand-held but you can lean and tilt and still have a modicum of stability in your shooting. Beside, most things in photography involve some kind of a trade-off and this suggestion is no different; I'm saying a monopod would HELP, not that it would be a Magic Bullet. And, since a decent monopod could be had for $50 or thereabouts, if it turns out to be a waste of time at least you're not out a ton of cash.
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I've wondered this myself. When I see other people's photos with their EXIF data, Shutter always displays as 1/500.....my always showed 10/500 and other speeds (10/250, etc.) Do I just crank the dial more? If I'm not mistaken, when I am adjusting the shutter, I believe it shows as 1/500 on my display. I will have to check now. Please hold..........
I think you had it on 1/50th. I just checked indoor here with an f/4 and at 1600 ISO I can't go to 1/500th.
Horoscope Fish
Senior Member
The website here often displays shutter speeds with extra zeros on uploaded photos; it's just a glitch in the software. 10/500 is, in reality, 1/50; you simply need to drop a zero from each side of the divisor to get the correct value. Again, it's just a display issue here with the EXIF data of uploaded photos.
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Ok, I put it in Shutter priority and adjusted the dial and it says 1/500 so I agree with Horoscope Fish about the website thing. However, a new question arises in the Shooting Menu\ISO Sensitivity Settings: The settings read (and have been adjusted by me:apologetic
: ISO Sensitivity 6400, Auto ISO Sensitivity Control is ON, Maximum Sensitivity is 1600 and Minimum Shutter Speed is 1/500.....
: ISO Sensitivity 6400, Auto ISO Sensitivity Control is ON, Maximum Sensitivity is 1600 and Minimum Shutter Speed is 1/500.....Indoor sports are difficult. I swear they put 30 watt bulbs in most gyms. If you want truly "professional" results you will need to spend a small fortune. That's why pros make the money they do; they need to afford all that fast glass. Many of them don't even own the lenses they use. One possibility is lensrentals.com where you might be able to get a loan of some of the better lenses out there.
But, face facts. You're not a professional sports shooter. Your goal in capturing these events is documentary, not selling the images to news outlets or glossy magazines. You have already done that with the images you've made. If you want less blur, crank up the ISO. Does it really matter if the images have lots of noise in them? Let me repeat that. Does it really matter if the images have lots of noise in them? Do you need to see her individual eyelashes in every shot? What we often face is the fact that we can not live up to the "standards" of professionals. Who cares? My wife's not a super-skinny model. Yet I do nudes of her. I like 'em. She's not a model, I'm not a model photographer, and we get along just fine.
Your shots are darn nice for a non-pro. Crank up the ISO and enjoy the action, don't waste your life fretting over expensive standards.
Disclaimer: if you're filthy rich, by all means, get the best gear. Makes life easier.
But, face facts. You're not a professional sports shooter. Your goal in capturing these events is documentary, not selling the images to news outlets or glossy magazines. You have already done that with the images you've made. If you want less blur, crank up the ISO. Does it really matter if the images have lots of noise in them? Let me repeat that. Does it really matter if the images have lots of noise in them? Do you need to see her individual eyelashes in every shot? What we often face is the fact that we can not live up to the "standards" of professionals. Who cares? My wife's not a super-skinny model. Yet I do nudes of her. I like 'em. She's not a model, I'm not a model photographer, and we get along just fine.
Your shots are darn nice for a non-pro. Crank up the ISO and enjoy the action, don't waste your life fretting over expensive standards.
Disclaimer: if you're filthy rich, by all means, get the best gear. Makes life easier.
The D5200 is what, like 20 something megapixels? You might be better off picking up a 50mm 1.8 and just cropping a little. I can see your focal length is only 62mm so you were quite close to the game. Using a 1.8 over the 4.5 aperture is something like 3-4 stops of light I think, which means instead of 3200ISO you'd be shooting at 200-400ish for a good image. You wouldnt have any noise at those levels. I'd look into a cheap 50mm 1.8 AF which can be had for $150-$220ish. Fast glass is amazing.
Horoscope Fish
Senior Member
Based on that description you've put your camera in an impossible situation: Use ISO 6400 but max out the ISO at 1600 and use a minimum shutter speed of 1/500.Ok, I put it in Shutter priority and adjusted the dial and it says 1/500 so I agree with Horoscope Fish about the website thing. However, a new question arises in the Shooting Menu\ISO Sensitivity Settings: The settings read (and have been adjusted by me:apologetic
You need to decide if you want to use Auto ISO or if you want to set your ISO to 6400.
If you want to use Auto ISO you need to give the function an operational range of, say, 1600 to 6400. The Auto ISO function will TRY to use the lowest ISO within the range but will bump that ISO if the minimum shutter speed can't be met with a lower ISO based on the aperture you've selected.
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Whiskeyman
Senior Member
These are tough shots. Even at f2.8, you're only likely to go to 1/125th second with everything else equal. Even so, that would be a big improvement, but the DOF is going to decrease when you do. You're going to need to get faster than that to stop the action of the hands, arms and volleyball.
Try a search of the internet to get tutorials on VB photography. One of the first that will come up is Phil Zivnuska | How to Photograph Volleyball He's using high end lenses, but you can get composition ideas from him.
Vary your shooting locations around the court, including from near the floor and higher in the stands if you can.
And don't be to hard on yourself. Many pros cull a lot of their shots, too. If there is a local paper in your area that covers the games, find out when their photographer gets to the game and ask if they'll offer you any tips. I've talked to most of the press photographers before the games before, and the really good ones are always willing to share their expertise with me. (Just don't bother them when they're shooting and afterwards since they're most often on a tight timeline to get their images back to the editor.
WM
Try a search of the internet to get tutorials on VB photography. One of the first that will come up is Phil Zivnuska | How to Photograph Volleyball He's using high end lenses, but you can get composition ideas from him.
Vary your shooting locations around the court, including from near the floor and higher in the stands if you can.
And don't be to hard on yourself. Many pros cull a lot of their shots, too. If there is a local paper in your area that covers the games, find out when their photographer gets to the game and ask if they'll offer you any tips. I've talked to most of the press photographers before the games before, and the really good ones are always willing to share their expertise with me. (Just don't bother them when they're shooting and afterwards since they're most often on a tight timeline to get their images back to the editor.
WM
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