Bad Pictures at out Basketball game . help plz

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silvertip

Senior Member
When I shoot basketball games I use manual mode with the shutter set around 250 to 300th of a second to be able to stop most of the action. I shoot with either a 70-200 f2.8 lens or 24-70mm f2.8. I shoot from under the offensive (home team) basket and always on the opposite side of the referee. Oh yeah I almost forgot to mention what aperture I use. F3.5 and ISO at 1600.
DSC_0575.jpg

Kent
 
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M

marcogerra

Senior Member
Unable to get pictures to come out right help please

second basketball game i been to and with a 500 $ camera and a 250.00 lens am unable to take any pictures worth keeping they are to blurry or the color is way off , they look really crapy my cell takes better pictures .
I was told to get a better lens so i did the light is better with this Lens unlike my first lens 18-55 this new one am using is 55-200
but the problem am having is they are to blurry or to use i dont understand why .


If no one is moving they come out ok just ok not great. even in sports mode they come out blurry I took over 344 pictures with diffrent settings trying to see what works even took some setting from what people were talking about on this site.


Any thing thats moving will be blurry feet hands hair , ball , so on even in sports mode.


The basketball games are indoors and i cant use a FLASH .


On Auto with out the flash all pictures were DARK No Good.


A mode settings WB auto ISO 6400 played with it up/down . Q for Quite . AF-A . ADL-H . BKT OFF. picture control VI . flash off
F 5.6 -+


out of 344 pictures this were the best and yet there bad .. link below photobucket:

http://s1144.photobucket.com/albums/o495/workcrew2012/
 
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marcogerra

Senior Member
Sorry I took So long , Just got back today for my kids game again and well once again the pictures are just bad, I took the manual read it changed a few setting took a few pictures at home , back yard everything looks good out side or when using a Flash once indoors like the Gym the pictures just dont come out today i used my new 55-200 lens better close ups but none of the pictures come out right the light seems to be way better then the first game with a new PROBLEM blurry pictures I took 344 pictures was able to use about 6 or 7 pictures .

Now I cant use a Flash indoors not allowed . first setting

Auto with out the flash pictures were to dark .
A mode WB AUTO, ISO 6400 -+ ,AF-A , ADL-H, BKT OFF PICTURE CONTROL VI , FLASH OFF F 5.6 -+
Tryed S and P mode with no better ,

then tried sports mode thinking that would help with the motion anything moving was a blur feet hands ball hair

photobucket link workcrew2012's Library | Photobucket
 
Marcel

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
marcogerra said:
Sorry I took So long , Just got back today for my kids game again and well once again the pictures are just bad, I took the manual read it changed a few setting took a few pictures at home , back yard everything looks good out side or when using a Flash once indoors like the Gym the pictures just dont come out today i used my new 55-200 lens better close ups but none of the pictures come out right the light seems to be way better then the first game with a new PROBLEM blurry pictures I took 344 pictures was able to use about 6 or 7 pictures .

Now I cant use a Flash indoors not allowed . first setting

Auto with out the flash pictures were to dark .
A mode WB AUTO, ISO 6400 -+ ,AF-A , ADL-H, BKT OFF PICTURE CONTROL VI , FLASH OFF F 5.6 -+
Tryed S and P mode with no better ,

then tried sports mode thinking that would help with the motion anything moving was a blur feet hands ball hair

photobucket link workcrew2012's Library | Photobucket
Click to expand...

I think that part of your problem is your auto-focus setting. "AF-A" could make the focus on the wrong person or on the crowd behind the play. Try AF-C, one center focus point selected. If it was me, I would even try manual focus, pre-focus on the spot you intend to shoot (under the basket for example) and then not worry about it.

But I also suspect that there is just not enough light in that gym to be able to produce good pictures. It does take light to be able to stop motion with the lenses you are using, and basketball is quite a fast sport. Just pointing the camera to the action and clicking away will not get you the "magazine" type shots that you see from the pro basket mags.

But don't despair, keep trying and eventually you might just find the recipe for OK shots.

Good luck.
 
J

jdeg

^ broke something
Staff member
Re: Unable to get pictures to come out right help please

Sorry you're having issues! The link you provided to the pics doesn't work, so I can't view them, but it sounds like you need more light. Indoor lighting for a gym isn't good. The pics are blurry because the camera is adjusting the shutter speed to something low to compensate for the low light. It's either a very dark pic or a blurry pic in this case. And if you're at 200mm that will contribute to the blurriness due to camera shake.

Here is what I would try:

  • tripod or monopod
  • shoot in raw, put the camera in shutter priority, adjust to something higher that will stop the action, but not be completely black, adjust the dark pics later in a program. They will probably be grainy.
  • rent an expensive faster lens, and see how much better the pics will probably come out.
 
§

§am

Senior Member
Re: Unable to get pictures to come out right help please

Use the rule of opposites for taking pictures;

A(perture) mode for (s)tationary objects
S(hutter) mode for (a)ction shots

And as already mentioned, if you're at 20mm, then you'll need the extra light to help get a decent picture, though I imagine at a basketbal game there should me sufficient light, though make sure VR is on or you're using a tripod to avoid the shaky pics.
Shutter priority will help and set it to say 1/500s to start with then adjust up/down from that depending on lighting conditions.
 
K

KWJams

Senior Member
Re: Unable to get pictures to come out right help please

It could be several things. First thing is how do you hold your camera?
HowTOhold-elbows.jpg
You need to provide steady support when you release the shutter. Even your breathing can disrupt a well composed shot.

This book will be the best investment you can make towards understanding your $500.00 camera with its $250.00 lens.
Nikon D5100: From Snapshots to Great Shots: Rob Sylvan: 9780321793843: Amazon.com: Books

I sold my old D5000 to a lady who thought that I was an awesome photographer and she wanted to take pictures like what I was getting and thought the trick was to buy my camera and her pictures would be just as awesome.
Long story short, she would have been better off taking pictures with a cell phone. She hardly talks with me now because the pictures she takes with my old camera suck.

The camera is a tool just like a hammer is a tool to a carpenter. Knowing how to use a hammer determines if you are making fire wood or building a cabinet.
 
Scott Murray

Scott Murray

Senior Member
Re: Unable to get pictures to come out right help please

Ok havent we been over this in another thread? the photo looks familiar along with the out of whack WB... If not I am sorry but it does look familiar.

Screen Shot 2013-01-21 at 12.01.39 AM.png
 
S

stmv

Senior Member
yup,,, when you shoot indoors, it is even harder when you are trying to get action shots..


Typically I shoot at 1200 to 1600 ISO,, and Fstop at 2.8-5.6,, but with a zoom (I use a 80-200 2.8 for indoors), but even with your lens, you can shoot at the faster Fstop, So,, try to isolate
subjects,, and group dynamics.. Warm up as they do lay ups, etc,, dialing it in.

in post processing you might have to do some noise reduction and sharpening (do the sharpening last,, and don't overdue it).
 
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