Requirements for shooting sport

brads

Senior Member
Thought I might like to try and shoot some sport. Aussie Rules football, soccer or whatever. But it will be an outdoor sport. We aren't allowed onto the ground in Australia, so it will be from the sidelines. Any thoughts on lenses, settings etc? Cheers, Brad :)
 

Ijustwant1

Senior Member
Well I would take the 18-200mm and the 11-16mm for some interesting angles ! As for settings have a play on the day , sunny, overcast or night match will determine the settings ! Most important is to have fun :cool:
 

brads

Senior Member
Well I would take the 18-200mm and the 11-16mm for some interesting angles ! As for settings have a play on the day , sunny, overcast or night match will determine the settings ! Most important is to have fun :cool:

Thanks Ijustwant1. Perhaps my new 50mm might arrive in time too. Cheers, Brad :)
 

Browncoat

Senior Member
200mm f/2.8 is a must-have lens for sports. You'll find it in just about every sports photographer's bag.

​I would also suggest a decent monopod. Your arms will thank me in the morning.
 

pedroj

Senior Member
I shoot surfing with the 300mm AF IF ED F4 lens...F5.6 to F8 on bright days....Cloudy days I usually set it F4 ISO 800

I like to have a shutter speed at 1/800 plus....Shot Motox with the 80-200 F2.8 at about F5.6...

Shot soccer at night with the nifty fifty...Alright on my side of the field...With big crops there was to much noise because the lighting wasn't great..
 

Rick M

Senior Member
If I wanted to get into sports photography, I think I'd get the new Tamron 70-200 2.8 VC. I think that's one of the best non-Nikon lenses on the market today (along with their new 24-70 2.8 VC). Price/quality ratio is excellent.
 
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gqtuazon

Gear Head
Thought I might like to try and shoot some sport. Aussie Rules football, soccer or whatever. But it will be an outdoor sport. We aren't allowed onto the ground in Australia, so it will be from the sidelines. Any thoughts on lenses, settings etc? Cheers, Brad :)

Brad - I would suggest the long tele such as the 70-200mm f2.8 and/or 300mm to get a more closer shot depending on your position from the side line. Monopod will be a big help.
 

brads

Senior Member
Thanks folks. Lots of ideas here. I agree, monopod would be great but not financially viable at the moment. However my tripod does have a great ball head on it that will swivel and tilt to my heart's content. Cheers, Brad :)
 

sOnIc

Senior Member
To add a little more to this thread, I've been using my new D3200 for skateboarding/BMXing at my local skatepark, something I have done before but not put so much thought into. It was bright daylight so the kit lens was fine, and I used a 0.5x wide-angle adapter for most of it, but anyway:

Focus mode - Generally this would be set to AF-A (Auto-servo AF) so the camera does its best to adapt to the situation, but if you know you are shooting fast moving objects such as skateboarders/footballers then Dynamic Area (Continuous-servo AF) will be better. "Focus area does not lock when shutter-release button is pressed halfway.", instead it will continue to auto-focus right up to the split-second you pick your shot.

AF-area mode - I usually have this set to Single Point so I'm in control, but when shooting moving subjects it will be best to switch to Dynamic Area AF. This means it will be weighted according to where your spot is; but if the subject leaves that spot the camera will notice and focus to the left/right/top/bottom instead; trying to follow the subject in real time. This is particularly useful for skateboarding as I was shooting with the camera at arms length; not looking through the viewfinder, while I am moving; and the subject is moving very very quickly too; I was guesstimating the direction to point in and trying to get the camera as close to the action as safely possible. This is to avoid getting shots where camera decided to focus on the background instead of your subject.

So my routine now is that for normal use I'd have Auto-servo AF and Single Point AF, but if I was doing action sports then I'd switch to Continuous-servo AF and Dynamic Area AF.

I've got a monopod as well and never use it, but then I don't have a ball-head yet .. I reckon monopods are best when shooting distance with a long focal length; like exactly your example of a photographing footballers from the sidelines.

I'm by no means experienced, am I talking sense? Comments? Suggestions?
 
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