Optimum Settiings For Hockey Photography

2

2MuchTurbo

Senior Member
So I'm planning to take my D7100 & 70-300 f/4.5-5.6 out for a test-run this weekend at a buddy's hockey game.

Now let me remind readers that I am still VERY VERY new to the photography game, and am still learning.

I'd like to know the optimal settings to set my camera to, for the best/clearest shots...here is the scenario

- Indoor, well-lit arena
- shots to be taken from the stands, approximately 10-12 feet above and probably 50 feet back from the ice, so that my shots clear over the glass borders

My understanding...PLEASE CORRECT IF WRONG
- camera in manual mode
- Auto Focus Single (AFS), single focus point, auto AFS
- I think i would need high shutter speed and low ISO (please provide suggested values)

I don't have an external flash...only the built in...don't know if I'll need it, considering I've played at the arena before, I know it's pretty well lit, but then again, behind a camera everything changes.

PLEASE DO PROVIDE CONSTRUCTIVE TIPS...Want to really learn and make the best of the opportunity to shoot!

Thanks!
 
F

FastGlass

Senior Member
I probably wouldn't shoot in manual mode. Depending on what you're focus point is pointing at you're constantly going to be rolling the sub/command dials to get correct exposure. I would shoot using aperture priority and set a limit on the lowest shutter speed allowed. Also, you would be surprised on how well lit a place isn't. Hard to give you specifics on settings because they will change depending on what you're aiming at. I would set for a low as possible ISO and still try and get at least a 200th out of the camera. As far as focus mode. Set it for continuous mode because you're going to be constantly moving you're lense around following the players. Flash isn't going to help you out because you're going to be to far away for it to make a difference. Good luck.
 
A

aced19

Senior Member
First off there are no optimal settings to set a camera to when shooting sports.
Every arena, field, park is different.
If it was me and new to photography I would set my camera up one of three ways.

Always use continuous mode for sports AF-C.

1.
Shutter priority mode.
Shutter speed set at 1/300+ (preferred 1/500+)
Start ISO 5000.
Depending on how pictures look dark or to bright.
Dark= Move iso up or move shutter speed down.
Bright= Move shutter speed up or move iso down

2.
Aperture priority mode.
Aperture set at 5.6
Start ISO 5000.
Depending on how pictures look dark or to bright.
Dark= Move iso up
Bright= move iso down

3.
Manual mode.
Aperture set at 5.6
Shutter speed set at 1/300+ (preferred 1/500+)
ISO set to auto 200-6400.
Depending on how pictures look dark or to bright.
Dark= Lower shutter speed
Bright= Raise shutter speed

If you know how to view the histogram of a photo just taken.
If the peaks are the left then the pictures will be darker, to the right they will be bright.
Try to get the picture with a histogram of equal balance maybe with a slight peak in the center.

But to keep it simple I would use method 3 and after each shot look at the picture and adjust from there.
 
B

BroadwayBlueshirt

Senior Member
If you use a flash during the game, most likely you will get chucked out. After a warning of course. :) Good info here. I`ll be shooting a bit of hockey this season
 
S

skater

New member
Horoscope Fish said:
Set your D7100 mode dial to "Scene" and select "Sports".

Voila!

...
Click to expand...

It's a good starting point, definitely. (Actually I haven't tried it on a 7100, so perhaps it's far better than my 7000's sports mode.)

I set a fairly fast shutter speed and let the aperture float. Set the focus to single point, continuous focus (AF-C), set the ISO pretty high (at least 3200, but probably even higher), and continuous shooting (I use slow mode), and let fly. Without getting into peeping at the pixels, zoom in on a few shots and confirm that the moving player is in fact not blurry - this is the hardest part; don't confuse motion blur with "out of focus" or noise from the high ISO. Make corrections while you're still there; don't wait until you're home to discover every picture you took was blurry.

If you have to choose between sharp or dark, remember that dark is easier to correct in post processing. :)

You may also run into a headache - you'll want to zoom in, but that closes your aperture even farther, so your pictures will be even darker. Aha, you say, I'll just stay zoomed out and crop! Which is a valid solution, especially with the high-pixel-count cameras of today, but then that also increases the likelihood of missing the focus on the player and getting the boards behind them.

I take quite a few hockey pictures (we go to ~15 NHL and AHL games each season), and what I've learned is that hockey is one of the places where you really start bumping into the limits of your lenses if you have ones with smaller apertures. You can get some great shots, unquestionably, especially with post processing, but you'll probably see the limits. It's relatively low light and fast action - a difficult combination. After many trials and errors, and with advice from the good people here, I've gotten to the point where it's basically routine and I'm almost bored doing it for the 12th time in a season, but it took several years and quite a few pictures to hit that point. I haven't taken the next step into a better lens...I drool over them, but haven't bought one. I had one in my hands at the duty-free shop in Heathrow a couple weeks back...but then I realized I could get it cheaper back in the US if I really were going to buy one.

By the way, the comment about the settings being different for each venue is right on target: I have one of my user modes set up for the most common arena we frequent, but I need slightly different settings at the other arenas. At the very least the white balance is a bit different.

Good luck!
 
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