pictures still blur

Hi I am shooting basketball indoors, have tried shutter priority 1/125, 1250 or around ISO and shooting with f2.8 80-200m lens. some of the action shots are still blurry. Which way do I need to go th still get good light and stop the motion????????????????? Thanks I am new to this just signed up last week, lots of knowledge in here. Thanks Tom o yea I am shooting with new Nikon D7000 ( I love it).

You need around 1/500 or 1/1000 to freeze the action. Bump the ISO 2 stops up and the Shutter Speed up 2 stops to 1/500. If you still have blur then bump the ISO and SS another stop. The only drawback to high ISO is increased noise.

Two things can cause your problem, loss of subject focus points due to fast moving subjects and/or shutter speed to slow. Set the Autofocus Mode to AF-C. That way the camera will continue to focus on a moving subject, like in a basketball game. Now set the focus point on dynamic-area, AF. With the dynamic-area the camera will hold the focus even if the subject momentarily moves out of the focus area. These settings will help maintain subject focus even with fast action. Also as PavementPilot says to get stop action you need you need a high shutter speed. Shoot in shutter priority with a shutter speed of 1/500 sec. In the menu turn on Auto ISO with a high limit of 2500. Set the ISO in the control panel (press the ISO button) to 1800. (This will allow the camera to select the needed ISO between 1800 and 2500.) The camera will select the f/stop needed for a normal exposure. With the auto ISO turned on the camera will select a higher ISO setting, up to 2500, if it needs it for the exposure. The D7000 should give you good low grain shots even if the camera has to go to the 2500 ISO level. If you need an extra f/stop for your exposures change the shutter speed to 1/250 sec. I've always had good stop action using 1/250 sec., but 1/500 sec. works better. Hope this helps.

Thanks to both of you. Sounds like what I needed. I just started a photography business right before football season started and has been a real leaning experience. Have always wanted to be a sports photographer and now am giving it at shot. Have a lot to learn but it is coming. Finally got my D7000 and some good glass Nikkor AF zoom 80-200MM f/2.8d and will be able to shoot varsity football this year at night. I have a basketball shoot tomorrow night I will let you know how it goes. also am using 1.8 85MM for basketball seems to be right lens for indoors basketball. Thanks again. tshift.

Another thing you might want to consider is using a monopod. If you've ever noticed at football games, all the pro photographers use monopods to eliminate camera shake, and a monopod makes it easier to shift position without having to move a tripod around. The one I would suggest is the Manfrotto 679B.