20D av mode sports...help! - DPChallenge Forums

05/22/2005 12:07:37 AM · #1

Last year with my 300D, I'd shot in av mode f2.8 to f4 and got good exposure. Tried the same with the 20D, shutter speed 400 @ f4 and they were blown out bad. I switched to sports mode for a test. shutter around 2000 @ f4. The lighting was consistent, so I switched over to manual and got the below shots, they are straight out of the camera, with processing they'll be ok. But it seems when I shoot in av mode mostly mid-day it just dosen't read very well. In this case the shots were blown in other cases non-action they come out really flat. I donâ��t mind shooting in manual mode. Just wondering if anybody else has this problem??? (this pitcher just busted us inside all game)

ebertdj

Canon EF 17-35mm f/2.8L

05/22/2005 12:12:34 AM · #2

I have found the same thing the other day - not sure what it is - but if I had to guess it sets the exposure rate to the brightest part of the photo - so I had to swich to manual as well to make the photo what I wanted - I was shooting at f1.4 to f 1.8

05/22/2005 12:16:21 AM · #3

You know, last year we had dark blue helmets, this year they are white. I have noticed in the lcd small parts of the white helmets flashing which is telling me its over exposed. But, in av mode even on the fielders were blown too.

Zed Pobre

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

05/22/2005 01:46:02 AM · #4

What metering mode are you using?

Canon PowerShot Pro 90 IS

05/22/2005 02:51:56 AM · #5

Partial metering,...hmmm, now on the rebel, if I'm not mistaken, av mode was fixed in partial metering and didn't have the the ability to change metering. Just looked in the manual, it didn't mention it. And I can change it manually......I think you nailed it. In sports you want center metering, tightly cropped images.....I'll give it a try tomorrow, if we're not rained out.......Thanks..ace

coolhar

05/22/2005 03:14:18 AM · #6

Those two look ok to me. What lens are you using?

With my 20D I usually dial it back 1/3 to 2/3 if I'm shooting in bright sunlight; partial metering and shutter priority at 800 or 1000 if possible, adjusting ISO to keep it fast enough to eliminate motion blur.

KiwiChris

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

05/22/2005 05:02:42 AM · #7

What ISO, and What lens?

And do you have 'emergency shift' enabled (Custom function)..

Also.. Are you prefocusing, then recomposing, or focusing where you're shooting, and what focus mode?

So many questions.. :-).

I'm regulary shooting sports in Av and havn't seen any problems with exposure, although I'm shooting in winter light down this end of the planet, so ISO 800 @ F/2.8 is only getting me 1/320th at times.. I shot some stuff yeterday at ISO1600 to get above the 1/(focal length) rule for my 70-200.

Cheers, Me.

05/22/2005 09:11:53 AM · #8

Ok, getting ready to head out,,,,,lens sigma 70-200mm. the three shots taken manual mode, shutter 2000 @ f4, iso 400. Its was a some what of a bright cloudy day. Usually shoot at 2.8 to get the blur background but with fence so close to batter itâ��s tough to get the blur bg. To get the ball a little blurred I need the shutter around 800, these shots I was trying to get bat on ball, even with 20D is tough. I think I need to boost the huge/sat in the camera and maybe a little contrast to get it a little better straight out of the camera. I'm not shooting production just for the team, so I'm shooting in raw. I have time to play with them.

I'll have to look up in the manual on "emergency shift" don't know the function, but its not on. Most all the time I pre-focus.
I'll try to post a couple of shots when I get back.

edit: ps, all hand held.

Message edited by author 2005-05-22 09:16:14.

Zed Pobre

Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM

05/22/2005 12:24:03 PM · #9

Originally posted by ace flyman:

I think I need to boost the huge/sat in the camera and maybe a little contrast to get it a little better straight out of the camera. I'm not shooting production just for the team, so I'm shooting in raw. I have time to play with them.

If you're shooting in raw, don't bother playing with the contrast/saturation in camera. You'll be doing that at the raw import stage in Photoshop. There are only three things that affect raw images: shutter speed, aperture, and ISO level. By the way, if you haven't yet, try shooting at ISO800 or ISO1600 on cloudy days to get yourself some more shutter speed. Noise at 800 is controllable if you have Neat Image or Noise Ninja, and grain may be better than blur in any case.

Originally posted by ace flyman:

I'll have to look up in the manual on "emergency shift" don't know the function, but its not on. Most all the time I pre-focus.

I think he means "Safety Shift" (C.F. 16), actually. If you haven't specifically enabled it, the default is disabled. It's a dangerous function, as it will cause the lightmeter to override your selections in Av and Tv modes even once you have locked them for a shot if it thinks that it knows better than you do. This makes all of the accusations that Av and Tv modes are not as good as Manual actually true, but can save you from a sudden light shift just as you're about to press the button if you're inclined to worry about that.

05/22/2005 06:18:18 PM · #10

Well.... We got rained out; itâ��s been wet for couple months now. We did manage to get one game in. I copied the file data to the image. Still having trouble in Av mode, didnâ��t think to save one, this shoot was taken at 2000 shutter speed, so you know how blown its at 400. Manual worksâ�¦

ADGibson