Any tips for shooting sports with a 300D?

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

05/31/2005 09:10:36 PM · #1

I shot my friend's son's soccer game a few weeks back, and while I had fun doing it, I ran into some issues. I'm going to shoot his next game on Saturday and was hoping for some tips on shooting sports.

My first issue was that I ran out of memory long before the game ended and had to delete a bunch during half-time. I was shooting RAW, and I realized after the game that that was a mistake.

Since JPG seems to be the way to go, (I'm not going to buy another card before Saturday) that opens up the sports mode setting. I've never used it, and was wondering if there are any specific tips for getting the most out of it. Or, am I better off just doing what I did before (using aperture priority with a wide setting to keep shutter speeds high) but saving to JPG to give me more shots on my 1GB card?

I don't even know what else to ask. Any pointers?

Thanks,
Ara

Stagolee

Kodak Easyshare C180

Canon EF 50mm f1.2L

05/31/2005 09:16:01 PM · #2

Stick with sports mode and a large card and shot everything that moves.

It also really depends on what lens you use i was never really happy with the kit lens on my 300D for kids soccer.

Prof_Fate

05/31/2005 09:20:26 PM · #3

sports mode: ISO 400, drive mode (continous shooting) and it trys to keep the shutter speed fast enough to stop action, and the flash will not fire. Supposedly it puts the camera into a different focus mode - the lens will keep focusing on the center point even when you hold the shutter release 1/2 way. I say supposedly becuase it does not always work - it has to 'see' a moving object when you press the shutter 1/2 way, and then it will keep focusing as you recompose the shot and follow the action.

you can of course do this in one of the creative modes as well. Usually Tv mode - pick a shutter speed 1/125 or 1/250 or 1/500 are the most popular. Flash will not have enough range, so skip it.

What size prints are you after in the end, or just web display? Also, waht lens - you can shoot at 6Mp and crop it to look like you wre using a longer lens. You can shoot in 3mp mode and still get 5x7 prints or some cropping and 4x6 prints.

As for an extra card - check staples/best buy/circuit city/office max and depot - one or more of them has some flash card on rebate sale every week. I get 512 cards for under $30 this way. a 512 will hold 140 or so large fine jpgs, or 240 3mp fine jpgs.

Message edited by author 2005-05-31 21:22:04.

PhilipDyer

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

05/31/2005 09:29:27 PM · #4

Sports mode is nice, but I think you were doing it right to start with. I would leave the camera pretty wide open in AV mode and bump up your ISO, if necessary, until you can get shots in available light at about 1/500 second or less. I think if you set your focus to center weighting then you'll have more control over what you're focusing on in the action shots.

Check out the photos you shot last time. If they came out nice, then keep shooting that way. Good luck!

05/31/2005 09:44:35 PM · #5

Originally posted by keegbow:

Stick with sports mode and a large card and shot everything that moves.

It also really depends on what lens you use i was never really happy with the kit lens on my 300D for kids soccer.

I'll probably use my 70-200. Maybe with the 2x extender.

Originally posted by Prof_Fate:

What size prints are you after in the end, or just web display? Also, waht lens - you can shoot at 6Mp and crop it to look like you wre using a longer lens. You can shoot in 3mp mode and still get 5x7 prints or some cropping and 4x6 prints.

I'll put them up on Ofoto, and I assume most people will just look at them, maybe a few will print some 4x6. I was toying with the idea of shooting medium or even small JPGs on the normal (not fine) setting. I realize these aren't "fine art" shots, but I worry that I'll end up hampering any post work I might want to do.

Originally posted by PhilipDyer:

Ok, I guess I'll give both a try.

Thanks again guys!

Message edited by author 2005-05-31 21:45:03.

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

05/31/2005 09:57:07 PM · #6

If I do end up using medium or small JPGs, should I sharpen more or less in cam? Also, white balance - should I set it to a specific setting, or let it ride on auto? I ask about the white balance because I hate the default settings in RAW conversion.

deapee

Kodak V803

05/31/2005 10:40:45 PM · #7

Are you sure about the flash, Chris? I could have sworn I was in sports mode before and my flash popped up.

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

05/31/2005 11:11:56 PM · #8

Originally posted by deapee:

Are you sure about the flash, Chris? I could have sworn I was in sports mode before and my flash popped up.

The online manual says the flash will pop up in basic modes except landscape, sports, and no-flash.

dfriedland

Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT

06/01/2005 01:27:06 AM · #9

I've been thinking a lot about sports photography as well, because of my submission to the Granular competition.

I shot this at the Santa Barbara AVP tournament using my Canon Rebel XT in the sports mode setting. I shot a huge number of JPEGs all day long and still couldn't completely fill up my 1 GB card.

This was a good learning experience, because the biggest flaw with this shot (as a number of commentators pointed out) is that the DOF was too large and so the people in the background distract from the subject. I also has a number of shots where the focus ended up on the wrong thing. If I could do it again, I would try shooting in total manual mode with a high ISO, and optimize for high shutter speed and low f/stop. Because all of the action was happening on a pretty shallow plane, perhaps I could have also switched to manual focus for better results.

My only point here is that my experience was that the pre-set modes can be a trap -- you need to really think about what you're doing. But that's why I joined DPC last month -- to learn from my many many mistakes!

06/01/2005 12:33:16 PM · #10

Originally posted by dfriedland:

I shot this at the Santa Barbara AVP tournament using my Canon Rebel XT in the sports mode setting. I shot a huge number of JPEGs all day long and still couldn't completely fill up my 1 GB card.

What setting did you use for the JPG? With a 1GB card on my 300D set to ISO 400, I get in-cam estimates of 130 for RAW, 285 to 503 for large, 480 to 780 for medium, and 686 to 999 for small.

While I don't think I'll need to shoot 1,000+ frames, and my old battery probably won't last for that many shots, the 285 for large/fine sounds a bit restrictive. I'm thinking of using medium/fine. Or, would large/regular be better?

Is it better to go for resolution or compression quality?

06/01/2005 12:35:53 PM · #11

Also, speaking of old batteries, does the AI servo focus in sports mode use a lot of juice with its constant focus? I don't want to have a 500+ shot capacity on my card if the battery craps out after 100 shots.

longlivenyhc

Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro for Canon

06/01/2005 12:51:06 PM · #12

Originally posted by BikeRacer:

yeah the AI servo does eat alot of juice.

coolhar

Canon PowerShot Pro 90 IS

06/01/2005 02:05:56 PM · #13

Originally posted by BikeRacer:

I may be wrong on this but I think it only focuses while you hold the shutter button down halfway. And while it uses more juice it's not nearly as much as shooting a few flash exposures in the course of the match. 1 gb should be more than enough for one soccer match. But take an extra battery along. You don't want a shortage of memory card capacity or juice to inhibit your selection of settings or modes.

PaulMdx

Canon EOS-1D

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

06/01/2005 04:10:15 PM · #14

I would certainly not use RAW mode - I find it's just too slow writing to CF.

I use aperture priority myself and set the deepest DOF I can get while keeping a pretty decent shutter (depending on what I'm shooting).

I will generally use ISO 400 for outdoor sports in bright weather. ISO 800 in dark weather or bright indoor lighting, and ISO 1600 for dark indoor lighting.

I will nearly always use the centre focusing point because it's fastest to focus. Also, my eyes have trouble noticing when the red dot lights up to show when the image is in focus.

That's what I can thing of off the top of my head.

Edit 1: Higher ISO shots will generally be larger on the CF, so if you're short of space, shooting at a lower ISO may be advantageous.

Edit 2: With regards to shooting with wide apertures. I tend to find the focus and shutter lag are slow enough that my subject will generally have moved out of the focus depth before the photo has been taken. Hence I try and use a higher f-stop so the subject will still be in focus.

Message edited by author 2005-06-01 16:14:12.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

06/01/2005 07:59:48 PM · #15

Originally posted by longlivenyhc:

yeah the AI servo does eat alot of juice.

Thanks, I thought it might.

Originally posted by coolhar:

1 gb should be more than enough for one soccer match. But take an extra battery along. You don't want a shortage of memory card capacity or juice to inhibit your selection of settings or modes.

Thanks! I don't have an extra battery yet, and I'm probably not going to be able to get one before this game, but it's on my list. =]

Originally posted by PaulMdx:

I use aperture priority myself and set the deepest DOF I can get while keeping a pretty decent shutter (depending on what I'm shooting).

...

Edit 2: With regards to shooting with wide apertures. I tend to find the focus and shutter lag are slow enough that my subject will generally have moved out of the focus depth before the photo has been taken. Hence I try and use a higher f-stop so the subject will still be in focus.

Thanks, I think that will be my main plan - Using aperture priority of about f/4 at ISO 400 and letting the shutter speed fall where it may. Do you find f/4 to be too shallow at 200mm? I'd say that most of my shots from the last game looked pretty good (f/2.8 - 5.6) or were entirely out of focus.

PaulMdx

Canon EOS-1D

06/02/2005 04:57:55 AM · #16

Originally posted by BikeRacer:

For children's soccer I'd suspect you'll find f/4 to be adequate even at 200mm. If it's very bright I'd be tempted to use f/5.6 because you'll get mega sharp nice quality shots. That said, obviously you get less background compression, which if you've got poor surroundings you may not want. f/4 is definitely a good compromise between both.

One other thing, which you probably already know.. I tend to find the 300D over-exposes in aperture priority because of the metering mode. I will always shoot at -1/3 Ev or possibly -2/3 Ev to avoid blow-outs. very important if you've got players with white kits.

Sigma 50-500mm f/4.0-6.3 EX APO RF HSM for Canon

06/02/2005 09:27:28 PM · #17

Originally posted by PaulMdx:

One other thing, which you probably already know.. I tend to find the 300D over-exposes in aperture priority because of the metering mode. I will always shoot at -1/3 Ev or possibly -2/3 Ev to avoid blow-outs. very important if you've got players with white kits.

Thanks, that's a good reminder -- not as much exposure latitude when not shooting RAW.

gusto

Canon EOS-7D

06/02/2005 09:39:44 PM · #18

any canon camera a 70-200 2.8 is like GOLD... its a must have and is great for a wide variety of uses.. GOLD GOLD GOLD.. BUY IT! Sell stuff to buy it, GET AN EXTRA JOB AND BUY IT, oh yea did I mention its GOLDEN!!!!!

kyebosh

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF 80-200 f/2.8L

06/02/2005 09:43:51 PM · #19

from my expiriences trying it today... Don't. The sports mode is slow to focus and limiting so far as composing the shot. Also you can't control your settings so you can't do panning if you want. This is another reason i'm chalking up as an excuse to make an upgrade.

06/02/2005 10:10:34 PM · #20

Originally posted by gusto:

You forgot to mention that it's as heavy as gold too! =] Just kidding, I love mine.