Looking for on advice on settings for shooting little league baseball games with my D7000. I am using the 55-300 lens.Most games are during daylight hours.
Thanks
Advice on setting for shooting little league baseball
(34 posts) (9 voices)-
Posted 8 months ago #
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I would choose an ISO that gives me a shutter speed of 1/800 to 1/1000 and a aperature of 5.6.
Centre weighted metering, 3D continious autofocus.
Posted 8 months ago # -
I shot a baseball game last year and it was much tougher than I thought.
With your 55-300 lens I'd only expect good shots during the daylight but here's what I would suggest:Daylight:
1. S Mode ~ 1/1250 to 1/2000, you'll need the 1/2000 shooting the picther throwing.
2. Auto Focus
3. Dynamic Metering
4. Auto ISO
5. JPEG Fine
6. Continuous FocusNightlight:
1. A Mode ~ F/5.6
2. Single Point Auto Focus
3. Single Point Metering (Try metering off the players face, not the uniform.)
4. Auto ISO
5. RAW
6. Continuous FocusAlso: Besure to turn your VR "off".
If you're going to be shooting sports a lot I'd suggest the NIKKOR 70-300, it's the best $550 you'll ever spend!
Hope this helps and look forward to hearing your results! :)
Posted 8 months ago # -
The issue here is one of the games when it is not daylight. Daylight is easy. I use manual mode, setting shutter speed on anywhere form 1/250 to 1/1000. The aperture at f/8 is good. You will need to try several positions. Most important is you are shooting through a "hole"in the protective screen, like one of the entrance areas from the dugout, so you cannot be hit by a line drive foul ball. Usually one can cover second and third base this way. My preference is to use continuous servo, a single focus point, and have it at different parts of the screen dependent on where i am. Also use a nine point surround so if you fall off the focus will still follow. Then when the action begins, follow the head of the runner with your focus point. Shoot at as fast as the D7000 shoots...5 or 6 FPS.
With any new venue you will need to practice. My suggestion is to shoot at a game which is not important, do a lot of in-camera editing with the magnifier and find out what shutter speed gives you the results you want. Then just format the card, shoot at the shutter speed you think will work maybe twenty shots (there bursts) and take them home and see in the computer what you have.
All the above is for daylight. Night, well, there is no light at little league games. You will be stuck shooting the 55-300 if at say 200mm, f/5, and the light is low poor the ISO required to get 1/250th is around 10,000.
Here is a shot at f/4, 1/500 sec, ISO 12,800 with a 120mm lens. An "adult league" baseball game, shot from the third base dugout hole.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fantinesfotos/7538738406/sizes/o/in/photostream/
Hope this is not too confusing. These things are easy in daytime... not so easy at night.
Looks like Bland and I were doing this at the same time.....and his point on the metering is good as the dark background can throw the camera off.
Posted 8 months ago # -
I disagree with Bland on the shutter speed. Too fast and you lose a sense of motion that I feel is critical to sport shots. Not sure on the auto ISO either. I shoot a D4 and would not trust the Auto ISO. Tight player shots can be tricky and light/shadows really mix it up during the day. I would probably lock in a 400 ISO setting and work with it. Just my two cents.
Posted 8 months ago # -
MSMOTO: What Camera did you use for the baseball shot? Could not be the D4. Far too noisy for 12,800.
Posted 8 months ago # -
@ Newfie In reality, the ISO was set at 12,800 and the shutter speed at 1/500th. So, at f/4, the image was underexposed by one stop. The D4 will allow this, but the noise is the same as one gets at 25,600 ISO. The Exif data is available on Flickr so the camera can always be identified on my stuff.
Incidentally, if you look at my suggestions, I was thinking of experimenting with different shutter speeds for the reasons you gave. But, Bland gets some of the best shots around so his suggestions are so one will get the "Sports Illustrated" shots.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Newfie said:
I disagree with Bland on the shutter speed. Too fast and you lose a sense of motion that I feel is critical to sport shots. Not sure on the auto ISO either. I shoot a D4 and would not trust the Auto ISO. Tight player shots can be tricky and light/shadows really mix it up during the day. I would probably lock in a 400 ISO setting and work with it. Just my two cents.I don't disagree with anyone, everyone has their own style in shooting. To each their own is what I say, and I'm glad you feel so profound in your opinion. Sorry your D4 doesn't work as well as my D7000. :)
Posted 8 months ago # -
I guess it's all about personal preference. And perhaps most would like the SI look. I hold a different view....it's about telling a story and adding a sense of "what's next?" to the image. I'm not a sports photographer but I can hold my own.
Question. What is the highest ISO you will use on the D4 for artifically lit sport? I try to cut it off at 3200 but have gone as high as 12,800. Above that...???????
Posted 8 months ago # -
Bland:
It was just an opinion and what is wrong with disagreeing? "To each their own" is a good practice but not great for learning. I find my photography improves when my processes etc. are challenged. At the end of the day I can decide if my "settings" were better or that there is a better way.
Sorry if I offended you. Certainly wasn't my intention.
Posted 8 months ago # -
msmoto said:
But, Bland gets some of the best shots around so his suggestions are so one will get the "Sports Illustrated" shots.Thanks msmoto! :) And I would say the same to you, your action shots are incredible!
I'm sure you will agree that it takes so many different ways in shooting a shot to get the results we are after. What works one day will not work the next, it's adapting to the envoirment in the day we shoot.
I shot the Ronnie Dunn concert on Friday in M mode, only because of what you have said about shooting in M mode. I was so pleased in the results, as I was able to adapt quickly to the changes surrounding me ........ thank you for the advice, you made me a believer! :)
Posted 8 months ago # -
Newfie said:
Bland:It was just an opinion and what is wrong with disagreeing? "To each their own" is a good practice but not great for learning. I find my photography improves when my processes etc. are challenged. At the end of the day I can decide if my "settings" were better or that there is a better way.
Sorry if I offended you. Certainly wasn't my intention.
No problem and you didn't offend me. I just think it's a better teaching practice to give ones opinion without saying someone elses is wrong.
Posted 8 months ago # -
I listen to folks tell me they looked at my shots and say the cars are too sharp, look like they are standing still. And, indeed, this is correct, at 1/800 second only the wheels are slightly blurred. But, most of the car owners absolutely love them. I shoot and experiment on every shot. My technique is always listening to the comments of others, making a decision as to the value of the information, then applying it as I see best. I guess I get a good shot every now and then.
Oh, ISO on the D4... probably 25,000 is OK, but if the shot needs it, 50,000 or 100,000.
Posted 8 months ago # -
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Thanks for all the replies. Will be taking a lot of shots at my sons four day tournament this coming weekend so should get lots of practice.Took a lot over the summer just using sports mode and was pleased with the results but want to learn to use M mode.Also any thoughts on a lens upgrade. I want plenty of reach as I take a lot of shots from 200+ feet away.
Thanks again, great forum !!Posted 8 months ago # -
On a budget the 70-300 VR is the only other option under a $1000 that will really do any better and I don't think it would really help you that much if you already have the 55-300. You don't necessarily have to shoot M...shoot A or S instead. M can be a bit overwhelming unless you have the time and knowledge or what you want to set everything at. If you have time before to try..maybe during practice you can try. If you want to spend over $1000 the 300 F4 is probably the next best and after that they increase in price exponentially.
Posted 8 months ago # -
There is another option to the 70-300. One can purchase an old (but still excellent optically) 80-200 f2.8 for under $1,000. On a D7000 the 80-200 becomes 120-300mm but remains a f2.8. The glass is very sharp and the f2.8 is very welcome, especially at night or indoors or to isolate the background into a blur for an active player portrait effect. Focus may be slower than the 70-300 because it uses the older screw type focus and it lacks VR. However, VR only really helps with stationary subjects which is not the subject you have in sports so you are really not losing anything by not having VR for sports photography.
Posted 8 months ago # -
I've been looking at the 80-200. There is a used one in my area listed in mint condition for $600.Would be better for night games though there are not many. Also thought about renting the 80-400 for the extra reach during day games and see how it does.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Only problem with the 80-200 is you lose range. Not sure how close you can get. That is an option though. I have heard (but never used) the 80-400 is slow focusing. Might not be that big of a deal if you are shooting someone pitching or hitting, but might be if they are going after the ball or running bases.
Posted 8 months ago # -
I shoot a lot of baseball. I tend to shoot aperture priority because I find that the depth of field is critical...too shallow and it is hard to get the proper focus quick enough, but when DoF is too great, subject isolation isn't enough to separate the players from the background and the images can lose their impact. For pitchers and batters, I will shoot f/4 or f/5.6 as the focus can be setup in advance. F/4 or even below is great for action portraits of batters and the wider apertures are useful if you need to shoot through a chain link fence. For action shots on the field, I most often shoot at f/6.3. F/6.3 is also good for shots of batters where the crowd's reaction is desired. I find that in the afternoon, the field can have areas in both full sun and shadow, so I shoot Aperture priority instead of manual. I try to adjust the ISO to keep my shutter speed up above 1/1000s. At night under the lights, I shoot wide open (f/2.8 or f/4 depending on the lens) and let my good shot percentage go down.
Be sure to use a lens hood.
I try and predict the play and pre-focus accordingly. After batters and pitchers, steals are perhaps the easiest, as are plays at first. Fly balls to the outfield aren't too bad, line drives are tough.
I shoot single point AF, sometimes shifted, because otherwise (for me) the AF system seem to lock onto the wrong thing often enough to bother me. I do not usually use continuous AF.
I use a D4 and my favorite lens is the 200-400, although I will use the 70-200 VRII if I am in the stands. I always shoot continuous shutter.
I use a monopod for bigger lenses.
I always speak to the coaches and ask if I can shoot from the field. I will shoot on the 1st or 3rd base lines well off the field in foul territory and well behind the base. If I have not already met the head umpire, I will ask their permission. If there is a play nearby, I smash up against the fence...my lens is going to be too long for the shot anyway. Never turn your back on a ball, particularly in-between innings when the outfielders are playing catch....
Here are a couple of photos:
Nikon D4, ISO 400, f/6.3, 1/2000s, Nikon 200-400 @ 400mm
Nikon D4, ISO 800, f/6.3, 1/1250s, Nikon 200-400 @ 400mmPosted 8 months ago # -
I am going to suggest, re reading the manual that came with the D7000 regarding the various focus areas, the adjustments regarding the "lock-on" time for the areas, etc., and see is this helps you to set up the camera and understand what and how it is working. This is actually something I do from time to time as the multitude of adjustments is so much to remember we can not always get it right.
Again, try doing some practice which does not count. Play with various settings. See what works for your particular style of shooting. We can all make suggestions, but only you can go out and do the work. And, if you really screw up, this means you are pretty much just like the rest of us. But, we try to learn from our errors and keep coming back.
...and thank you Eric....nice shots! How many FPS do you shoot?
Posted 8 months ago # -
$600 for a mint condition 80-200 f2.8 is a very good deal. I think you would like it because it will give you shallow depth of field when you want it and very high shutter speeds when you want them and the glass is very sharp all the time.
Yes, I too have heard 80-400 is slow focusing and not good for sports for that reason and for its slower maximum f stop. I have opted not to get one for those reasons.
As to the loss of range using an 80-200 which becomes a 120-300 on the D7000, I agree. I used it for shooting high school basketball games last year with my D7000 (I had to sit in the top row of the bleachers to get correct zoom range coverage of the action) in combination with a old 35-70 f2.8 (52.5 to 105mm on a D7000)(I stood about where the three point line crosses the end of the court line). Often I would switch my lens each quarter or each half so I had about half a game on each lens. I would also sometimes use a 35mm f1.8, a 50mm f1.8 (both from the first three rows of the bleachers) and a Tokina 11-16 f2.8 zoom (from under the basket). I found the 35-70 and the 80-200 the most useful but that all depends upon where you are sitting relative to the action. I found zooms to be more useful than primes because the action kept moving from one side of the court to the other and a zoom gave you a better ability to frame the player with the ball more accurately. So I worked with one zoom standing at the three point line and another from the top row of the bleachers. Where you can sit (or stand) during your son's games will determine what zoom range works best for you. Look at the shots you took last year. How many were taken with the zoom set at 55mm to 120mm? How many were taken with the zoom set between 120mm and 300mm? That will tell you if an 80-200 (120-300mm) will give you too much zoom range for the conditions under which you shoot. I suspect you will find that a very large number of your photos were taken with your present zoom set beyond 120mm.
Posted 8 months ago # -
@msmoto - I regularly lock AE/AF and shoot 11 fps. This works in those situation where I know what I want to capture like pitchers, batters, stolen bases etc. For a catch in the outfield or anything else that wasn't predicted I shoot at 10fps.
I think that for most sports the higher fps you can use, the easier it is. Both of the shots above were taken from a series, and in both cases the moment captured was very fleeting. With a high frame rate it's easier to get lucky... Having said that I'm still trying to get that photo of the bat bending as the ball hits it.
Posted 8 months ago # -
Here are a couple I took this summer using the 55-300 from approx. 220ft away.
Posted 8 months ago # -
@rbk35 - I think you are doing really well and getting some great shots. I took your photo and quickly did the following:
Level
Crop
Sharpen
Increase saturation
Using Photoscape (a free application for the PC)
This was my result:
Posted 8 months ago #
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