Just around the corner

[Margo Stewart]

Hello, I'm new here and I can't tell you how ecstatic I was to find this sports forum!

My oldest daughter (12) is a volleyball player. This will be her third year playing. The first year I had a Sony F707 camera that was decent for everyday shooting but the delay on it was terrible. My pictures from that year are awful.

Just before the season started last year I got my Canon XTi so the delay wasn't bad. However, I can't always get close to the court and only had my kit lens so I had issues but at least not the delay issues. In February I got the 50mm 1.8 lens which worked MUCH better, but only if I had good court access which was rare.

I'd really like to get a zoom lens that I can use when I'm in the stands. I'm just not sure which one would best fit my needs. I want something light because I don't want to have to use a tripod. I also need something that will work for the always awful gym lighting. I always shoot RAW and generally manual. Oh, and I should mention that I have a budget so the IS lenses are not an option. I could swing $500 but that would probably be the limit.

Anyone know of a Canon, Tamron, Sigma, or other lens that fits this description? Or am I wanting a lens that just doesn't exist?

Thanks!
Margo

[Nill Toulme]

Welcome Margo! Volleyball is very difficult, both for the photographer and the equipment. This is especially true of high school and most club volleyball, because the lighting is so terrible in most of the places they play, and in most cases flash is out of the question.

What sort of exposures are you getting in your gym? I've found 1/400 to be a pretty good bare minimum shutter speed for virtually all sports, and in most HS gyms I have to shoot ISO 3200 to get close to that even at f/2.

Why is your court access so limited? A great place to be with a 50 f/1.8 is on the floor, just off the sideline and pretty close to the net.

Your next step up in a lens is the 85 f/1.8. It's probably the "standard" HS gym lens. Then comes the 135 f/2L. After that it gets very expensive very fast. I haven't found a HS gym yet where I could use an f/2.8 lens effectively.

Nill
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www.toulme.net

[Margo Stewart]

Thanks for the response Nill.

My daughter plays club so we travel to different gyms and as I'm sure you're aware they are all different. Looking back at some pics from last season I realized I shot auto quite a lot more than I realized. I can swing manual outside but not inside very well. I'm a bit embarassed to admit that I'm not sure what you mean when you ask what sort of exposure I'm getting. Can you elaborate?

I did do an entire game last season on manual with ISO at 1600 but the shots are super noisy. I have a free noiseware program that came to the rescue with that one. But like I said, looks like I did quite a bit of auto with the built in flash which didn't turn over very desirable results.

I'm just a Mom, so that's why I can't get very good access. ;) Generally with the tourney's we travel to there are several courts set up next to each other and access between courts is reserved for coaches, teams, and the score table. So I sit either in the stands if there are any or in a chair at the end of the court. Although it may be that I could gain access for photos during the warm up period. I hadn't thought of doing that.

I'm going to look into both lenses that you suggested. Thanks for your help!

Margo

[Asher Kelman]

Welcome Margot! Hope you enjoy OPF. Already you have on your side a very well experienced sports shooter in Nill! Maybe you could start to post some shots. You can do 4 per page, and then you would get feedback and give a visual color th the thread!

Asher

[Margo Stewart]

Thanks Asher!

Yes, I've noticed that Nill is quite accomplished. Which is why it will probably be quite a while before I post any photos. LOL!

Margo

[Nill Toulme]

Don't be shy! And there's no such thing as "just a mom." ;-)

By "what exposure" I mean what sort of light readings are you getting on your photos. You can look at the exposure info with just about any image viewing program. What ISO, what aperture (f/stop), what shutter speed?

I recommend shooting RAW, or RAW + jpg, at ISO 1600 1/400 f/2. You'll still be underexposed at that level in most HS gyms but you can boost it back in processing. That will increase noise somewhat, but that's fixable (more or less), and a noisy sharp photo is much better than a clean blurry one in my opinion. You might get away with 1/320, but I find I start to lose a lot of shots to subject motion if I go below 1/400.

The other lens that's worth considering on a 1.6x crop body like you have — but only with good courtside access — is the 35 f/2.

Nill
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www.toulme.net

[Warren Buchalter]

Nill,

I thought the 85mm 1.8 is a good lens for indoor volleyball. Is the 35 mm to wide?

Warren

[Nill Toulme]

They're both good depending on where you're shooting from. If I were shooting from the floor near the net post (which is a good spot) with a 1.6x crop body, I'd be using either a 35 or a 50 for the most part.

Nill
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www.toulme.net