Advice re shooting basketball please

Arpe · 09-19-2008, 11:30 PM

I might, that's might, be taking photos of a school boys basketball tournament. It would appear that this is a request from the tournment organisers so I guess I would have reasonable access around the court. Basketball is rather a minor sport here so I don't know all that much about it but have watched a bit on tele.

I't's in a fairly major sort of venue, so I would expect the lighting to be better than your typical school gym, but of course I could be wrong. I'm used to taking photos outdoors on a 100m x 50m field, but not indoors on a ?m x ?m court.

I have the K20D, 70-200/2.8 (too long?), 50/1.4, 35/2, 17-70/2.8-4.5.

Which of these lenses would be most useful do you think? What settings am I likely to require (I use TAv for rugby though I suppose indoors it's a set and forget thing as the lighting doesn't change)? Where does one stand at a basketball game (I presume the ends are where the action would be)?

At this stage I'm thinking the 50/1.4, but not at 1.4 as I'd be lucky to get anything in focus.

I've only got 10GB of SD cards too, so I'd probably have to get more.

Any advice appreciated.

*sluggo913* · 09-20-2008, 08:06 AM

Hello, I shoot my daughters basketball team and the setup I use is K10D and Sigma 70-300 f4 set in Tv mode, AF C, Multi-Segment metering, Continuous drive mode, and Auto Focus, Jpeg (bright). I have to do some pp to lighten them as shooting in a school gym the lighting is not great, the pictures come out well and the parents were all pleased at the end of the season. Setting up under the baskets is a great place for action also some work along the sidelines is also recommended for tip-off and up and down the court action remember to pan with the action. I also use this same setup when shooting hockey also a not so well lit indoor sport. I would try to shoot at a practice or two just to get your setup close and a feel for the action if you have the chance. Good luck use the 70-200 it will be fine and you will get some great shots. Btw I never have to go over iso 800 with my K10. Sorry I forgot to mention for shutter speed it depends on the speed of the kids if they are older 15+ most likely 125 or above, under that age try a couple of test shots during warm ups 90-125 should be fine. The other thing I learned is get ALL the kids not just the stars the parents will be very greatful that their child wasn't forgotten and it will make those kids feel better about themselves. How many games will be played in one day? I keep a 4Gb card in my camera at all times and a couple of back ups and have yet to fill one with one game the 4Gb card holds 800+ best Jpeg on the K10 and the most I've shot in one game is about 370, I know the K20 has a little larger file size but it should not be a problem. Again good luck and have fun.

Bob.

If you would like to see some of my shots let me know and I will send you some.

kerrowdown · 09-20-2008, 04:43 PM

I have shot quite a few games, biggest problems are the mixture of lighting sources, i.e. fluorescent, tungsten etc, basically all very poor to cover this fast moving sport.

Fast primes lenses are usually one or two stops faster than most zoom lenses, the ISO pushed all the way up to try a get fastest possible shutter speeds.

Look for interesting plays and players, both on and off the action. Use your wide fast 35 f2 or 50 f1.4 for touch line, fast telephoto, I guess your 70 - 200 f2.8 for head shots and basket action.

Good luck enjoy the game.

magnum1 · 09-20-2008, 07:12 PM

I use my Pentax 50-135 (f2.8) and it works rather well. Starting with the next game I will try my new Sigma 24-70 (f2.8) just to see if I like it or not. I am concerned in focus searching which I have heard is a problem with Sigma. As far as feel goes, the Sigma feels great attached to my body/grip.

As someone said, basketball arena suck for lighting. Not one is the same and they are spotty at best. I usually run 1100 ISO to keep the speed up, but hate grain of any kind. I guess I'm never happy!

Arpe · 09-20-2008, 08:52 PM

Thanks guys. So the 70-200 wil generally be wide enough at 70? I won't be cursing my self too much not having a wider one on? I'm thinking that may not be wide enough if I'm under the basket. I suppose I could change into the 50 or 35 quick enough if I was struggling.

I'm unsure yet what the format for games would be. I've just had an enquiry as to whether I could do the tournament. I presume there would be 5 or 6 or more games a day?

Bob, if you're doing okay with the 70-300 at f4, then I could probably manage with just the 70-200 and 17-70 as the latter only hits 4.5 right at its longest. The 50-135 sounds ideal for this, but I'm not sure how much I'd be doing in the future so won't commit to that right now.

Is there a good site on the net with photos I can peruse?

magnum1 · 09-21-2008, 12:46 AM

These are my 50-135's. Not the best but they should give you an idea. This is vollyball but in the same arena as basketball.

Picasa Web Albums - Life Photos by Th... - Niagara vs. P...

Arpe · 09-21-2008, 06:06 PM

Thanks mate. So 2.8 is probably fast enough. Just concerned now about how wide I will need. Had a look through Flickr but can't get any exif info, so searching through Picasa galleries now for bb shots.

*Blue* · 09-21-2008, 08:56 PM

Originally Posted by kerrowdown

I have shot quite a few games, biggest problems are the mixture of lighting sources, i.e. fluorescent, tungsten etc, basically all very poor to cover this fast moving sport.

Fast primes lenses are usually one or two stops faster than most zoom lenses, the ISO pushed all the way up to try a get fastest possible shutter speeds.

Look for interesting plays and players, both on and off the action. Use your wide fast 35 f2 or 50 f1.4 for touch line, fast telephoto, I guess your 70 - 200 f2.8 for head shots and basket action.

Good luck enjoy the game.

Don't leave out sodium and mercury vapor lights. A fast lens is very helpful. I haven't shot in HS basketball . . . . since HS. I fast lens is more important than a very long lens due to the proximity to the court and the fact that it is indoors. 50-135mm backed up by the 16-45mm would be a good range. I'd probably give it a go with my 20-40mm f2.8.

Steinback · 09-22-2008, 12:59 AM

Your 70-200 should work very well for shooting from the sidelines; depending on how close the baskets are to the wall they are mounted from any of your lenses could be appropriate for shooting from under the baskets, but if space is tight then that 17-70 will come in handy.

When I shot basketball in high school usually I would shoot part of each game from under each basket and part from the sidelines. The action moves back and forth down the length of the court so quickly that walking along with the play wasn't always practical. If you stay in one place the game keeps moving back and forth past you and there's an opportunity to anticipate the play and either pan shots or compose a shot in the area the players are heading for.

You will have to figure out lighting once you see the venue, some of the gyms I've been in have surprisingly bad shadows depending on how the lights are set up and the light colour tended to be really ugly blue/green or orange. On film I often used a fill flash to cut shadows and help correct some of the light colouring, but with digital it is easier to set white balance ahead of time and switch to higher iso levels if necessary. If you have a flash with a diffuser and you are allowed to use it then it would be worth bringing along to add some more options in case lighting is poor.

*Blue* · 09-22-2008, 11:18 AM

Sodium vapor lights will be a bright orange-yellow light and Mercury vapor will be more blue to white.

Arpe · 09-22-2008, 06:14 PM

Thanks very much everyone, but it appears it's all off!

It turns out the tournament was in another city! So they're getting someone local there, which is fair enough. I told them to keep me in mind if there's anything local.
So I'm adding this thread to my favourites. Sorry for the false alarm! Hopefully others will have benefitted from it as well.

BTW I was intending on doing a manual white balance - I've seen how some others turn out.

jnorth · 10-06-2008, 07:59 PM

This is one of the few places that I use my expo disc. If it is like most school gyms 70 may be on the too tele side of the equation for action right in front/under (of) the basket, but if you can slide back a bit 70 shouldn't be too bad. In those school or local community gyms I've even found 50 on the tele side at least with the 1.5X crop factor, for some shots. Some of those gyms really underscore 'in your face' playing.

Arpe · 10-07-2008, 05:22 PM

Thanks, but it's all academic now as it turns out the tournament was in a different city! I've taken this all on board for "next time" though!