[BigBassMan]

What is the best lense for shooting sports with the kx ?

[elho_cid]

Da* 60-250

[blackcloudbrew]

You might also try the Tamron 70-200 f2.8

[twitch]

or the 55-300 if the sport is outdoors and your budget is ~$350

[BigBassMan]

I have the 18-55 and the 55-300 lense. I shot some pics with the 55-300 at my daughters soccer tourny this weekend. I was not sure if that is the best lense for shooting sports. That was my 1st time to shoot sports with this camera, just trying to get the best shots I can.

Thanks

[BigBassMan]

You might also try the Tamron 70-200 f2.8

Will this lense hook straight up to the KX or would I need an adapter ?

[twitch]

I have the 18-55 and the 55-300 lense. I shot some pics with the 55-300 at my daughters soccer tourny this weekend. I was not sure if that is the best lense for shooting sports. That was my 1st time to shoot sports with this camera, just trying to get the best shots I can.

Thanks

The 55-300 is perfectly fine for outdoor Soccer which is a sport where 300mm comes in handy (assuming they are on full sized pitches. I've got a few ideas for you though
1) use a hood (if you don't have one, buy one)
2) position yourself so you don't have to shoot towards the sun
3) use Tv mode and experiment where the shutter speed is in the range of 1/250 to 1/500. I use 1/500 for my kids sports.
4) allow ISO to go up to 3200 (use auto-ISO with a range of 200-3200)
5) take lots of shots
6) learn to hold the camera correctly, which is left hand under the lens supporting the weight of it and the camera, right hand lightly on the camera and index finger gently rolling on the shutter giving it a squeeze to take the picture.

I use AF-S mode, but other have success with AF-C. I'd experiment with both.

If you could post examples of pictures you took and what you didn't like about them that would be great.

If you are willing to spend over $1k for a 60-250 then yes you will get better shots than with a 55-300, but as I said a 55-300 is perfectly fine for most. A Tamron 70-200 would be necessary if you are taking pictures of indoor sports, no adapter is required as it comes in a Pentax mount.

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Last edited by twitch; 11-15-2010 at 05:09 PM.

[dcmsox2004]

i'll give the sigma 70-200mm f2.8 a thumbs up for sports.... i have the older, 1st generation (harder to find) non macro...... quick to focus, quiet, and although i'm a rank amateur at sports... very happy with my latest results...



and in this last shot...i was across the field, quite a distance away..

[neurocyclist]

The 55-300 is perfectly fine for outdoor Soccer which is a sport where 300mm comes in handy (assuming they are on full sized pitches. I've got a few ideas for you though
1) use a hood (if you don't have one, buy one)
2) position yourself so you don't have to shoot towards the sun
3) use Tv mode and experiment where the shutter speed is in the range of 1/250 to 1/500. I use 1/500 for my kids sports.
4) allow ISO to go up to 3200 (use auto-ISO with a range of 200-3200)
5) take lots of shots
6) learn to hold the camera correctly, which is left hand under the lens supporting the weight of it and the camera, right hand lightly on the camera and index finger gently rolling on the shutter giving it a squeeze to take the picture.

I use AF-S mode, but other have success with AF-C. I'd experiment with both.

If you could post examples of pictures you took and what you didn't like about them that would be great.

If you are willing to spend over $1k for a 60-250 then yes you will get better shots than with a 55-300, but as I said a 55-300 is perfectly fine for most. A Tamron 70-200 would be necessary if you are taking pictures of indoor sports, no adapter is required as it comes in a Pentax mount.

what apperture settings do you favor? something in the f11-14 range, or do you like to shoot wide open?

[twitch]

what apperture settings do you favor? something in the f11-14 range, or do you like to shoot wide open?

Whatever the camera gives me, I have no choice in Tv mode over aperture. f8-11 would be ideal, but for shooting sports it's more important to get shutter speed right. If I owned a K20/5/7 which all have TAv mode I'd probably try that and use f8, 1/500 with auto-iso up to 3200. The 55-300 isn't too bad wide open though, but by f8 it's very sharp.

I have also used my 50-135 for sports, and that is sharper than the 55-300 no doubt, but obviously lacks the reach.

[Ira]

something in the f11-14 range, or do you like to shoot wide open?

It's very rare that you find situations where you can shoot 11 and smaller, unless you're doing set-up work on a tripod with non-fast-moving objects.

With artificial light, yeah, but F11 and smaller is getting into dangerous territory.

[BigBassMan]

The 55-300 is perfectly fine for outdoor Soccer which is a sport where 300mm comes in handy (assuming they are on full sized pitches. I've got a few ideas for you though
1) use a hood (if you don't have one, buy one)
2) position yourself so you don't have to shoot towards the sun
3) use Tv mode and experiment where the shutter speed is in the range of 1/250 to 1/500. I use 1/500 for my kids sports.
4) allow ISO to go up to 3200 (use auto-ISO with a range of 200-3200)
5) take lots of shots
6) learn to hold the camera correctly, which is left hand under the lens supporting the weight of it and the camera, right hand lightly on the camera and index finger gently rolling on the shutter giving it a squeeze to take the picture.

I use AF-S mode, but other have success with AF-C. I'd experiment with both.

If you could post examples of pictures you took and what you didn't like about them that would be great.

If you are willing to spend over $1k for a 60-250 then yes you will get better shots than with a 55-300, but as I said a 55-300 is perfectly fine for most. A Tamron 70-200 would be necessary if you are taking pictures of indoor sports, no adapter is required as it comes in a Pentax mount.

Here is a few that I took . Had some that were darker than others and a few that were not clear. This was my 1st time using the kx, I still have a lot to learn. It was very late in the evening and dark by the games end. Thanks for the help !

[twitch]

Thanks for that, it helps a lot. The answer for your problem is not what I expected to be honest, the exposures in those pictures indicate you had enough light to get good shots with your 55-300.

I believe the reason why pictures #3 and especially #1 are too dark is that you are using the "Spot" metering mode, which has its time and place, however in this situation it is 100% the wrong metering mode to use, especially when one team has white shirts. So, first thing to do is switch out of spot mode to either matrix or centre weighted average, it doesn't matter which. I use centre weighted, however most use matrix and in this type of situation where you are shooting people in white shirts probably matrix mode would be better.

Spot mode is wrong because in this mode the camera judges it's exposure settings by using the tiny area in the focus point it is using and ignoring the rst of the scene. If that area is a white shirt it tries to expose for that and that alone, meaning it makes the whole picture dark as it tries to turn the white shirt under the focus point into a 18% grey one. Matrix however takes the whole scene into account and so would not have been fooled if it was focused on a white shirt.

I can't see the problem with #2 picture though, what problem do you have with it? It is in focus and reasonably well exposed. (Actually I just remembered the monitor I'm using is very bright, so #2 might be a little dark).

Other thing I noticed is that you have not upgraded your firmware to v1.01 which would be of benefit to your battery life. Not essential but recommended. That doesn't affect image quality though.

Last thing I noticed in your pictures was that you are shooting in program mode. I would not shoot in program mode in this situation and instead use Tv mode setting the shutter speed at 1/500. Also, please check your auto ISO settings (hit the iso button next to the ok button) and verify it is 200-3200.

If you even just make the metering mode change I believe you will be far happier with your pictures next time. If they are still coming out darker than you like then you could use some + Ev compensation (say +1/3 or +2/3).

[BigBassMan]

Thanks, I will give that a try and post results .

[BigBassMan]

Thanks for that, it helps a lot. The answer for your problem is not what I expected to be honest, the exposures in those pictures indicate you had enough light to get good shots with your 55-300.

I believe the reason why pictures #3 and especially #1 are too dark is that you are using the "Spot" metering mode, which has its time and place, however in this situation it is 100% the wrong metering mode to use, especially when one team has white shirts. So, first thing to do is switch out of spot mode to either matrix or centre weighted average, it doesn't matter which. I use centre weighted, however most use matrix and in this type of situation where you are shooting people in white shirts probably matrix mode would be better.

Spot mode is wrong because in this mode the camera judges it's exposure settings by using the tiny area in the focus point it is using and ignoring the rst of the scene. If that area is a white shirt it tries to expose for that and that alone, meaning it makes the whole picture dark as it tries to turn the white shirt under the focus point into a 18% grey one. Matrix however takes the whole scene into account and so would not have been fooled if it was focused on a white shirt.

I can't see the problem with #2 picture though, what problem do you have with it? It is in focus and reasonably well exposed. (Actually I just remembered the monitor I'm using is very bright, so #2 might be a little dark).

Other thing I noticed is that you have not upgraded your firmware to v1.01 which would be of benefit to your battery life. Not essential but recommended. That doesn't affect image quality though.

Last thing I noticed in your pictures was that you are shooting in program mode. I would not shoot in program mode in this situation and instead use Tv mode setting the shutter speed at 1/500. Also, please check your auto ISO settings (hit the iso button next to the ok button) and verify it is 200-3200.

If you even just make the metering mode change I believe you will be far happier with your pictures next time. If they are still coming out darker than you like then you could use some + Ev compensation (say +1/3 or +2/3).

How do I put the kx in matrix mode? Didnt see an option for that in the menu .