Originally posted by MadMathMind I also had to autocorrect the levels of all my hockey images. The whites won't come out quite white, probably because their real color value is 255. The camera is smart enough to realize how that would lead to awful clipping, so it bumps the levels down a bit. Fortunately, a few quick mouse clicks in Photoshop or other editing program will take care of it.
Not the camera realizing it would lead to awful clipping, it's the metering system figuring there won't be so much bright white in the frame! You could dial in some exposure compensation and get the whites whiter in camera, but if you're not losing shadow detail, having darker images will help a bit with shutter speed.
Primes would work with the 6" lens rule, which is a ridiculous rule.
Same thing with other places not allowing 'professional' cameras. What defines those? No doubt my 4x5 would be flagged as a 'professional' camera, so I have responses lined up for that =P.
If you need the reach, a fast prime (135 f/2.5 maybe?) with a teleconverter might be the ticket. The 'lens' wouldn't be longer than 6", and you'd get twice the reach =)