Originally posted by crewl1 It seems that most of the players are in focus as they are all on the same plane and far away, no? I think the camera has a more difficult time when the players are filling the frame more.
Took the words right off my keyboard! A shot like this is so far away that pretty much everything near enough along the line should be more or less in focus. It is much more challenging for the camera's AF system and for the photographer to have that cluster of four players, including the shooter, fill the frame about 60%.
Originally posted by Rudy For this kind of shot of one player among several on the area, would you use different settings?
These were shot at ISO 200, 1/800. I would have bumped the ISO up to 400-800 and shot at 1/1500. That freezes action more frequently, especially on closer shots. If your shooting position is pretty typical, then I would consider obtaining a lens that reaches 400mm. With that much light, you could get some sharp shots at that focal length. If not, I'd practice taking shots closer to the mid-stripe so that the players would fill the frame. 60-250mm is a great focal range for those kind of action shots.
In addition, if you are able to get access to the end line between a goal post and the corner, shots of in box action at the goal would be excellent--your lens is ideal for that positioning.
M
---------- Post added 02-24-2014 at 09:42 PM ----------
As an example of end-line positioning, here are three from last night under extreme conditions: a driving rain storm, under lousy lights, 37 degrees F. Using a FF Canon 5DMK3, the only lens I had that was fast enough (earlier it was lighter for my slower zoom) was the 135mm f2.
Example 1
5DMK3, 135mm L f2 @ f2.8, 1/1000, ISO 12,800
Followup
5DMK3, 135mm L f2 @ f2.8, 1/750, ISO 12,800
Example 3
5DMK3, 135mm L f2 @ f2.8, 1/750, ISO 12,800
M