[TXPentaxK50]

I know for a fact that lack of sharpness is not because of shooting JPEGs. That particular lens wide open is one suspect. You might have to boost ISO a little more and shoot at f/3.2 or so. I would think 1/500 sec for such activity is enough, but possibly a little more shutter speed may be needed. I little blur on the ball itself is ok, even desirable, but not at the expense of sharpness of the player. One reason I wonder is that your group shot looks better than your action shots. Was your lens wide open then too? Is your sharpening set to "F" for Fine sharpening in the Custom Image menu?

Always follow the ball, and follow the action with the left eye free of the camera also while the ball is in the air, but as soon as you know who will get it, train focus the player's face. For example, in your 4th photo here, the number 8 on the player's shirt is much sharper than her face. You will get better each time you do it.

I Just checked some of my roller-hockey shots I still have. At 1/500 sec I was able to stop action enough to see detail on the puck as it flies through the air. I am certain this puck was traveling faster than a volley ball. I either shoot wide open or at f/3.2 and 1/500 sec to 1/640 sec.

Also, another thing that should help in addition to the above techniques, it might be a good idea to go for less individual-only closeups and instead get more players into the frame even though having the main player the one being focused on. This means shooting from farther back, or better yet, it means shooting from the same distance but not using the lens at its tele extreme where it will most likely be at its weakest. I shoot my roller hockey from the goalie's viewpoint, as being my person of most interest, and use a FL around the 24-40mm range most often. I use a Sigma 24-60mm f/2.8 lens. This wider perspective will also provide more DOF in your shot. And it will give your shot of the play more context for the game's action.

I get what you are saying as to focusing on the face, but that’s hard to do when you are trying to get their whole body into the frame in 1/500th of a second.

I do think i will stop down to 3.2 and bump ISO to 6400 if I need to - by most accounts the KP is high ISO superb.

I also didn’t realize there was a sharp / fine function in the custom image menu.

Why would turning off Shake reduction help the cause, as someone suggested? That seems counterintuitive.

Thanks everyone !

---------- Post added 01-09-18 at 10:32 PM ----------

A great start but a few thoughts......Underexposing JPGs and then pushing them later will not give the best possible results.

Shoot RAW if you are willing to spend the time post-processing or let the camera do the heavy lifting and shoot JPG with optimum settings.

What JPG settings did you use for size and quality? What settings for High-ISO NR? How did you resize and upload these images to the forums?
What Custom Image setting did you use and did you change any of the standard parameters?

Check you lens, how does it perform otherwise. Is it sharp and is focus well calibrated at the 50-75mm range that you used here?

All good questions! I believe I selected highest quality for jpegs. I don’t believe I changed any parameters, other than I went full Manual and just went with 2.8/3200 and 1/500 shutter.

[clackers]

Really enjoyed these pics, TX. You got below their eyeline and took advantage of your ability to shoot from the sidelines instead of the seats. The girls gathered around their coach is great.

[Rondec]

I get what you are saying as to focusing on the face, but that’s hard to do when you are trying to get their whole body into the frame in 1/500th of a second.

I do think i will stop down to 3.2 and bump ISO to 6400 if I need to - by most accounts the KP is high ISO superb.

I also didn’t realize there was a sharp / fine function in the custom image menu.

Why would turning off Shake reduction help the cause, as someone suggested? That seems counterintuitive.

Thanks everyone !

---------- Post added 01-09-18 at 10:32 PM ----------



All good questions! I believe I selected highest quality for jpegs. I don’t believe I changed any parameters, other than I went full Manual and just went with 2.8/3200 and 1/500 shutter.

I think with shake reduction it takes a little bit of time to spool up and so probably a good portion of the time it isn't active at all, particularly if you are shooting bursts. In addition, at 1/500 shutter speed you really don't need shake reduction. I would make a user preset with your sports shooting settings and just turn to that when you are shooting. You can fine tune it over time.

I think you are getting some good shots, they just are a bit soft. Stopping down a bit might help and I certainly wouldn't be afraid to go to iso 6400 or even a little higher in a pinch.

Thanks for sharing and good luck.

[TXPentaxK50]

Really enjoyed these pics, TX. You got below their eyeline and took advantage of your ability to shoot from the sidelines instead of the seats. The girls gathered around their coach is great.

Thank you so much! I am really enjoying getting into digital photography.

These two are my favs so far:

Attached Images

   

[kjphilippona]

Great job TX

[Ex Finn.]

But you'll know and if you don't show them, they'll never know. And why agree to Instagram "now"? What's wrong with good stuff, "soon"? You owe the customer your best.

It had something to do with a teenage daughter hanging over my shoulder and wanting to know what was taking so long...

[kjphilippona]

It had something to do with a teenage daughter hanging over my shoulder and wanting to know what was taking so long...

My daughter ran into the same thing with customers expect editing done immediately! and she also had a full time job Also normal laptops fall to their knees processing RAW images!

[TXPentaxK50]

Also normal laptops fall to their knees processing RAW images!

Very true and my only computer is a laptop.

[Ex Finn.]

normal laptops fall to their knees processing RAW images!

I would not attempt to use one except for few images!
When I was shooting kids sports a PC was a must.
I had an Intel core 2 duo running at 3.16 GHz on a MSI P31 Neo Mo-Bo. It was pretty fast back then.

[mikesbike]

I get what you are saying as to focusing on the face, but that’s hard to do when you are trying to get their whole body into the frame in 1/500th of a second.

I do think i will stop down to 3.2 and bump ISO to 6400 if I need to - by most accounts the KP is high ISO superb.

I also didn’t realize there was a sharp / fine function in the custom image menu.

Why would turning off Shake reduction help the cause, as someone suggested? That seems counterintuitive.

Thanks everyone !

---------- Post added 01-09-18 at 10:32 PM ----------



All good questions! I believe I selected highest quality for jpegs. I don’t believe I changed any parameters, other than I went full Manual and just went with 2.8/3200 and 1/500 shutter.

Yes, following action is hard. Your 1/500 sec shutter should be easily adequate for volleyball. I keep SR on, since I am moving the camera a lot, using the half-press like crazy for pre-focusing as much as possible, knowing who has the puck, but not when he will shoot, which happens very quickly! That's when my speed in firing, and my 1/500 sec shutter speed, come into play. If you have a good idea who will receive the ball and will be responding, the idea is to try to get a quick pre-focus on the face in this case, since it matters not much if the ball is blurred. One has to be quicker than quick, in manipulating the equipment, constantly reframing with your zoom, etc. That's why it takes practice. The more experience, the better you'll become in doing it. I think you did well for a first outing.

As to the sharpening adjustment in the Custom Image menus, you access them via the quick-link info button. The Custom Image menus is the first section- hit "ok" to open up the section. The "Bright" category is the camera's default setting. Click info again to open up its menu. In this category, contrast and sharpening are up by +1 by default, which is fine. Tab your controller's down button to the bottom "S" settings and use your thumb dial to implement "F" by the "S" for Fine Sharpening. You are done- hit "ok" to return to all categories. Using your controller's right button, move to the next category- "Natural". In this case, the S default is mid-point, so increase it to +1 with your controller's right button, then using your thumb dial again, implement the "F" by the "S" for Fine sharpening. Leave contrast as is. You are done- hit "ok". Then use your controller's left button to put your camera back to the "Bright" default setting, unless you are happier to leave it on "Natural" for skin-tone in your people shots. I don't see anything wrong with the skin tone you've been getting, they don't look too red or over-saturated, but that is a matter for you to determine. Then hit ok again for the all fast-links screen and turn off the camera, or just turn it off.

[TXPentaxK50]

This is very helpful info! Thank
You !

[mikesbike]

You are very welcome- have fun!

Mike

[reh321]

Simply put, I can capture volleyball images that I could not with the K-50. Easily shoots at 3200 ISO, super fast continuous shutter. This camera is a winner. All of these were shot with a 35-70 Tamron 2.8 AF @ 3200 ISO, 1/500. All were underexposed to freeze the action but I was able to lighten everything later.

How did you pick the 3200 ISO?


How did you pick the 1/500 shutter speed?

[Kenn100D]

No. The kids and the parents just did not appreciate the hours of processing involved when going through 800-1200 images and picking the best of the best.
They wanted Instagram now...

edit: customer comes first, even the non paying kind.

Try Raw+ Jpeg. so you can provide the customer the jpeg files then show them later the raw converted file.

[SpecialK]

...processing involved when going through 800-1200 images and picking the best of the best.

Chimping has nothing to do with shooting raw. I use Faststone for chimping as you can view up to 4 images together for comparison. Every shot can and should be improved by post-processing. You spend the time, effort and money to get the shot, then do nothing? Even basic cropping and leveling, maybe cloning the intrusive dust spot or branch, is done to jpgs. Certainly sliding the contrast , blacks, or exposure is not time consuming compared to everything else involved. Some of it can be automated.

In this case shooting raw-+ would not impress the clients with dark images. Would you show wedding clients a quick and dirty shot and say "Don't worry. I can fix it later"? Take the time, and show presentable images :-)