Anti-shake for sports?

leonardotmnt · 10-18-2016, 05:53 AM

I take a lot of photos of my son's U-10 soccer games. Usually I use 1/400 or 1/500 with the 55-300 WR. I hadn't really thought about it before but I was reading yesterday that some people recommend turning off the anti-shake feature if photographing sports because it doesn't help due to all the movement. Should I turn it off when photographing his matches?

photoptimist · 10-18-2016, 07:14 AM

The simple answer is "turn if off". But the correct answer is "it's complicated".

Anti-shake attempts to remove the blurring effects of any and every detected motion of the camera. But anti-shake can't tell whether that motion is a nervous twitch or is the beginning of a recompose or pan to catch a moving player. When anti-shake tries to hold the picture stable while you are starting to pan, it quickly hits the limits of the system and then has to rapidly move the sensor back to the center. If you happen to take the picture while it's frantically getting the sensor back to the center, the results won't be good. But if you are in the middle of a smooth panning motion, there's a good chance the anti-shake will add stability.

If you spend enough time with the anti-shake system enabled, carefully watch the indicator in the viewfinder, then you'll learn when it's likely to help. But if you are taking pictures in the heat of the moment, paying more attention to the subject than to the anti-shake indicator, then it's better to keep it off.

speagles2 · 10-18-2016, 07:17 AM

I enjoy photographing my kids' soccer also, and always turn SR off. You'll always be using a high enough shutter speed so that camera shake won't be an issue, and since you're always moving the camera to follow the action it's not going to help anyway. There's also some suggestion that SR can actually cause motion blur if you are panning a lot (which you are with soccer) if the sensor's still moving when the shutter fires.

**Miguel** · 10-18-2016, 07:52 AM

I shut it down if I'm exceeding 1/350. That said, I suggest you run some tests with it on and off--easy to do, and report back your findings.

M

leonardotmnt · 10-18-2016, 08:03 AM

Thanks everyone. That's a good idea Miguel. I think I'll try that. Sometimes it's hard for me to compare my shots game to game though because not much is reproducible. I'll see what I can do.

I just got into photography last year and it's amazing the things you learn all the time. I hadn't even thought of this and it seems relatively simple.

aaacb · 10-18-2016, 08:48 AM

I usually leave sr off for soccer because I'm panning, but try to use 1/1000 or faster for daytime at 250mm.

To know if it's the subject's motion or camera shake that's causing blur, in the same shot, I compare something static (e.g. the grass) vs what's moving (e.g. the ball is usually faster than the players). If the subject is too blurred but the grass is sharp, then I need a higher shutter speed, if the grass is blurry then sr may be necessary. That being said, for my use (news) viewing size is small enough that some imperfections are acceptable, such as ISO high enough to get fast shutter speeds.

**Miguel** · 10-18-2016, 09:23 AM

Originally posted by leonardotmnt

Thanks everyone. That's a good idea Miguel. I think I'll try that. Sometimes it's hard for me to compare my shots game to game though because not much is reproducible. I'll see what I can do.

I just got into photography last year and it's amazing the things you learn all the time. I hadn't even thought of this and it seems relatively simple.

Do it within the same match. One half (or quarter) on, one half off. That way you'll have a bit of consistency. I doubt if you will miss any shots regardless.

M

6BQ5 · 10-18-2016, 11:43 AM

I recently photographed my kid's yearly Walk-a-Thon with my K-1. The camera was set to TAv mode. Shutter speed was locked at 1/2000 to freeze motion, aperture was locked to f/6.3 for some depth of field, and I let ISO float. I did not turn off shake reduction. My images were sharp except where focused was missed.

I think the shutter speed was high enough to not only freeze the kid's motion but also to freeze any blur that would have been caused by a confused sensor trying to compensate for my panning and constant motion.

10-18-2016, 05:53 AM	#1
leonardotmnt Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 94	Anti-shake for sports? I take a lot of photos of my son's U-10 soccer games. Usually I use 1/400 or 1/500 with the 55-300 WR. I hadn't really thought about it before but I was reading yesterday that some people recommend turning off the anti-shake feature if photographing sports because it doesn't help due to all the movement. Should I turn it off when photographing his matches?

10-18-2016, 08:48 AM	#6
aaacb Pentaxian Join Date: May 2016 Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,724	I usually leave sr off for soccer because I'm panning, but try to use 1/1000 or faster for daytime at 250mm. To know if it's the subject's motion or camera shake that's causing blur, in the same shot, I compare something static (e.g. the grass) vs what's moving (e.g. the ball is usually faster than the players). If the subject is too blurred but the grass is sharp, then I need a higher shutter speed, if the grass is blurry then sr may be necessary. That being said, for my use (news) viewing size is small enough that some imperfections are acceptable, such as ISO high enough to get fast shutter speeds. Last edited by aaacb; 10-18-2016 at 08:55 AM.

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10-18-2016, 07:14 AM	#2
photoptimist Pentaxian Join Date: Jul 2016 Photos: Albums Posts: 5,122	The simple answer is "turn if off". But the correct answer is "it's complicated". Anti-shake attempts to remove the blurring effects of any and every detected motion of the camera. But anti-shake can't tell whether that motion is a nervous twitch or is the beginning of a recompose or pan to catch a moving player. When anti-shake tries to hold the picture stable while you are starting to pan, it quickly hits the limits of the system and then has to rapidly move the sensor back to the center. If you happen to take the picture while it's frantically getting the sensor back to the center, the results won't be good. But if you are in the middle of a smooth panning motion, there's a good chance the anti-shake will add stability. If you spend enough time with the anti-shake system enabled, carefully watch the indicator in the viewfinder, then you'll learn when it's likely to help. But if you are taking pictures in the heat of the moment, paying more attention to the subject than to the anti-shake indicator, then it's better to keep it off.

10-18-2016, 07:52 AM	#4
Miguel Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Near Seattle Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,743	I shut it down if I'm exceeding 1/350. That said, I suggest you run some tests with it on and off--easy to do, and report back your findings. M

10-18-2016, 08:03 AM	#5
leonardotmnt Forum Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Posts: 94 Original Poster	Thanks everyone. That's a good idea Miguel. I think I'll try that. Sometimes it's hard for me to compare my shots game to game though because not much is reproducible. I'll see what I can do. I just got into photography last year and it's amazing the things you learn all the time. I hadn't even thought of this and it seems relatively simple.

10-18-2016, 09:23 AM	#7
Miguel Site Supporter Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Near Seattle Photos: Gallery Posts: 2,743	Originally posted by leonardotmnt Thanks everyone. That's a good idea Miguel. I think I'll try that. Sometimes it's hard for me to compare my shots game to game though because not much is reproducible. I'll see what I can do. I just got into photography last year and it's amazing the things you learn all the time. I hadn't even thought of this and it seems relatively simple. Do it within the same match. One half (or quarter) on, one half off. That way you'll have a bit of consistency. I doubt if you will miss any shots regardless. M

10-18-2016, 11:43 AM	#8
6BQ5 Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2013 Location: Nevada, USA Photos: Albums Posts: 3,348	I recently photographed my kid's yearly Walk-a-Thon with my K-1. The camera was set to TAv mode. Shutter speed was locked at 1/2000 to freeze motion, aperture was locked to f/6.3 for some depth of field, and I let ISO float. I did not turn off shake reduction. My images were sharp except where focused was missed. I think the shutter speed was high enough to not only freeze the kid's motion but also to freeze any blur that would have been caused by a confused sensor trying to compensate for my panning and constant motion.