[enyaw]

Hi I'm going to the roger's cup in Aug. and would like to know what the ideal setup would be. Pentax k50, lens tamron 18-250mm 3.5-5.6 I think I'll only bring that lens. Ie shutter sp. focus mode and metering

thanks. Haven't been out with this camera to a pro sporting event.

[mattt]

I usually shoot sports @ 1/400 - 1/800 in Tv with Af-C, Fast Drive, biased to the background accordingly. For events with consistent light Manual mode exposure to taste but typically keeping shutter speed 1/400 or faster.

[clackers]

Lots of strong lines on a tennis court, Enyaw, best choose a single AF point. Practice, practice, practice smooth panning that point on a line on your target - not the middle of a uniformly coloured shirt, for example.

[aaacb]

Also practice timing to get the ball in the shot before it's struck, takes a bit of practice with fast games and it initially seems like you're pressing way too early.

[enyaw]

thanks for the input. I do have limited experience. On my D7000 I have shot the tennis for the first time. I had shutter 1/2000 sometimes 1/4000 expanded area focus mode centre point expanded I mean. Continous low Manual mode. I'm ok with the panning, I've been going to the tourn for years but 2 yrs ago was the first time I used a Dslr. And the results are much better than my old point and shoot. It's just I'm unfamiliar with the pentax system, and I know the K50 won't be as snappy/accurate as the D7000. I'll just have to wait and see and experiment with a few settings again thanks. I'm also going to switch over to jpeg because I don't want to edit all those continous frame photos just keep the best of the series

ps shutter at 1/1,200 and 1/1,400

[photoptimist]

Something like a tennis match is a good time to practice NOT using the center AF points. Learning to frame the player for an off-center composition, change the AF point selection, and pan for off-center AF can be a useful skill and creates much more interesting photos than player-in-the-middle-of-the-frame shots. I usually think in terms of a kind of shot I want, configure orientation, focal length, framing, AF, etc. for that type of shot and then take pictures of that one player until they do what I want. Tennis may seem really dynamic, but the overall visual patterns of the player and court positions recur with some frequency. Reaching shots, diagonal shots, back hands, forehands, etc. all happen eventually within 5-10 minutes of play. Then I configure for the next type of shot, maybe switching from portrait to landscape, tighter or looser framing of the head, player, and court, or switching to the other player. The set-it-up-and-wait-for-it strategy may not get shots of every great play (which really are more about luck than anything), but they will get great shots of the player making classic tennis plays.

Have fun!

P.S. You might want to double-check the venue's photography rules -- some events or venues prohibit lenses longer than X inches. If so, you might want to put a very small lens on the camera and carry the zoom in a pocket.

[enyaw]

thanks but I don't have a prime that long and the sigma 18-250mm is almost the same size as the pentax 50-300mm dal compressed. It's just wider. I know I won't get the depth of field that would be ideal, but I'm counting on good light or usable light. I will post a few after the event

I'll be at the qualies which are free for the wknd. It's only a 1 wk tourn.

[wsteffey]

Many superzooms, including my Sigma 18-250, need to be stopped down to f5.6, or even better, f8 to be sharp. This should be no problem outdoors in good light. I would use "A", set to f8 or f5.6, but if you use any auto or semi-auto modes just make sure the lens is stopped down adequately. In addition, you might want to consider trying the "sports" mode. I know purists may object to use of any "mode", but if it works who will know?

[beachgardener]

Yeah, fast shutter speed for stopping the action, however a determined speed to show just a smidgen of movement can be quite nice, I suggest do some tests before hand, maybe somewhere from 1/125th to 1/1000 or there about, the players at rogers may swing the racquet faster than many amateurs, so a smidgen of movement might be found in the faster range there.
However this may depend on how close you are to the action and angle to players, it might turn out that just a fast shutter is required.

[SpecialK]

I would go to a college or club and take some shots. Explain what you are doing and offer to email the players a couple pix.

[howieb101]

I've shot quite a lot of tennis at the Australian albeit with K3 and Sigma 70-200mm F2.8 so a bit of a different scenario to you.

However what I would do in your situation is:

• Shoot jpg with all auto corrections off (for maximum frames per second);
• Shoot in manual mode (dial in your shutter speed, iso and aperture, again so the camera at operate at maximum speed);
• Shoot F6.3 or F8 for maximum sharpness (this is based on supplied lens, if it was an F2.8 I would have suggested F4)
• Use one of the center AF points, ie, manually select the AF point and don't rely on the camera;
• Shoot in AF-S mode (AF-C is too unreliable);
• Select high frames continuous shooting mode.

For what's it's worth which may not be much given my camera/lens combo, here is some of what I have achieved:
Oz Open 1
Oz Open 2
Oz Open 3
Oz Open 4
Oz Open 5

Best of luck. Shooting sports is kind of fun although I wouldn't want to do it all of the time.

Howie Be

[enyaw]

Hi thanks for the follow up. I'm going to post 5 pics the first 3 are from 2015 my first time out, the last 2 are from last summer. The Men and Women alternate between Toronto and Montreal. I will accept any critiques.
My lens/equipment is not top notch but with a little practice it can go along way until I get nice lens.

---------- Post added 07-10-17 at 04:03 PM ----------

I missed one, sorry

[enyaw]

I missed one, the men are alot quicker with the racquet head etc. But still learning. I hope the K50 will be upto par

---------- Post added 07-10-17 at 04:14 PM ----------

Many superzooms, including my Sigma 18-250, need to be stopped down to f5.6, or even better, f8 to be sharp. This should be no problem outdoors in good light. I would use "A", set to f8 or f5.6, but if you use any auto or semi-auto modes just make sure the lens is stopped down adequately. In addition, you might want to consider trying the "sports" mode. I know purists may object to use of any "mode", but if it works who will know?

I'm not a purist and I would know lol. I'm trying to get away from the auto stuff. You just can't learn that way, the camera is holding your hand. But instructive comment.

[enyaw]

Back from the tourn. and these are straight out of cam jpeg resized. How did pentax do? The tourn got rained out today mostly but I'm back tomm. Opinions wanted/needed. I did achieve blur at 1/320


I think pentax is fine and it's all timing and practice. Nothing wrong with the autofocus etc. Esp for tennis as I said I only covered the 1st match on every court before the rains. I'll be back out tomm.