Kx for sports?

sanox · 06-14-2011, 08:28 PM

Hi All, newbie here with zero DSLR knowledge. Bought this camera so me & wifee could shoot vacation family pics and daughter's sport activities pics. Is there a zoom lens I can use with my Kx to shoot decent sport pics? And if so, how and what settings should I use? So far we only use the autofocus and default settings. It seems to get pretty good pics when theres enough light but some pretty awful ones in low light situations. Someone posted that its probably better to have the autofocus on center rather than 5 or 11 pt. Any advice would be appreciated and Thanks in advance!!!

jellyfish26 · 06-14-2011, 08:55 PM

For sports use center autofocus and a high shutter speed of at least 1/500.
The DA 55-300mm lens would be able to shoot sports.

**Bill_R** · 06-14-2011, 10:05 PM

Awful pics in what way? You'd need to post them with EXIF info intact so we can see what the problem might be.

KxBlaze · 06-14-2011, 10:05 PM

As Jelly said the DA 55-300 would do just fine but there are other much more expensive lenses that will do a much better job, the Tamron 70-200 just to name one. It all depends on your budget.

As for technique, this is a tricky one because not all settings will work for all sports. Indoor, outdoor, baseball vs football, can all have an affect on the settings you use. A general rule of thumb is to use a fast shutter speed. This is where a better lens comes in. The Tamron 70-200 has a aperture of 2.8 where as the DA 55-300 goes from 4-5.6 which is considerably slower. The best advice I can give you is to try and shoot at the fastest shutter speed the situation will allow and tweak the ISO to achieve this. Trial and error. I learned a lot after just shooting one football game and one basketball game. Good luck.

asp1880 · 06-15-2011, 01:07 AM

The DA 55-300 is a perfect first long lens for outdoor daytime sports. Nighttime or indoor sports, not so much. You'll need a f2.8 zoom lens for that.

The K-x sport mode (the running man on the mode dial) is a good place to start. It chooses a fast shutter speed and sets up autofocus and drive mode for you.

Later on, you'll gain experience with what kind of shutter speed is adequate for exactly your kind of sports. Then you can set the mode dial to Tv, shutter priority.

Sincerely,
--Anders.

sanox · 06-15-2011, 07:01 AM

lately, its been indoor basketball games. Will I need the tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 for this? Anything longer requires a tripod? How about the actual pic taking. Do I still press 1/2 way to focus on the moving player or is there a different technique? sorry for the probably dumb questions!

jellyfish26 · 06-15-2011, 07:34 AM

Use AF-C and center-point AF. For indoor sports, lenses with larger apertures are better because you need a fast shutter speed to reduce motion blur. You still depress the shutter half way and it will continually autofocus on the center as long as you move the camera with the subject.

JeremyP · 06-15-2011, 03:20 PM

Originally posted by sanox

lately, its been indoor basketball games. Will I need the tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 for this? Anything longer requires a tripod? How about the actual pic taking. Do I still press 1/2 way to focus on the moving player or is there a different technique? sorry for the probably dumb questions!

For indoor basketball you will need a faster lens. I bought a DA 70mm F2.4 to use for my daughters basketball (also with a K-x), but I'm looking at getting either the Tamron 28-75 F2.8 or the Pentax 50-135 F2.8. I find myself liking the flexibility of zooms more than primes.

I just started taking pictures last year, but usually I use shutter priority mode (Tv) and set it to around 1/320 to 1/500. It really depends on the lighting in the gym.

jstick · 06-15-2011, 06:24 PM

I shoot my daughters indoor volleyball games with my DA* 50-135/2.8. It does a great job and the zoom is plenty since I can get close to the court.

For my sons outdoor soccer (daytime), the DA 55-300 and it also does a great job with wonderful color.

Docrwm · 06-15-2011, 07:19 PM

I found that with school lighting (usually VERY poor) and basketball for my kids the DAL lenses just aren't fast enough. They're great for outdoor day and early evening. I have been using my FA50/1.4 and getting some terrific shots. I think a good telephoto that is f2.8 like the Tamron that has been mentioned or a Pentax would be a great choice for those conditions. Don't forget to put your ISO up to 1600 or so and see how that helps too.

sanox · 06-15-2011, 09:25 PM

ok. I ordered the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8, its coming Friday. I know some people are saying the AF is too slow for sports but budget restraints kept me away from the Sigma @ $1399. I'm hoping the Tamron coupled with the Kx, I'll be able to get decent shots of my daughters baskeball games in somewhat poorly lit gyms. Can anyone tell what settings my camera should be set at? Don't forget I'm a beginner so please explain. lol

Docrwm · 06-16-2011, 05:02 AM

Originally posted by sanox

ok. I ordered the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8, its coming Friday. I know some people are saying the AF is too slow for sports but budget restraints kept me away from the Sigma @ $1399. I'm hoping the Tamron coupled with the Kx, I'll be able to get decent shots of my daughters baskeball games in somewhat poorly lit gyms. Can anyone tell what settings my camera should be set at? Don't forget I'm a beginner so please explain. lol

Congratulations. The K-x has several options for you, one is a dedicated Sports mode on the dial. Another is to go to App Priority mode (AV on the dial) and change the ISO and App until you get a relatively fast shutter speed (1/250+).

asp1880 · 06-16-2011, 06:27 AM

Originally posted by Docrwm

Congratulations. The K-x has several options for you, one is a dedicated Sports mode on the dial. Another is to go to App Priority mode (AV on the dial) and change the ISO and App until you get a relatively fast shutter speed (1/250+).

Isn't that a rather backwards way of doing things? Just use shutter priority and order the shutter speed you want. Let the camera determine ISO and aperture.

Anyway, that's what I do for sports. Bike racing is 1/800, panning race cars is 1/250, panning runners is 1/180 or whatever experience tells you and how much motion blur you want in the wheels, ball, hands, feet etc.

Sincerely,
--Anders.

Docrwm · 06-16-2011, 06:42 AM

Originally posted by asp1880

Isn't that a rather backwards way of doing things? Just use shutter priority and order the shutter speed you want. Let the camera determine ISO and aperture.

Anyway, that's what I do for sports. Bike racing is 1/800, panning race cars is 1/250, panning runners is 1/180 or whatever experience tells you and how much motion blur you want in the wheels, ball, hands, feet etc.

Sincerely,
--Anders.

He was talking about shooting his child inside for basketball, not bikes or race cars or runners outside. I like to control DoF directly when I'm shooting sports - particularly indoors because of the distracting backgrounds often encountered. Perhaps its backwards but I like the results I get better when I do it that way.

newarts · 06-16-2011, 08:19 AM

I look forward to hearing how your new tammy does in comparison to the 55-300.

The numbers say that at 200mm the tammy lets in (4.5/2.8)^2 = 2.6x times more light, so you should see a difference but it won't totally solve the problem I'd guess.

To recap what others have said:
- push the ISO up to 3200 (or more)
- learn to pan the camera (follow the moving subject & SQUEEZE the shutter button)
- anticipate the shot & pre-focus or use catch-in-focus
- learn to catch motionless situations like at the top of a jump shot, follow-through on a foul shot, player coming directly at you,...

Panning is especially effective as the motion smeared background emphasizes the dynamic real situation. Practice by shooting moving cars, birds, etc. If you can track & catch a bird in flight you can catch a girl on a basketball court; it takes some practice but you can learn how by trying!

-

06-14-2011, 08:28 PM	#1
sanox Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: La Palma, CA Posts: 25	Kx for sports? Hi All, newbie here with zero DSLR knowledge. Bought this camera so me & wifee could shoot vacation family pics and daughter's sport activities pics. Is there a zoom lens I can use with my Kx to shoot decent sport pics? And if so, how and what settings should I use? So far we only use the autofocus and default settings. It seems to get pretty good pics when theres enough light but some pretty awful ones in low light situations. Someone posted that its probably better to have the autofocus on center rather than 5 or 11 pt. Any advice would be appreciated and Thanks in advance!!!

06-15-2011, 03:20 PM	#8
JeremyP Forum Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: SK, Canada Posts: 83	Originally posted by sanox lately, its been indoor basketball games. Will I need the tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 for this? Anything longer requires a tripod? How about the actual pic taking. Do I still press 1/2 way to focus on the moving player or is there a different technique? sorry for the probably dumb questions! For indoor basketball you will need a faster lens. I bought a DA 70mm F2.4 to use for my daughters basketball (also with a K-x), but I'm looking at getting either the Tamron 28-75 F2.8 or the Pentax 50-135 F2.8. I find myself liking the flexibility of zooms more than primes. I just started taking pictures last year, but usually I use shutter priority mode (Tv) and set it to around 1/320 to 1/500. It really depends on the lighting in the gym. Last edited by JeremyP; 06-15-2011 at 04:13 PM.

06-16-2011, 06:27 AM	#13
asp1880 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Lyngby, Copenhagen Photos: Albums Posts: 742	Tv or Av for sports Originally posted by Docrwm Congratulations. The K-x has several options for you, one is a dedicated Sports mode on the dial. Another is to go to App Priority mode (AV on the dial) and change the ISO and App until you get a relatively fast shutter speed (1/250+). Isn't that a rather backwards way of doing things? Just use shutter priority and order the shutter speed you want. Let the camera determine ISO and aperture. Anyway, that's what I do for sports. Bike racing is 1/800, panning race cars is 1/250, panning runners is 1/180 or whatever experience tells you and how much motion blur you want in the wheels, ball, hands, feet etc. Sincerely, --Anders.

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06-14-2011, 08:55 PM	#2
jellyfish26 Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Texas Posts: 87	For sports use center autofocus and a high shutter speed of at least 1/500. The DA 55-300mm lens would be able to shoot sports.

06-14-2011, 10:05 PM	#3
Bill_R Site Supporter Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 262	Awful pics in what way? You'd need to post them with EXIF info intact so we can see what the problem might be.

06-14-2011, 10:05 PM	#4
KxBlaze Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: California Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,602	As Jelly said the DA 55-300 would do just fine but there are other much more expensive lenses that will do a much better job, the Tamron 70-200 just to name one. It all depends on your budget. As for technique, this is a tricky one because not all settings will work for all sports. Indoor, outdoor, baseball vs football, can all have an affect on the settings you use. A general rule of thumb is to use a fast shutter speed. This is where a better lens comes in. The Tamron 70-200 has a aperture of 2.8 where as the DA 55-300 goes from 4-5.6 which is considerably slower. The best advice I can give you is to try and shoot at the fastest shutter speed the situation will allow and tweak the ISO to achieve this. Trial and error. I learned a lot after just shooting one football game and one basketball game. Good luck.

06-15-2011, 01:07 AM	#5
asp1880 Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Lyngby, Copenhagen Photos: Albums Posts: 742	The DA 55-300 is a perfect first long lens for outdoor daytime sports. Nighttime or indoor sports, not so much. You'll need a f2.8 zoom lens for that. The K-x sport mode (the running man on the mode dial) is a good place to start. It chooses a fast shutter speed and sets up autofocus and drive mode for you. Later on, you'll gain experience with what kind of shutter speed is adequate for exactly your kind of sports. Then you can set the mode dial to Tv, shutter priority. Sincerely, --Anders.

06-15-2011, 07:01 AM	#6
sanox Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: La Palma, CA Posts: 25 Original Poster	lately, its been indoor basketball games. Will I need the tamron 70-200mm f/2.8 for this? Anything longer requires a tripod? How about the actual pic taking. Do I still press 1/2 way to focus on the moving player or is there a different technique? sorry for the probably dumb questions!

06-15-2011, 07:34 AM	#7
jellyfish26 Forum Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Texas Posts: 87	Use AF-C and center-point AF. For indoor sports, lenses with larger apertures are better because you need a fast shutter speed to reduce motion blur. You still depress the shutter half way and it will continually autofocus on the center as long as you move the camera with the subject.

06-15-2011, 06:24 PM	#9
jstick Forum Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Iowa Photos: Albums Posts: 78	I shoot my daughters indoor volleyball games with my DA* 50-135/2.8. It does a great job and the zoom is plenty since I can get close to the court. For my sons outdoor soccer (daytime), the DA 55-300 and it also does a great job with wonderful color.

06-15-2011, 07:19 PM	#10
Docrwm Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,285	I found that with school lighting (usually VERY poor) and basketball for my kids the DAL lenses just aren't fast enough. They're great for outdoor day and early evening. I have been using my FA50/1.4 and getting some terrific shots. I think a good telephoto that is f2.8 like the Tamron that has been mentioned or a Pentax would be a great choice for those conditions. Don't forget to put your ISO up to 1600 or so and see how that helps too.

06-15-2011, 09:25 PM	#11
sanox Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: La Palma, CA Posts: 25 Original Poster	ok. I ordered the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8, its coming Friday. I know some people are saying the AF is too slow for sports but budget restraints kept me away from the Sigma @ $1399. I'm hoping the Tamron coupled with the Kx, I'll be able to get decent shots of my daughters baskeball games in somewhat poorly lit gyms. Can anyone tell what settings my camera should be set at? Don't forget I'm a beginner so please explain. lol

06-16-2011, 05:02 AM	#12
Docrwm Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,285	Originally posted by sanox ok. I ordered the Tamron 70-200mm f/2.8, its coming Friday. I know some people are saying the AF is too slow for sports but budget restraints kept me away from the Sigma @ $1399. I'm hoping the Tamron coupled with the Kx, I'll be able to get decent shots of my daughters baskeball games in somewhat poorly lit gyms. Can anyone tell what settings my camera should be set at? Don't forget I'm a beginner so please explain. lol Congratulations. The K-x has several options for you, one is a dedicated Sports mode on the dial. Another is to go to App Priority mode (AV on the dial) and change the ISO and App until you get a relatively fast shutter speed (1/250+).

06-16-2011, 06:42 AM	#14
Docrwm Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Somewhere in the Southern US Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,285	Originally posted by asp1880 Isn't that a rather backwards way of doing things? Just use shutter priority and order the shutter speed you want. Let the camera determine ISO and aperture. Anyway, that's what I do for sports. Bike racing is 1/800, panning race cars is 1/250, panning runners is 1/180 or whatever experience tells you and how much motion blur you want in the wheels, ball, hands, feet etc. Sincerely, --Anders. He was talking about shooting his child inside for basketball, not bikes or race cars or runners outside. I like to control DoF directly when I'm shooting sports - particularly indoors because of the distracting backgrounds often encountered. Perhaps its backwards but I like the results I get better when I do it that way.

06-16-2011, 08:19 AM	#15
newarts Inactive Account Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Ames, Iowa, USA Photos: Albums Posts: 2,965	I look forward to hearing how your new tammy does in comparison to the 55-300. The numbers say that at 200mm the tammy lets in (4.5/2.8)^2 = 2.6x times more light, so you should see a difference but it won't totally solve the problem I'd guess. To recap what others have said: - push the ISO up to 3200 (or more) - learn to pan the camera (follow the moving subject & SQUEEZE the shutter button) - anticipate the shot & pre-focus or use catch-in-focus - learn to catch motionless situations like at the top of a jump shot, follow-through on a foul shot, player coming directly at you,... Panning is especially effective as the motion smeared background emphasizes the dynamic real situation. Practice by shooting moving cars, birds, etc. If you can track & catch a bird in flight you can catch a girl on a basketball court; it takes some practice but you can learn how by trying! -