Rugby Shot

[le_undertaker]

Here's a pix I took yesterday during a Harrogate Rugby Match.

[le_undertaker]

Here's the shot again. I don't think it loaded the full way last time. Also, Harrogate is in North Yorkshire, UK & this is their local team.

[vIZnquest]

I see you are using the FZ30 in manual mode. The capture is good but could have had a better sharper freeze of the action if you went to 1/500th rather than 1/160th.

At 1/250th you can get most shots that are action like this outdoors pretty sharp with minimal blur to the hands and feet.

Try shooting with the in-camera sharpness at normal instead of hard as well and do it in PP (Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 that you are using). You will need to sharpen anyway when resizing to post on the web.

Some will say use AV mode and let the camera figure out the shutter speed. Some will say use TV mode and adjust the iso and aperture. Others will just use P mode (auto) and then others like yourself manual settings but still use AF.

Post more in the sports forum since this forum has rules of only one picture per post as I am sure you already know.

[le_undertaker]

Thanks for those tips. I just got the FZ30 a few weeks ago so I'm learning as I go.

vIZnquest wrote:

I see you are using the FZ30 in manual mode. The capture is good but could have had a better sharper freeze of the action if you went to 1/500th rather than 1/160th.

At 1/250th you can get most shots that are action like this outdoors pretty sharp with minimal blur to the hands and feet.

Try shooting with the in-camera sharpness at normal instead of hard as well and do it in PP (Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0 that you are using). You will need to sharpen anyway when resizing to post on the web.

Some will say use AV mode and let the camera figure out the shutter speed. Some will say use TV mode and adjust the iso and aperture. Others will just use P mode (auto) and then others like yourself manual settings but still use AF.

Post more in the sports forum since this forum has rules of only one picture per post as I am sure you already know.

[SteveDak]

Hi u/t, Rugby is a great action subject and I take a lotof my son - I'll digone out when I get home this evening and post on this thread. I've found using"last three frames" is great especiallywhen youwant to capture ball in flight& kicker/passerin same shot.I've just found this is the most reliable way of capturing the moment.

Glad your subject wasn't our abysmal performance against the French on Sat!

[le_undertaker]

Rugby is a hard sport to capture on film because the action moves so fast & in so many different directions.

American football & baseball are a lot easier because you can predict what area the action is going.

SteveDak wrote:

Hi u/t, Rugby is a great action subject and I take a lotof my son - I'll digone out when I get home this evening and post on this thread. I've found using"last three frames" is great especiallywhen youwant to capture ball in flight& kicker/passerin same shot.I've just found this is the most reliable way of capturing the moment.

Glad your subject wasn't our abysmal performance against the French on Sat!

[frenchy]

SteveDak wrote:

Hi u/t, Rugby is a great action subject and I take a lotof my son - I'll digone out when I get home this evening and post on this thread. I've found using"last three frames" is great especiallywhen youwant to capture ball in flight& kicker/passerin same shot.I've just found this is the most reliable way of capturing the moment.

Glad your subject wasn't our abysmal performance against the French on Sat!

Steve - what do you mean by 'last three frames'? I'm intrigued, as when my wife lets me get my hands on the FZ5 I'm getting for Christmas (which has arrrived and is sitting oh so temptingly close) I'm planning on taking photos down at the rugby club. I play as well so it's only going to be when I'm injured (depressingly about 1/3 of the time) but I'd like to be well prepared for the moment.

Wow, that was long. I'll shorten it - what do you mean by 'last three frames'?

[SteveDak]

Hi Frenchy,

Sorry, it wasn't very well worded - on the Fuji there is a 'Continuous Shooting'mode whereby you can set the camera totake a series ofshots for as long as the shutter button is held down. You can set this to store eitherthe first three frames of a sequence, the last three or even upto 40 in a continual sequence.

So for example, if somebody was taking a place kick you could set it for thelast three frames and more or less be be sure to get a sequence ofthree shots ie run-up, contact and follow-through(that's my experience anyway and it only takes a few attempts to get the timing right).Really good for capturing a scrumhalf in mid-flight!

I'm not sure if your F75 has the same facility - maybe you can download the manual and have a squiz (nothing like going through the manual to wet the appetite).

Steve

PS - sounds like you and Johnny Wilkenson have a lot in common!

[Hards80]

just for some reference..

if your subject is coming at you like this shot, 1/250 is usually enough to freeze all but the fastest paced action.. but if your subjects are traveling perpendicular to your line of sight, you will want at least 1/500.. also be sure you are using an AIServo, Servo, tracking or whatever your camera company calls autofocus that is always on.. rather than one-shot or locking autofocus or you will misfocus everything...

-dustin

[frenchy]

Cheers Steve - yes, it does have that facility so hopefully I'll get some nice shots from it.