Baseball

[jcarboski]

Dave:

The reason i was wondering about the 50-500 in a rink was in conjuction with the canon speedlight 580. I believe the 580 shoots out around 150 feet opposed to like 60 feet with the 420 speedlight. That was a general ballpark number a friend gave me when i was talking about getting one for hockey. Most of my shots are from the stands so zooming in like at a faceoff circle might be really good. I also realize it will be hard shooting action but in my experince outside with baseball and lacrosse i use the (tv) mode. here is a sample of settings i use.

Shooting Mode
Shutter Speed Priority AE
Photo Effect Mode
Off
Tv( Shutter Speed )
1/1250
Av( Aperture Value )
4.0
Metering Mode
Center-weighted averaging
Exposure Compensation
0
ISO Speed
400
Lens
70.0 - 200.0 mm
Focal Length
145.0 mm

[Dave Chrismer]

I have the 550 and the guide number is 180 (180 ft at iso 100 ), so I would assume the 580 to be rated at least as high. The max synch of the 20d is 1/250, so the settings you mentioned would be appropriate. I take so many pictures during a game ( usually around 250-300 ) that I never felt the flash would be able to keep up, but if you were going to be more selective and take 40 or 50 shots, I don't see why it wouldn't work out. The 580 would not be a wasted investment under any circumstances. Later this evening when the outdoor light starts to dim, I will take some shots with my 50-500 and speedlite at 1/250 and post the results here.

[jcarboski]

Dave:

Thanks i'll check out your results. john

[Dave Chrismer]

These were taken at 500mm from about 60 feet in a dark corner of my yard. All were taken at iso 800, 1/250 and f/6.3 (max aperture at 500mm). There is definitely an improvement using the flash, even at a pretty fair distance.

Left is TTL flash, center is manual flash, right is no flash.

[jcarboski]

Dave:

Thanks for the sampling, it seems that the flash at 60 feet is pretty darn good. I'm really thinking of getting the 580 so this does make me feel better for sure. john