Basketball Question

[JohnG]

Can't afford $60 or $600?

If you can't afford the full version of CS, then Photoshop Elements (< $100) is a very good buy. If you can't afford $60 then I don't know of any robust software less than $60. Doesn't mean there isn't any, just that I don't know one.

You can't change synch speed - what you can do on aflash is put it in high speed synch mode. It's a setting on the external flash, not on the camera. This allows you to use any shutter speed, but it also cuts down on the power of the flash quite a bit so you don't get as much range.

As for basketball lenses - my choice is the 85mm 1.8 (around $350). The 50mm 1.8 is the next choice. Nothing else in the running - longer lenses are less practical and should supplement the 85mm or 50mm.

[afayec]

TXPhoto - If you have a Costco membership they have PS Elements for $60.00 on their website.

[TXPhoto]

John,

I think I understand what has been causing the problems with my basketball photos, see if you agree with the diagnosis. On a lark, I was at the mall yesterday and decided to go to the camera shop where I know a few photogs that work there. As it turns out, one of the said here is what I need to do.

First, place the camera on Manual mode set the apeture to F 2.8 with the ISO on 1600. Then, put the flash on rear curtain synch so that the flash will fire at the end of the shutter speed. Next, keep the lens on AF (Auto Focus). Next, make sure the foucusing points in camera is placed on the center position. Also, put the camera on AI Servo (the one that tracks the moving subject). Lastly, make sure the shutter speed is set to stop action around 250th of a second.

A question I have is: What shutter speed do I set for my 24-70 f 2.8 lens and for my 70-200 f2.8 lens? Looking forward to hearing your response. I must confess, I learned something yesterday, I honestly thought Manual on the camera meant everything was manual, but it's not. Now, I know!



Best,

Jerry

[JohnG]

TXPhoto wrote:

A question I have is: What shutter speed do I set for my 24-70 f 2.8 lens and for my 70-200 f2.8 lens? Looking forward to hearing your response. I must confess, I learned something yesterday, I honestly thought Manual on the camera meant everything was manual, but it's not. Now, I know!



Best,

Jerry

Jerry I must admit this last paragraph confused me. First, the exposure settings are exactly the same for both lenses since they'r both 2.8 lenses. Exposure doesn't change wiith focal length.

And the last statement:

I honestly thought Manual on the camera meant everything was manual, but it's not. Now, I know!

The only thing NOT manual is focus. You still must manually select WB mode, manually select ISO, manually set aperture and manually select shutter speed. Was that what you were thinking of when you said "but it's not"? Or was there some other task you now think is happening automatically in manual mode?


Also, as to the rear curtain synch - that may or may not help. What happens when the camera exposure is close to proper exposure without flash use AND your shutter speed is too slow to stop motion (and 1/250 is to slow to stop motion but it's the flash synch speed)is that when you DO use a flash the image will still show 'ghosting' - a bit of motion blur. When the flash is in default (front curtain synch) you'll see the 'ghost' AFTER the subject. All that rear curtain synch will do is move the ghost BEHIND the subject. The ghost isn't eliminated - it just moves behind the subject rather than in front of the subject. To completely get rid of the ghosting you have 2 options - neither of which is a great solution with an on-board flash:

1. Use high-speed synch mode of the flash. This is a FLASH function not a camera function. It allows the flash to work at any shutter speed. But the flash power is greatly reduced in this mode so you won't get as much reach. But if you're shooting within 20 feet you should still be fine.

2. Changing your exposure so without flash use the image will be more underexposed. You can do this by dropping the ISO to 800 or 400. This will stop the ghosting but it also makes your background darker and your subject more stark. So that's the trade-off with this approach.

But, try the original settings suggested and see if you DO get ghosting. If you do, then try each of the above two methods and see which results you like best.