Steve'sDigicams

tssfan · Oct 30, 2006, 6:17 PM

Im doing reasearch formybasketball and football coach. The lighting in our gym stinks. (Im 12 years old) This would be for middle school.

tssfan · Oct 30, 2006, 6:29 PM

So what doyou all receemend?

robbo · Oct 30, 2006, 7:20 PM

John,

Please go here for some pictures of wheelchair basketball during a Sonics game halftime break.

http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...tart=#imgAnch2

I will look for the pictures of the UW basketball game.

My only caveat about an entry level DSLR with a 50mm f1.8 lens is that you had better be pretty close to the action to get decent pictures.

JohnG · Oct 30, 2006, 7:37 PM

Robbo,

with all due respect I would not consider those shots acceptable action shots. And it is a much better lit gym than the OP is going to shoot in.

But the point is moot because it's a middle school gym. You are not going to get by with a digicam - period. It's a waste of your money. You'll need AT LEAST ISO 1600 and an f2.0 or better lens. If you're shooting from the floor, a 50mm lens is OK - not the greatest - the 85 is still going to be preferable, but it costs almost $400 vs. like $70 or $80 for the 50mm.

I'm also going to assume that for middle school football you're shooting during the day. Let me know if the games are evening at all. If they're daytime you could get by with something like the Sigma 70-300 lens. It's only $200. it's a decent lens - you're not going to get newspaper quality shots with it, but your budget is very restrictive. The lens will be useless in low light though - so don't plan on using it unless you have full daylight.

aldog · Nov 1, 2006, 5:49 PM

I'm enquiring here because, not only are my questions similar to the thread starters, but the camera that I have a question about might end up being a good choice for tssfan

I've been looking at the nikon d50 for a while, I went and held it and played with it today, and it seems a bit big, (compared to my fuji 5100) but I'm thinking most any dslr will feel big in comparison.

I'll be taking photos of all sorts of things, but the 2 things that I think I need to worry about are football and skateboarding, oh and mountainboarding now that I think about it.
My football shots will be outside, in either the morning after the sun has come out or in the middle of the afternoon, and it's...little league (not sure what you call that kind of football...cause I know little league is baseball). So I can be moving all over the boundaries.
And skateboarding and mountainboarding will just be under normal conditions.
But I found a package for the nikon d50 that has a Nikkor 28-80mm F/3.3-5.6 G Lens. Will that be good enough for the football shots?

DougJGreen · Nov 1, 2006, 6:47 PM

Aldog. you will need a longer lens than 80mm for football. At least 200mm, preferably 300mm is adviseable. As has been said before, the inexpensive 70-300 or 100-300mm lenses from Nikon and the 3rd party lens makers will suffice if you are shooting in daylight. But for night games they are not fast enough (most of these have a max aperture of f5.6 at the long end, whereas for night sports or indoor sports, you need at least an f2.8 max aperture, and preferably even faster indoors.

aldog · Nov 1, 2006, 7:09 PM

ok thank you

Juzzie · Nov 1, 2006, 7:10 PM

Allpictures taken with a Konica Minolta 5D and a Sigma 70-300mm APO DG. First one takenabout 10-12 rowsup the stands, the guy with the ball is just outside the opposite penalty area. Thesecondpicture (at a different ground) was taken 3 rows from the front and the players in the picture are just inside the halfway line.

Third picture taken at the MotoGP in Le Mans and the 4th at the World Superbikes, Brands Hatch.

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Oct 30, 2006, 6:17 PM	#11
tssfan Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 4	Im doing reasearch formybasketball and football coach. The lighting in our gym stinks. (Im 12 years old) This would be for middle school.

Oct 30, 2006, 6:29 PM	#12
tssfan Junior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 4	So what doyou all receemend?

Oct 30, 2006, 7:20 PM	#13
robbo Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Posts: 978	John, Please go here for some pictures of wheelchair basketball during a Sonics game halftime break. http://s21.photobucket.com/albums/b2...tart=#imgAnch2 I will look for the pictures of the UW basketball game. My only caveat about an entry level DSLR with a 50mm f1.8 lens is that you had better be pretty close to the action to get decent pictures.

Oct 30, 2006, 7:37 PM	#14
JohnG Moderator Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 8,529	Robbo, with all due respect I would not consider those shots acceptable action shots. And it is a much better lit gym than the OP is going to shoot in. But the point is moot because it's a middle school gym. You are not going to get by with a digicam - period. It's a waste of your money. You'll need AT LEAST ISO 1600 and an f2.0 or better lens. If you're shooting from the floor, a 50mm lens is OK - not the greatest - the 85 is still going to be preferable, but it costs almost $400 vs. like $70 or $80 for the 50mm. I'm also going to assume that for middle school football you're shooting during the day. Let me know if the games are evening at all. If they're daytime you could get by with something like the Sigma 70-300 lens. It's only $200. it's a decent lens - you're not going to get newspaper quality shots with it, but your budget is very restrictive. The lens will be useless in low light though - so don't plan on using it unless you have full daylight.

Nov 1, 2006, 5:49 PM	#15
aldog Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3	I'm enquiring here because, not only are my questions similar to the thread starters, but the camera that I have a question about might end up being a good choice for tssfan I've been looking at the nikon d50 for a while, I went and held it and played with it today, and it seems a bit big, (compared to my fuji 5100) but I'm thinking most any dslr will feel big in comparison. I'll be taking photos of all sorts of things, but the 2 things that I think I need to worry about are football and skateboarding, oh and mountainboarding now that I think about it. My football shots will be outside, in either the morning after the sun has come out or in the middle of the afternoon, and it's...little league (not sure what you call that kind of football...cause I know little league is baseball). So I can be moving all over the boundaries. And skateboarding and mountainboarding will just be under normal conditions. But I found a package for the nikon d50 that has a Nikkor 28-80mm F/3.3-5.6 G Lens. Will that be good enough for the football shots?

Nov 1, 2006, 6:47 PM	#16
DougJGreen Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Posts: 198	Aldog. you will need a longer lens than 80mm for football. At least 200mm, preferably 300mm is adviseable. As has been said before, the inexpensive 70-300 or 100-300mm lenses from Nikon and the 3rd party lens makers will suffice if you are shooting in daylight. But for night games they are not fast enough (most of these have a max aperture of f5.6 at the long end, whereas for night sports or indoor sports, you need at least an f2.8 max aperture, and preferably even faster indoors.

Nov 1, 2006, 7:09 PM	#17
aldog Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3	ok thank you

Nov 1, 2006, 7:10 PM	#18
Juzzie Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 73	Allpictures taken with a Konica Minolta 5D and a Sigma 70-300mm APO DG. First one takenabout 10-12 rowsup the stands, the guy with the ball is just outside the opposite penalty area. Thesecondpicture (at a different ground) was taken 3 rows from the front and the players in the picture are just inside the halfway line. Third picture taken at the MotoGP in Le Mans and the 4th at the World Superbikes, Brands Hatch.