Hi...Im New here with a question....

[kreeves]

First let me introduce myself...I am Kim and I live in Montgomery, TX! I am using a Nikon D80 that I got a few days ago. In the past I used a Nikon N60 (35mm).

Ok with that said now on to my question....

With my N60 I had no problem shooting "action" shots of my sons baseball games. I was using my new D80 last night and kept getting blur. I am thinking it was partly due to the light (7:30 pm game to 8:45) although when the lighting was better early on...I still kept getting blurred "action" shots. Also, is there a way (without use of tripod or changing my aperature) by using a flash that my pictures will not come out so dark during that time of day when the light is barely there but there are strong baseball field lights? I do have a speedlight in addition to the flash on the camera.


I do know that I am still learning how to use this camera and I am going to test it more during an earlier game but any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

[my3peas]

What were your settings?

I have the D80 and have had some pretty good action.

ETA: Action shots I mean :)

[engstrom]

Kim, sounds like you need to increase the ISO on your camera. The higher the ISO the less light you need for your pictures (like with film). Be aware that high ISO can cause noise to appear in your pictures...and in general it's a lot less pleasing noise than the film grain of high speed film.

[kreeves]

I didn't want to mess around too much with all the settings until I am more familiar with the camera. So I just had it set on the "sport" setting. With hopes that it would have pretty decent pre-set settings.

Not sure what I had the ISO....like I said..I am still learning this camera. I will check and see what its set at.

Thanks to everyone so far!

[HFMarshburnJR]

Kim -

It might also help to know what lens you were shooting with. If it was a lens that had a maximum aperture smaller than f2.8, then you may be fighting an uphill battle for low light sports photography, even at ISO levels of 800-1000.

Welcome to the digital world.

HFM

[kreeves]

Oh yeah...that would help wouldn't it!! Thanks!

Lens: Nikon AF Nikkor 70-300mm

[HFMarshburnJR]

Based on what I have found about this lens, it has a variable max aperture of f4 (@70mm) to f5.6 (@300mm). This lens is going to be a tough challenge for shooting any kind of action photography after the sun starts to go down. It is a great lens - just not for this function. Having said that, and in lieu of getting a faster lens, you might try this:

Boost your ISO to 800 (1000 at the top end - past that, noise may become an issue with the Nikons)

Get a monopod - This may buy you 1 or 2 stops

Shoot in shutter priority mode - set the camera at 1/125 to start and see what kind of exposures you are getting. Adjust your shutter speed until you get acceptable light levels and/or eliminate camera shake. If you are comfortable in manual mode, then that would be a faster method to hone in on the right exposure settings. Be sure and adjust as it gets darker - what is good at 7:30 will not be good at 8:45.

I hope this helps. From one amateur Nikonian to another. Keep the faith.

HFM

[rl168]

Kim,

I am new to this and still learning. But I have similar problem shooting a little league baseball game on Tuesday evening. It was around 6pm, the sky was a little dark as it was drizzling. I was not able to "freeze" action and they came out blurry. My conclusion after looking at my photos is that my shutter speed was too slow. I think I've read it on this forum that you need at least 1/500 to freeze actions. I was using a Nikon 18-200mm lens at 200mm and my aperture can only go to f5.6. With that aperture and light condition, I was not able to achieve a faster shutter speed. It might have help if I increase my iso but I guess I'll learn from my mistake.

I am not sure if that is the cause of your blurred action shots, but hopefully the more experienced folks on the forum can help.

[kreeves]

Thank you again! I will try these at the next ball game. Hopefully I will do it right and I'll post the finished products! Sucks I have to wait till next week for the next game!

[MRCPix]

welcome Kim it is nice to have another D80 owner here :) I use mine to shoot high school sports and low light is difficult with that lense. I usually rent the 70-200 f2.8 and shoot at ISO 1250-1600 at 2.8

[Gabby498]

Kim, I agree that the lens is not ideal for what you want to do and that all the above tips are good points. However, I think there is a question no one has asked. Is this 70-300mm the same lens that you was using on your film camera to shoot sports? You said you were having no problem with the N60 but were you also shooting late evening sports?

Basically, if you were using the same lens, using the same techniques, shooting under similar conditions, you should be getting similar results. Actually, maybe even better because you now have more flexibility with ISO than you would have with film. In a case like that it could be your choice of focusing priority.

You say you are using the "sports" setting on the D80. I do not know what all that changes. It could affect ISO, shutter speed, metering priority, a number of things. It could or could not have any affect on focus priority. I am not familiar with the D80, but I suspect it is similar to the D200 in having focus priorities that do and priorities that do not lock on and maintain focus on moving objects. Might be worth looking into.

Some questions to ask yourself about the blurred images. Are they blurred in the direction of the movement. If they are it is probably slow shutter speed. If that is the case, since all the players are not moving the same direction at the same speed, there should be degrees of blur with the ones moving the fastest or across the film plane the most blurred, those moving slower or running toward the camera should show a lesser amount of blur and any stationary objects, field markers, grass, so forth should be sharp at the point of focus.

If they are burred in any other direction or consistently blurred all over, it is probably camera movement.

Any sharpness that occures either in front or behind the action probably indicates a focusing problem.

So an important thing to look for is any sharpness in the images. Look for things that could be in the depth of field that are stationary and therefore should be sharp. Study the direction of the blur. Look for any sign of sharpness that is behind or in front of the action you were shooting. The type of "out of focus" you have can give you a clue as to what is causing it.

[darktiger]

high ISO and faster lens. Are you shooting with the lens kit?