70-200 mm Nikon 2.8 Friday Night Lights

[richard854]

A repeated question, but I just got my 70-200 mm. And, I was interested in knowing some recommended settings for stadium lights after dark.....

I'm shooting boy's high school varsity soccer games....very fast paced and lots of action...

MF vs. AF and what settings?!

[AndrewCCM]

Really depends on the light/field.

I often shoot at around F2.8, 1/500th, ISO 3200 for field sports.

[JPalmer]

To repeat Andrew...

Every field does not have the same lights... it will vary widely from location to location.

A good rule of thumb is going to be....

- High ISO (1000-1600) 3200 on the D50 isn't going to be very good.
- Shutter speed has to stay above 1/250 to get decent action... the higher the better
- Aperture at f2.8 (obviously, you have the lens that can handle it)
- I'd also go with a spot meter center weighted so you can get the correct exposure on your players.
- AF (unless you really wanna try manual focus) but with a center point selection so that when/if players cross your field of vision, the focus doesn't shift.

That should get you started... but don't be disappointed when the light sucks so bad that you can't shoot. It happens.

[AndrewCCM]

Jason speaks the truth about sometimes not being able to shoot.

I have all but given up on shooting my son's indoor soccer team. Apex center is so dark and such a funky low color temp that it's impossible to get anything decent without a flash. I do still try just to capture a few memories, but nothing I'd ever show. Funny though, I took my old Sony VX2000 DV camera out the other day and the resulting video looks quite decent.

At that facility, I have been using an 85 F1.8 and last time threw my 580EXII flash and got some usable stuff, but hate the flash look.

Good luck!

[xjben]

You may of, but get the flash off camera and dial down the power so it just adds enough light. Or set it on high and try bounching off the ceiling. Even if it's high, you might get a little extra light. You could try to add some sort of diffusure also (mini soft box, etc) to soften the light.

[Bobby C 01TA]

I noticed you are shooting with a D50.. shooting at high ISO will get a lot of grain. I shot at auto ISO when i had my D50 and it still struggled.. But I was also using a 4.0 all around and not a 2.8. Depends on the lighting for sure. Maybe get there early to get a feel for it. With my 30D I usually shoot at 1600.sometimes 3200 and the pics come out decent. I loved the D50 for alot of shoots but not for night or low light moving objects. Good luck!

[richard854]

I have taken pics at our last two outdoor games. I've been using AF setting w/Aperture priority, and the pictures are okay, and yes-grainy.

Almost everyone has commented on lighting, and I believe part of the problem is - the last two games, have been on middle school football fields...

Next week, we go on the road again under stadium lights, which - I'm hoping for very much improved shots. I can't wait to shoot the soccer games in the afternoon on a sunny day.....

[mdparthum]

I have shot some football games in a small 2A school and the lighting is horrible. I found that you have to be at least 3200, f/2.8, and 250th of a second to get anything decent. I shoot in .raw and with the help of Photoshop CS3 I can sometimes bump it up to 500th of a second or to f/4.0 to get more action stopping photos or better depth of field. Doesn't look good in the histogram, but you can get some decent pix.

[Michael Lyons]

pick up a d300, your probs will be solved

[AndrewCCM]

Originally Posted by Michael Lyons

pick up a d300, your probs will be solved

Yep.. you'll be able to quit your day job and travel the world and elsewhere. It is that good.

I kid.. I kid..